finest
arms possible. All of them from their earliest age wear their weapons,
with so careful a regard to this matter that no one dares to leave
his house without his weapons. The wearing of weapons is so much a
matter of reputation with them, that they consider it an insult to be
obliged to appear without them, regulating their punctiliousness in
this region very much according to the laws of Espana. It casts much
shame upon the negligence into which our military force has fallen,
by the poor reputation of those here who profess arms, who in the
sight of these nations are not ashamed to be seen without swords or
daggers; and those which they carry well demonstrate the care with
which they serve in their posts, since they necessarily satisfy outward
appearance, although they would be useless on occasion. I speak of
the simple and common soldiers; and, since this care is lacking in
most of them, it ought to be felt more, and with effect, by those who
can remedy it. The weapon worn by the natives of the cities is a wavy
dagger, which they call a kris. Its blade is engraved with channels
and water-lines, which make it very beautiful. The hilt is a small
idol, made of ivory for the common man, and of gold for the chiefs,
studded with gems which are highly esteemed among them. I saw one worn
by the commander Socsocan [75]--who was the lord of Samboangan when
our men conquered it--which was valued at ten slaves. The scabbard
was gilded with the same neatness, and at some time had been covered
with sheets of gold. I saw a scabbard in Jolo, which had a pearl as
large as a musket-ball at the end of the chape. The blades are very
fine, and, although so small (being scarcely two palmos in length),
they are valued at twelve, twenty, or thirty reals of eight.

Such are their arms in peace; those of war, for fighting on the land,
are lances and shields. The shield is round among the coast-dwellers
of the south, and in the islands of Basilan and Jolo. In the rest of
this island, the general custom of the long and narrow shield which
is used in all the other islands is followed; with these, they shield
and protect all the body. From these weapons the kris is inseparable,
and they use it at close quarters, and after they have used the lance,
which they throw in the usual manner. Their lances show the same care
as their krises, and are very much ornamented and engraved, and have
their covers gilded. The shaft is of the finest ebony, or