he
Indians discharging blows, and discovered that they did not have the
boy with them, they returned to shore with great fury; but at their
arrival the natives had already fled up a hill. They found the boy
as I have said above; and I charged the master-of-camp to punish the
natives for this act. At midnight he went ashore, and marched inland,
but meeting no Indians, he arranged his men in an ambuscade on shore,
in which he killed a few of them and wounded many others. Our men
burned many houses all along the coast. The town inland on this island
is large and thickly populated, and abounds in all things which are
raised in the island. There our men found about two pounds of very
good sulphur, and took one of the natives alive, who was brought to
the ship, and whom I am sending to that Nueba Espana. This island is
called Ladrones, which according to the disposition of the inhabitants,
is the most appropriate name that could have been given it. Eleven
days after reaching this island, we set sail following our course
in the aforesaid latitude. After sailing eleven days more with good
weather, we finally came in sight of Filippinas, where we finished
our voyage. According to the experiments and opinions of the pilots,
we covered more than two thousand leagues from Puerto de la Navidad
to this island, although I have heard that they were deceived as to
the distance. On the afternoon of the same day in which we came to
this land, we cast anchor in a beautiful bay, called Cibabao, and
there we remained seven or eight days. Meanwhile we sent two boats,
one south and the other north (for this island is located north and
south) to see whether they could find some good port or river. One
of them returned minus a gentleman of my company, called Francesco
Gomez, and with the report that, for ten leagues north, they had found
neither port nor river. The gentleman was killed by some Indians,
after he disembarked to make blood-friendship with them, a ceremony
that is considered inviolable. This is observed in this manner: one
from each party must draw two or three drops of blood from his arm
or breast and mix them, in the same cup, with water or wine. Then the
mixture must be divided equally between two cups, and neither person
may depart until both cups are alike drained. While this man was about
to bleed himself, one of the natives pierced his breast from one side
with a lance. The weapons generally used throughout the Filipinas
are