ad scarcely arrived when
an Indian came to the flagship in a canoe, who said that Tupas, the
ruler of the island, was in the town, and that he was going to come
to the fleet to see me. A little later there came from the village,
an Indian, an interpreter of the Malay language, who said, on behalf
of Tupas, that the latter was getting ready to come to see me, that
he would come on that very day, and that he would bring ten of the
principal chiefs of that island. I waited for them that whole day;
but as I saw that the people were much occupied in removing their
possessions from their houses and carrying them to the mountain, and
that during all this day and until noon of the next, Tupas, the son
of Saripara, who killed the men of Magallanes, did not come, I sent a
boat with father Fray Andres de Hurdaneta and the master-of-camp, in
order that, in their presence, the government notary, with Hieronimo
Pacheco, interpreter of the Malay tongue (which is spoken by many of
the natives of this land), might request the natives, as vassals of
the king of Castilla, to receive us peaceably. They were to assure the
people that I did not come to do them any harm, but on the contrary
to show them every favor, and to cultivate their friendship. Three
times this announcement was made to them, with all the signs and kind
words possible to win their friendship. But at length--seeing that
all our good intentions were of no avail, and that all the natives
had put on their wooden corselets and rope armor [101] and had armed
themselves with their lances, shields, small cutlasses, and arrows;
and that many plumes and varicolored headdresses were waving; and
that help of men had come in _praus_ from the outside, so that their
number must be almost two thousand warriors; and considering that
now was the time for us to make a settlement and effect a colony, and
that the present port and location were exactly suited to our needs,
and that it was useless for us to wait any longer; and seeing that
there was no hope for peace, and that they did not wish it, although
we had offered it--the master-of-camp said to the natives through an
interpreter: "Since you do not desire our friendship, and will not
receive us peacefully, but are anxious for war, wait until we have
landed; and look to it that you act as men, and defend yourselves
from us, and guard your houses." The Indians answered boldly: "Be it
so! Come on! We await you here." And thereupon they bro