n father Fray Diego de la Madre de Dios, made it a point of honor
to take part in so dangerous a field, whenever the tasks of his office
permitted, and they both fought as valiant soldiers. For the expenses
which were heavy for the maintenance of many missions and for the
other things which accompany like expeditions, the province acted as
proxy, for they did not wish to have recourse to the royal treasury
which generally supports such undertakings. And to the labors which
are indispensable in wars of that quality, and which were excessive
there, those illustrious warriors set their shoulders, well armed
with endurance, for they had already been exercised in other conquests
and had always been victorious.

402. Thus did they work constantly until the end of the year 1670,
and with so good result, that they converted that bitter sea of
idolatries and superstitions in great part into a leafy land of
virtues. On account of the insurrections which so great acts of
wickedness caused in Pangasinan, Zambales, and Pampanga, as I have
already written in chapter i of this decade, many whole families
had fled from the Christian villages to the mountains, together with
a very great number of Indians, who having abandoned the faith and
subjection, lived there as the declared enemies of God and of the
king. Of those it appears that more than two thousand souls were
reduced, and another great number, which is not specified by the
relations, of other people of several nations, who had either been
born in heathendom, or had formerly deserted the Catholic camp. The
evangelical workers were greatly elated with that fruit and rewarded
for their unspeakable labors, and were encouraged beyond all manner to
follow up such conquests and even to undertake other new ones. For,
it is a fact that when the fruit of one's preaching can be seen, it
causes such joy in the missionaries, and gives them so great courage
for other undertakings that that alone can serve as a worthy reward
in this life and infuses valor for other more difficult enterprises.

403. Those zealous laborers formed anew from the people whom they
allured from the mountains, the villages of Iba, or as they are
also called, Paynaven, Cavangaan, Subig, and Morong. In addition
to this the ancient villages increased in population. Until the
present time, there was not along all that coast, that belonged to
our administration, more than three convents or ministries--one even
in Bolina