was made
therein, he describes each island then known to the Spaniards in that
group--noting its size, contour, and population; and enumerating
the encomiendas assigned therein, the officials in the Spanish
settlements, the products of the island, etc. With this information
Loarca incorporates many interesting details regarding the social and
economic condition of the natives. After this preliminary survey,
he describes at some length the religious beliefs of the Pintados
or Visayan Indians; these vary, as held by the coast dwellers and
those of the mountains. He relates their notions about the creation
of the world and the origin of man, the condition of departed souls,
and the deities who control their destiny. Many of these beliefs are,
of course, childish, crude, and superstitious; yet some indicate
considerable imagination and poetic fancy. They have various deities,
and their priests are usually women; their religious traditions
are preserved in songs. Their mortuary and mourning customs are
described. A chapter is devoted to the institution of slavery among
these peoples--its nature and causes, and the value and status of
the slave. Their marriage customs are described at length, with the
status of women among them, the penalties for unfaithfulness, the
causes for divorce, etc. There is considerable curious information
regarding the fauna and flora of the islands. Loarca then proceeds
to relate similar particulars about the Moros of Luzon; they adore a
divinity called Bathala, "the lord of all," or Creator. His ministers,
who are deities of rain, harvest, trees, the sea, etc., are called
_anitos_, and worshiped and invoked accordingly; they intercede for the
people with the great Bathala. These Moros are governed by chiefs, who
enact and administer such laws as seem necessary for the preservation
of good order--adultery, murder, and theft being the chief crimes,
which are punished by a system of fines, or by the enslavement of
those who are without means to pay them.

The recently-arrived bishop, Domingo de Salazar, writes (June 20,
1582) to the king, imploring redress for the wrongs and sufferings
endured by the Indians, who are continually oppressed by the Spanish
officials placed over them. An affidavit made by some Indian chiefs
relates their grievances. As a result of this ill-treatment, the
native villages are rapidly being depopulated.

A letter from the royal factor in the Philippines, Juan Baptista Rom