The Philippine Islands, 1493-1803; explorations by early navigators, descriptions of the islands and their peoples, their history and records of the Catholic missions, as related in contemporaneous books and manuscripts, showing the political, economic, commericial and religious conditions of those islands from their earliest relations with European nations to the beginning of the nineteenth century; [Vol. 1, no. 36]

1649-I666] RECOLLECT MISSIONS, I646-60

I29

and that the minister should defend him, as it would
be the motive for many conversions; but he only
made use of that trick to save his life. Father Fray
Agustin de Santa Maria-a very affable religious,
and one who labored hard to attract the infidelswas prior of the convent of Santa Clara de Monte
Falco of Linao, a place forty leguas up-stream from
Butuan. He visited Dabao, and won him over so
well by presents and gifts to intercourse with the
Spaniards, that he spent nearly all the day in the convent and entrusted father Fray Agustin with the
education of one of his sons-being quite eager in
that in order to work out the treachery that he had
planned.
260. Dabao went by night to the houses of the
chief Christians. He laid before them the harsh
decree of the governor, the offers that the Dutch had
made, and especially the attaining of freedom to
keep up their old religion. Since they were not well
rooted in our holy faith, those discussions were very
agreeable to them. That faithless Indian was so
contagious a cancer that he infected the greater part
of the village with his poison. Therefore, almost all
of them assenting to his plan, the day was set on
which he resolved to kill the Spaniards and the minister. He warned the people to be ready with their
arms to aid him. He had previously held a meeting
with his Man6bos, in which they decided that if the
provincial sent a visitor and did not come personally
to make the visitation, it would be a clear sign that
the Dutch were infesting those coasts. When they
learned with certainty that the father-provincial,
Fray Bernardo de San Laurencio, had not gone out
for the visitation, but that he was sending the father