and silken fabrics of many different kinds. They hold gold in so little estimation that this king gave three barchillas[1] of gold dust (for there all their gold is in the form of dust) for one string of hawk's bells. Those three vessels loaded so much gold in that island that the king's fifth amounted to one million two hundred thousand ducats. ¶Moros frequent that district in ships for purposes of trade, bartering the products of their country for gold, cloths, spices, cloves, and other articles. The fleet encountered one of their vessels and captured it, although its occupants defended themselves so valiantly that one of the Spaniards was killed, and more than twenty wounded. They had much gold, cloth, besides spices, which they had acquired in trade. So many are the islands that they are said to number seventy-five thousand eight hundred. That island of Iubu, where the colony was planted, is the place where Magallanes was killed.[2] It is said that the Portuguese with some caravels landed there about two years ago, claiming to be Spaniards and subjects of the king of Castilla, and plundered many islands, sacking them and seizing many of the natives. Consequently, when those people heard that our fleet had been made ready in Nueva España, our men were held in bad repute among the natives of that region. Therefore when our men arrived, the inhabitants, thinking them to be the Portuguese, fled to the moun-
- ↑ A measure for grain containing one-third of a fanéga.
- ↑ An error naturally made, in those early days of acquaintance with the Philippines, since the island of Mactan (Matan), where Magalhães was slain, lies near the coast of Cebú. According to the U. S. Philippine Gazetteer (p. 69), the archipelago comprises twelve principal islands and three groups, with one thousand five hundred and eighty-three dependent islands.
