there the natives cut his moorings one night, and, drawing the ship to land, entered it and pillaged whatever they wished, and treated the mandarin with contumely. In the morning, when the commandant got wind of the affair, he sent a troop of soldiers. Attacking the natives with orders not to kill them (for the soldiers shot their bullets into the sky), they captured some chiefs. Thereupon, the chiefs restored to the Chinese mandarin what they had pillaged from him; and, in order to regain their liberty, handed over to us their sons as hostages, who are being reared in our fort. Thereupon the mandarin was sent away, very thankful. An account of all this affair was sent to Manila to the governor, who immediately despatched the father-provincial of St. Dominic--who knows the Chinese language, and has tried by various ways and means for many years to enter China, but never has been able to succeed. [49] This despatch seemed now to be a good means to him--I mean to the said father-provincial--so that in company with the said commandant of the island of Hermosa, they might go to the viceroy of the maritime provinces with a very rich present of silver, cloth, and other things. Those articles were sent for that purpose so that those provinces might make a treaty with our fort on the island of Hermosa, where the said father-provincial is preparing to go with the commandant on the embassy, the result of which I shall tell next year. The aid of food and ammunition was sent to the forts which we have in the Malucas Islands this year, as usual. Three pataches went, under the command of a valiant soldier, Captain Francisco Hernandez. The Dutch had received a very large and well-equipped ship, with which they were waiting to capture our relief expedition. The two pataches easily escaped, and sought the protection of our forts. But the ship in which the said Captain Francisco Hernandez was, seeing that it could not escape, courageously went to attack the [Dutch] ship. When that was seen from our fort of Terrenate, the galley was despatched to the aid of our ship. The latter grappled with the hostile vessel and fought so courageously, that its men were about to enter the latter, when, the Dutch firing a piece, it struck in the powder which had been brought up on deck for the fight. Thereupon our vessel caught fire, and the men took to the water, and reached the shore, which was near, by swimming. The galley, which through fear of the powder of our ship which was blown up, had approached very near the enemy's ship, was capsized by all the men going to one side. Consequently, all its men took to the water in order to escape by swimming. Thus the enemy were victorious, although more of their men were killed than of ours. They tried to take the galley, notwithstanding its condition, but it sank in a few moments. That was a great misfortune. The enemy were triumphant, and made much ado about the outcome.