away, their hatreds and their sins increased even more. The importance of this province, which includes the major part of the territory in charge of this order in the Philipinas, makes it desirable to give some very brief notice of it.] It is a hundred and fifty leguas from Manila, and constitutes a part of the island of Luçon. The climate is one of the best in the islands, being refreshing, mild, and not so excessively hot as that of most of the other provinces which are comprised in this island. It is for this reason that it was called Nueva Segovia, after Segovia in España, which is a cool region. It is in nineteen degrees of latitude and is only sixty leguas, or a little over, from China. It accordingly resembles China somewhat in its good qualities--the abundance of fish in its rivers, of rice and other produce of the soil, of animals of the chase, and of wild boars and buffaloes in the mountains; while of Spanish plants which have been introduced here the crops obtained have been very large. In the colder regions pines and live-oaks grow naturally. The occasion which obliged the Spaniards to conquer it was an attack made upon it in 1581 by a Japanese fleet, the Japanese desiring to have control of this region because of the abundance of products which it yields that are lacking in Japon. The Spaniards who were in Manila were informed of this project, and they did not think it best that the Japanese should come so near to them, when they were so few and the Japanese were so many and so audacious; they accordingly determined to go and prevent them from entering this country. With this purpose they armed a galley and other small vessels, the expedition including only forty Spaniards. Their leader and chief was Captain Carrion, and their chaplain father Fray Christoval de Salvatierra of our order, who was the associate of the bishop, Don Fray Domingo de Salazar; he was a man of great prudence, much courage, and very superior virtue, as will be declared later. They set out from Manila on the voyage to that province; and in the bight of the cape called Cabo del Bojeador (which is close to Nueva Segovia) they found a Japanese vessel, which was prowling along the coast and pillaging it. The galley made an attack upon the Japanese ship, and with the mid-ship gun brought down its mainmast; and immediately the Spaniards, with more boldness than was expedient, bore down upon the enemy, and thrust their iron beak through his side. But they were not slow in finding out their mistake, much to their own cost; for the Japanese leaped aboard, doing much execution with their cutlasses (some of which are shaped like our cutlasses and others like broadswords), and they attacked our vessel so furiously that they got control of the deck, back to the mainmast. The Spaniards found themselves obliged to retreat to the poop, and cut the halyard of the mainsail. The sail fell down, with the yard, and served them as an intrenchment so that they could