Death also carried away the superior who led these religious from Spain, father Fray Alonso Delgado. After he had lost so many of the subordinates whom he led, there was but little reason for his wishing to remain behind them. By his death the whole company was practically broken up, many of them having died and others being scattered among the convents of Nueva España. The rift was mended by the selection as superior of father Fray Miguel de San Jacintho, who displayed such diligence that, with the aid of the Lord, he succeeded in filling up the number of fifteen religious who had set out from España. They then set out from Mexico; and so great was their desire of serving the Lord after the manner followed by the religious of the province to which they were going (which, as has been said, is stricter than in the other provinces of the order), that when they reached the port of Acapulco they took the character of Philippine friars--gave up mattresses, and began to sleep on boards; rose at midnight to say matins, going from the convent where they were guests, to the church to say them; kept the hour of prayer immediately after; and performed the discipline observed in the islands. They embarked March 23, 1595. On board ship they followed the customs of the order as closely as possible under the circumstances. They reached the port of Manila June 12. By their coming the province felt enabled to undertake the conversion of the province of Nueva Segovia. This province alone is larger, and has more villages and a larger population than the order had previously taken under its charge in Manila and Pangasinan. Six of the religious, as has been said, were sent to Nueva Segovia, and with the others the missions to Bataan and Pangasinan were reënforced, where death had made inroads upon the number of missionaries. When these six reached Nueva Segovia, father Fray Diego de Soria and his associate were greatly delighted, having desired to enter upon the conversion of this province, but having been unable to do so because of their ignorance of the language and the fact that there were but two of them. They had hesitated the more because of the order which they had received to return to Manila if no religious came out from España, feeling that it would be unwise to begin a conversion which could not be followed up by regular instruction.] CHAPTER XXXVI The condition in which the religious found the Indians in the province