[79] Pedro de Almonte Vérastegui, of Sevilla, was a brave soldier, who served as general and sargento-mayor, and admiral of an expedition against Maluco. He was especially distinguished for his honesty and uprightness. In Sibuguey he attained equal merit with Corcuera, and in 1638 conquered Joló. Diego Fajardo assigned him the encomienda of Lorenzo Cañete, left vacant (July 1, 1645), by the death of the latter's son. (Pastells and Retana's Combés, col. 695.) Almonte Vérastegui has often been mentioned in this series. [80] The Chinese, during the Spanish régime of the Philippines, were allowed to smoke opium under certain rules; but its use was prohibited to the natives, although it was at times used secretly. (Pastells and Retana's Combés, col. 781.) [81] The former officer of the crown of Aragon, who was assigned to duty immediate to the king's person. He enjoyed several privileges, one of them being to hold the royal sword naked in public ceremonies. (Dominguez, Diccionario nacional.) [82] The arms of the natives of Mindanao, like their clothes, are manufactured by themselves. The spears and campilans are said to be finely tempered. They themselves adjust the dies for their pataquias. The sheaths, like the hafts of their krises, are of gold richly engraved. The haft of the kris used by Dato Ayuman of Tabiran was of solid gold, and was engraved with sentences from the Koran in Arabic characters. The usual weapons are: campilans, krises (straight and wavy), machetes, bolos, ligdaos, súndanes, various kinds of spears, balaraos, and badis. They use coats-of-mail made of brass, tortoise-shell, malibago [-bark], or very thick cloth, or long sashes wound about the breast. Spears and arrows are generally poisoned with the resin of the tree called quemandag or the poison of red ants or scorpions; and the points of their daggers and balaraos are also poisoned. They also use darts made of steel, iron, bone, palm-wood and bamboo. For defense they construct traps, dig pits, and set bamboo points. They use also various kinds of lantacas and other kinds of firearms, with which the Chinese supply them, or which they manufacture themselves. These were considered contraband of war during the Spanish régime. (Pastells and Retana's Combés, col. 782.) [83] Juan José Delgado was a native of Cadiz; the time of his birth is not known. In 1711 he left Spain for Filipinas, and perhaps remained for some time in Mexico: it is probable that he reached Filipinas as early as 1717. He seems to have spent most of his life in the Visayan Islands--Sámar, Cebú, Leyte, etc.--but to have visited most of the peoples in the archipelago at some time or other. His Historia was written during the years 1751-54; the date of his death is not known. See sketch of his life in the Historia (Manila, 1892), pp. x-xi.