Although those Indians have their kind of rank, since some are chiefs, and others not, and there are others who are descended from slaves, yet notwithstanding that they have no obedience one for the other. The poor man does not obey the rich, nor does the chief have any authority over him who is not a chief. Those who are obeyed (although but little) are the old men, when they assemble as if in council or meeting of the old men. But, in private no one dares to order another one, neither the chief him who is not a chief, nor the rich man the poor man; for here every one is master of his own will, and each one thinks that he is greater than his neighbor. Their method of governing is by fear, and accordingly each one tries to make the others fear him more than any other. In order to accomplish that each one endeavors to beat the others in committing murders, so that the others may fear him. They commit those murders by treachery. In order that the relatives of the murdered man may not slay the murderer, the latter pays such and such a sum of gold to the kindred of the murdered person, according to the rank of the deceased. For if such deceased was a chief or had many kin, his murder costs more and is redeemed by a greater sum. The lowest price with which a murder is generally redeemed is five taes of gold. If the murderer has no gold, he redeems the said murder with silver at the rate of eight pesos per tae of gold, although gold is valued at ten pesos per tae among those Indians; for it is very low grade gold, and as I have heard said does not reach fourteen carats. The little gold that they do possess is much adulterated with silver, copper, and bronze. But if the said murderer has no gold or silver with which to redeem the murder that he committed, he goes to the mountain and deceives some black or steals him and drags him to his ranchería, and delivers him to the relatives of the murdered man so that they may slay the said black. There is [no] great difficulty in this for in mountains there they have many acquaintances among the blacks. Those blacks are not without their enemies in some rancherías of the blacks themselves, where they go to make the seizure. And since the blacks are very revengeful in taking vengeance on their enemies, they aid the Zambals to capture them. The Zambal gives the black, whose services he has used for that purpose, some arrows or machetes.