of-camp entrusted the chief notary, Hernando Rriquel, with the repairing of one of the ships—ordering him to have the hatchway taken out, and to send all that the ship contained to the port of Panay. Seeing that the sails, masts, and rigging of the vessels were so different from ours that none of his men had any knowledge of them, the master-of-camp thought best to ask the Chinese to send three or four of their sailors with the junk to Panay, in company with some friendly Moros of Luçon, who were with the Spaniards. The Chinese very willingly agreed to that, and provided the required men. Thus the ship was despatched with twelve Luçon Moros, four Chinese, and four Spanish soldiers of the guard.
In this river of Bato was found some green pepper[1] growing on trees as small as shrubs, with their clusters like agias. Here they learned that the town of Mindoro, which is the capital of that island, was five leagues from Bato, and that three more Chinese ships were there. They also heard that the Moros of Mindoro had made great preparations for its defense, and had provided themselves with a large number of culverins, arrows, and other offensive weapons, and were intrenched in a very strong fort. In consideration of this, and the fact that the Spaniards in this country have always desired to come in conflict with people who do not flee from them, they decided to proceed immediately to that island—although the natives of the river of Bato offered them peace, and promised to pay them two hundred gold
- ↑ Cf. Friar Odoric's description of the green pepper found in Malabar (called by the Arabs Balad-ul-Falfal, "the Pepper Country")—growing on vines which the natives plant against tall trees for support, and bearing fruit "just like bunches of grapes;" see Yule's Cathay, vol. i, pp. clxxvii, 77.
