The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898, Volume 43, 1670-1700 by Unknown

Author:Unknown
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Nonfiction, History
ISBN: 1230000127257
Publisher: cbook
Published: 2013-04-24T04:00:00+00:00

Letter from Father Quirico More, to the Father Superior of the Mission

Davao, January 20, 1885.

Pax Christi.

My well beloved in Christ, the Father Superior:

Several times I have designed to address your Reverence in regard to the Moros of this gulf, but after the observation of your Reverence of the second of last December, I have been unwilling to postpone longer to set about this matter.

I have read some statistical works, both official and semi-official, which treat of the population54 of this gulf, and I have noticed that in general more importance is given to the Moros of this district than is theirs, and a greater number of people than in reality exists. The reason for this general error lies in the fact that the Moros quite regularly live along the coasts and at the mouths of the large rivers, while the heathens of other races live as a general rule in the interior of the island. Consequently, the Moros form, as it were, a sort of barrier or screen which prevents the heathens from being seen, and worse yet, hinders us from becoming acquainted with them, and alluring and gaining them for God and the fatherland. That would be easy of attainment, if once this phantom of the Moros were laid. That can be easily attained if one remembers what the Moros of Dávao are, whom I shall endeavor to show forth in this letter.

We are making a bit of history, as one commonly says. Shortly before the conquest, which was concluded by Don José Oyangúren55 in the year 1848, the pontin56 “San Rufo,” which had been equipped by one of the commercial houses of Manila, had come to Dávao. The captain and second officer of the said boat were Spaniards, and in addition they were accompanied by an Italian who was a private trader. They had a letter of recommendation from the sultan of Mindanao, for the datos of the sea of Dávao, which charged those datos to receive those of the “San Rufo” as friends. The Moros of this place pretended to respect the letter of the sultan, and engaged in trade with the men of the boat, offering them friendship and a considerable quantity of wax in exchange for their effects. But taking advantage of the opportunity, when the majority of the crew were some distance from the boat fishing with the ship’s skiff, the Moros presented themselves armed with krises, spears, and balaraos, bringing with them, in order to conceal their mischievous intentions, considerable wax for barter. The interpreter informed the captain that so many Moros, so well armed on an occasion when there were scarcely any men in the boat gave rise to suspicions regarding their intentions. The captain replied that he did not fear the Moros. The pilot remonstrated, saying that it would not do any harm to take a few precautions. To this the captain replied: “Are you afraid of the Moros?” “Although we do not fear them,” added the pilot, “that is no reason why we should scorn the advice of the interpreter.

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