, encounters our Spaniards. Chapter VIII.

During the period of the siege, as related in the preceding
chapter, certain boats were going to and coming from the city of
Manila--distant, as I have said, but forty leagues from the mouth
of the Pangasinan River--for the purpose of bringing provisions and
other necessities for the support of the army.

It happened one day that a vessel under command of Miguel de Loarcha,
[26] having on board father Fray Martin de Herrada, provincial of the
Augustinians (who had come to Pangasinan to see the master-of-camp,
and was returning to Manila to hold a meeting of his order), met in the
island and port of Buliano, seven leagues from the Pagasinan River,
as they were going out of the port, a Sangley ship, which was about
to enter the port. Thinking it to be a hostile vessel, they bore down
upon it, together with another ship in their company. Those aboard
the ship were only the said father provincial and five other Spaniards
and the sailors. The Sangley ship, seeing them bearing down upon it,
tried to take flight; but, the contrary wind not permitting this,
as a consequence, the Spanish ships, by means of sail and oar, came
within cannon range, and even nearer, in a few moments. On one of
the Spanish ships was a Chinese named Sinsay, who had been in Manila
many times with merchants, and was very friendly and well known to the
Spaniards, and understood their language. When this man saw that the
ship was Chinese, and that, from its appearance, it was not a pirate,
he requested our men not to fire or do any damage until it was known
clearly who its occupants were. He went to the bow of the vessel and
hailed them, thus ascertaining that theirs was one of the ships of the
fleet sent by their king in search of the pirate Limahon. They had left
the fleet behind and put out to sea in order to explore those islands,
to ascertain whether the pirate were in any of them. In order to gain
this information, they were about to put in to the port of Buliano,
whence the Spaniards were coming out with two ships, and from whom
they tried to flee, fearful lest they should prove to belong to the
pirate. Thus assured on each side, the two parties joined together
in all peace and friendship. The Spaniards immediately entered a
small boat, and went over to the Chinese ship, taking with them the
said Synsay as interpreter, in order that he might talk with the
Chinese. In the ship of the latter was a man of