necessary
was maintained, as our men were so few, so that they should not be
killed some night. The patache set out in search of the galleons, in
the direction that had been set. But the winds were contrary in that
direction, and they were unable to make any distance. Consequently,
they had to sail with a stern wind to Manila. With their captured
reprisal they reached this city on May 14. The cargo of the Siamese
ship was unladed carefully, and it was found that it was worth about
one hundred thousand pesos. It was placed on deposit in a building and
excellent treatment is being given to the Siamese. But I think that
they will be sent to their king, so that he may return us what he took
from us, in which case we shall return what we captured from him. If
that is not done, then we shall continue to capture their ships.

When the two galleons left Manila, the governor offered to send a
patache after them to a certain place, and did so a little later;
it was under command of Don Fernando Becerra, with about sixty
men. They had bad weather. They looked for our galleons, and although
they found traces of their having been in certain parts, they did
not find the vessels. They only found a fine ship which was well
equipped with artillery, and, thinking it to be one of our galleons,
drew near it. But when quite near they saw that it was a Dutch ship,
and consequently began to retire in all haste. The ship followed
our patache, but as the latter was as swift as a bird it made so
much headway in a short time that the ship abandoned the chase
in despair. Our patache continued to retire toward Manila, where
it arrived June 6, having lost fifteen men, who died of sickness,
among them a Franciscan religious who was aboard. Consequently, our
galleons were left without any patache, for one patache came in with
the Siamese ship and the other did not find them. That was a matter
of considerable damage; for, as the galleons were so large, they
drew much water, and could not well go close to the shore in order
to secure the desired results--as we shall see during the course of
their voyage, which was as follows.

As soon as they left the patache in the said passage for the purpose
of capturing the Siamese ship, they ran along the whole coast of Asia
until they reached the island of Hainam, where the fishery of Great
China is located, a place most plentifully supplied with food. They
went to the kingdom of Champa, and anchored at Pulo Con