1624) EARLY RECOLLECT MISSIONS 231 fortress, and, recognizing that it was the devil who had maltreated him, they summoned father Fray Benito de Santa Monica, a native of Sevilla, and a powerful minister, who had grace to cast out devils. The father began the exorciems of the church; and the evil spirit talked —a thing that he had not done before - and said many things in many languages. Consequently, the father ordered him not to talk unless he were questioned ; the spirit obeyed, and, finally urged by the exorcisms, made known all the said trick, and left the body of the soldier. The next night the devils entered into eight sol- diers, afflicting them with the same accidental mad- ness as the other. Thus did they continue to multi- ply their cases of possession, to the great fear of all the others. And although our religious did not cease in their exorcisms and prayers, the infernal spirits were stubborn and pertinacious. Fears grew greater when legions of devils were seen in the air at night in most horrible guise. On that account the most holy sacrament was exposed in the fort. Yielding to its sovereign presence, the demons fled in confusion to their eternal dungeons, with the ruin of their de- ceits; for the Catholics mended their lives, the faith was confirmed, and the infidels were more inclined to receive it. §x Preaching of Ours in the river of Cagalang Let us leave those islands for a moment and re- turn to Mindanao, where Ours were feryently at- tending to their ministry. After having put Chris- tianity on the best footing possible along the shores of Butuan, they went forty leguas farther on by sea, to look for another river called Cagaiang, as they232 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS [Vol. a1 had been told that its inhabitants were a people more docile than the other inhabitants, in order to en- lighten them with the light of the gospel. The lord of that land was an Indian named Salangsang. He lived on a steep and inaccessible rock, which is a peninsula called Himologan. It had no other ap- proaches or mode of ascent than certain ladders made of rattans [bexucos], which resemble strong osiers. ‘When those were removed it was fortified and pro- tected from the invasions of enemies. The customs of those people are like those related of the inhab- itants of Caraghas. The path opened for that under- taking was that Dofia Magdalena Bacuya, a Chris- tian Indian woman (the grandmother of the above mentioned Indian, Salangsang), being moved by zeal for the honor of God, and compassion for the blindness of those people, went to see her grandson. Although with difficulty, she succeeded in gaining admittance for our ministers, who were at that time staying at the island of Camigui without being able to accomplish that which they wished. Finally, fathers Fray Juan de San Nicolas and Fray Fran- cisco de la Madre de Dios arrived there [at Himo- logan], and found the chief in the presence of five hundred Indians who lived in that place, That site, perched on its summit, was a very agreeable resi- dence capacious enough for that people to live in a house resembling a cloister, so large that they lived in it with all their families. These had communica- tion on the inside, while it was strongly enclosed on the outside. In the middle of it was the. divatahan or temple dedicated to the devil. It was a little house and dirty, as was he who was worshiped there. The prince received the ministers with some show of af-1624] EARLY RECOLLECT MISSIONS 233 fection, for he gave them a little buffet on the cheek, as a sign that he received them as friends. ‘Those people wondered at seeing those ministers in their lands, and joked about them, taking them for madmen, since they entered without weapons or other defense, to seek their death. But as those fathers had God on their side, whose cause they were serving, His sovereign Majesty ordained that the chief, showing them kindness, should give them a small corner in his house, so that they might live securely, although very uncomfortably. For no one gave them anything, and, in order to live, they had to go fishing and to carry wood and water on their backs. They suffered considerably from that, but in joy and gladness, for they were serving the Lord, to whom they were attempting to offer those bar- barous people by rheans of the preaching of the faith. The fathers obtained permission to celebrate the holy mystery of the mass, although it had to be done outside that rock, the dwelling-place of the Indians. They selected the shore of a small river near the sea. There with their own hands they raised an oratory and an altar, where they celebrated mass with great labor, because they had to carry on their shoulders all the things necessary for the work, without any one aiding them. Then they went up and locked themselves in their little lodging, which served them as cell and choir, going out only to discuss with the leading Indians the knowledge of the true God. By that good example, they steadily gained great love, and the people presented to them some food. Ours repaid them by fervently preaching our holy faith to them. The Indians brought their little children so