GUAM AND IT« PEOPLE. 50B 



7o to SO ponnds cacli. At this time it was cultivated in many places 

 oil the island, which iiulK-atcs no little industry and ontci'priso on the 

 part of the natives. I dwell, on this point because the aborigines of 

 Guam have been described as very indolent and of the lowest order 

 of civilization, iotK)rant even of the art of making tire. Surely tlie 

 people who constructed such marvelous "flying praos."" who dw(dt in 

 commodious and well-l)uilt houses, and who carried on the art of agri- 

 culture to the extent indicated by the narratives of the early expedi- 

 tions of the Dutch, can not be classified as al)|ect savages. e\'en though 

 their bodies were covered )>y very scant clothing. If encounters took 

 place betwe(Mi them and the crews of visiting ships — and these crews, 

 fresh from pillaging the coast of South America and accustomed to 

 deeds of violence and nuirder, were in all prol)ability far from gentle 

 in their treatment of the natives — they were designated as miserable 

 infidels, to ''slay" whom was a legitimate pastime; while, if a Euro- 

 pean was killed l)y one of them, without investigating the cause, he 

 was declared to have ])een murdered, and his death was avenged by 

 the burning of villages, ))oats, and boathouses, and by killing men, 

 women, and children." They were branded with the name "Lad rones" 

 for stealing a boat and some bits of iron; yi^t the Spaniards did not 

 hesitate to steal human l)eings to sei've as slaves at their pumps.'' 



Arriral of Jcxu'ii ni/N.s/ti/Kir/ex. — For nearl}' a centurv and a half after 

 the discovery no attiMupt was luade to colonize the island. Spanish gal- 

 leons on their annual trips from New Spain to the Philippines stopped 

 regularly at Guam for fresh water and provisions. On one of these a 

 Jesuit priest, Padre Diego Luis de Sanvitores, was passenger. His 

 heart was moved with pity for the natives living in spiritual darkness 

 in this earthly paradise, and when he reached Manila he begged that 

 he might be sent to them as a missionary. His request was refused, 

 and it was not until he succeeded in getting a direct order from the 

 King. Phili)) IV, that his wish was realized. A ship was ])uilt at 

 Cavite, and Padre Diego was sent, together with several companions, 

 to carry the faith to the Ladrones. 



He arrived at Agafia on March 3, 1(3()8, the ship having first pro- 

 ceeded to Acapulco, Mexico, as was the custom, owing to the easterl}^ 

 wdnds and the cui-rents wdiich prevail in the latitude of Guam. 

 Sanvitores was full of zeal jind woi'ked with phenomenal success 

 among the nati\'es. They received him with great kindness, giving 

 him a dwelling })lace and l)uilding for him a church at Agana. Let- 

 ters written by him to his superiors are full of interesting informa- 

 tion concerning the nativ(\'^. He tells of their great regard for caste 

 distinctions, their \eneration for the bones of th(>ir dead, their 



"See narrative oftlie expedition under Miguef Lopez TiCjiaHpi, wliicli visited (Juam 

 in 1565. 



^'Burney, Narrative of the Loaysa I'lxpcdition, 152(1, vol. 1, p. 217. 



