14 USEFUL PLANTS OF GUAM. 



darkness in the midst of an earthly paradise. An account of his life 

 and martyrdom is given in an old vellum-covered book, a in which much 

 interesting information may be found concerning the natives of Guam. 

 In it, in contrast with the barbarous cruelty with which the natives had 

 been treated by visiting Europeans, one may read of their kindness to 

 shipwrecked sailors cast upon their shores, and of the cordial reception 

 of Padre Sanvitores. They provided homes for him and his companions 

 and built for them a church. All wished to be baptized forthwith, 

 though the missionaries would at first baptize only the infants and 

 dying persons; adults in good health had to be instructed in the Chris- 

 tian doctrine before they could enjoy the privilege. 



In this book many wonderful occurrences are related stories of 

 supernatural apparitions, of miraculous cures of men possessed of the 

 devil, of lances, cast by the natives, suddenly arrested in mid-air, and 

 of stones hurled from their slings crumbling harmlessly to dust; but 

 it must not be forgotten that this was an age of marvels. The devil's 

 influence in the affairs of everyday life was recognized throughout 

 Christendom, and it is not surprising that it found its way to Guam. 

 It was to the power of the evil one over the elements that the early 

 missionaries attributed the adverse winds, which blew almost con- 

 stantly to the westward and prevented ships from sailing directly to 

 Guam from the Philippines. 



Sanvitores, "the Apostle of the Mariannes," was born in the city of 

 Burgos, in northern Spain, November 12, 1627. The history of his 

 life tells of his early boyhood, his call to the Society of Jesus and 

 ordination, his work among the poor, his journe}^ to Mexico; his 

 departure from Acapulco, April 5, 1662, for Manila; the impression 

 made upon him by the natives of Guam, whom he saw on his passage 

 across the Pacific; his efforts to be sent to them as a missionary, the 

 refusal of his superiors at Manila to grant his request, the King's 

 decree ordering the governor of the Philippines to furnish him with the 

 means of reaching the Mariannes, the building of the ship San Diego 

 at Cavite and his sailing therein to Acapulco, his appeal for aid to the 

 viceroy of Mexico, his arrival at Guam, March 3, 1668, his emotion on 

 seeing the islanders coming out to meet him, the kindness with which 

 they welcomed him to their island, the zeal with which he pursued his 

 work, the hardships which he had to endure, and his final martyrdom. 



The first serious stumbling block in the way of the missionaries was 

 a Chinaman named Choco, living in the village of Paa, at the southern 

 end of the island. This man had been shipwrecked about twenty years 

 before their arrival, and had been kindly received by the natives.. He 

 pointed out to the islanders that many children and old people had 

 died immediately after having been baptized. He spoke slightingly 

 of the padres, saying that the}^ were people despised and looked down 



Garcia, Vida y martyrio de Sanvitores, 1683. See List of works. 



