Chap. L Ferdinand 
Covenant of Peace and Friend (hip with Ms Blood. After 
this, the King of Mejjana , the King of Zubut , and his 
Nephew, came on board the Admiral, brought him Pre- 
fents, and confirmed the League. The Admiral per- 
fuaded them to embrace the Chriftian Faith, which they 
did, after fome religious Conferences, with Pleafure, being 
all afterwards baptized. This Example of the great ones 
influenced the whole Ifland, fo that Chriftianity was uni- 
verfilly received there. When they came to the City, they 
found the King in his Palace, fitting upon a fort of fine 
Mat made of ^Date-leaves, having no Apparel but a Bom- 
bafme Cotton about his Waift : About his Head he had a 
Veil of Needle-work, and about his Neck a very coftly 
Chain, as alfo {lately jewels in his Ears : He had before 
him feveral Porcelane Veffels, fome with Eggs, and others 
full of Date-wine. T he Prince entertained them likewife 
at his Palace ; and, for their Diverfion, made his Daugh- 
ters fing and dance naked before them. One of the Spa- 
niards dying, they defired Leave of the King to bury him 
in his Land : To which the King replied very gracioufly. 
That fince he, and all his, were at the King their Mailer’s 
Devotion, much more fhould a few Feet of his Ground 
be fo, in affording a Burying-place to one of his Subjeds. 
Thefe People exercife Juftice in their Dealings with one 
another, keeping to the Ufe of Weights and Meafures. 
Their Houfes are made of Timber, raifed high upon Polls, 
fo that they go up by Stairs to them. They talk of a cer- 
tain Sort of Water-fowl in this Country, as big as a Crow, 
which they call Lughan , which the Whales fometimes 
fwallow down alive, and have their Hearts eaten up by this 
Bird ; by which means many of them are killed, and the Bird 
is afterwards found alive in the Carcafe of the Whale : The 
Skin of this Fowl is black, but the Flefh good. The 
Spaniards had a very advantageous Bartering with thofe 
People, they giving them Ten Pefbs of Gold (a Ducat 
and half each) for Fourteen Pounds Weight of Iron, befides 
all forts of Provifions for very Trifles. The baptizing of 
thofe Princes was performed with very great Solemnity, the 
Ordnance being all difcharged •, which the Admiral told 
the King beforehand, to prevent his being furprifed. The 
King of Zubut was named Charles , and the Prince Ferdi- 
nando the former of thofe Names being the Emperor’s, 
and the latter his Brother’s. The King of Mejfana was 
named John, and the Moorifa Courtier Chrijlopher : Be- 
fides the Princes and great Men, there were Five hundred 
of inferior Rank baptized at the fame time. All the Idols 
Were broken, and the Crofs fet up in divers Places, which 
the Admiral engaged them to pray very devoutly before, 
Morning and Evening : The Queen was baptized too at 
the fame time, with Forty of her Ladies, and her Daugh- 
ter the Prince’s Wife : She was young and handfome, 
her Body covered with a white Cloth, and her Head adorned 
with a fort of a triple Crown made of Date-leaves : After 
Mafs was ended, the King and Court dined in the Ad- 
miral’s Ship, in Honour of whom all the great Ordnance 
were difcharged. In Eight Days time moll of the Eland 
became Chriftians, except one Village of Idolaters, who 
would not obey the King’s Command in this Matter : The 
Spaniards therefore burnt the Village, and erected a Crofs 
upon the Ruins of it ; and, to fhew the good and advan- 
tageous Effefts of Chriftianity amongft the People that had 
embraced it, a very miraculous Cure was wrought upon the 
King of Zubut 9 s Brother, upon his receiving Baptifm. 
The Admiral, it feems, pawned his Head for his imme- 
diate Recovery, if he would fubmit to this facred Rite, 
and break all his Idols. And they who record thefe Tranf- 
aclions fay, that the Admiral did fave his Pawn, the Prince 
perfectly recovering of iris Malady foon after he was thus 
initiated into the Chriftian Religion. 
i-4* Not far from Zubut lies the. Ele of Mathan , the 
Inhabitants of which go quite naked, except a flight Co- 
vering over the Pudenda, at which Part all the Males, both 
great and final!, hang certain Gold Rings, the Skin 
being pierced for that Purpofe : They take as many Wives 
as they pleaie, one or which only has the Government of 
the Houle, i hey ufe very odd Ceremonies in their Sa- 
crifices to the Sun ; they begin with ringing Bells, then 
they fpread a Cloth upon the Ground , upon which are fet 
certain Platters with Honey, Rice, and roaft Fillies. The 
Magellan. if 
Sacrifice they offer is an Hog, and the Managers of the 
Ceremony are Two old Women, Who fing and dance 
about the Animal, and found Trumpets made of Reeds. 
They mumble out certain Prayers to the Stin ; and, after 
feveral antic and ridiculous Geftiires, they pour a Cup of 
Wine upon the Flog : One of the venerable Priefteffes 
ftrikes the fatal Blow with a Lance, and then puts a lighted 
Lamp into the Creature’s Mouth, which continues burn- 
ing all the Time of the Ceremony : The other dips the 
Reed Trumpet in theBlobd, and with her Finger befmears 
her Husband’s Forehead, and then the Foreheads of the 
reft of the Men who affift at the Sacrifice : When they have 
done, they difrobe themfelves of their prieftly Attire, and 
fall to eating the Honey, Rice, and Fifh, in which only 
Women partake with them : As for the Flefh of the Hog, 
that is not to be touched, till the Two Priefteffes have 
craved a Bleffmg on it. As for their Funerals, their Ce- 
remonies are almoft as extravagant as thofe of their Sacri- 
fices : When a Man of Figure dies, all the chief Women 
go to his Houfe, and carry Boughs with Pieces of Cot- 
ton in them, which they fallen about the Corps ; they fit 
round it cloathed in white Cotton, fanning themfelves with 
Branches of Palm, the Room being incenfed with Myrrh 
and Storax all the while : Then a Perfon comes, and cuts 
off the Hair of the Deceafed by little and little ; and, at 
the fame time, his chief Wife lies upon his dead Body with 
her Face, Hands, and Feet to his, crying and lamenting 
while his Hair is cut off ; but fhe changes her Funeral 
Notes into a merry Song when the other has done cutting : 
The Ceremony lafts Five Days, after which they indole 
the Corpfe in a Dormitory built of Wood, and made very 
fall on every fide. 
15. This Ele of Mathan was governed by Two Kings; 
one of which refufing to pay Tribute to the King of Spain, the 
Admiral went out to reduce him. The Indian had between 
Six and Seven thoufand Men furnifhed with Bows and Ar- 
rows, Darts and Javelins, which Army the Admrial at- 
tacked with Sixty of his Spaniards , armed with Coats of 
Mail and Helmets. The Battle was for a long time doubt- 
ful : At laft the Admiral’s Heat and Courage carrying him 
too far amongft the Barbarians, he was there firft wounded 
with a poifoned Arrow, and afterwards thruft into the Head 
with a Lance, which ended the Life and Adlions of tMs 
noble Commander. About Eight or Nine of his' Men 
were (lain, and about Fifteen of the Enemy, befides many 
wounded. The Spaniards would very willingly have re- 
deemed the Body of their Admiral, but the Indians would 
not confent to it upon any Terms. This, however, was 
but the Beginning of their Misfortunes ; for the King, as 
he had embraced their Religion without underftanding it, 
abandoned it upon this Change in their Circumftances ; 
and made Peace with his Rival, notwithftandingoneof the 
Articles infilled on was, that all the Strangers fhould be 
inftantly put to Death. The barbarous Monarch was fen- 
fible enough, that by Force he fhould never be able to exe- 
cute this infamous Article, and therefore he had recourfe 
to Fraud. With this View, he invited all the Spaniards , 
that were on Shore, to a fumptuous Entertainment ; and 
there, in the midft of their Feafting, he directed them to 
be moft cruelly murdered, referving only Don Juan Serrano 
alive, in order to have procured a Supply of Artillery and 
Ammunition by way of Ranfom for him. With this De- 
mand of his the Spaniards would willingly have complied, 
but found fomuch Prevarication and Treachery in his Ma- 
nagement, and, at the fame time, were fo much intimi- 
dated by the Fate of their Companions, that they refolved 
to break off the Treaty, and put to Sea. The unfortunate 
Serrano , when he faw them about to weigh their Anchors, 
threw himfelf on his Knees ; and, in the moft moving 
Terms, begged of them not to leave him in the Hands of 
fo bafe a People : But their Fears, or rather their Care for 
their own Prefervation, made them deaf to his Intreaties, 
efpecialiy when, on a Mufter, they found their whole Force 
confifted but of Eighty Men, that their Ships were in a 
miferable Condition, and that, in order to have a Proba- 
bility of returning Home, it would be neceffary to deftroy 
One Ship, to make ufe of her Stores and Materials in re- 
pairing the other Two. What the Fate was of Serrano , 
after their Departure, is not known ; but it is certain, the 
Lofs 
