A fleet is prepared in China against the pirate Limahon, and he retires to Tonzuacaotican, where he hears of affairs in the Felipinas. Chapter III.
Each day saw an increase of the complaints made to the king and his council by the Chinese who suffered at the hands of Limahon. For this reason, the king once more ordered the viceroy of that province in which the pirate was committing his depredations, to hasten to have this man intercepted. Within a short time, the viceroy prepared one hundred and thirty large vessels, manned by forty thousand men, all under command of a gentleman named Omoncon. This man was ordered to seek and pursue the pirate, being expressly commanded to capture or kill him, even if he should endanger his ships and men while doing it. Limahon was at once informed of all this, through certain secret friends. As he saw that the plan to pursue him was being pushed forward in all earnestness, and that he was inferior to his enemy in point of ships and men, he determined not to await the latter, but to withdraw from that coast. In his flight he betook himself to a remote island, Tonzuacaotican by name, forty leagues from the mainland, and lying in the pathway to the Felipinas. Limahon remained in this retired island with his fleet for some days, without daring to return to the mainland, for he knew that the king's fleet was guarding the coast; and although he despatched a few vessels on marauding expeditions, they did nothing of importance--returning, on the contrary, pursued by the king's powerful fleet. He made some sallies with part of his vessels from this island, robbing all the vessels that he encountered, which, with their cargoes of merchandise and other articles, were sailing between the different islands, or between the islands and the mainland. Among them he happened to meet two Chinese merchant vessels plying from Manila to China. Immediately he had the holds of these vessels searched, finding the rich cargoes that they carried, which consisted of articles of gold and Spanish reals of four to the peso, given to them in exchange for the merchandise carried by them to the islands. Limahon informed himself thoroughly of the characteristics and wealth of the land, and especially of the Spaniards in the city of Manila--who in all did not exceed seventy, because the others had left Luzon for the exploration and colonization of new islands. Then--ascertaining that these few were living without any fear of enemies, and therefore had no fort; and that their artillery, although good, was not in position, either for defense or offense--he determined to go thither with his entire fleet and following, in order to kill them; and to make himself master of the island of Manila and its environs, where he thought to be safe from the power of the king, who was trying to capture him. In accordance with this idea, he set about this enterprise with the utmost possible despatch.