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There Dona Ysabel Barreto married Don Fernando de Castro, and returned to Nueva Espana in his ship, the "San Geronymo," in the year ninety-six. The events of this voyage have been only lightly touched upon here, so that it seems fitting to reproduce literally the relation, to which Don Pedro Fernandez de Quiros, chief pilot on this voyage, affixed his signature, which is as follows.
He took four ships, two large ones a flagship and an almiranta a frigate, and a galliot, with four hundred men in all. He was also accompanied by his wife, Dona Ysabel Barreto and his three brothers-in-law. The adelantado, two of his brothers-in-law, and many of his people died there.
Dona Ysabel Barreto abandoned the colony, on account of sickness and want, and embarked the survivors aboard her flagship, frigate, and galliot. But while they were sailing toward the Filipinas the frigate and galliot disappeared in another direction. The flagship entered the river of Butuan, in the island of Mindanao, and reached Manila after great want and suffering.
They had said they were acting in accordance with directions given them by Queen Barreto, and that, having brought us to the mouth of the caves, their mission ended.
I was greatly surprised, however, upon entering the harbour to see the Spanish frigate, upon which Donna Isabel Barreto had decamped with the gold taken front the island of Armenio, at anchor close to the shore. What could have brought the frigate here, and kept her here for so long a time since I had last seen her at Sumatra, I was at a loss to understand.
He seemed to regret the well-deserved fate which had overtaken Donna Isabel Barreto, and he would have asked nothing better than to set off on a voyage of discovery in search of her. So it was with subdued and chastened spirits that Hartog and I arrived at Amsterdam, where it was arranged that Hartog should dispose of our rich cargo and apportion the profits of the venture.
The story that Donna Isabel had to tell was one confided to her by her late husband, Captain Barreto, which she had kept locked in her memory ever since, waiting for some such opportunity as the present, when the information she possessed might be turned to account.
On landing we stepped forward as the leaders of our expedition, when we were greeted with the most extravagant demonstrations of delight at our arrival, and were presently conducted by some of those whom we took to be in authority to one of the flat-roofed stone houses, somewhat larger than the others, where Donna Isabel Barreto, the ruler of the settlement, graciously welcomed us.
It was now brought home to me that Donna Isabel Barreto was henceforth to play no unimportant part in the prosecution of our voyage. She had recovered her good looks, and although she was older than any of us on board the "Golden Seahorse", and probably ten years older than Hartog, she nevertheless exerted an influence over the captain which I could see he found it impossible to resist.
As soon as it was known in Europe that Father Xavier was dead, they began to speak of his canonization. And on this account, Don John the Third, King of Portugal, gave orders to the viceroy of the Indies, Don Francis Barreto, to make a verbal process of the life and miracles of the man of God.
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