Page:The Philippine Islands, 1493-1803 (Volume 02).djvu/87

 viceroy, so that he may arrange what is most suitable according to his orders." (Tomo ii, no. xvi, pp. 118, 119.)

Nueva España, February 9, 1561. The viceroy writes to the king concerning the fleet. Two ships and one small vessel are being built, and will be provisioned for the trip to the Western Islands and the return to New Spain. They will be fully equipped by about the end of the present year. "It is necessary that your majesty have two pilots sent me for this expedition—men skilled and experienced in this navigation of the Ocean Sea; for, although I have three, I need two more, so that they may go two and two in the ships. … I have appointed Miguel Lopez de Legazpi, a native of the province of Lepuzcua, and a well-known gentleman of the family of Lezcano, as the general and leader of those embarking in these vessels—who all told, soldiers, sailors, and servants, number from two hundred and fifty to three hundred people. He is fifty years old and has spent more than twenty-nine years in this Nueba España. He has given a good account of the offices he has held, and of the important affairs