The Philippine Islands Part 51

The Americans resumed the aggressive against the insurgents, and an expedition of 1,509 men and two mountain-guns was fitted out under the command of General Lawton to proceed up the Pasig River into the Lake of Bay in order to capture Santa Cruz at the eastern extremity. The expedition presented a curious sight; it comprised 15 native barges or "cascoes" towed by seven tugs. Some of the craft ran aground at Napindan, the entrance to the lake, and delayed the little flotilla until daylight. The barges ahead had to wait for the vessels lagging behind. Then a mist came over the sh.o.r.e, and there was another halt. A couple of miles off an insurgent steamer was sighted, but it pa.s.sed on. Finally Santa Cruz was reached; 200 sharpshooters were landed under cover of the launch guns, and fighting continued all the afternoon until nightfall. Early in the morning the town was attacked, the church situated in the centre was captured, and the American loss was only six men wounded; the insurgents were driven far away, leaving 68 dead on the field, and a large number of wounded, whilst hundreds were taken prisoners.

On April 12, at the request of the Spanish General Rios, [210] the gunboat _Yorktown_ was despatched to Baler, on the east coast of Luzon, to endeavour to rescue a party of 80 Spanish soldiers, three officers, and two priests who were holding out against 400 insurgents. These natives, who were all armed with Mauser rifles, laid in ambush, and surprised the landing-party under Lieutenant Gilmore. The whole party was captured by the insurgents, who were afterwards ordered to release them all. General Aguinaldo was always as humanely disposed as the circ.u.mstances of war would permit, and, at the request of the commissioners for the liberation of the Spanish prisoners, he gave this little band of 83 heroes and two priests their liberty under a decree so characteristic of Philippine imitative genius in its pompous allusion to the Spanish glorious past that it is well worth recording. [211]

General Lawton a.s.serted that 100,000 men would be required to conquer the Philippines, but they were never sent, because there was always an influential group of optimists who expected an early collapse of the insurgent movement. General Otis sent frequent cablegrams to Washington expressing his belief that the war would soon come to an end. However, in April, 1899, 14,000 regular troops were despatched to the Islands to reinforce the Volunteer regiments. It was a wise measure taken not too soon, for it was clear that a certain amount of discontent had manifested itself among the Volunteers. Moreover, the whole management of the Philippine problem was much hampered by an anti-annexation movement in America which did not fail to have its influence on the Volunteers, many of whom were anxious to return home if they could. Senator h.o.a.r and his partisans persistently opposed the retention of the Islands, claiming that it was contrary to the spirit of the American Const.i.tution to impose a government upon a people against its will. American sentiment was indeed becoming more and more opposed to expansion of territorial possession beyond the continent, in view of the unsatisfactory operations in the Philippines--a feeling which was, however, greatly counterbalanced by a recognition of the political necessity of finishing an unpleasant task already begun, for the sake of national dignity.

About this time the Philippine envoy, Felipe Agoncillo, was in Paris as president of a _junta_ of his compatriots. Some of the members were of opinion that they ought to negotiate for peace directly with the American Secretary of State, but Agoncillo so tenaciously opposed anything short of sovereign Philippine independence that some of the members withdrew and returned to the Islands. A year later I found Agoncillo of exactly the same intransigent persuasion.

At the end of April the Americans suffered a severe reverse at Guingua (Bulacan), where Major Bell, with 40 cavalrymen, came across a strong outpost from which the enemy fired, killing one and wounding five men. With great difficulty the dead and wounded were carried back under fire, and it was found that the enemy occupied a big trench encircling three sides of a paddy-field bordering on a wood. As the Americans retreated, the insurgents crept up, aided by a mist, to within short range and fired another volley. Major Bell sent for reinforcements, and a battalion of infantry was soon on the scene, but their advance was checked by the continuous firing from the trenches. Artillery was on the way, but the insurgents were not disposed to charge the Americans, who lay for two hours under cover of a rice-field embankment in a broiling hot sun. One man died of sunstroke. Finally a second battalion of infantry arrived under the command of Colonel Stotsenberg, who was very popular with his men. He was received with cheers, and immediately ordered a charge against the enemy in the trenches; but whilst leading the attack he was shot in the breast, and died immediately. Within short range of the trenches Lieutenant Sisson fell, shot through the heart. By this time the artillery had arrived, and sh.e.l.led the trenches. The insurgents, however, held their position well for a time, until the infantry was close up to them, when, following their usual tactics, they ran off to another trench a mile or so away. The total American losses that day were two officers and four privates killed, and three officers and 40 men wounded.

Spanish prisoners released by the Filipinos declared that the insurgents had 50,000 rifles and 200 pieces of artillery captured from the Spaniards, ample ammunition manufactured at two large factories up country, and occasional fresh supplies of war-material shipped from China by Chinese, European, and American merchants. The preparations made to dislodge Aguinaldo and his main army, entrenched and sheltered by fortifications at Calumpit, were now completed, and General McArthur's division steadily advanced. The flower of the insurgent army was there, well armed and supplied with artillery and shrapnel sh.e.l.l. Commanded by General Antonio Luna, they were evidently prepared to make at Calumpit the bold stand which was expected of them at Malolos. The transport difficulties were very great, and as General McArthur approached, every foot of ground was disputed by the enemy. Bridges had been broken down, and the guns had to be hauled through jungle and woods under a scorching sun. Many buffaloes succ.u.mbed to the fatigue, and hundreds of Chinamen were employed to do their work. The Bagbag River was reached, but it had to be crossed, and the pa.s.sage cost the Americans six men killed and 28 wounded. The Bagbag River was well fortified, and the Americans had to attack its defenders from an open s.p.a.ce. There were trenches at every approach; enormous pieces of rock had been dislodged and hauled down towards the breastworks of the trenches to form cover. The armoured train, pushed along the railway by Chinamen, then came into action, and its quick-firing guns opened the a.s.sault on the enemy's position. Six-pounders were also brought into play; the insurgents were gradually receding; artillery was wheeled up to the river bank and a regular bombardment of the bridge ensued. The trenches were sh.e.l.led, and the insurgents were firing their guns in the direction of the armoured train, but they failed to get the range. Meantime, a company of the Kansas Regiment made a bold charge across a paddy-field and found shelter in a ditch, whence they kept up a constant fire to divert the enemy's attention whilst Colonel Eunston, the commander of the regiment, with a lieutenant and four men, crept along the girders of the bridge. The enemy, however, got the range and bullets were flying all around them, so they slid down the bridge-supports, dropped into the river, and swam to the opposite sh.o.r.e. Scrambling up the bank, revolvers in hand, they reached the trenches just as the insurgents were hurriedly evacuating them. Indeed, the Filipinos' defence of their trenches was extremely feeble during the whole battle. On the other hand, for the first time, the insurgents ventured out into the open against the Americans. General Antonio Luna, the Commander-in-Chief, could be seen galloping furiously along the lines exhorting his men to hold their ground, and he succeeded in deploying them into an extended line of battle to receive the enemy's onslaught. The insurgents kept up a desultory fire whilst the troops forded the river, and then they were pursued and driven off to the outskirts of the town. The flames rising from several buildings appeared to indicate an intention on the part of the insurgents to abandon their stronghold. Simultaneously, Generals Hale and Wheaton were coming forward with their columns, each having had some hard fighting on the way. The junction of forces was effected; a fierce fire was poured into the trenches; General Hale and his men made a dash across a stream, up to their waists in water; the Utah men followed with their batteries, cheering and dragging their field-pieces with desperate energy to the opposite bank; the enemy gave way, and the armoured train crossed the bridge. The total American loss that day did not exceed nine in killed and wounded, whilst the insurgent losses were at least 70. During the night the engineers repaired the Bagbag bridge for the rest of the troops to pa.s.s, and fighting was resumed at six o'clock in the morning. The deserted trenches were occupied by the Americans to pick off any insurgents who might venture out into the open. A general a.s.sault by the combined columns was then made on the town, which was captured, whilst the bulk of the insurgents fled in great confusion towards the hills. The few who lingered in the trenches in the northern suburbs of the town were sh.e.l.led out of them by the American artillery placed near the church, and the survivors decamped, hotly pursued for some distance by cavalry. So great was the slaughter that the insurgents'

total losses are unknown. The trenches were choked with dead bodies, and piles of them were found in many places. When nightfall came and the Americans were resting in Calumpit after their two days'

hard fighting, the whole district was illuminated for miles around by the flames from the burning villages and groups of huts, whilst the snapping of the burning bamboos echoed through the stillness like volleys of rifle-shots.

Aguinaldo and his Government had hastened north towards Tarlac, and on April 28 he instructed General Antonio Luna to discuss terms of peace. Ostensibly with this object the general sent Colonel Manuel Arguelles with his aide-de-camp and an orderly to the American camp at Apalit (Pampanga). These men were seen coming down the railway-track carrying a white flag. An officer was sent out to meet them, and after handing their credentials to him they were forthwith conducted to General Wheaton's headquarters. General Wheaton sent them on to General McArthur, the chief commander of the Northern Division, and General McArthur commissioned Major Mallory to escort them to General Otis in Manila. They explained that they were empowered to ask for an armistice for a few days as it was proposed to summon their Congress for May 1 to discuss the question of peace or war. General Otis replied that he did not recognize the Philippine Republic, and that there would be no cessation of hostilities until his only terms were complied with, namely, unconditional surrender. The negotiations were resumed the next day, and Arguelles seemed personally inclined to meet the American view of the situation; but as his powers were limited to asking for an armistice, he and his companions returned to the insurgent camp with General Otis's negative answer. On his return to the camp Colonel Arguelles was accused of being an "Americanista"

in favour of surrender, for which offence a court-martial pa.s.sed sentence upon him of expulsion from the insurgent army and 12 years'

imprisonment. Whatever Arguelles' personal conviction may have been matters little, but in the light of subsequent events and considering the impetuous, intransigent character of General Antonio Luna, it is probable that Arguelles was really only sent as a spy.

On May 5 General McArthur's division advanced to Pampanga Province, and Santo Tomas and San Fernando were taken without loss. A portion of the latter place had been burnt by the retreating insurgents, and the townspeople fled leaving their household goods behind them. Generals Hale and Lawton were following up, and on the way Baliuag (Bulacan) was occupied and immense stores of foodstuffs were seized from the insurgents and private owners. The booty consisted of about 150,000 bushels of rice and over 250 tons of sugar. In other places on the way large deposits of food fell into American hands. The men of the Nebraska Regiment considered they had had sufficient hard work for the present in long marching, continual fighting, and outpost duty. They therefore pet.i.tioned General McArthur to relieve them temporarily from duty to recuperate their strength. There was no doubting their bravery, of which they had given ample proof; they had simply reached the limit of physical endurance. The hospitals were already full of soldiers suffering as much from sunstroke as from wounds received in battle. Consequently some of the regular regiments who had been doing guard duty in the capital were despatched to the front. In the following July the Nebraska Volunteer Regiment was one of those sent back to the United States.

On May 19 another party of insurgent officers presented themselves to the military authorities alleging that they had fuller powers than Arguelles possessed and were prepared to make peace proposals. Everything was discussed over again; but as General Otis's unalterable demand for unconditional surrender was already well known, one can only conclude that the insurgent commissioners were also spies sent to gauge the power and feeling of the Americans, for they promised to return within three weeks and then disappeared indefinitely.

On May 22 more peace commissioners were sent by Aguinaldo. They were received by the Schurman Commission of Inquest, who communicated to them a scheme of government which they had had under consideration in agreement with President McKinley. The proposed plan embodied the appointment of a Gov.-General, who would nominate a Cabinet to act with him. The President of the United States was to appoint the judges. The Cabinet members and the judges might be all Americans, or all Filipinos, or both. Moreover, there was to be an Advisory Council elected by popular vote. This liberal scheme was, however, abandoned, as its proposal seemed to have no effect in bringing the war to an end, and the negotiations terminated with the Commissioners and the insurgent delegates lunching together on board the U.S. battleship _Oregon_, whilst the blood of both parties continued to flow on the battlefield.

General Lawton's brigade was still operating in the Provinces of Bulacan and north of Manila (now called Rizal). The fighting was so severe and the exposure to sun so disastrous that about the beginning of June he had to send back to Manila 500 wounded and heat-stricken men. It was found impossible to follow up the ever-retreating insurgents, who again escaped still farther north. Along the Manila Bay sh.o.r.e detachments of insurgents pa.s.sed from time to time, driving women and children before them, so that the Americans would not care to fire on them. Some, however, were picked off from the warships when the insurgents omitted their precautionary measure. It was impossible to "round up" the enemy and bring him into a combat to the finish. His movements were so alert that he would fight, vanish in a trice, conceal his arms and uniform, and mingle with the Americans with an air of perfect innocence. With wonderful dexterity he would change from soldier to civilian, lounging one day in the market-place and the next day fall into the insurgent ranks. These tactics, which led to nothing whatever in a purely military sense, were evidently adopted in the vain hope of wearying the Americans into an abandonment of their enterprise.

In the middle of June General Lawton's brigade operated to the south of Manila and in the Cavite province, where the natives gave battle at the Zapote River, famous for a great Spanish defeat during the rebellion. The insurgents were under cover the whole time, and their a.s.sembled thousands could hardly be seen by the attacking columns. They were also in great force and strongly entrenched near Las Pinas and at Bacoor. [212] From the former place they worked one large and two small guns with much effect, firing canister loaded with nails. One canister shattered the legs of a private. American infantry, skirmishing along the beach, came across a posse of insurgents who at once retreated, pursued by the Americans until the latter found themselves surrounded on three sides by hidden sharpshooters, who poured in a raking fire upon them. The skirmishers withdrew, but were rallied by General Lawton and other officers, who themselves picked off some of the enemy with rifle-shots. Encouraged by this example, the skirmishers, with one cry, suddenly rushed towards the insurgents, scattering them in all directions, and safely reached the main body of the brigade with their wounded comrades.

The only bridge across the Zapote River was strongly defended by the insurgents, who had trenches forming two sides of an angle. By noon their battery was silenced, and the Americans then attempted to ford the river, whilst others went knee-deep in mire across the paddy-mud flats. Then a deep stream was the only boundary between the contending parties. The Filipinos were hardly visible, being under shelter of thickets, whilst the Americans were wading through mud under a broiling sun for over two hours to reach them, keeping up a constant fusillade. The whole time there was an incessant din from a thousand rifles and the roar of cannon from the gunboats which bombarded the enemy's position near Las Pinas and Bacoor. The strain on the Americans was tremendous when the insurgents made a flanking movement and fired upon them as they were floundering in the mud. The 14th Infantry eventually swam across the Zapote River, and under cover of artillery charged the insurgents, who retreated into the woods. The Filipinos displayed a rare intelligence in the construction of their defences near the Zapote River and its neighbourhood, and but for the employment of artillery their dislodgement therefrom would have been extremely difficult. After the battle was over General Lawton declared that it was the toughest contest they had yet undertaken in this war.

At Perez Dasmarinas, in the east of Cavite Province, a battalion of infantry narrowly escaped annihilation. News had been brought to the American camp that the insurgents had evacuated that town, and that the native mayor was disposed to make a formal surrender of it to the Americans. The battalion forthwith went there to take possession, but before reaching the place the enemy closed in on all sides, and a heavy fire was mutually sustained for four hours. The Americans had only just saved themselves from destruction by a desperate bayonet-charge when they were rescued by General Wheaton, who arrived with reinforcements.

Three months of warfare had wrought dissension in the insurgent camp. Organization was Aguinaldo's peculiar talent, without the exercise of which the movement would have failed at the outset. But the value of this gift was not fully appreciated by his people. A certain section of the fighting ma.s.ses had far greater admiration for Antonio Luna's visible prowess than for the unseen astuteness of Aguinaldo's manoeuvres. It was characteristic of the Filipinos to split into factions, but the encouragement given to General Antonio Luna's aspiration to supersede his supreme chief was unfortunate, for Aguinaldo was not the man to tolerate a rival. He had rid himself of Andres Bonifacio (_vide_ p. 371) in 1896, and now another disturber of that unity which is strength had to be disposed of. The point of dispute between these two men was of public knowledge. It has already been shown how fully cognizant Antonio Luna was of the proposals made to the Americans for an armistice, for the express purpose of taking the vote of the Revolutionary Congress, for peace or war, on May 1. Aguinaldo was no longer a military dictator, but President of the so-called Philippine Republic (_vide_ p. 486), by whose will he was disposed loyally to abide. Antonio Luna's elastic conscience urged him to duplicity; he pretended to submit to the will of the majority, expressed through the Congress, with the reserved intention of carrying on the war at all hazards, as military dictator, if the vote were for peace. Congress met, and during the debate on the momentous question--peace or war--the hitherto compact group of intransigents weakened. No agreement could be arrived at in the first session. There was, however, a strong tendency to accept American sovereignty. Luna feared that Aguinaldo's acceptance of the vote of the majority (if a division were taken) might deprive him of the opportunity of rising to supreme eminence. Luna's violence at this time was intolerable, up to the point of smacking deputy F.B. in the face. His attempted coercion of the will of others brought about his own downfall. His impetuosity called forth the expression, "He is a fanatic who will lead us to a precipice." In his imagination, all who did not conform to his dominant will were conspirators against him. Hence, at Cavite (Aguinaldo's native province), he disarmed all the troops of that locality, and subst.i.tuted Ilocanos of his own province, whilst he vented his ferocity in numerous executions of Tagalogs. Had he lived he would probably have created a tribal feud between Ilocanos and Tagalogs.

On June 3, 1899, accompanied by his aide-de-camp, Captain Roman, and an escort, Luna entered the official residence of President Aguinaldo at Cabanatuan (Nueva Ecija). The guard, composed of a company of Cavite men from Canit (Aguinaldo's native town), under the command of Captain Pedro Janolino, saluted him on his entry. As Luna and Roman ascended the staircase to seek Aguinaldo a revolver-shot was heard. Luna rushed down the stairs in a furious rage and insulted Captain Janolino in the presence of his troops. This was too much for Janolino, who drew a dagger and thrust it violently into Luna's head. In the scuffle Luna was knocked down and shot several times. He was able to reach the roadway, and, after shouting "Cowards!" fell down dead. In the meantime, whilst Captain Roman was running towards a house he was shot dead by a bullet in his breast. The Insurgent Government pa.s.sed a vote of regret at the occurrence, and the two officers were buried with military honours. As subsequent events proved, Aguinaldo had no personal wish to give up the struggle, or to influence a peace vote, but to execute the will of the people, as expressed through the revolutionary congressmen.

The situation was becoming so serious for the Americans that a call for 25,000 more volunteers was earnestly discussed at Washington. It was thought that the levy should be made at once, believing that General Otis really required them, but that he was reluctant to admit an under-estimate of the enemy's strength. The insurgents, finding they were not followed up (the rainy season was commencing), were beginning to take the offensive with greater boldness, attacking the Americans in the rear. The War Department, however, hesitated to make the levy owing to the friction which existed between the volunteers and the regulars, but the case was so urgent that at the end of June it was decided to raise the total forces in the Philippines to 40,000 men.

On June 12, the anniversary of the proclamation at Cavite of Philippine Independence, Aguinaldo, from his northern retreat, issued a _Manifiesto_ to his countrymen reminding them of the importance of that event. This doc.u.ment, abundant in grandiloquent phrases, is too lengthy for full citation here, but the following paragraph in it is interesting as a recognition that, after all, there was a bright side to Spanish dominion:--

Filipinas! Beloved daughter of the ardent sun of the tropics, commended by Providence to the care of n.o.ble Spain, be thou not ungrateful; acknowledge her, salute her who warmed thee with the breath of her own culture and civility. Thou hast longed for independence, and thine emanc.i.p.ation from Spain has come; but preserve in thine heart the remembrance of the more than three centuries which thou hast lived with her usages, her language, and her customs. It is true she sought to crush thine aspiration for independence, just as a loving mother resists the lifelong separation from the daughter of her bosom; it only proved the excess of affection, the love Spain feels for thee. But thou, Filipinas, flower of the ocean, delicate flower of the East, still weak, scarce eight months weaned from thy mother's breast, hast dared to brave a great and powerful nation such as is the United States, with thy little army barely disciplined and shaped. Ah, beloved brethren, all this is true; and still we say we will be slaves to none, nor let ourselves be duped by gentle words.

Certainly Aguinaldo could not have been the author of the above composition published in his name.

By the middle of July the censorship of Press cablegrams from Manila had become so rigid that the public in America and Europe could get very little reliable telegraphic news of what was going on in the Islands. The American newspaper correspondents therefore signed a "round robin" setting forth their complaints to General Otis, who took little heed of it. It was well known that the hospitals were crowded with American soldiers, a great many of whom were suffering solely from their persistence in habits contracted at home which were incompatible with good health in a tropical climate. Many volunteers, wearied of the war, were urging to be sent back to the States, and there was a marked lack of cordiality between the volunteer and the regular regiments. In the field the former might well compare with the smartest and the bravest men who ever carried arms; off active service there was a difference between them and the disciplined regulars perceptible to any civilian. The natives particularly resented the volunteers' habit of entering their dwellings and tampering, in a free and easy manner, with their goods and the modesty of their women. They were specially disgusted with the coloured regiments, whose conduct was such that the authorities saw the desirability of shipping them all back to the United States as soon as other troops were available to replace them, for their lawlessness was bringing discredit on the nation.

In July an expedition was sent up the Laguna de Bay, and the towns on the south sh.o.r.e were successively captured as far as Calamba, which was occupied on the 26th of the month. Early in the same month the inter-island merchant steamer _Saturnus_, on its regular voyage to the north-west coast of Luzon ports, put in at San Fernando de la Union to discharge cargo for that place, which was held by the insurgents. The vessel was flying the American flag. Part of the cargo had been discharged and preparations were being made to receive freight on board, when the insurgents seized the vessel, carried off the thousands of pesos and other property on board, poured petroleum on the woodwork, and hauled down the American flag. The American gunboat _Pampanga_, patrolling this coast, seeing there was something irregular, hove to and endeavoured to get a tow-line over the _Saturnus_, but was beaten off by the insurgents' fire from sh.o.r.e. The insurgents then brought field-pieces into action and sh.e.l.led the _Saturnus_, setting her on fire. The vessel became a wreck and sank near the beach. Subsequently a gunboat was sent to San Fernando de la Union to sh.e.l.l the town.

When the wet season had fully set in, operations of importance were necessarily suspended. Skirmishes and small encounters occurred in many places where the contending parties chanced to meet, but no further remarkable military event happened in this year of 1899 until the north-east monsoon brought a cessation of the deluging rains.

Notwithstanding General Otis's oft-repeated intimation of "unconditional surrender" as the sole terms of peace, in October General Aguinaldo sent General Alejandrino from his new seat of government in Tarlac to General Otis with fresh proposals, but the letter was returned unopened. At that time Aguinaldo's army was estimated at 12,000 men. The insurgents had taken many American prisoners, some of whom were released a few days afterwards, and, in October, Aguinaldo issued a decree voluntarily granting liberty to all Americans held captive by his people. This resolution, proclaimed as an act of grace, was really owing to the scarcity of food, and for the same reason Aguinaldo simultaneously disbanded a portion of his army.

In the month of December General Lawton led his brigade to the district of Montalban and San Mateo, a few miles north of Manila, to attack the insurgents. The agreed plan was to make a flanking movement against the enemy on the San Mateo River and a frontal attack immediately the enemy was engaged. The frontal attack was being personally directed by the general, who stood on the high bank of the river. Captain Breckinridge, the general's aide-de-camp, had just been hit in the groin, and General Lawton went to speak to him before he was carried away on a litter. Whilst so engaged, the general threw up his hands and fell without uttering a word. He had been shot through the heart, and died instantly. His body was carried to Manila for public burial, and the insurgents were as jubilant as the Americans were grieved over this sad occurrence. The date was fixed for the interment with military pomp, and immense crowds came out to witness the imposing procession. Some Filipinos, expecting the cortege would pa.s.s through a certain street, deposited a bomb in the house of an old woman, unknown to her, but fortunately for her and all concerned, it was not on the route taken. In memory of the late lamented general the present five-peso bank notes bear his vignette.

In 1900 the war of independence began to wane. In January, General Joseph Wheeler left Manila to a.s.sume command of the late General Lawton's brigade, and overran the Laguna de Bay south sh.o.r.e towns. Vinan was taken on January 1, but as no garrison was left there, the insurgents re-entered the town when the Americans pa.s.sed on. The armed natives were, in reality, playing a game of hide-and-seek, with no tangible result to themselves further than feeding at the expense of the townspeople. Aguinaldo was still roaming about central Luzon, but, one by one, his generals either surrendered or were captured. Among these was General Rizal, captured in January. In this month a plot to blow up the foreign consuls was opportunely frustrated. The Chinese General Paua, Aguinaldo's brother-in-law, surrendered in March and found shopkeeping in Binondo a less risky business than generalship. In the same month the Manila-Dagupan Railway was handed over to the company's management, after having been used for war purposes. General Montenegro surrendered in April, and a fortnight afterwards Don Pedro A. Paterno, late President of the Insurgent Congress, was captured at Antomoc (Beuguet district); Generals Garcia and Dumangtay were captured; five officers and two companies of insurgents surrendered in May; and in the same month one Gabriel Cayaban, of Pangasinan Province, was sentenced to five years'

hard labour and a fine of 2,000 pesos for conspiring with guerillas to raise riot. It cannot be said that the insurgents in the field had advanced one step towards the attainment of their object. Manila was simultaneously full of conspirators cogitating over murderous plots against the Americans, and a band of them was arrested in the month of May. The insurgent movement was so far disorganized that it was deemed opportune to entrust natives with police duties, and in June a Philippine cavalry corps was created. Captain Lara, of the native police, took Generals Pio del Pilar and Salvador Estrella prisoners, but was himself a.s.sa.s.sinated on August 4. General Maximino Hizon [213]

was captured at Mexico (Pampanga), and on June 21 the Military Governor published an amnesty proclamation, granting pardon and liberty to all who should declare their allegiance to the United States within ninety days. All who had surrendered and some who were captured took the required oath, and others were coming in. Pio del Pilar was among those who accepted the amnesty a week after its promulgation, but he was again arrested, September 6, for conspiracy. The Amnesty Proclamation was met by a counter-proclamation issued by Aguinaldo, dated August 3, 1900, in which he urged a continuance of the war, and offered rewards for arms. He promised to liberate all prisoners of war who might fall into insurgent hands, on surrender of their arms and ammunition. He would give them money to return to their lines and for petty expenses _en route_. He would pay 80 pesos for every American rifle brought in by a prisoner, and 20 pesos for any rifle voluntarily brought to a Philippine officer, but the deserter would not be allowed to enter the insurgent ranks.

On June 28 there was an attempted rising in Manila, and Don Pedro A. Paterno was placed under closer guard. In July the insurgents were active in the neighbourhood of Vigan (Ilocos). About 40 volunteer infantry and 60 cavalry went out from Narvican to attack them, and came across a strongly-entrenched position held by about 300 riflemen and 1,000 men armed with bowie-knives. A sharp fight ensued, but the Americans, overwhelmed by the ma.s.s, had to retreat to Narvican. The insurgents lost about a hundred men, whilst the American loss was one lieutenant and four men killed, nine wounded and four missing. About the same time, the insurgents driven back from the Laguna de Bay sh.o.r.e occupied Taal (Batangas), where, under the leadership of Miguel Malvar, a small battle was fought in the streets on July 12 and the town was burnt; a troop of cavalry was added to the police force this month, and there was no lack of Filipinos willing to co-operate with Americans for a salary. The backbone of insurgency having been broken, the dollar proved to be a mightier factor than the sword in the process of pacification. Compared with former times, the ex-insurgents found in the lucrative employments offered to them by the Americans a veritable El Dorado, for never before had they seen such a flow of cash. The country had been ravaged; the immense stores collected by the revolutionists had been seized; non-combatant partisans of the insurgent cause were wearied of paying heavy taxes for so little result; treasure was hidden; fields lay fallow, and for want of food Aguinaldo had had partially to disband his army. He told me himself that on one occasion they were so hard pressed for food that they had to live for three days on whatever they could find in the mountains. There were but two courses open to the majority of the ex-soldiers--brigandage or service under their new masters. Some chose the former, with results which will be hereafter referred to; others, more disposed towards civil life, were allured by the abundance of silver pesos, which made a final conquest where shot and sh.e.l.l had failed. Still, there were thousands incognizant of the olive-branch extended to them, and military operations had to be continued even within a day's journey from the capital. A request had to be made for more cavalry to be sent to the Islands, and the proportion of this branch of the service to infantry was gradually increased, for "rounding up" insurgents who refused to give battle was exhausting work for white foot-soldiers in the tropics. In the course of four months nearly all the infantry in the small towns was replaced by cavalry. In this same month (July) American cavalry successfully secured the Laguna de Bay south sh.o.r.e towns which the insurgents had re-taken on the departure of the infantry sent there in January. Many well-to-do proprietors in these towns (some known to me for 20 years), especially in Vinan, complained to me of what they considered an injustice inflicted on them. The American troops came and drove out the insurgents, or caused them to decamp on their approach; but, as they left no garrisons, the insurgents re-entered and the townspeople had to feed them under duress. Then, when the American forces returned six months afterwards, to the great relief of the inhabitants, and left garrisons, many of these townspeople, on a charge of having given succour to the insurgents, were imprisoned with the only consolation that, after all, a couple of months' incarceration by the Americans was preferable to the death which awaited them at the hands of the insurgents if they had refused them food. The same thing occurred in other islands, notably in Samar and in Cebu, where the people were persecuted for giving aid to the armed natives on whose mercy their lives depended. This measure was an unfortunate mistake, because it alienated the good feeling of those who simply desired peace with the ruling power, whether it were American or native. There were thousands of persons--as there would be anywhere in the world--quite incapable of taking up arms in defence of an absent party which gave them no protection, yet naturally anxious to save their lives by payment if need be. [214]

On July 19 a proclamation was issued forbidding the possession of firearms without licence. On August 7 the curfew ordinance was extended to 11 p.m., and again, in the following month, to midnight. In September there was another serious outbreak up the Laguna de Bay, where two or three hundred insurgents, led by a French half-caste, General Cailles, [215] attacked Los Banos, and about the same time the insurgents north of Manila cut the railroad between Malolos and Guiguinto. Cailles was driven out of Los Banos, but hundreds more insurgents joined him, and a furious battle was fought at Siniloan, on September 17, between 800 insurgents and a company of the 15th Infantry, who drove the enemy into the mountains.

In November Aguinaldo, who was camping in the province of Nueva Ecija, issued another of his numerous exhortations, in consequence of which there was renewed activity amongst the roaming bands of adventurers all over the provinces north of the capital. The insurgent chief advocated an aggressive war, and in the same month it was decided to send more American troops to Manila.

Many of the riff-raff had been inadvertently enrolled in the native police force, and received heavy sentences for theft, blackmail, and violent abuse of their functions. Indeed it took nearly a couple of years to weed out the disreputable members of this body. The total army forces in the Islands amounted to about 70,000 men, and at the end of 1900 it was decided to send back the volunteer corps to America early in the following year, for, at this period, General Aguinaldo had become a wanderer with a following which could no longer be called an army, and an early collapse of the revolutionary party in the field was an antic.i.p.ated event.

From September 1, 1900, the legislative power of the military government was transferred to a civil government, Governor W. H. Taft being the President of the Philippine Commission, whilst Maj.-General McArthur continued in his capacity of Commander-in-Chief to carry on the war against the insurgents, which culminated in the capture of General Emilio Aguinaldo on March 23, 1901. This important event accelerated the close of the War of Independence. On January 14 General Emilio Aguinaldo had his headquarters at Palanan (Isabela), on the bank of a river which empties itself into Palanan Bay, situated about six miles distant from the town, on the east coast of Luzon. Being in want of reinforcements, he sent a member of his staff with messages to that effect to several of his subordinate generals. The fellow turned traitor, and carried the despatches to an American lieutenant, who sent him on to Colonel Frederick Funston at San Isidro (Nueva Ecija). The despatches disclosed the fact that General Emilio Aguinaldo requested his cousin, General Baldomero Aguinaldo, to send him, as soon as possible, 400 armed men. With General McArthur's approval, Colonel Funston proceeded to carry out a plan which he had conceived for the capture of General Emilio Aguinaldo. An expedition was made up of four Tagalog deserters from Aguinaldo's army, 78 Macabebe scouts (_vide_ p. 446, footnote), and four American officers, besides Colonel Funston himself. Twenty of the scouts were dressed in insurgent uniforms, and the remaining natives in common working-clothes. Ten of them carried Spanish rifles, ten others had Krag-Jorgensen rifles, which they were to feign to have captured from American troops, and the five Americans were disguised as private soldiers. The party was then carried round the north and east coasts of Luzon, and put ash.o.r.e in the neighbourhood of Baler by the gunboat _Vicksburg_, which approached the coast without lights, and then waited off Palanan Bay. The expedition was nominally commanded by an insurgent deserter, Hilario Placido, [216] whilst three other deserters posed as officers, the Americans playing the _role_ of prisoners captured by the party. Before setting out for Casiguran, some 20 miles away, a messenger was sent on to the native headman of that town to tell him that reinforcements for Aguinaldo were on their way, and would require food and lodging, which were forthwith furnished by the headman to these 87 individuals. Some months previously some papers had been captured bearing the signature and seal of the insurgent general Lacuna, and this enabled the party to send on a letter in advance to Emilio Aguinaldo, ostensibly in the name of Lacuna, announcing the arrival of the reinforcements furnished in response to his request of January 14. This letter was accompanied by another one from the pseudo-chief of the expedition, stating that on the way they had captured five American soldiers and ten Krag rifles. A request was also made for food, which he explained had run short. Emilio Aguinaldo, therefore, sent Negritos to meet them on the way with a supply of rice. In the morning of March 23 they were near Palanan. The Macabebe scouts were sent in advance of the _soi-disant_ five American prisoners, and when they entered the town Aguinaldo's bodyguard of 50 men was drawn up in parade to receive them. The native pseudo-officers marched into the camp, and were welcomed by Aguinaldo; but they shortly afterwards took temporary leave of him, and coming outside ordered their Macabebe troops to form up. Just at the moment the five supposed prisoners were conducted towards the camp the Macabebes poured three murderous volleys into Aguinaldo's troops, two of whom were killed and 18 wounded. On the other side only one Macabebe was slightly wounded. The Americans witnessed the effect of the first volley, and, together with the natives posing as officers, rushed into Aguinaldo's headquarters. Aguinaldo, Colonel Villa, and one civilian were taken prisoners, whilst other insurgent officers jumped from the window into the river and escaped. The expedition, after resting a day and a half at the camp, escorted their prisoners to Palanan Bay, where they were all taken on board the gunboat _Vicksburg_, which reached Manila on March 27.

The closing scene in Emilio Aguinaldo's military career was a remarkable performance of consummate skill, but unworthy of record in the annals of military glory.

The War of Independence, which lasted until the next year, was a triumph of science over personal valour about equally balanced. It was a necessary sacrifice of the few for the good of the many. No permanent peace could have been ever hoped for so long as the Islanders entertained the belief that they could any day eject the invaders by force.

The American citizens naturally rejoiced over the bare fact, briefly cabled without ghastly details, that the Philippine generalissimo had fallen prisoner, because it portended the peace which all desired. In deference to public opinion, the President promoted Colonel Funston of the volunteers to the rank of Brig.-General in the regular army.

Emilio Aguinaldo was first taken before General McArthur and then escorted to prison in _Calle de Anda_, in the walled city. On April 1, 1901, he took the oath of allegiance in the following form, viz.:--

I, Emilio Aguinaldo, hereby renounce all allegiance to any and all so-called revolutionary governments in the Philippine Islands and recognize and accept the supreme authority of the United States of America therein; I do solemnly swear that I will bear true faith and allegiance to that Government; that I will at all times conduct myself as a faithful and law-abiding citizen of the said Islands, and will not, either directly or indirectly, hold correspondence with or give intelligence to an enemy of the United States, nor will I abet, harbour or protect such enemy; that I impose upon myself these voluntary obligations without any mental reservations or purpose of evasion, so help me G.o.d.

After signing this declaration he was a free man. For a while he resided at Malacanan, on the north bank of the Pasig River, where one night a pirogue full of a.s.sa.s.sins came to seek the life of the man who had failed. But his lucky star followed him, and he removed to Paco and again to Ermita (suburbs of Manila) and finally to his native town of Cauit (Cavite), where I was his guest. He was living there in modest retirement with his mother and his two good-looking young nieces, who served us at table. The house is large and comparatively imposing as a provincial residence, being formed of two good substantial houses connected by a bridge-pa.s.sage. The whole is enclosed by a low brick wall, topped by iron railings painted flaming red. In front there is a garden and a s.p.a.cious compound at the back. In the large drawing-room there is a ceiling fresco representing a Filipina descending a flight of steps from a column to which the chains, now severed, held her captive. On the steps lies the Spanish flag with a broken staff, and in her hand she holds on high the Philippine flag of freedom.

In conversation with him he stated that he and his companions returned to the Islands in May, 1898, with many a.s.surances that America was simply going to aid them to gain their independence. He added that when he landed at Cavite he had no arms, and the Americans allowed him to take them from the Spanish a.r.s.enal. Then they turned him out, and he moved his headquarters to Bacoor, where his troops numbered between 30,000 and 35,000 men. He said he could easily have taken Manila then, but that he was begged not to do so as the Americans were waiting for more troops and they wished to make the victory a joint one. He confessed he had bought experience very dearly. But he profited by that experience when, at Cavite, the Belgian Consul and Prince Lowenstein came four times to make proposals to him in favour of Germany. The first time, he said, he received them and demanded their credentials as authorized agents for Germany, but, as they could not produce any, he declined to have any further intercourse with them. Referring to the first period of the rebellion, Aguinaldo admitted that the prospect of ejecting the Spaniards from the Islands was very doubtful.

Immediately Aguinaldo had fallen captive, all kinds of extravagant and erroneous versions were current as to how it had happened. Thousands insisted that he must have voluntarily surrendered, for how could he have been caught when he had the _anting-anting_? (_vide_ p. 237). As the ball of conjecture went on rolling, some added to this that his voluntary surrender must have been for a money consideration, and there were still others who furnished a further inducement--his fear of revenge from the late Antonio Luna's party!

Although Aguinaldo gave no proof of being a brilliant warrior, as an organizer he had no rival capable of keeping 30,000 or more Filipinos united by sentiment for any one purpose. He trusted no comrade implicitly, and for a long time his officers had to leave their side-arms in an antechamber before entering his apartment. He had, moreover, the adroitness to extirpate that rivalry which alone destroys all united effort. But the world makes no allowance for the general who fails. To-day he is left entirely alone, pitied by some, shunned by a few, and almost forgotten by the large majority. He is indeed worthy of respect for his humanity in the conduct of the war, and of some pity in his present peculiar position. Many of his late subordinates now occupy good and high-salaried posts. Members of the Government of which he was President have espoused American doctrine and enjoy high social positions and fat emoluments. Aguinaldo's scholarship is too meagre for an elevated position, and his dignity and self-respect too great for an inferior one.

CHAPTER XXV

The Philippine Republic in the Central and Southern Islands

So interwoven were the circ.u.mstances of General Aguinaldo's Government in Luzon Island with the events of the period between the naval battle of Cavite and the ratification of the Treaty of Paris, that they form an integral and inseparable whole in historical continuity. In the other Islands, however, which followed the revolutionary movement, with more or less adherence to the supreme leadership of Aguinaldo, the local incidents severally const.i.tute little histories in themselves, each such island having practically set up its own government with only the barest thread of administrative intercommunication.