to the demand of Aguinaldo that a Spanish officer of high rank should accompany the insurgent leaders to Hong-Kong as a guarantee of good faith. He also sent a personal representative to meet the exiled leaders, and at a banquet Aguinaldo gave Spain hearty cheers. They sailed from Sual. Pangasinan province, for Hong-Kong, where the payments of money were made, and the insurrection was at an end.

CHAPTER IX.

THE AMERICAN OCCUPATION.

AN extended account of the successive campaigns leading to control of the Philippines by the United States is not within the scope of this work. That may be safely left to other writers. Only with that portion of American occupation which partisan and ignorant writers have so mischievously misrepresented to the prejudice of public sympathy with the work our nation is doing here, shall I concern myself. With the record of some men in the American army in the Philippines I could find many flaws. Possibly flaws which even furious critics in America have never heard of could be pointed out. But with the record of the American army as an organization, and with its achievements on behalf of this downtrodden and helpless people I must speak with enthusiastic praise. When "the youngest critic" has said his last and his worst, it still remains true that the net result of American valor in the Philippines is the freeing of seven millions of people from a hopeless tyranny, to become a nation! All that the governor, the commission, the schoolmaster, the civil judge, and the missionary are attempting would have been impossible without the work of the soldier. Some cruelties there were. Nearly all that were proven to have taken place were committed in defiance of orders, in remote places, and under provocation such as only pens dipped in blood could describe. But these were eddies in the current.

The main stream of military administration in the Philippine's has been humane. Some minds forever miss currents, and get caught in eddies. From that class of mind every great cause in our history, and all of our great leaders, have had to endure opposition and abuse. But the calm verdict of history has set things straight, as it will do in the case of our military record in these Islands.

War was practically declared on April 21, 1898. On the 24th of April the following order was flashed from Washington to our Asiatic squadron:

"DEWEY, Hong-Kong:

"War has commenced between the United States and Spain. Proceed at once to the Philippine Islands. Commence operations at once, particularly against the Spanish fleet. You must capture vessels or destroy. Use utmost endeavors. LONG."

On May 1st Commodore Dewey sank the entire Spanish fleet in Manila Bay, without the loss of a man. or serious injury to a single one of his ships. So singularly complete and overwhelming was the victory that devout students of the bloody history of Spain in this colony can not refrain from believing that the God of nations helped mightily. The words of Psalm ii, 9, come forcibly to mind: "Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel." This was literally done in that marvelous seafight. History furnishes no parallel. The "rod of iron" did its awful work, and so easily was it done that no scar was left, and the hand that wielded it was uninjured.

of

The report of the battle is made with the modesty which real greatness always shows in the hour triumph:

"The squadron arrived at Manila at daybreak this morning. Immediately engaged the enemy and destroyed the following Spanish vessels: Reina Christina, Castilla, Don Antonio de Ulloa, Don Juan de Austria, Isla de Luzon, Isla de Cuba, General Lezo, Marquis del Duero, El Curreo, Velasco, one transport, Isla de Mindanao, water battery at Cavite. I shall destroy Cavite arsenal dispensatory. The squadron is uninjured. Few men were slightly wounded. I request the department will send immediately from San Francisco fast steamer with ammunition. The only means of telegraphing is to the American consul at Hong-Kong. DEWEY."

Since the raising of the ships that went to the bottom that May morning, certain criticisms have been made to the effect that the Spanish commanders had poor vessels and poorer guns, and that they sunk the vessels themselves by opening the sea-cocks. What are the facts? The Spanish fleet had the steel cruiser Reina Christina, the steel protected cruisers Isla de Luzon and Isla de Cuba, and the iron cruiser Don Juan de Austria, all built within a year of the time the Baltimore, Concord, and Petrel were constructed. Their crews numbered 1,875 against 1,709 of our fleet. This takes no account of the gunners in the five shore batteries, which joined with the fleet in firing upon the attacking squadron. They had on their ships fourteen modern six-inch guns and twenty-two five-inch guns, and yet at a range narrowing down from 3,500 to 2,000 yards not a vessel of our fleet was materially injured.

Admiral Montojo silences all such criticism by his official account of the fight in so far as it affected his flagship, the Reina Christina. A part of that report is as follows:

"The enemy shortened the distance between us, and, rectifying his aim, covered us with a rain of rapid-fire

projectiles. At 7.30 one shell completely destroyed the steering-gear. I ordered to steer by hand while the rudder was out of action. In the meanwhile another shell exploded on the poop and put out of action nine men. Another destroyed the mizzen-masthead, bringing down the flag and my ensign, which were replaced immediately. A further shell exploded in the officers' cabin, covering the hospital with blood, and destroying the wounded who were being treated there. Another exploded in the ammunition-room astern, filling the quarters with smoke and preventing the working of the hand steering-gear. As it was impossible to control the fire, I had to flood the magazine when the cartridges were beginning to explode. Immediately amidships several shells of smaller caliber went through the smokestack, and one of the large ones penetrated the fireroom, putting out of action one master gunner and twelve men serving the guns. Another rendered useless the starboard bow gun; while the fire astern increased, fire was started forward by another shell, which went through the hull, and exploded on deck. The broadside guns being undamaged, continued firing until there were only one gunner and one seaman remaining unhurt for firing them."

The position in which Admiral Dewey found himself was one calling for great wisdom. Before him lay Manila, helpless. From our consul, Oscar F. Williams, whose knowledge of the bay and its defenses had been of such value in the beginning, he learned the facts set forth in our last chapter. From him he learned also that the purchased peace had been of brief duration. The insurrection which a Spanish governor had bought off for $800,000, had flamed up again, as promises made in the treaty of Biac-na-Bato were not kept, and half the sympathizers with the insurrection felt that they had been betrayed by their leaders. Without funds, with few experienced leaders, and with but faint hopes of success, these ragged, desperate men had once more