The Manila Hotel.
The ground on which this fine building stands was redeemed from the bay, by using a part of the dredged material, when the new harbor was built.
An American lawyer who afterward defended some of their murderers when the latter were apprehended and brought to trial, told me that among other grewsome details furnished by his clients, who shamelessly admitted to him their guilt, were the following:—
A victim who watched the murder of others, while awaiting his turn, did not want to be struck on the head and begged that as a special favor the blow from the iron bar be omitted in his case. His request was granted, whereupon he climbed into his grave, lay down, covered his face with his handkerchief, and directed his murderers to proceed. I could cite numerous specific cases in which persons were buried alive, and will do so if my word is called in question.[39] If not, enough of this!
Burning alive was occasionally resorted to.[40] More frequently, the victims had their eyes put out, their tongues cut out, and were then turned loose to shift for themselves. Justice Johnson,[41] of the Philippine Supreme Court, has described to me a case in which four policemen of a town which had received him in a friendly manner, were served in this way, and the procedure was a comparatively common one.
Taylor gives the following account of certain incidents which occurred in Ilocos Sur:—
“On page 154 is a record of part of the murders of a body of men in the town of Caoayan, Ilocos Sur Province, who, in July, 1900, calling themselves ‘Sandatahan,’ appointed a chief executioner, assistant executioners and a requisite number of grave-diggers, and then, with set purpose, proceeded to assassinate all persons who manifested reluctance to join them or to contribute to their support or to the support of the insurgents in the hills whom their leader claimed they were serving. They operated secretly at night, the leaders usually selecting their victims one at a time; and when they were secured they were conducted to a lonely beach covered with tall grass where the grave-digger had already dug the requisite number of graves and where the executioners were already assembled. There in the presence of the assembled band, men and women, bound and helpless, were placed upon the brinks of their opened graves, their bodies were run through with swords and bolos and then buried. The band then dispersed, each man going to his own home. These operations were continued with industrious persistency through two months or more until the lengthening row of graves reached, in the language of one of the witnesses, ‘about thirty, more or less.’”[42]
The Insurgent leaders themselves reported in a most businesslike manner their orders for assassination and the results of their activities in this direction.
The following are sample communications of this sort:
“Headquarters Camp No. 6.
“Tierra Libre (Free Soil), Saluyan (Laguna Province)
“November 18th, 1900.