Types of Prose Narratives: A Text-Book for the Story Writer

by Harriott Ely Fansler

The Filipino rebellion against Spanish rule really began in the year 1896, in southern Luzon. The northwestern provinces rebelled much later, owing perhaps to the lack of communication or to some disagreement among the leaders of certain districts. I was about eight years old at the time the war broke out in western Pangasinan and northern Zambales, and I write from what I saw with my own eyes, and what was afterwards told me by my parents and older friends.

About the beginning of the year 1898 the northwestern provinces of Luzon became restless, seeing that their brothers in Cavite and other southern provinces were already in the field. The Spaniards grew more and more uneasy and so a detachment of from fifteen to twenty Spanish soldiers was placed in each town, in addition to the guardia civil, which was also stationed in the large towns. It must be borne in mind that in that war no quarter could be expected from either side and all the prisoners were invariably put to death. So that unusual cruelty should not be imputed to the common Filipino fighter in the massacres which he committed.

Just about the beginning of the year 1898, some time in the month of January, the people of my town, as well as the neighboring towns, agreed to massacre the detachment of soldiers in their respective municipalities. The agreement was kept a great secret, and in my town at least the Spanish soldiers had not the slightest idea of the fatal compact. The day decided upon was a certain Monday in February, 1898, the exact date of which I do not remember.

Outside the town, in the dead of night, you would find groups talking in whispers as to the final arrangements, for the chief men would go to the barrios in the night and hold secret meetings in hidden and solitary places. In the afternoons you would find men grinding their long bolos or talibongs in the solitude of their houses. At the same time you would see the women making trousers and hat-bands of red cloth for their husbands or brothers. In the meantime the Spaniards had a vague idea of how things were going on, and becoming rather uneasy, they ordered a barricade of bamboo to be built around their barracks. The guardia civil did the same, except that instead of bamboo, they used big logs, which they made each principal (councilor) give. But unfortunately the very workmen themselves were rebels, and were the first ones to strike the blow. I also remember clearly how the lieutenant and the town friar forbade people to talk in groups of three or more. So men walked in the streets alone or with only one companion, not even daring to engage in earnest conversation. Men visited their friends, going to the back doors at night.

It must be stated here that in order to get all the able-bodied men to join the rebellion a form of ceremony was gone through in the case of every single convert. Certain men who were influential and eloquent were appointed to do the hard work of conversion. A leader of this kind had to coax and persuade men singly, at the same time taking care that the Spanish forces did not hear of his proceedings. After a man had expressed his willingness to join, he was made to take a solemn oath, the non-fulfilment of which would bring upon him temporal and spiritual condemnation. Besides, his arm was pricked with a sharp knife, and with his own blood he wrote, or else caused to be written, his name in a large book. This made the ceremony to the new recruit exceedingly impressive.

One thing that made men so bold at that time was the belief in the power of the anting anting (talisman). There were two kinds of anting anting that were bullet proof. They were made of flour like sacred bread, except that they were as large in circumference only as a peseta. Some Latin words were printed on them. One kind was eaten, while the other was placed on the forehead. So after the town was in the hands of the revolutionists, everybody seemed to be having a headache, for they all had their foreheads bound around with handkerchiefs, or more often with red bands of cloth. I must add that the color of the revolution was red, the sign of blood. I remember that when we left the town to hide in the country I left my expensive felt hat, and used a cheap native sombrero with a red band around it. When the town was again retaken by the Spaniards we tore off all these red signs and buried them in the ground.

As I have said, the day agreed upon for the massacre was Monday. My uncle told me the Spanish soldiers in town heard of the people in the barrios assembling, but they entirely ignored the danger, feeling sure that the rebels with bolos would not by any means dare to cope with their powerful Mausers. My uncle further added that, had the Spanish been discreet, considering that they were twenty-two in number, including a lieutenant, besides the town friar, they would have fortified the convent and would have been able to hold out till reinforcements from eastern Pangasinan could come.

On the morning of that fatal day I was in the house of my grandmother, which was near the plaza where the soldiers had their quarters. I could not see the whole of the slaughter, for my grandmother when she saw us looking at the fight, sent us to the cellar, and made us lie there flat on our stomachs to protect us from spent bullets.

Early that morning about eight o'clock the guardia civil, hearing that there was a great crowd of armed men near the town cemetery about a mile away, went out there. The guardia civil soldiers, who were all Filipinos, were in league with the movement, but their sergeant was a Spaniard. When they saw the men near the cemetery and when the sergeant ordered them to fire, they did not aim at the rebels. But the rebels instead, thinking that the soldiers had changed their minds, fought in earnest and killed the guardia civil to a man.