Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1900-02-12
A FILIPINO TOLSTOI.
Jose Rial, a Scholarly Man Endowed
With Fine Gifts.

A biography of a patriotic Filipino,
which has recently been published by
a member of the faculty of the Austri-
an university of Leitmeritz, may throw
some light on the native character.
The pamphlet is a life of Jose Rial,
Filipino patriot, and is dedicated to
General Emilio Aguinaldo, who is
characterized as the liberator of his
country, a chivalrous and brave war
rior"
Jose Rial was native of the island
Of Luzon He graduated from the Uni
versity of Madrid as a doctor of med
icine and philosophy. Returning to
his home in Manila, he wrote and pub
lished a novel which excited the
wrath of the government by its anti
Spanish sympathies and by it's ex-
posture of the corruptions Of the
church on the islands. For the crime
of telling what he believed to be the
truth he was banished. He came to
the United States and afterward went
to London, where he devoted himself
to further study.
About this time he produced anoth
er political novel He then settled as
a practicing physician in Hong Kong.
From here he went to Borneo, where
it was his intention to found colony
of F'ilipinos. In 1892 he returned to
Manila, presumably for the purpose of
recruiting his colony He went at
once to the home of his family, leav-
ing his baggage in the custom house
This baggage was opened, and in it
there were found certain pamphlets of
an anti-Spanish character. It has been
charged that these pamphlets were
Struggled into the baggage by some
fanatical monks, and that the type
from which they had been printed
was found still set up, in the posses
sion of these monks.
However, Rial was banished a sec
Ond time. This time he was sent to
the island of Dapitan, where he was
held a. political prisoner under the
close watch of Spanish guards. While
he was on this island and under the
eye of his guards, another insurrec-
tion in the Philippines broke out.
Though for the last four years he had
been a prisoner on a distant island and
under the constant surveillance of the
authorities STILL when the insurrec-
ton broke out, he was taken to Ma
Mia on the charge of having melted
the uprising, and, after the forms of
the law had been complied with, he
was condemned to death, and shot on
the Both of December, 1896, in spite of
the protest of many humane Span
iards, One hour before his execution
he married his betrothed, a beautiful
Irish girl. His own countrymen were
compelled to do the shooting. Back
Of this row of Filipinos stood Spanish
soldiers, ready to cut them down if
they shrank from their cruel business.
never, says an eyewitness, never
snail L forget that awful morning, nor
the horror-thrill that came with the
report OF cracking rifles as his man
gled body fell on the public promen-
ade, amid the jeers of Spaniards and
monks, who had contaminated thus
| one OF the most cold looded crimes
registered in history since the tragedy
OF Golgotha. My blood boiled and
from that hour I espoused the Filipino
| cause"
On the day following Rizals death.
his widow passed the Spanish line at
Manila and made her way on foot to
the camp of the patriots. There
Aguinaldo gave her command of a
company, at the head of which the
Irish bride-widow gained more than
one victory.-Boston Transcript.