New-York tribune., 1901-03-09
IN FILIPINO BONDAGE.
THE EXPERIENCES OF AN AMERICAN
oUARTERMAsTER.


ouarternaster sonnichsen, Of the Zealandia
on American transport which landed troops at
Manila IN July, lSsS went on an excursion with
a friend beyond the American lines in January
1Sg9 The two sought 10 pass as English jour
nalists and appear to have undertaken their
trfp as much for amusement as for anything
else They were identified as Americans by a
Filipino travelling in the same compartment OF
the railroad car. and at Meycausyan' the thlra
station from Manila, they were promptly ar
rested Sent on 10 Malolos. they entered upon
a period OF Imprisonment which for MT SON
nichsen lasted ten months. Cne or TWO o'her
white men shared their captivity, and MEM
her Of the party a Canadian. whose identity the
author conceals under the apt name or Arhoiu'
DISTINGUISHED himself when the time came oy
frustrating the efforts Of his comrades TO es-
cape Mr. Sonnichsen, however, was patient ana
resolute. Some time after Lieutenant "ilhour
and his men were added 10 the group or prison
ere with which he was associated, circumstances
and the generous conduct OF certain F1lipinos
enabled him TO make successful attempt to
reach The American forces. The report OF his
experiences is written with modesty and in an
interesting manner.
The time Of romantic imprisonment has, we
supnose. gone by, and Mr.. Sonnichsen has moth
ing more dramatic TO record than the treachery
of the man Arnold. Even that fades into some
thing dangerously like commonplace under the
force Of modern manners. In the good old Gays
a prisoner who betrayed HIS companions would
have got himself knocked on the head Arnold's
victims. being Of the present century could only
remark in his hearing that it would be unwise
10 let him do the cooking. as man Of his
etst,,p might easily be a pOisoner. He goes from
one meanness 10 another. but Mr. Sonniehsen
and the rest SEEM 20 have endured him with
amazing good nature. At the hands OF their
captors they suffered discomfort rather than
abuse There We're. Of course. the occasional in
suits from miscellaneous civilian and military
sources which fan TO the lot OF any prisoner Of
war in the country Of the enemy; but II the
Fiipinos sometimes swore cheerfully at their
charges and gave them poorer quarters and
less food than they wanted. they reserved their
real tyrannies for their own people. We read OF
native soldiers capturing a lad OF their own
race, and. in order 10 force confession from
him Of dealings with the Americans, binding
him 10 a tree and burning him on the face. neck
and chest with the glowing ends Of their cigar
cites II may be observed in passing that 1t ia
not altogether pleasant to read Mr.. Sonnichsen's
remark that we" named the boy Cigarettes
Another story he tells is OF Filipino prisoner
brought into the jail AZ Malolos in shocking
condition. He had already received an Ameri-
can bullet in his leg Cords were so tightly
bound about him that blood oozed from the cuts
they made. There We're also bleeding gashes in
his head when he stood up beneath the light of
the prison torches and endeavored 10 justify
himself. Mr.. Sonnichsen continues thus:
As he stood relating his doeful story he
would at times falter from fear or weakness
and then the sergeant OF the guard would poke
him with the muzzle Of his Remington. while
ogiing at his superior for a glance or approval
As the prisoner concluded his narrative, 10 the
truth of which he swore by God, Holy Mary and
the blessed saints, the officer quietly replaced
the dagger in It's sheath, and no sooner had the
last words left those bruised and swollen lips,
when he drew back and planted his clinched
fist between The eyes OF the unfortunate. once.
twice and three times did he repeat II, until the
victim lay senseless on the floor and then. with
a last kick, he turned TO leave the cell, ap-
parently convinced that the blows just struck
were for Ia independencia' OF his glorious land.
As each soldier left the room, he had first 10
give that mass Of almost unrecogniZable hu-
manity the floor a kick, had done the
noble captain. Fortunately. they all bare
footed; otherwise the results might have been
more serious.
There is more than enough Of this sort OF
thing in the book but Mr.. Sonnichsen is evi-
IDENTIFY anxious 20 give fair account OF the
tives; and in some parts os his stay among
them he was thrown with persons OF the better
class. he Is able 10 balance the shadows in his
picture with substantial strokes OF light. II IS
a faithful adherent Of Aguinaldo Don Juan
Baltazar, an nococan official who appears in
the following passage:
Taking out into the miedle Of the plaza,
the president pointed TO a distant mountain
peak. From that hill" he informed me- Il my
self have taken out large humps Of coal. A
little beyond ! have picked up rich copper ore.
Gold also is found in fair quantities by the
lgorrotes. I assure you he continued, con-
fidentielly, We seated ourselves under the
trees, Il am anxious TO see the American Gov
ernment established here. The liberal laws OF
the United States viii enable us to develop the
immense resources OF the country 10 own
benefit. A government by ourselves would
never encourage the investment Of large capital.
and a small scale shall never succeed.
With modern implements and American capital
the Philippines promise a glorious future for
both natives and American colOnists. But the
only basis on which peace can ever be firmly es-
tablished between us and the Americans is the
total abolition OF monasterial fraternities and
representation in your Congress with self home
government On no other terms VIII the insur-
gents ever surrender. and, although they may
he conquered by superior forces. the spark OF
rebellion viii always remain ready 10 burst into
flame az every opportunity. I feel convinced
that the Americans viii give us good govern
ment and would be in favor OF unconditional
surrender. but these Tagalogs are a stubborn
race, and we have few sympathes in common.
With a native government they would rule as
as the Spaniards ruled them. To reconcile us
with the cause. they have appointed an Ilocano
10 the chief command OF the army; but, peace
once established, We would be ground under the
Tagalog heel Even now the military governor
OF the locano provinces, General THO. is a
Tagalog."
What the Filpinos suffered under Spanish
nisrule is shown by the story IN this book of
the authors experience in a native hospital
which counted some Spanish helpers on its
stan. "A patient in the last agonies was
screaming at the top OF his voice, all attempts
at quieting him proving useless At last with
an oath. one or the nurses sprang 10 his feet
and. going UP to the dying mans bedside he
buried his fingers in his neck thus erfectually
filencing him. There were no more screams.
Cor Tka