rds. General Rios then took measures for
evacution. On December 23, 1898, he formally handed over Yloilo to the
mayor of the town in the presence of his staff, the naval commanders,
and the foreign consuls, and requested the German Vice-Consul to look
after Spanish interests. On the following day the Spanish troops,
numbering between five and six hundred, and several civilians were
embarked in perfect order, without any unfortunate incident occurring,
on board the s.s. _Isla de Luzon,_ which sailed for Zamboanga, the
rallying-place of the Spaniards, whilst some small steamers went to
other places to bring the officials to the same centre.

Before leaving Yloilo, after many tedious delays respecting the
conditions, an exchange of prisoners was effected with the rebels,
who at the outset were inclined to be unduly exacting.

The rebels at once took possession of Yloilo, but a controlling
American force arrived in the roadstead on December 27, under the
command of General Miller, and was afterwards reinforced up to a
total strength of about 3,000 troops.

The Caroline Islands (which were not ceded under the Treaty of
Paris) were provisioned for three months, and the Spanish troops in
Cebu Island and Yligan (Mindanao Is.) had been already ordered to
concentrate and prepare for embarkation on the same day for Zamboanga
(Mindanao Is.), where the bulk of them remained until they could be
brought back to Spain on the terms of the treaty of peace. In a few
days General Rios left Zamboanga in the s.s. _Leon XIII._ for Manila,
and remained there until June 3, 1899, to endeavour to negotiate
the liberation of the Spanish prisoners detained by Aguinaldo. They
were kept under guard in the mountain districts, far away from the
capital, in groups miles distant from each other. No one outside
the rebel camp could ever ascertain the exact number of prisoners,
which was kept secret. The strenuous efforts made by the Spaniards
to secure their release are fully referred to in Chap. xxvi.

During this period of evacuation the natives in Balabac Island
assassinated all the male Europeans resident there, the Spanish
Governor, a lieutenant, and a doctor being among the victims. The
European women were held in captivity for awhile, notwithstanding
the peaceful endeavours to obtain their release, supported by the
Datto Harun Narrasid, Sultan of Paragua and ex-Sultan of Sulu (_vide_
p. 142). The place was then attacked by an armed force, witho