lands. At that time
General Jaramillo was Gov.-General of Mindanao Island and commander of
the forces in Zamboanga; but on the arrival there, December 27, 1898,
of the ex-governor of Cebu, General Montero, with his co-refugees,
General Jaramillo transferred his command to him and left for Manila
with General Rios, who had come from Yloilo to Zamboanga to receive
refugee passengers for the capital. Before his departure Jaramillo
had led the Zamboangueno Christians to believe that the war with
America was, at every turn, a triumphant success for Spanish arms;
fictitious printed telegrams were circulated announcing Spanish
victories everywhere, and one of the most extravagant reported that
General Weyler had landed on American soil at Key West with an army of
80,000 Spanish troops. The motive of this harmless ruse was to bolster
up Spanish prestige and thereby avoid bloodshed. During several months
no trading or mail-steamer came, and the Zamboanguenos were practically
cut off from the rest of the world. Military preparations were made
for the feigned purpose of resisting a possible attack on the place
by the Americans, who were described to the people as cannibals and
ferocious monsters more terrible than the dreaded Moros. Naturally
the real object of the military preparations was the Spaniards'
justifiable endeavour to be ready to defend themselves against open
rebellion when the true situation should ooze out. Nor was their
misrepresentation of the Americans mere spiteful calumny; the Spaniards
were in great jeopardy, and they instinctively wished to destroy any
feeling of welcome which the natives might have for the new-comers
for fear it might operate against themselves at the supreme moment of
danger. Indeed, each party--native and Spanish--was seeking to outwit
the other; hence, when the Zamboanguenos were promised a supply of arms
for the ostensible purpose of resisting invasion, they pretended to
co-operate heartily with the Spaniards' defensive measures, with the
secret design of dispossessing the Spaniards of their arms in order to
use them against them. The Zamboanguenos therefore became so persistent
in their demand upon Montero to fulfil his predecessor's promise
that at last he had frankly to confess that peace had been signed
between Spain and America, whereby the Islands were surrendered to the
United States, and that very shortly the Spaniards would evacuate the
Archipelago. But the conflicting versions o