y put upon its mettle. It had inherited from
the army an incipient epidemic of bubonic plague in Manila, and
the disease soon spread to Cavite and also to Cebu, then the second
port of the Philippines in commercial importance. It also appeared in
several provincial towns near Cavite. An effective campaign against it,
inaugurated at this time, was never abandoned until it was completely
eradicated in 1906,--a noteworthy result to achieve in a country like
the Philippines.

On March 21, 1902, I was advised that two patients at San Juan de
Dios hospital were developing symptoms of Asiatic cholera, and on the
following day a positive laboratory diagnosis was made. Other cases
followed in quick succession, and we soon found ourselves facing a
virulent epidemic of this highly dangerous disease. At the outset
the mortality was practically 100 per cent. Unfortunately, there was
no one connected with the medical service of the islands who had had
practical experience in dealing with cholera, and we had to get this
as we went along.

At the time of the outbreak, Governor Taft was in the United States,
Acting Governor Wright was in Leyte, the secretary of finance and
justice was in Japan, and there were present in Manila only the
secretary of public instruction and the secretary of the interior. As
the executive head of the government was absent, and there was no
quorum of the legislative body, I of necessity arrogated to myself
powers which I did not lawfully possess, appointing employees and
incurring expenses without the usual formalities.

On the morning of March 22 I informed General Chaffee that four cases
of cholera had occurred in Manila, and requested that an adequate
military force be despatched to the valley of the Mariquina River to
protect the city water supply from possible contamination.

This request was promptly acceded to, and the guard thereafter
maintained proved adequate to prevent infection of the city water,
although there are three towns on the river above the intake, and it
was the custom of their people to bathe and wash their clothing in
this stream. Many of the filthy surface wells of the city were filled
as rapidly as possible, and those that could not be filled were closed.

The people, entirely unaccustomed as they were to any sanitary
restrictions, believing that the disease was not cholera, and firm in
their conviction that they had a right to do whatever they liked so
long as they kept on th