er willingness to attempt any new thing gradually got
the better of the local knowledge and unscrupulousness as to the laws
of war which had at first, given the natives an advantage. Funston, now
Brigadier General, and his "suicide squad" continued to play an active
part, but a similar spirit of daring and ingenuity pervaded the whole
army.

Broken as were the Filipino field forces and widening as was the area of
peace, the result of the island campaign was still uncertain. It rested
upon two unknown quantities. The first was the nature of the Filipinos.
Would they remain irreconcilable, ever ready to take advantage of a
moment of weakness? If such were to be the case, we could look for no
real conquest, but only a forcible occupation, which the people of
the United States would never consent to maintain. The second unknown
quantity was the American people themselves. Would they sustain
the occupation sufficiently long to give a reasonable test of the
possibilities of success?

Two events brought these uncertainties to an end. In the first place,
William Jennings Bryan was defeated for the presidency in November,
1900, and President McKinley was given four more years in which to
complete the experiment. In the second place, on March 23, 1901,
Aguinaldo, who had been long in concealment, was captured. Though there
had long been no possibility of really commanding the insurgent forces
as a whole, Aguinaldo had remained the center of revolt and occasionally
showed his hand, as in the attempt to negotiate a peace on the basis of
independence. In February an intercepted letter had given a clue to his
hiding place. Funston, in spite of his new rank, determined personally
to undertake the capture. The signature of Lacuna, one of the insurgent
leaders, was forged and letters were sent to Aguinaldo informing him
of the capture of five Americans, who were being sent to headquarters.
Among the five was Funston himself. The "insurgent" guard, clad in
captured uniforms, consisted for the most part of Macabebes, hereditary
enemies of the Tagalogs--for the Americans had now learned the Roman
trick of using one people against another. The ruse succeeded perfectly.
The guard and its supposed prisoners were joyfully received by
Aguinaldo, but the tables were quickly turned and Aguinaldo's capture
was promptly effected.

On the 19th of April, Aguinaldo wrote: "After mature deliberation, I
resolutely proclaim to the world that I cannot