Stories of great Filipinos

RIGHT REV. DOCTOR MIGUEL LINO DE ESPELETA S71" Go~ernor oj the Phili ppine I.lan d., June 1759-JuI1l1781

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STORIES OF

GREAT FILIPINOS DONATED BY AYALA ~-0RP <' RATION TO FILIPINAS FOUNDA T10N, INC. BY

F-RANCISCO BENITEZ AND ......5-~

..

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NATIONAL BOOK COMPANY MANILA,

1925

Literar" Propert" 0/ Francisco Benitez and Conrado Benitez.

All Rioht. Reserved

CO;PYRIGHT 19$6 b" FRANCISCO BENITEZ and CONRADO BENITEZ

1518

THIRD E D ITION

Bnora",nQs b" A. Garc1a ,

Printed by

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MCCULLOUGH PRINTING COMl'ANY.

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PREFACE

Many years' contlfct with different classes of students, both in the lower grades and in the university, has convinced the authors of the urgent necessity of preparing a historical reader based on the lives of Filipinos who have in the past distinguished themselves for service to country. Hence this book, whose primary . objective is to acquaint the young Filipinos with the achievements of their ancestors, thereby giving their growing minds the historical and inspirational background essential to the development of patriotism.

Teaching by precept and example is one of the fundamental principles of modern pedagogy.

This collection of Filipino biographies furnishes examples of worthy lives among the pupils' own countrymen who rendered valuable service to the community in some line of national activity. The charge has often been made by

persons intimately acquainted with our schools that the students know more about the heroes of other nations than of their own. This anomalous situation is not to be attributed to lack of interest on the part of the students. It is rather due to lack of proper reading materials.

This gap in our student mental life is what the authors intend to fill through the publication of this book.

In the selection of the names of eminent Filipinos, there has been an attempt to present representative characters covering the whole of the known history of the people. The arrangement is chron logical, and through the lives of these Filipinos there may be discerned the changing social environment of the Philippines and the different national problems confronting the people in their struggle for a national personality.

Many other names could have been included in the list chosen. But only the essential types were selected, in line with the authors' aim of teaching the value of public service by . giving the lives of Filipinos who have served their country and people.

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STORIES OF GREAT FILIPINOS 1< Princess Urduja, of Pangasinan (14th century), 13 2. Lapu-Iapu, Vio.tor of Mactang (16th century), 14 3. Raja Matanda, Last of the Maynila Kings (16th century), 20 4. Magat Salamat, Martyr (16tn c-entury), 23 Panday Pira, the Cannon Founder (16th century), 25 6. Magalat, Brave Cagayan Chief (16th century), 27 7. Sultan Kudrat of Mindanao (16th and 17th centuries), 31 8. /ncting-Governor Espeleta (18th century), 35 9. Diego Silang, TIocano Leader (18th century) , 37 to. Bentura de路 os Reyes, Deputy to the Cortes (18th and 19th centuries), 42 ll. /Francisco BaIa.gtas, Poet (19th century), 45 12. Jose M. Jugo, qf the Economic Society, 50 13. Margarita Roxas, Philanthropist, 53 14. Jose Burgos, Teacher of Patriotism, 57 15. Graciano Lopez J aena, Orator, 60 16. ~acleto del Rosario, Chemist, 63 17. Jose Rizal, Greatest of Filipinos, 67 18. Juan Luna, Painter, 71 19. ", Marcelo H. del Pilar, Newspaperman, 76 20. Andres Bonifacio, Founder of the Katipunan, 81 21. Emilio Jacinto, the Brains of the Katipunan, 84 22. 'Tandang Soral Patriot, 88 23. Edilberto Evangelista, Engineer, 91 24. Antonio Luna, Soldier, 97 25. Gregorio del Pilar, Hero of Tila, 101 26. Jose Palma and the Philippine National Hymn, 108 27. Apolinario Mabini, the "Sublime Paralytic", 111 28. Luis R. Y,!-ngco, Shipowner, 116 29. Manuel Guerrero, the Children's Benefactor, 119 ::l0. Cayetano Arellano, Jurist, 122

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PRINCESS URDUJA OF PANGASINAN About six hundred years ago, Pangasinan was an important kingdom. At one time, t:b.e ruler in Pangasinan was a woman whose name W9:s Princess Urduja. She was young and very well educated. 路 She could write and speak several languages. She was also very brave.

In battle she led her soldiers herself. She was a good genera] . . Once, an Arab traveler came路 to the Philippines. He visited the court of the Princess.

He was very much astonished at what he saw.

The Princess was dressed in the richest clothes.

She wore gold ornaments on her arms and around her neck. She served him wine from costly Chinese jars. The food that she gave him was delicious. He especially liked a dish of turtle eggs.

He thought she would not understand his language. But when he said a few words to her in Arabic, she answered quickly in the same tongue. [ 13]

Many suitors came to the court of Princes::; Urduja. They wanted to win her hand: But the Princess said to all of them: "I will marry only the man that can defeat me. My husband must be braver and stronger than 1."

The suitors were afraid to try. Her bravery and skill in battle were too well known. They thought that it would be shameful to be defeated by a woman. So they aU went back to thei"r homes. Princess Urduja never married.

Mter the death of her brother, she becamt:' ruler of Lingayen. She ruled very wisely.

But she was not satisfied with her power. Many travelers, visiting her cour , told her wonderful tales of India. They called it the Pepper Country. They told her about India's wealth and great size. Princess Urduja was seized with a great desire to go to the Pepper Country and conquer it. But she had enough to do ruling her people.

LAPU-LAPU, VIOTOR OF MACTANG Long, long ago the Filipinos were ruled by chiefs. The most powerful chief in an island [ 14]

respected by the other chiefs who were not so powerful. He was like an elder brother to them. He was very often called king.

About four hundred years ago, the most powerful chief in Cebu was Humabad. In those days Cebu was called Sugbu. One day Humabad saw some strange ships come sailing into the bay. These ships were ' diff~rent from the Chinese boats that came there to trade.

Soon the ships cast anchor. Then a small boat rowed to the shore with a messenger.

The messenger was a Malay. He spoke to King Humabad in the Malay language.

"I have been sent by Ferdinand Magellan, subject of the powerful king of Spain. He wishes to land on your shores."

"If he is a friend," answered King Humabad, "1 will allow him to land. Tell him 1 will receive him and his men."

So Ferdinand Magellan, the first Spaniard to come to the Philippines, came on shore with his soldiers. They were all clad in shining armor. The points of their long lances gleamed in the bright sun. was

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Humabad and his court were gathered in the shade of a large tree. The king had on rich silk clothes covered with beautiful embroidery.

Around his head was a piece of red silk. This red cloth was called "putong" and it was red to show that the king was a warrior. There were gold bracelets on his arms. At his side hung his sharp campilan incased in a finely carved scabbard.

The queen and her women were also richly dressed. The Spaniards were greatly astonished. TheJ\ said to themselves, "These people dress better han we do" They were even more astonished when later they were asked to eat with the king. The plates on which the food was served were of Chinese porcelain.

The Spaniards had never before seen porcelain plates. At that time, most people in Europe used wooden plates to eat. from.

Magellan wanted to show the Cebuans how well his men could fight. He called two of his soldiers and told them to give an exhibition fight. .

"You can see that no weapon can cut thru the armor," Magellan said. Hundreds of people [ ]6]

had gathered to watch the Spaniards fight.

Most of them were Cebuans.

Some spectators at the exhibition were from the nearby islands. They happened to be in Cebu that day to trade. They looked on and saW nothing. But they noticed one thing that they remembered afterwards. They saw that the Spanish armor had weak places. These places were at the joints. At the shoulders, elbows, and knees, the pieces of the armor were loosely joined to allow the soldier to move his arms and legS. Ferdinand l'4age)lan told King Humabad about the Christian religion; and asked him to . become a Christian. Humabad consented. Hewas baptized. The Spaniards fired a salute,. while the Cebuans beat their gongs and clashed: their cymbals.

Now, after King Humabad was baptized, Magellan sent messages to the other chiefs.

He said to them: "King Humabad is now a Christian. He is the friend of the King of Spain. You must come and kiss his hand." r 17 J

This message reached Mactang where Lapulapu was chief.

"Why should I kiss Hurnabad's hand?" said Lapu-Iapu. "I am not a slave. And who i~ this King of Spain? I do not know him."

Magellan was angered when he learned the _ 'answer of Lapu-Iapu. Again he sent a messenger to Lapu-Iapu commanding him to submit. "If ~ -you do not submit," said the message, "you shall feel the sharpness of the Spanish lances."

Lapu-Iapu answered: "If the Spaniards have lances, we, too, have them. Ours are made of wood hardened in the fire."

Magellan saw that he would have to compel the proud chief to submit. He planned to go to Mactang early the next day. He asked the" Cebuans to cross over with him and see how welJ the Spaniards could fight.

I t was still dark the next morning when the Spaniards arose. With burning torches to light the way, they crossed: the narrow strip of sea between Cebu and the small island of Mactang.

They reached Mactang before sunrise. Lapulapu's village was very quiet. The people were still sleeping. [ 18

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The Spaniards rushed up the beach with their burning torches. They went to that side of the village farthest from the beach. They set fire to the houses. The nipa and bamboo flared up quickly. The darkness was reddened with th~ flames.

"Fire! Fire! Enemies!" the villagers shouted, a,wakened from their sleep. Lapu-Iapu heard the voices. He snatched up his weapons and rushed out. He suspected that the Spaniards had come over.

HThey are ' attacking at dawn!" Lapu-Iapu said, in anger. "That is not right!" Our ancestors held that it was wrong to attack an enemy in his sleep. So Lapu-Iapu thought that the Spaniards were behaving, not like brave warriors, but like wild savages from the mountains.

Lapu-Iapu joined his men, who had already armed themselves. They were all angry. They a,ttacked the Spaniards furiously. They could not pierce the metal armor of their enemies.

But soon they remembered what they had seen at the exhibition fight in Cebu. So they aimed at the weak places in the armor. Lapu-Iapu's [ 19]

men killed some of the enemy. When Magellan)~ soldiers saw that their armor was no longer useful, they ran away, leaving their leader alone. Magellan was killed. His cowardly companions took to their boats and sailed back to Cebu. In relating the story, they exaggerated t,he number of Lapu-Iapu's men~ They said that there were thousands, because they had to pxplain in some way why they had run away.

RAJA MATANDA, LAST OF THE +V1AYNILA ;KINGS When you are old enough to study the history of our country you will learn why the ancient kings of Borneo and the chiefs of Maynila wer(-' relatives. Raja Matanda, the last Maynila king. was the grandson of the King of Borneo When he was young, his name was not Raja Matanda. M atanda is a Tagalog word which means "old". Raja Matanda only means "the old raja". This is the name by which people called him in his old age. Raja Matanda)~ real name was Mahomet. He was ' a ,Mohammedan. He was a Moro. His ancestors had [ 20]

<.: ome up to Luzon from the southern part. of the Philippines.

His father h~d died when Mahomet was still very young. He was too young to rule Maynila, so he went to live with his cousin, the chief of Tondo.

The young Mahomet did not like the life hE' led in his cousin's house. He wanted to go out into the world and do great deeds. When he had grown to be a young man, he often told his mother th~t he wanted to go away.

"Mother," he begged, "I can not stay here C:tny longer. My cousin will not let me rule Maynila. He does not treat me well. PJea8e let me go away."

The mother was sad, but. she consented at last. She said, "My son, go to your grandfather, the King of Borneo, and stay with him a while." â&#x20AC;˘ The chief of Tondo was unwilling to let Mahomet go. With the help of his mother. the young man escaped in a boat. He took with him a few bold men who were his father's friends. After weeks of sailing, they reached Borneo., The king was glad to see Mahomet.

He gave his grandson ships and men and told [21 J

him to go and show his bravery. Mahomet sailed to Sarawak and other important towns.

He captured them in the name of his grandfather.

When Mahomet returned to his grandfather's court, he was warmly received. New friends joined him because they admired his bravery. His grandfather made him admiral of the Bornean fleet.

One day, while Mahomet was sailing in Bornean waters, he saw a fleet of strange vessels approaching. They were Spanish ships under the commana of Ferdinand Magellan. The Spaniards at once attacked Mahomet's vessel because it was tltle flagship. They went on board and captured the young admi.ral.

When they learned that their prisoner was the grandson of the King of Borneo, they released him at once~ They knew how powerful the Bornean king was. Mahomet thanked them.

"I shall never forget your courtesy," he told the Spaniards. "I shall always be your friend."

Mter his release, Mahomet took his fleet to Luzon. He told his cousin, the chief of Tondo. that he had come back to rule Maynila. So he became Raja.

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Years afterward, when the Spaniard Goiti came to Maynila, the Raja was already an old man. He was no longer known as Mahomet, but as Raja Matanda. He still remembered his.,J>romise of friendship. Even the Spaniards say that he kept his word.

We are proud of Raja Matanda because of his regard for his word.

MAGATSALAMAT,MARTYR Magat Salamat was the son of Raja Soliman of Maynila, the heir of Raja Matanda.

The Spaniards arrived at Maynila when he was a mere boy. He remembered how Goiti had sent a message to his father and to the other chiefs. The message said: "I am anchored at Cavite. I have with me many ships and men. I want to be your friend."

Raja Soliman, with his uncle, Raja Matanda, met the Spaniards on the beach of Tondo.

"We accept your offer of friendship," they said. "You are welcome."

The chiefs accompanied the Spaniards into Maynila. They treated the visitors very well.

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But the friendship did not last long. The Filipinos did not like the way in which -they were being treated. They armed themselves and prepared for battle. Goiti learned of these preparations. He captured the old Filipino fort on the Pasig. He took possession of Maynila.

The young Magat Salamat was then in his father's house. Soon, Spanish soldiers came up and broke qown the wooden door. They opened the trunks. They filled their pockets with the jewels that th y found. They also took away other valuables.

Magat Salamat never forgot this scene, even when he grew up to be a young man. He often said to himself: "These people came to . our country as friends. But they are not behavin~ like friends."

Seeing how unhappy his people were, he wrote to the Spanish commander. He said: "Your men are forgetting our friendship."

The Spaniards did not listen to the protest. So Magat Salamat planned to drive them away. [ 241

The Japanese who were then in Maynila offered to help him. He promised to give them guns.

Everything was ready. Unfortunately, a traitor, the servant of a Spanish officer, disco~red the plan. He told his master about it. Immediately the路 Spaniards arrested the chiefs and their sons. They were all put in prISon. They were tried. Thirty-two were declared guilty. The Spaniards said they were guilty of "treason and rebellion." Magat Salamat and seven of his companions were hanged. All the rest were sent away to far-distant lands.

Thus did the Filipinos of southern Luzon lose their leaders.

PANDAY PIRA, THE CANNON FOUNDER Panday Pira was a maker of cannon. Panday is a Tagalog word which means ironsmith. He lived in Maynila about four hundred years ago.

He was a Moro. That is to say, he was a . Mohammedan.

You must know that the Filipinos had cannon long before the Spaniards came to our country. [ 25]

There was a strong Filipino fort. in Manila. It was at the mouth of ' the Pasig River where Fort Santiago now stands. This fort was defended by large cannon. Most of these cannons were made by Panday Pira. They were as large as the largest Malaga cannon that the Spaniards used. But the gunpowder was not very good.

The Filipinos had learned from the Arabs and the O~nese how to make cannon and how to use gunp wder. The Chinese were the first people in the orld to use gunpowder.

Ironsmiths were greatly respected by our ancestors. So Pan day Pira was an important man in Maynila four hundred years ago.

We have learned how Martin de Goiti, the Spaniard, came to Maynila and captured the fort. The people fled to Malate. Panday Pira left with the rest, and went to Pampanga. He was already old. He wished to spend the rest of his life with his relatives.

But the Spaniards needed him. There was nobody among them that could make cannon. ~ They" sent a messenger to Pampanga to tel]' [26]

Panday Pira to return. So the old smith went back.

He put up his new foundry in Lamayan, in Santa Ana. The Spaniards allowed no Filipino to enter the Walled City. Later, however, they let1:tim move into the Walled City.

The Spaniards admired Panday Pira very much. In their books they call him Pandapira.

They thought his name was only one word. , When he died they wrote to the King of Spain.

"Please send us a cannon founder,'" they wrote, "Pandapira, our cannon maker, is dead. We can not find a single man 8imong us to take his place."

MAGALAT, BRAVE CAGAYAN CHIEF Jose Rizal speaks of the Filipinos of Cagayan as the "unconquerable Cagayanes in whose breast lives the spirit of the Magalat."

Magalat was a brave chieftain who lived in Cagayan about three hundred years ago. He was very kindhearted. He looked on his people as his children. ., As soon as the Spaniards arrived in the northern provinces, some of them began to treat the [27 )

people unjustly. The poor farmers were the ones who suffered most.

One morning a group of men came running to Magalat's house. They were armed with sticks and stones. They were breathless. One of them was bleeding from a wound.

Magalat and his brother came out to meet them.

"What has happened?" they asked.

"We had a fight with the collectors of tribute," the wounded man answered.

"Why?" "Last year, you know, everybody had enough money. We could have paid the tribute in money. But they would not take it. Mter the harvest, we hoped they would accept rice as tribute. They would not take the rice.

They, too, had plenty of rice. So we stored up our rice. Now t.hat rice is scarce, they com(-> and say, 'Pay us tribute in rice'. We can not pay in rice. We shall have nothing to eat if we do."

Magalat's heart filled with anger at what he heard. [ 28)

"They have done this to us every year. We have no more patience left. Magalat, you are our chief. Will you lead us?"

Magalat opened the doors of his house and told the farmers to come in.

'13tay here until I come back," he said to his brother. "Bolt the doors and don't let anybody else come in."

He went to see if he could get justice. But he failed. He was put under arrest. Soldiert' went to capture his brother and the farmers who had thrown stones at the collectors of tribute.

Magalat and his brother were put in a boat and sent to Maynila as prisoners.

Mter long weeks on the sea, they reached Maynila. They were chained <~ together and taken to the old Filipino fort on the banks of the Pasig. There they remained many months.

Once in a while, they were allowed to leav~ their cell. Then they would look out on th~ old town of Maynila with its queer little house~ built out into the water. The houses were supported on tall posts so that 'high tide would not reach the floors. Here and there were large wooden houses with cabo negro roofs. Those [ 29)

were the houses of the prominent Maynila Fili.pinos of those early days.

Magalat was homesick for his little village in far-away Cagayan.

"How are my people doing?" he wondered to himself. He thought he would never see them again.

However, he did see them again. A kind missionary became interested in him and in his brother. This kindhearted priest went to the Spanish Gov.ernor-General and asked him to pardon the l)~others and let them go back home.

The Governor-General oonsented. Magalat and his brother weJ1e set free. .

Before they left Maynila, they went to the kind priest .to thank him.

"I have promised the Governor-General路 that you will make no more trouble," said the misslOnary.

Magalat answered gravely, "If all the Spaniards in this country were like you, there would be no need of making trouble."

When Magalat returned to Cagayan, he found the people poor and unhappy. The farmers had abandoned their fields.

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"What is the use of trying to raise crops?

The Spaniards take them away from us."

Some of Magalat's neighbors had gone to live in the hills with their families. "In the hills there are no Spaniards," they said.

Magalat saw that he must again lead the people. In his house he gathered all those that came .to him. The house was large and was made of wood. They set to work fortifying the place. They dug a deep ditch around the house. The earth that they took out of the ditch they piled up in ;mounds.

The Spanish soldiers came, but they could not .capture Magal~t and his men. When the other Cagayanes heard of the success of this chieftain, they gathered around him in large numbers.

But he did not live to lead them. He was treacherously murdered.

SULTAN KUDRAT OF MINDANAO One of the most powerfl,ll of the early Filipino chiefs was Sultan Kudrat. He ruled a large part of IVIindanao. [ 31]

About three hundred years ago, the Spaniards began to send soldiers to the territory of Sultan Kudrat. They wanted to _conquer him. The captain of one of the expeditions was a very brave but foolish Spaniard. He had been told to go to Boayan to strengthen the fort there. But instead, he sailed up the Simuay River and sent a message to the Sultan.

"I have come to fight you," the message :3aid. "If you are as brave as people say, come out and fight."

Kudrat and his men appeared in answer to the challenge. A fierce battle was fought. It lasted one whole day. B midnight there were only six Spaniards left. They were taken pnsoners.

Kudrat admired the Spanish captain because of his bravery.

"You are a brave man," he said. "You deserve to live."

But the Governor of Zamboanga sent Kudrat a message, offering to exchange prisoners.

"I have captured some of your men. I will send them back to you if you will return my soldiers," the Governor said.

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Kudrat was willing to exchange prisoners.

But he did not want to return the Spanish captain to Zamboanga. He knew that the Governor would punish the brave man for his foolishness.

1le sent for the captain. He said to him: "The Governor of Zamboanga wants me to exchange you. I know he will punish you.

Let me help you to go away to Spain where you will be safe."

The brave captain refused to escape punishment. So he 'was sent to Zamboanga together with the other r>risoners. The Governor was so angry that he ordered the captain's head cut off.

When Kudrat learned of this sentence, he was greatly angered at the cruelty of the Governor.

When the new Spanish Governor-General arrived at Manila, he sent a message to Kudrat inviting him to go to Manila.

Kudrat knew that he would not be safe if he should go to Manila. So in his stead he sent the son of a slave to present a campilan, a l~ge Filipino knife, as a gift to the new Governor-General.

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The Governor-General thought a long time over the Sultan's present. "The son of a slave!

A campilan! I wonder what Kudrat means."

He suspected the Sultan of playing a joke on him.

Kudrat was respected thruout the whole of Mindanao. The story is told that once the Spaniards set out from Zamboanga in their ships. They were going to fight Kudrat. Now the ships were mahned by Moro sailors. When they learned that the Spaniards were going to 'fight Sultan Kudrat, they refused to go on. ((We do no want to fight the Sultan," they said.

So the Spacish ships had to go back to Zamboanga.

Kudrat was a brave fighter. Yet he was not cruel to his enemies. He spared the lives of the Spaniards that fell into his power. The messengers that came to him were allowed to go back unharmed" He was a wise ruler. He encouraged his people to plant their farms. He told them of Maynila and taught them to trade with the (34)

Filipinos of the north. Even the Spaniards said that he was wise and courageous.

Sultan Kudrat lived to be ninety years old.

In his old age, he built a great fort at the mouth of the Boayan river M protect his lands. He persuaded the other chiefs to fortify the other . < rIvers.

Before he died, he saw his dream come true, for the Spaniards left Mindanao. They abandoned the forts of Jolo and Zamboanga. .

ACTING~GOVERNOR

ESPELETA Only one Filipino has held the office of Governor-General df the Philippine Islands. This Filipino was Acting-Governor Espeleta. .

Espeleta was born in Manila about two hundred years ago. His parents had Chinese blood. In the days of the Spaniards, the people were divided into distinct classes. The Chinese mestizo class were the least favored of the different classes. They even had to pay higher taxes than the others.

Espeleta studied for the priesthood. Because he had much ability, he rose to become Bishop of Cebu. At this time, the Archbishop of [ 35)

Manila died. So the position fell vacant.

Bishop Espeleta became acting archbishop.

The old Spanish laws provided that when for any reason the position of GovernorGeneral should fall vacant, the Archbishop of Manila should govern in his place. This law made Espeleta Governor-General. While he was Acting Archbishop of Manila, the GovernorGeneral died. So he became acting GovernorGeneral. This is how a Filipino became Governor-General of the Philippines.

AB you see, he was only acting-archbishop.

Soon the new archbishop of Manila was appointed. He was Archbisl;lOp Rojo. When he arrived in Manila, he wanted to be the Acting Governor-General. But Espeleta said, "I am now Acting Governor-General. I have a right to remain as such .until the new GovernorGeneral arrives." He thought that he could do much for his country in that high office. He refused to leave the office. For two years he was Governor. He made a good record.

Later Governor-General Anda ' made him special governor for all the southern islands.

He governed very wisely. ( 361

We are proud of this able Filipino. He worked hard to fit himself for responsibility.

When his chance came, he seized it. He knew that he had had the proper training. He knew his rights and was not afraid to assert them.

This' is an important lesso.n for us. We must learn what our rights are. Then we must not allow anybody to take them away. Only in this way can we remain free.

DIEGO SILANG, ILOCANO LEADER When Diego ilang was a boy, he worked for the parish priest of Vigan. Once his master sent him to MaBila on an errand. The boy Diego started on the long journey with some companions. They went in a sailboat.

After many days, the little sailboat approached the coast of Zambales. One night a great storm arose. Huge waves struck the vessel.

The little Diego sat huddled in the dark. He was shivering in the cold wind. The sea water had completely drenched hi~ clothes. All the long night he prayed to God to save him and his companions from the sea. Then morning came.

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The little sailboat was still being carried back and forth by the waves. At last it broke to pieces on some big rocks. But the people in it were able to reach shore.

Soon, however, they heard loud shouts. They looked toward the hills. They saw a group of little black men. They were running forward very fast. They carried bows and arrows.

"Negritos!" shouted the little Diego.

The Negritos began shooting. They killed all of the men. Only the boy Diego was left alive.

"Do not kill him," said the chief of the Negritos. "We will take him with us. He shall be our servant."

So they took Diego to the hills. He lived with the little black people for many years.

They kept wandering from place to place.

Wherever they went, they built little roofs to shelter them at night. These little roofs were made of leaves. The boy Diego helped his masters to gather the leaves and to build the roofs. Sometimes he went out with the hunters â&#x20AC;˘ to shoot deer and to snare birds. He learned how to shoot with the bow and arrow.

[3S]

The Negl'itos were kind to the boy, but he wanted to go back to his home in Vigan.

One day a kind missionary went to the hills to teach Christianity to the N egritos. He gave the N egritos a piece of cloth and took Diego away with him.

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So Diego left the hills and returned to the lowlands. He thanked the kind missionary and said good-bye to him. Then he walked many weary days t o Pangasinan. He had some relatives there. . He stayed with his relatives a few years.

When Diego ~ ilang was already a young man, he went back to Vigan. He earned a living as messenger. People paid him to deliver letters .and messages to distant places. He became well known. He made many friends.

In his travels he heard the poor people telling of their troubles. In one town, he saw how the Spaniards took away the farmers" crops. In another place, the people were made' to work without pay. Everywhere 'the common people were unhappy. They wanteQ a brave man t<} defend them.

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Silang took pity on the cornmon people. He gathered them together at a place called Pongol.

He asked them what their complaints were.

"The Spaniards make us pay tribute," they cried.

"Everybody should pay this," Silang explained, "because the government needs money to keep peace."

"But the government does not keep peace.

It does not protect us. Robbers take away our crops and burn our houses. They hurt our wives and children. Why doesn't the government . punish these r bbers?" they complained.

"Besides," another poor farmer added, "when we have no money to pay as tribute, the collectors take away our crops. Our wives and children are left with nothing to eat."

A tall, dark man came forward and said, "The Spaniards make us work in their houses without pay. Every time they need servants they send for us and make us work. Then our fields remain uncultivated and our children starve."

Diego Silang listened to them. Then he wrote a letter to the Bishop of Vigan. The letter asked [401

him to stop making the people pay unjust tribute.

It also asked him not to make the people work for nothing. !

When the Bishop received this letter, he announced that Silang was a traitor to Spain.

He"told the people not to give him any help.

When Silang heard this, he armed his men with bolos. Then he marched to the Spanish fort. He took away the guns and carried them to Pongol.

He told the people that there was no more Spanish government in the Ilocos provinces.

He abolished the tribute. The people could now work their fields and raise their crops.

Nobody compelled them to work for nothing.

Nobody came to take away their crops.

The people in Cagayan heard of Silang's government. They too rose in revolt. The Spaniards became alarmed. They sent an army to punish him, but the army failed.

When they saw that they could not defeat Diego Silang in open fight, his enemies hired an assassin to kill him. ThiS' treacherous man pretended to be Silang's friend. One day at two o'clock in the afternoon, this murderer [41 J

went to Silang's house. He did not go up, but stayed in the yard. He crept up silently and saw Silang standing with his back to the window.

He took aim and shot him in the back. Silang was killed.

After Diego Silang's death, his wife commanded his army. But she was captured in Abra and hanged.

BENTURA DE LOS REYES, DEPUTY TO THE CORTES Before we study the life of Bentura de los Reyes, we must learn what the Cortes was.

You know, of course, that Spain has been ruled by kings. However, there was a time when the Spanish king was a prisoner in Paris. Since the king was in prison, there was nobody to run the government. So the Spanish people elected an assembly to make their laws. This assembly was called the Cortes. It was made up of representatives of the people. Because the Philippines was a colony of Spain, it also sent a deputy to the Cortes. Bentura de los Reyes w.as the first Filipino deputy to be sent from the Philippines. [ 42]

Bentura de los Reyes was born in the Ilocos regIOn. The Ilocanos are the most adventurous people in the Philippines. Bentura de los Reyes loved adv.enture. He especially loved the sea. When he was a young man he left home. He wanted to be a sailor. He found work on board a ship which made trips to China. He stayed on the sea many years. At last he became captain of a ship. He used to sail up and down the coast of China. He carried merchandise to and from the different Chinese ports.

I t was while he was captain of a trading vessel that he began to understand how harmful to the Philippines were the N aos de Acapulco.

Do you know what the N aos de Acapulco were? They were Spanish boats or galleons that sailed once a year b~tween Manila and Acapulco in Mexico. These galleons were the only ships that were allowed to carry Philippine goods to other lands. The" people in the Philippines could not ship any cargo in other vessels . .

Because of these restrictions, trade was very slow. The merchants were discouraged from [ 43]

engaging in large trade. The country did not prosper.

As soon as Bentura de los Reyes had taken his seat in the Cortes, he began to work for the abolition of the yearly galleon to Mexico.

"Let other ships come to the Philippines," he asked. "We have many products. We want to send them to other countries. How can we send them if we have to wait one year for the galleon to make one trip? If you will let other ships carry Ollr goods, the Philippines will produce more. ,:\he people will be prosperous."

The members of the Cortes saw that these reasons we~e good.. They at last abolished the galleon trade. Many ships then came to the Philippines. They carried away exports. The people were encouraged to produce more goods: The country began to prosper.

Bentura de los Reyes was proud of his country.

Whiie he was in Spain people often asked him, "Why do you spell your name with a B?" "Because we Filipinos have no V in our alphabet. My people always pronounce my name Bentura, not Ventura," he would reply. [ 44]

Bentura de los Reyes has a place in the history of Spain. He was one of those who signed the Cadiz Constitution of 1812. A few ' years ago Spain celebrated the one-hundredth anniversary of the signing of the Constitution. The Phifippines was invited to send a memorial of Bentura de los Reyes and to take par.t in the celebration. When you come to study history, you will learn why the signing of the Cadiz Constitution was a great event in Spanish history ..

FRANcr~co

BALAGTAS, POET In old days, the blacksmith was considered a very important person. So in the little town of Bigaa, in Bulacan, Francisco Balagtas' father was respected by everybody. In his shop the people used to gather at all hours of the day.

They talked of t,hings that were happening in the country. The old blacksmith stopped his . work once in a while to listen to the talk or to give his opinions.

The little boy Francisco loved to stay in his father's shop. He liked the ring of iron as his [45 J

father worked. He liked to watch the bright sparks fly as the blacksmith pounded iron with his hammer. But above all, he liked to listen to the talk. By listening he learned many things. which he never forgot even after he had grown to be a man.

He learned that his native land was ruled by the Spaniards. They were often cruel and unjust. The Filipinos were unhappy. The young boy heard these things. He kept thinking about them for a long time afterward.

The boy wanted to study, but his father was too poor to pa for his education. So the young Francisco came to Manila. He found work with a family in Tondo. In the mornings, he worked.

In the afternoons, he went to school. Whenever he had a little time left, he made up little Tagalog verses which he used to sing everywhere he went.' Sometimes he would sing them on the streets when he was on his way to school. At first people thought he was crazy. Soon, however, they became used to his singing. They ' would)ook out of their windows as he passed by.

They always had a kind word for the young poet. [ 46]

FRANCISCO BALAGTAS BALTAZAR

[ 47J

.,,~

.

Francisco Balagtas liked little children. Many of his verses are for children. So in those days . . when children were not good, their mothers always recited one of Balagtas' verses to them . saying, "Look out! Kiko Will not like you any more." Kiko was the nickname people gave to Francisco Balagtas.

When the poet had grown to be a young man. he had a quarrel with a powerful cacique. The cacique had him put in jail. Balagtas was kept in jail man month~.

While he was in jail, he wrote his greatest poem, "Floran,te at Laura". In this poem he told the story of his life. He also told of the sufferings of his' countrymen and of the abuses of the powerful ones. In those days the Filipinos could not say what they thought of the Spaniards.

If they did, they were punished by the governmen t. So Balagtas had to disguise his story.

He pretended that the story happened in a kingdom called Albania. He pretended to be telling about kings and princesses. The Albania that he told about was really the Philippines.

One of the lessons he teaches us in his poem, Florante at Laura, is religious tolerance. ' hat [ 48]

.... is to say, he taught us to love even those who have a different religion from ours. He said that the Moro and the Christian should love each other like brothers. They are the children of only one country, the Philippines.

When Francisco Balagtas was set free he ' began to write comedias. He gathered together a company of players. He used to take his company to town fiestas to play before the people.

One day a "town in Bulacan was celebrating a fiesta. The parish priest sent for Balagtas.

"I want you 'to playa comedia tonight, " said the priest. "I want it to be a good one."

"I have several here," said the poet, presenting the comedias to the priest. "Will you tell me which one you want us to play?"

"I do not like any of them," he said.

"Then tell me a story that you like," said Balagtas.

The priest explained the stpry that he wanted played. Balagtas listened without saying 'anything. Then he gathered his players together.

He gave them the story. He told each one what [ 49 1

to say. That evening they played the comedia.

I t was very successful.

Francisco Balagtas lived to be a very old man. When he died, he left .many writings, but none of them is greater than "Florante at Laura".

JOSE M. JUGO, OF THE ECONOMIC SOCIETY You haVe heard many people speak of economic progr ss. Ecunomic progress is brought about thru in<{ease in wealth. But it does not mean increase in the wealth of one man or of a few men only. It means increase in the wealth of the millions of people that make up the nation.

Where there are a few very rich people and thousands of very poor ones there can be no economic progress. There must be prosperity for all.

When Jose J ugo was a young man he used to watch the farmers at work in the fields. First each farmer had to clear the land. He cut down the larger treJs. Then he set fire to the cogon.

The field burned for days and days. At night, [ 50]

it made a flaming spot in the darkness. At last nothing was left but the black stumps which still smoked. Then the farmer went out with his pick and iron bar. He dug up the stumps.

Then the field was ready for the plow . .-fn the early morning, he went out to get his black carabao from the pasture. Then he hitched the big, slow animal to an old plow. The blade turned one shallow furrow. Then back the animal would go, turning another shallow furrow. Baok and forth it went a few more times.

The sun sank. The da)l1 was done. But only half of the field was plowed.

"What slow work!" thought the young man .

"I wonder if there is some way that field could be worked in less time."

The thought would not leave his mind. He kept thinking, "If the farmers could work their fields more quickly, they could plant more rice.

Then they would be richer. If they were richer the Philippines would be richer too."

He began to tell the farmers about farm machinery. One machine, he told them, could do the work of many men. He taught them to choose good seed for planting. [ 51)

"If you select good seeds," he explained to

them, "your crops will be much greater."

He persuaded the richer Filipinos to put together enough money , to send a student to India. This student was sent to study the indigo plant and indigo dyeing among the Hindus. Indigo is a plant which produces ' a blue dye.

Because of his work for his countrymen, Jose Jugo was ~rrested and deported to Spain. He was kept a prisoner in Barcelona for many months. While in prison, he became acquainted with a poor Spaniard: who had also been imprisoned for his liberal ideas. Jose Jugo was sorry for his companion. He made up his mind to write to the Prime Minister to ask for the man's pardon. Jugo prepared a petition. He sent it to the Prime Minister. After reading it. the Minister asked: "Who wrote this paper?"

"Jose Jugo, sir. He is a Filipino," was the answer.

"Where is he?"

"He is in prison, sir. He is accused of having dangerous ideas." [ 52]

"What!" the Minister exclaimed. "He is in prison? A man who can think and write like this should not be in prison."

So Jose J ugo was given part of his liberty.

He was allowed to go free in the daytime. At rught he went back to prison. He found work to do during the hours when he was free.

After a time he was allowed to return to the Philippines. Thruout the rest of his life he worked to help the poor improve their way of living.

The Filipinos owe much to Jose M. Jugo's progressive ideas. He saw as clearly as we do now that a people must develop the resources of their country if they want to preserve its liberties.

MARGARITA R.oXAS, PHILANTHROPIST Margarita Roxas was a kind-hearted woman. ~he showed her love of her people and of her eountry thru good deeds. Her father, Domingo Roxas, was the most active business man in :\1anila one hundred years ago. He was one of those who tried to get better governmerit for the Philippines. Because of his efforts, Domingo Roxas was deported to Spain. [.53 J

Margarita Roxas had her father's business ability. . She herself managed the property which he left her after his death. She opened the first coal mine in the Philippines. This mine was in Cebu.

This great-hearted V\Toman had much wealth.

But she did not use it for herself alone. She used it to help her people, especially the poor.

At that time, there were no good schools for Filipino girls. Margarita Roxas wanted a good school for them. Whenever she saw unhappy homes she said t.o 路 herself, "That home is not happy becaus the mother is ignorant. The Filipino girls must have a good school. They路 must be educated if we want the homes to be happy."

So she wrote to the Sisters of Charity in Spaiu .

"I want some of you to come over and open a school for girls. I will pay all your expenses.

I will give you a building. I will help you all I can," she said in her letter.

The Sisters of Charity consented. Some came to the Philippines. They established & school called La Concordia. Margarita Roxa:-gave them a large building in Santa Ana in [ 54]

MARGARITA ROXAS DE AYALA

[ 55]

Manila. This school has beautiful gardens.

Today La Concordia is still one of the bestknown schools for girls in the Islands. Once a year, La Concordia celebrates a mass in honor of the memory of its founder.

Margarita Roxas was greatly loved by the poor. Whenever a poor man came to ask for her help she never :refused. However, she did not want people to know that she gave money to the poo . She hated to be praised for her kind deeds. .

She established in San Juan de Dios Hospital a ward for the sick poor. There the poor were cured without oharge. She paid all the expenses of the Sisters of Charity in that hospital.

She often went to visit the sick in the hospital.

The _Sisters always wanted to accompany her on her rounds.

"Please do not come with me, Sister," Margarita Roxas would beg. "I would much rather be alone."

"But that is not courteous to you," the Sister objected.

"That does not matter. I prefer to go around alone. The patients need you more than I do." ( 56]

So they let her alone. Everybody knew how modest Margarita Roxas was. She hated to have people pay her honors.

When she died, hundreds and hundreds attended her funeral. The streets of Manila were crowded with all kinds of people. The rich were there. The poor were also there t~ show their love for their benefactor.

Her life carries a lesson for the women of the Philippines. I t shows _how a woman may serve her cDuntry by' dbing kind deeds. ~

JOSE BURGOS, TEACHER OF PATRIOTISM Jose Burgos was a born -leader. When he was head student in San Juan de Letran, he led the other students in a protest. The boys protested because they thought that a Filipino who was next in line should be appointed his ::;uccessor as head of the students. The students were in the right. They won their point, but Burgos made many enemies': They hated him because they saw that he was fearless whenever he thought he was right. [ 57]

Burgos studied for the priei;3thood . . When he finished his studies) he took part in a competitiv~ examination to secure a position in the Cathedral at Manila.

He won the position. It was considered a great honor for a Filipino to win such a position.

Burgos was well treated by those above him. .But he saw that the other native priests were not justly treated. They could not hold parishes. Even the higpJ.y educated Filipino priests were only assistants to the friars) who treated them ike servants.

Burgos tried to secure justice for the native priests. He asked for them the same rights that the Spanish friars enjoyed. He pointed out that they should be allowed to occupy parishes because they had been educated for that work.

At the time when Jose Burgos was working for the Filipino priests) the Cavite Revolt of 1872 broke out. His enemies said that he had urged the people to revolt. They even said that he had gone from house to house to tell the people to rise. He was tried secretly. The [58 J

VERY REVEREND DOCTOR JOSE BURGOS

[ 59]

military court that tried him declared him guilty. He, with Father Gomez and Father Zamora, was condemned to death.

These three priests were executed on the field of Bagumbayan.

Before doing his work, the executioner approached Jose Burgos.

"Father," he said, "forgive me for what r am about to do." . "I forgive you, my son," was the quiet answer. "Do what is your duty."

Then he turned to the people who were present.

They had gone down on their knees. He extended his hands and gave them his blessing.

Thus did this patriot bravely meet death.

GRACIANO LOPEZ JAENA, 'ORATOR When Graciano Lopez Jaena was a student in Jaro, Iloilo, he wrote a story about a wicked priest. He called the story "Fray Botod". [t was a true account of the doings of the friar in his home town.

[60 )

-IX)

D

GRACIANO LOPEZ JAENA

[ 61]

Because of this story, Jaena made many enemIes. He had to leave Jaro and sail for Spain . . While in Spain, he continued his studies.

He also worked hard to obtain liberty for the Filipinos. He knew that the Spaniards in Spain did not know anything about the Filipinos.

They did not know anything of what was happening in the Philippines. So he tried to interest the more intelligent Spaniards. Every-. where he went he talked of his native land.

In one of his famous speeches, he described the Philippin in this wwy: "The blue sea i::; . her veil; her c own, the beautiful sky studded with brilliant ' stars. Whoever has not seen those Islands of the East has not seen one of the loveliest regions of the earth."

He was a great orator. One evening at a banquet, he was one of the speakers. When his turn came, he rose. The men present looked at the slender young Filipino and wondered what he had come to say.

Presently, he began to speak. His subject was Liberty and his countrymen's desire for freedom. Slowly, he began. Then his voice [ 62)

e;rew more intense. His words came faster.

His piercing black eyes grew brill ian t as he told of his country's sufferings. The listeners were moved. At the end of the speech, a Venezuelan diplomat rose from his seat, rushed to -the young orator and embraced him with tears in his eyes.

For the Filipinos, Jaena wanted freedom of the press; that is, freedom to write what they wished. He also asked for freedom to carryon laVirful business, and freedom to form societies and associations. These three things are the basis of liberty. And from liberty, Jaena said , "comeE\ the happiness of the individual, of the family} and of society."

ANACLETO DEL ROSARIO Not many years .ago there lived in Manila a boy whose name was Anacleto del Rosario. His father was a poor ' rope-maker. He earned money by making good} strong ropes out of hemp. Ropes made of good Manila hemp are the best in the world, so he was able to sell all that he made. Every day} after coming home from [ 63]

school, the little Anacleto helped his father .

The father and the son sat on the floor of their little house and worked together. When the sun went down and it became dark, the boy would light a kerosene lamp. By its dim light .. he would work again until very late at night.

In this way, little Anacleto helped his father 路 to earn money for the family.

The kind father died. Anacleto del Rosario and his mother went to live with an aunt. The aunt did n t want him to go to school. One day she shut him up in a room to keep him from going to school. The boy escaped thru the window. He clambered down the walls .of the house. He ran as fast as his little legs could carry him. He reached the school breathless. but he was on time.

This boy who loved studying so much became a great chemist. At one time he ~was Chief of . the Municipal Laboratory in Manila. This was an important position. All those that wanted to occupy the position were called together in the Mint, a big building in the Walled City.

Anacleto del Rosario and. several Spaniards came. They were told to write a paper. The [ 64]

ANACLETO DEL ROSARIO

[ 65)

one who wrote the best paper would be given the position. Anacleto del Rosario wrote the best paper and this was the way he became Chief of the Municipal Laboratory.

He studied the waters in the different springs in the Philippines. He found out that the springs in Sibul and in Los Bafios could cure people suffering from stomach trouble. Today, people go to these springs to cure themselves.

He wro e a paper on the making of perfumes in the PhiliI;>pines, especially of the ilang-ilang perfume. H also wrote on guano as a fertilizer for poor. soil.

He saw that in the Philippines two of the most dr~adful diseases were tuberculosis and leprosy.

Tuberculosis killed many thousands of people every year. Leprosy is a terrible disease that could not be cured at all then. Anacleto del Rosario began studying the germs of these diseases.

He wanted to discover a cure for them.

He did not finish this work, for one of the very diseases he was studying entered his body.

He died of tuberculosis when he was still very young.

[66)

Chemistry is an important science. It helps to make a country prosperous. Our country needs more men like Anacleto del Rosario.

JO~ RIZAL, GREATEST OF FILIPINOS A little more than sixty years ago there was born in the town of Calamba, on the shores of beautiful Laguna de Bai, ,a boy who grew up to be a very great and noble man.

This boy was Jose Rizal.

Even as a child, he observed that the people around him were not happy. Sometimes when he looked over the blue waters of the lake, he would ask his mother, "Who live there across the water?"

"Other Filipinos like us," she would answer.

"Are they as unhappy as the people here, Mother?" he asked.

"Yes, they are, my son," the mother answered.

The boy would remain st~nding on the shore.

His thoughtful eyes tried to see far into the misty distance. "Some day," he thought, "I will help my people to be happy." [ 67]

Wll\~n he grew up, he gave all that he had to make his country happy. He gave his time, he gave his work. He gave all of his thoughts and his wisdom. At the very end, he gave up his life.

You already know the life of Jose Rizal.

You know how he worked for the Filipinos.

While in Spain he did all he could to show the Spaniards how cruel were many of the rulers they sent to the Philippines. He pointed out to them the need of schools, the need of a common language.

He wrote wo great books. The first of these is "Noli Me. Tangere," the greatest book ever written by a Filipino. In this book he tells of the cruelties of the Spaniards. He also .points out our defects. Rizal thought ' that we should first correct our defeCts if ,we wish to deserve liberty.

He read all the books ' he could find about the Philippines. So he knew the history of our country. He was especially interested in old books which told of the Filipinos before the Spaniards came to these Islands. These old books said that before the Spaniards came, [ 68)

DOCTOR J0SE RIZAL

[69]

the Filipinos were already numerous. They were civilized. They had a system of government. They had laws. They carried on trade with China and other Eastern countries.

Because of his work for the Filipinos, Rizal made many enemies. There were very powerful men in the Philippines in those days. They accused him of encouraging the Filipinos to revolt. They said he was a traitor to Spain.

So RizaI was condemned to death.

On the night before his death, he wrote. "My Last Farewell," a beautiful poem in which he said good-bye to his native land. Several times before, on leaving for foreign lands, he had said good-bye to his cOlmtry. But this was his last farewell.

Some day when you are old enough, you will read and understand "My Last Farewell"., In it Rizal says his last thoughts in his own beautiful words. Some of these thoughts are these: "My country, I gladly give you my sad life.

Even if it were happy,' I would still give it up for your good." ' [ 70]

"Some Il?-en die for their country on the battlefield; others are tortured to death for her.

It does not matter where or how a man dies if he dies for his home and for his country."

Y..ery early in the morning of December 30, 1896, Jose Rizal was shot on the field of Bagumbayan.

As he was being led to his death, he looked around him. He saw how beautiful were the fields and the sky. He turned to the priest who was accompanying him. He said: "Father, what a beautiful day!"

The execution of Jose Rizal caused thousands of Filipinos, especially among the rich and educated, to join the Revolution. When the Filipino Republic was established, it declared December 30th a national holiday. It was to be a day of mourning for the greatest Filipino that has ever lived.

JUAN LUNA, PAINTER Luna was路 a great painter. ' When 'he was a student in Manila, he used to go to the beach to watch the sea. He loved J~an

[ 7lJ

the deep blue of its waters. He loved the great waves crested with foam. At night he used to lie awake listening to the roaring of the breakers as they dashed on the beach. He thought that what he heard was the voice of the sea.

Sometimes he wondered to himself.

"This wave that comes running to the shore, where does it come from? What strange lands and people has it seen? I wish I were like the waves. Then I too could go wandering around the world."

He decided 0 become aJ sailor. He wanted to sail on the sea. He wanted to visit other countries and other peoples.

In his travels, wheneyer he saw something beautiful, he tried to draw it on paper. He could not draw very well because nobody had taught him how. He thought to himself, "I must learn how to paint. I want other people to see what I have seen!"

So he went to Spain to study painting. Later, he went to Paris, in France. Even as a student, he became well known for his paintings. The Manila City Government gave him enough [72]

JUAN LUNA

[ 73]

money to support him in his studies. In return for this money, he was asked to paint one picture a year for the government. This p~cture was to hang in the Ayuntamiento in Manila. It was to show some historical event.

Most of these pictures are now in Malacanan . .-Th8 best known is The Blood Compact.

In this beautiful picture, we see Si Katuna, chieftain of Bohol, and Legazpi, Spanish commander. They are seated at a table celebrating the pact of blood.

The blood compact was an ancient Filipino way of promising friendship.4ne of the chiefs cut his arm and made the blood flow into a cup. The other chief then cut his arm and made his blood flow into the same cup. This cup was then filled with wine. Each chief drank a little of the liquid in the cup. This is the ceremony shown by Luna in his famous painting.

His masterpiece is The Spoliarium. A copy of this painting hangs in the Marble Hall of the Ayuntamiento.

[74]

Luna was often very homesick in Paris.

Often, on cahn afternoons, he and the other Filipinos would sit together hour after hoUr. They talked of their native land. They sang native songs. So Luna came to love the Kundimr:1fn very much. His dream was to return to his native land and hear the Kundiman sung.

He at last returned to the Philippines. Soon after his arrival, he was invited to the house of an old friend. The father was well educated.

The two d~1:lghters could play the piano very well. They entertained the painter with foreign music. Then Luna remembered those homesick afternoons in Paris. He remembered his dream of hearing the K undiman in his own ' country. He said: "Will you play the Kundiman for me?"

The two young women were surprised. They were also somewhat displeased.

"The K undiman!" they exclaimed. "We do not play native piecesF' "Pardon me," said the painter. "I see now that if I want to hear the Kundiman I must go back to Paris!" !75]

MARCELO H. DEL PILAR, NEWSPAPERMAN Marcelo H. del Pilar was a lawyer. From the very first he was interested in schools. He wanted the Filipinos to have good schools. He knew that ignorance caused many evils. So he tried hard to get the government to establish schools.

"Give us agricultural schools," he said. "Our young me need to study farming. They need to learn new ways of tilling our rich soil and ralsmg crops. Give uS schools that will teach Spanish. Our people i1e~d a common language so they may lljTlderstan~ one another."

The Spaniards said that del Pilar was an enemy of Spain. They wanted to arrest him and put him in prison. Del Pilar's relatives learned this. They said to him, ' 'Your enemies are going to have you arrested. You know that they will have you shot if they can. You must save yourself. Leave Bulacan immediately. " "I can not go. There is work to do for our country here," he said. [ 76)

MARCELO H. DEL PILAR

[ 77)

"Your work is not here. It is in Spain.

Go there. Convince the rulers that we should have better government. Then you will have done great service to your people."

He left Bulacan secretly one night and went to Manila. There he remained quietly in the house of a friend. Some days afterward, he was able to secure passage on board a ship that was sailing for Spain.

Del Pilar's heart was heavy With sorrow when he left. B&und in Bulacan, he had left all those he loved. His wife was there with little Sofia, the elder daug tel', and Anita, the baby. The ship moved slowly out of Manila Bay. He saw the shores of his native 'land going farther and farther back into the distance. Del Pilar had a feeling that he would not see his country or his dear ones again.

In Spain he took charge of "La Solidaridad".

This was a Filipino newspaper. It told the Spanish people about the Filipinos and their country. It tried to show :qow unjust were many of the men they had sent to govern the Philippines. It pointed out how unhappy and dissatisfied the people were. [ 78]

He worked hard to forget the homesickness that very often came over him. "La Solidaridad" could not pay any salaries. Del Pilar had to work for nothing. His relatives could not send him much money. They were not rich.

-.: Besides, it was very hard to send money to Filipinos in Spain who were working for reform.

Del Pilar suffered from poverty. Sometimes he did not have money with which to buy food.

So he sat on one of the benches in the parks and smoked the stump of a cigar. Smoking helped him to forget his hunger.

His wife wrbte to him about his children.

The little baby Anita was grow..ng fast. Once she sent her father one peso. This money had been given .to her as a Christmas present. Del Pilar wrote to her mother. He said, "Thank little Anita for me. I shall never forget her present."

Later, his wife wrote that Sofia, the elder daughter, was beginning to learn how to write.

"Make her practice on a piece of banana leaf," wrote Marcelo H. del Pilar. "If she writes on [ 79]

banana leaf, she will learn to hold her pencil lightly."

Del Pilar soon saw that if the Filipinos wanted liberty they would have to fight for it. He talked with the other Filipinos in Spain. Many of them favored revolution.

Doctor Rizal said, "The Philippines are not ready to fight. We are not yet strong enough."

Del Pilar answered: "The common people must fight. With them a revolution will surely succeed. The common people should group themselves into a powerful revolut.ionary society."

This idea fo nd its way into the Philippines.

Andres Bonifacio carried it out. He founded the Katipunan) a powerful society made up of the common people. The Katipunan began the Revolution in 1896.

As soon as news of the Revolution reached Spain, Marcelo H. del Pilar prepared to return to the Philippines. He said, "My work in Spain is finished." In Barcelona, however, he fell sick and died. That feeling he had as he was leaving Manila Bay came true. He never again saw his family or his native land.

[80]

ANDR:f.:S BONIFACIO, FOUNDER OF THE KATIPUNAN When the Filipinos speak of "The Revolution" they mean the great uprising that was begun by the Katipunan in 1896. The man that organize"d: the Katipunan was Andres Bonifacio.

Bonifacio belonged to the working classes.

He worked in a warehouse in Manila. He had a high regard for those who worked. He said, (COnly the man who works deserves to succeed."

He had great faith in the working classes.

He believed that the working classes could make an uprising suocessful. He said that our liberty J could be secured only thru force. His ideas were very different from those of Jose Rizal, yet Bonifacio admired that great patriot.

When Doctor Rizal established the "Liga Filipina," Bonifacio became one of its members.

The purpose of the Liga was to work peacefully for better government.

Rizal's enemies soon secured his banishment to Dapitan, in Mindanao. On the very night when Rizal sailed for Mindanao, Bonifacio began his work of organizing the Katipunan.

[81

I

The Katipunan was a secret society. The members signed their oath with a drop of their blood. Like the ancient blood compact, this was a sacred promise. Nobody, except the members, knew that the Katipunan existed.

It grew very fast. The first members were working men. In a few months thousands had joined it.

In 1896, Andres Bonifacio saw that the time had come to rise. He planned to drive the Spaniards out of Manila at the end of August.

A few days before the date set for the attack , the Spaniards learned of the existence of the Katipunan.

Those who were suspected of being members were arrested and put in prison. Many were shot. Bonifacio sent word to his men to gather in Balintawak. Then he secretly left Manila.

On August 26th, the Katipunan met in Balintawak. More than two thousand gathered there that day. The men came, armed with their sharp bolos. They had no guns. They were very quiet. Nothing could be heard save the tramping of their feet. [ 82]

ANDRES BONIFACIO

[ 83]

In Balintawak on August 26th was first announced the Republic that was organized two years later. Two thousand voices rent the air with the cry, "Long live the Philippine Republic lit This was the beginning of the Revolution. In our history this event is called "The Cry of Balintawak".

Andres Bonifacio did not live to see the establishment of the Philippine Republic. He died without seeing the result of his work. But we shall always honor his memory, remembering what Jose Rizal asks of us, "Do not forget those that died)n the niglitl!"

El\HLIO JACINTO, THE BRAINS OF THE KATIPUNAN Emilio Jacinto belonged to a well-to-do family.

His father was a merchant. In 1896 he was still a student in school. When he heard that Andres Bonifacio had formed a revolutionary society, he left school and joined the Katipunan.

Because of his ~9-ucation, he later became very useful to Bonifacio. He prepared the Cartilla [ 84]

EMILIO JACINTO

[85 )

or " Primer" of the society. The Cartilla was a pamphlet which contained the teachings of the Katipunan. It taught the members to love their country. It commanded them not to hurt women and children even 路in war.

Emilio Jacinto was in charge of the printing press of the Katipunan. He printed translations of books on guns, gunpowder, fortifications, and other things that would be useful to an army. He was also in charge of buying supplies for the Katipunan. .

Very often he would elilter the city to buy supplies. He did not attract much notice.

He was very young, and looked like a student.

In September, 1896, a few weeks after the Revolution broke out, Emilio Jacinto was sent on a dangerous errand. You remember that Doctor Rizal had been banished to Dapitan in Mindanao. In August, 1896, he was allowed by the Spanish Government to leave Dapitan to go to Cuba. The Cubans and the Spaniards were then fighting. Doctor Rizal wanted to help in the hospitals. So he went to Manila to wait for a ship that would take him to Cuba. He was not allowed to live on land. He was kept on [ 86)

board the war hip Castilla in the Bay. While Doctor Rizal1t'as in the Bay, the Revolution broke out.

Emilio Jacinto's errand was to go and ask Dtfctor Rizal to let the Katipunan save him.

The young insurgent thought to himself, "What had I better do in order to be able to talk to Doctor Rizal? He is on board the Castilla. He is guarded by the Spaniards. If I am found out, I shall surely be shot."

He decided to dis guise himself. One morning, he took his men a d stationed them at the landing. 'Fhe men were dressed in ordinary . clothes. They looked just like common workingmen. But under their clothes they carried their sharp bolos.

"I am going on board the Castilla. You stay here. Be ready for anything that may come up," he said to his men.

Fortunately, the mate on the launch that took him aboard was alsQ a member of the Katipunan.

He helped Emilio Jacinto disguise himself.

Doctor Rizal, reading in his stateroom, was much astonished, a little later, to see a Chinese [ 87]

/

cargador enter. The Chinese ca'Pgador closed the door quickly. He said to Dr. Rizal in Tagalog: (lAndres Bonifacio has sent me to ask you to join the Katipunan. My men are at the landing. They are armed. Join us."

Doctor Rizal answered, "If I try to escape, many of our countrymen will be killed. I 路can not allow them to lose their lives for me."

"But do' you not realize that your enemies are working to have you shot?"

"Yes, I d0; but my conscience is clear. If I were the only hope of our country, I would save myself. But there are many others ,rho will work for her," Rizal answered.

After the death of Andres Bonifacio, Mabini sent for Emilio Jacinto. The young insurgent went to Kawit. He was given command of the army in Mahayhay. He received a wound m battle, and died of it not long afterward.

'TANDANG SORA, PATRIOT JTandang Sora's real name was Melchora Aquino. People called her 'Tanda because in 1896 when the Revolution broke out she was already very old.

[88 J

'Tandang Sora had never gone to school.

She lived in the hills of Balintawak. In those days Balintawak was a wilderness. She had a little store in which she used to sell things to eat to people who passed by.

One day in August, 1896, hundreds of people gathered in Balintawak. There were men armed with sharp bolos. There were also women carrying children. These people were members of the Katipunan. We have already learned what the Katipunan was and why they gathered in Balintawak.

'Tandang Sora called the people in and gave them something to eat. Soon all the food in her little store was gone.

Those August days were sad days for the Filipinos. The Spaniards were arresting and shooting hundreds and hundreds in Manila and in the nearby towns. Some were able to escape.

Many went to hide in the wilds of Balintawak.

Very often in the middle of the night there would come a knock on 'Tandang Sora's door. "v\Tho is it?" she would call out.

[89 )

"A brother," would come the answer.

Then 'Tandang Sora opened the door and let the guest in.

"Have you eaten, brother?" was always her first question. She fed him, then dressed his wounds. She took care of him until he got well. Then she gave him money and told him where to go in order to be safe from pursuit.

The Spaniards heard of 'Tandang Sora's work for the Revolution. One morning some soldiers went up to her little store. "You are arrested," they said, "come with us."

They took her before the Spanish authorities in Manila. She was sentenced to be deported to the Marianas, islands far away in the middle . of the Pacific Ocean. Some years later, after the coming of the Americans, she came back to her native land. She was then almost a hundred years old. She died in poverty.

We shall always remember 'Tandang Sora.

She gave everything she had to her people.

She gave her money and her time, and even risked her life to serve her country. [ 901

EDILBERTO EVANGELISTA, ENGINEER When Edilberto Evangelista was a boy, he dreamed of some day becoming an engineer.

His parents could not pay for his education.

They were very poor. The young Edilberto determined to earn money. He set up a little school of his own. He had a few pupils. , He made a little money that way.

As soon aS 'he had made a little sum, he went to the Visayan Islands. He built bridges for the governmen.t. At first he did not know how to build them, but because he knew mathematics very well, he le~rned bridge-building very fast.

This work gave him some money. But it was not sufficient to pay for his education.

So he determined to earn more. He then began to bl':l '_ ' ' nses for the rich. After some years, he nad made w~ ~ + h ,~ thought was enough: He gave his earnings tv _."1 brother. '~

"Brother," he said, "I am going ic ',Europe to learn engineering. Please take this money;, _' Make it earn enough to support me." [ 91]

The brothel' invested the young man's savings.

Edilberto Evangelista went to Spain. In lVladrid he met Dr. Rizal, who said to him: "Do not stay here. Go to Belgium if you want to be an engineer."

So to Belgium Evangelista went. In the university, he met two other Filipinos, both studying there. " Every lll(>nth Evangelista received the small amount tha\ his money had earned. It was indeed very Ii tIe. Sometimes he did not have enough mone to buy fO<Dd with. So he used to look for the cheapest eating places. There he would sit with laborers and eat with them.

In winter he suffered very much from the cold.

He had no money to pay for firewood.

In spite of these hardships, Edilberto Evangelista was not discouraged. He p.J" " _ _", n'!trd --u;/ and finally finished his <JI'"'

He was anxious tv return to his native land_ His Bel~ian friends said to him, "Do not go back n()-:V. If you do, the Spaniards will suspect you of being an insurgent." [ 92]

,

GENERAL EDILBERTO EVANGELISTA

[93 J

Evangelista was not to be stopped. He packed his diploma and his few other belongings and set sail for the Philippines.

When the ship arrived at Manila, General Aguinaldo was already in the field. Evangelista was impatient to get off. He hurried down the gangplank with his baggage. Under his arm he carried his diploma!

The Spanish authorities stopped him. They suspected him of being an insurgent. They opened his baggage and inspected everything in it. They even opened his diploma and read it carefully. They were afraid it might be a rebel paper. Finally, they let him go. , Edilberto Evangelista had made up his mind to join the insurgents. He began asking his friends where he could find General Aguinaldo.

"Go to Kawit," they told him.

"I will go to Kawit," he said to himself.

"It is very hard to get there," they warned him. "The Spaniards are watching the roads."

"I will find a way," said the young man.

So one night he put on the clothes of a Tagalog peasant. He had on short drawers and a dark camisa china. He found that he could not [94 J

walk barefooted. His feet had been too long accustomed to shoes. So he bought a pair of straw chinelas. Two more things he thought he should take. One of these was his hat which haffpened to be an English straw hat. The other thing was his eyeglasses. Edilberto Evangelista was short-sighted. He could not see far without his glasses.

So he started out in the darkness of the night.

In the early morning, he reached the insurgent camp.

"Halt! Who goes there?" rang the challenge of the .sentry. Soldiers came running out.

"I want to ee General Aguinaldo," said the tired, dusty man.

"Who are you and where do you come from?" the soldiers asked suspiciously. They looked wonderingly at this peasant who wore eyeglasses and an English straw hat!

"I am Edilberto Evangelista-an engineer . . I came thru the lines from Manila."

They finally took him to the General.

General Aguinaldo made him an officer in the Filipino army. Because our army was poor, there were not enough uniforms for every[95 J

body. So, ,to show that he belonged to the insurgent forces, Evangelista wore a star on the folded brim of his hat. The star was the emblem of the Revolution.

He built trenches for our soldiers in Dalahican and Noveleta. These trenches were very strong.

They were as useful to the Revolution as a whole army of men could have been.

Edilberto Evangelista was a very brave man, One day during a battle between the Filipinos and the Spaniards, he sat on the stump of a tree tracing plans for new trenches. A cannon ball fell near him. It tore up the ground and covered him with earth. He brushed off the dirt from his hat and clothes. Then he went on with his work.

"Colonel," his men cried J "do not sit there!

You are in danger. Didn't. you see that cannon ball?"

"Can any of you tell me where the next shot will fall?" asked the brave Evangelista.

"No, Colo~el."

"Then why should I go anywhere else?"

Edilberto Evangelista met his death in the battle of Zapote Bridge. The Filipinos and the [96 ]

Spaniards had been fighting for three hours.

Evangelista received word that General Pio del Pilar was being driven back by the Spaniards.

Evangelista ordered his company to advance.

But before they had come up, he rushed ahead of them. A hidden Spanish soldier fired a shot at him. He was struck in the forehead and was killed.

Edilberto Evangelista's death was a glorious one. He died on the battlefield, defending his country.

AN~~NIO LUNA! SOLDIER One bright moonlight night in a little town in the Ilocos region, a group of small boys were playing in the street. They were playing soldier.

They had little paper hats on their heads.

Each one carried a long stick on his shoulder.

The stick was his gun. Back and forth they marched. Their captain was a dark youngster with a serious look 'On his face.

"Halt!" he cried in Spanish. The order rang out sharp and clear. The little 'company halted instant.1y. But a restless young soldier [ 97J

kept pushing those near him. The captain looked at him severely.

"Attention!" rang another order. Everybody stood stiffly at attention. But the restless soldier could not keep still. He shufHed his feet. He moved his gun up and down.

The young captain strode up to him and pulled him out of the line.

"Go away. We don't want you here. You do not obey. You are a bad soldier."

This strict boy captain was Antonio Luna.

Mter many years, when he had grown to manhood, he became general (!)f the Filipino army.

Antonio Luna was very strict with his soldiers.

He saw that they did not know much about army training. So he established a military .academy in Malolos, the capital of the Philippine Republic. Very often he drilled the soldiers himself. He explained to them why it was necessary for soldiers to learn how to obey orders.

He wanted to establish a Filipino militia to help iIi keeping peace in the country. To train the militia, he gathered around him experienced officers. Among these officers was [98]

GENERAL ANTONIO LUNA

[99]

Jose. Torres Buga1l6n, who came to be very valuable to the Filipino army.

When the Filipino-American War broke out, Antonio Luna was put in command of our army in the field.

The American guns were very powerful. lVlany of the Filipino soldiers were killed uselessly. So Luna had some drains dug behind his trenches. These drains were deep canals.

Some of Luna's officers did not like the drains.

"These Brains will flood the trenches with ,vater," they objected.

"I would uch rather have the trenches flooded with water than flooded with blood," answered General Luna.

Antonio Luna's greatest battle was at La Loma. His army fought very bravely, but was defeated. ' Our soldiers were poorly armed. ~!flley could do nothing against the powerful American guns.

Luna saw his men falling. He was surrounded with the dead and the dying. He knew that he must oFder a retreat.

Just as he was about to give the order, a panting messenger came running up. [ 100]

"General," he said, saluting. "Torres Buga1l6n is in the field, . wounded."

"Torres Buga1l6n!" repeated Luna. "We carr not leave him behind. We need him too much. Is he alive?"

"Yes, General. But he is wounded in both legs. He may not live."

"We must not leave. him. Torres Buga1l6n is worth five hundred soldiers to the Republic.

Order an a.,dyance, quick!"

So an adv nce was ordered.

Torres Buga1l6n was rescued from the field and carried ba~k to the Filipino lines.

GREGORIO DEL PILAR, HERO OF TILA When Gregorio del Pilar was still a boy ill school, his uncle, Marcelo H. del Pilar, was in Sp~in working for the F~pinos. Once in .~ . whIle, the young boy receIved papers from hIS "::" . uncle. These papers were the wrItings of the Filipinos in Spain. They had to be brought into the Islands secretly. .The Spaniards punished those who were found reading such papers.

Gregorio del Pilar eagerly re~d those that he [ 101]

received. In this way he became acquainted with the writings of Rizal, of Graciano Lopez Jaena, and of Marcelo H. del Pilar.

Most of those papers were in the form of little pamphlets. The boy carefully laid them away in the bottom of his trunk. Sometimes he gave one or two to his friends to read.

The school in which del Pilar was studying was taught by a friar whose name was Father Garcia. Every Sunday after mass, the priest had the habit of distributing little booklets among the church goers. These booklets were against those Filipinos who were working for liberty, especially thos~ who were in Spain at that time.

The booklets said that these Filipinos were traitors to Spain and should not be believed by the people.

Gregorio del Pilar saw that these booklets were doing much harm. One Sunday morning very early, he called his friends together. They talked hurriedly and with low voices: "After mass, Father Garcia will distribute his booklets," said the young del Pilar. "It is a shame to let the people read such papers!

We must stop him." [ 102)

GENERAL GREGORIO DEL PILAR

[ 103]

"Yes," agreed his companions, "but how?"

Del Pilar thought it over a little while, then he said, "You have seen those pamphlets I received from my ,uncle in Spain? Let us tear out the inside pages of Father Garcia's booklets.

Then between the covers let us put my pamphlets."

They did the work ,very quickly.

After mass, Father Garcia distributed what he thought were his booklets.

"Read these, my children, for the good of your souls," he said. "These little books will tell you what i$'right. Follow what they say."

The church goers were astonished when they reached home and opened the booklets. They had no idea who had outwitted Father Garcia, but they admired his daring.

Not long after the Revolution broke out, in 1896, the young patriot joined the insurgent forces. He won the affection of General Aguinaldo because of his bravery, his refined manners, and his extreme youth. ' The General appointed the young soldier to his body-guard. [ 104]

Then came the Pact of Bia~-na-Bat6. This Pact was an agreement between the Filipinos and the Spanish forces . .l'he Filipinos and the Spaniards met at Biacna-Bat6, a beautiful place in the hills of Bulacan.

The Spaniards said to the Filipino insurgents: "If you will stop tIns fighting, we will give your people better government."

The Filipinos answered, "If you will promise to correct abuses, to punish officials who oppress the people, and if you will promise not to harm those that are gbing to lay down their arms, we will stop tills war."

"We promise to do all this. But General Aguinaldo and all the other insurgent generals must leave the Philippines."

"We agree to leave the country. But remember: we will come back if you do not fulfill your promises."

So General Aguinaldo sailed for Hongkong, taking with him ~s staff, among whom was Gregorio del Pilar.

But' the Spaniards did not live up 路 to their promises. So the Filipino generals returned in 1898 to continue the revolution against Spain.

[10151

Allover the Philippines, the people rose in arms. The Filipino Republic was established.

Filipino government was organized in provinces and towns.

Then came the Filipino-American War. When you are older you will understand why this war came about. The Filipinos fought bravely, but they were defeated. Northward they retreated. Thru Nueva Ecija, Tarlac, Pangasinan they marched, wading thru thick mud most of the time. Then General Aguinaldo went farther north into tpe mountains of Lepanto-Bontoc.

Gregorio del p. ar, now with the rank of general, commanded Agllinaldo's rear guard.

When the llittle army reached Cervantes, General del Pilar with sixty men turned back to guard the narrow pass of Tila. "If the Americans reach you here," he said to General Aguinaldo, "that means that I am dead."

On a little plateau above the narrow pass of Tila, Gregorio del Pilar stations his handful of men. They wait for the Americans. They are not within sight. The young general draws out a tiny memorandum book and scribbles a few words. Presently[ 106]

"They are here! The Americans are here!" rings the cry.

Gregorio del Pilar thoughtfully looks toward th~ advancing enemy, still far distant. There are many of them, too many for his sixty men.

Slowly he writes a few last words in the little red book in his hand, then puts it in his breast pocket.

Crash! goes the volley from sixty guns above the defile. Zip! Crash! comes the answer from below.

Thiu the thick smoke is seen a slender boyish figure in front of his lines in full view of the enemy. , There are no longer sixty men. There are very many less than that.

The ar~y below rush in a body. The brave defenders of the pass are overpowered. The young general falls mortally wounded.

The Americans found in the breast-pocket of the dead hero a ~little red book in which had been written these last words: "1 am surrounded by odds that will overpower me and my brave men. But I am con[ 1071

tent in the thought that I die fighting for my beloved country."

He was buried on the field of battle. The Americans gave him all the honors due his rank.

On his grave they placed a stone bearing this tribute: GENERAL GREGORIO DEL PILAR KILLED AT THE BATTLE OF TILA PASS, DECEMBER

2, 1899

COMMAJ:IDING AGUINALDO'S REAR GUARD AN

FFICER AND A GENTLEMAN

JOSE PALMA AND THE PHILIPPINE NATIONAL HYMN Jose Palma was a quiet young poet. He and Gregorio del Pilar were friends and schoolmates. On fair afternoons, after their classes in the Ateneo, they would walk home from the Walled City to Tondo, where they both lived.

The young poet loved these walks. He never tired of looking at the afternoon sky.

Sometimes it was crimson like a flame. Sometimes it was spread over with gold. At other times it was the color of the deepest sea. [ 108]

JOSE PALMA

[ 109]

1\

I', .

J

He looked everywhere and saw beauty. He thought, "How beautiful is our country!" Then remembering the sufferings of his people, he added, "But how unhappy the people are!"

When the Revolution broke out, he enlisted as a common soldier. He was satisfied with his lot. : During the hopeless campaign against the Americans, Jose Palma often entertained the Filipino soldiers with his songs and poems.

The soldiers liked one tune best. This was the N ational ~r. I t had been played for the first time on J\me 12, 1898, when our flag was unfurled at Kn.wit. The soldiers could only hum this tune. There were no words to' sing to the music. So Jose Palma wrote the words of The Philippine National Hymn. The poem was written in Bautista, Pangasinan, in 1899.

This is the song we love best.

PHILIPPINE HYMN 路 Land of the morning, 路 Child of the sun returning, With fervor burning, Thee do our souls adore.

[1101

(?

0

hOlY'S

Lmd dear and Cradle of noble heroes, N e' er shall invaders .q'rample thy sacred shore.

With thy skies and through thy clouds And o'er thy hills and sea We view the radiance, feel the throb, Of glorious liberty.

Thy banner,' dear to an our hearts, Its sun and stars alight,Oh, never shall its shilling field Be dimmed by tyrant's \ might!

Beautiful land of love) 0 land of light, In thine embrace 'tis rapture to lie.

But it is glory ever, when thou art wronged, . For us, thy sons, to suffer and die.

-(Translated by M. A. L. Lane and Camilo Osias.)

APOLINARIO MABINI, THE "SUBLIME PARALYTIC" Apolinario Mabini is one of the greatest figures in the history of our country. Some I time before the Revolution broke out in 1896,

r111]

r

he became very sick. This sickness was so severe that even aft~... he recovered, he could not use his legs. They had become paralyzed.

That is why Fili)inos know him as "The Sublime Paralytic."

Altho Mabini's body was helpless: his great mind was very active. He prepared a plan of government which he thought would be useful to the Revolutionary Government. When Aguinaldo read this plan, he sent for Mabini.

Mabini had t o be taken to Kawit in an armchair.

Aguinaldo s w Mabini's great ability. He asked him to pe his adviser. When the Filipino Republic was organized, Mabini was appointed Secretary of State. His greatest work _ was the organization of Filipino Government in~ the provinces and towns.

Then the Filipino~American War came. The Filipino soldiers lost the fight. General Aguinaldo and the other high officials ' of the Philippine Republic retreated northward. The Americans kept advancing.

Mabini, during the retreat, had to be carried in' a chair. He thought he was merely an added [ 1121

APOLINARIO MABINI

[ 113 J

burden to our retreating forces. So he asked to be left behind in Kuyap6, province of Nueva Ecija. .

The Americans learned that Mabini had been left in Kuyap6. They traced him to the house of a friend of his. The American commander entered the house and asked 'where Mabini was.

The master of the house would not tell him.

On his way out, the American officer saw a man lying on ~ bamboo bench. The man was dressed in the clothes of an Ilocano peasant.

His face was turned to tQe wall.

"Who is thIS manZ" .asked the officer.

"A sick servant," answered the master of the house.

When the officer had left, the man on the bench turned, and said to his friend: "Why did you not ,tell him that I am here?"

"He would have taken you to priRon." "Does that matter very much? ' The body may be in prison, but the soul will always be. free."

The Americans observed that the house was very often visited by many Filipinos. They were sure that lVlabini was there. This time~ [ 114]

however, they wanted to be sure. They knew that lVIabini was a paralytic. They did not know much more about him . ..()ne day the Americans suddenly presented themselves at the house. There were many people there.

"Stand up!" came the sharp command.

Everybody in the sala rose to his feet. Only one man remained seated, a pale, thin man with the most br:illiant of eyes. The American officer strode up to him.

"You are a\rested," he said.

Mabini was taken to Manila and put in prison.

He refused to take the oath of loyalty to the United States Government.

He explained his refusal in this way: "Our people are still in arms. If I take the oath, I shall not be able to give them any help whatsoever."

He was banished to Guam with a few other Filipinos who had ~lso refused to take the oath.

He re~ained there two years.

When Aguinaldo was captured in Palanan, Mabini's friends wrote the news to him. Mabini wanted to be sure. He asked to be allowed to [ 1151

take the oath in the Philippines. So he was allowed to take the oath on an American ship . in Manila Bay. He refused to accept any position in the new government. He said: "I go back to the obscurity out of which I arose, regretting only that I was not able to render my country better service.))

Like so many others of our great men, he died young in 路extreme poverty. ~UIS

R. YANGCO "Capitan" Lws was the owner of many ships.

When he was a boy, he was very poor. He came to Manila from Bacood where he was born.

He lived in the house of a rich aunt. Later he left his aunt's house. He wanted to earn money for himself. He rented a banca and engaged in loading and unloading ships at the wharves.

He saved what he earned. When he was a young man, he hired a small sailing vessel and sailed for Palawan. He had merchandise in his boat which he intended to sell to the people of 路Palawan. He had beads, and jewelry, all ( 116)

CAPTAIN LUIS R. YANG CO

[ 117

J

colored cloths. When he was off the coast of Palawan he saw a Moro vinta approaching.

There were many Moros in the boat. Young Luis' trembled with fright. He thought that the Moros were going to kill him. But he concealed his fear, and waited for the vinta to approach.

When the Moros reached his boat, they were friendly. They offered to buy his goods. So Luis was able to sell all of his merchandise.

After this adventure, he decided to sail only in . the waters around Manila.

When he had saved enough money, he began buying large bancas. He used these in the loading and unloading of freight. Later he bought cascos and was able to acquire one hundred and forty-eight of them. When steamboats came to the Philippines, Capitan Luis bought his first steamship. It was a vessel called La Mosca, "The Fly," because of its littleness. His ships ' made trips around Manila Bay and Laguna de Bai up the .Zambales coast and as far south as Zamboanga. He became the largest steamship owner in the Philippines.

Capitan Luis was very industrious. He worked ' hard from early mornmg till late at night. [ 118 J

Even when he was already rich, he used to supervise the loading and unloading of his ships.

He hated three classes of people: those who were lazy , those who gambled, and those who loaned m.e-ney at excessive interest. He said that these people tried to get money without working for it.

Capitan Luis did more than any other man to make it easy and cheap for the Filipinos to travel. This is the way he served his country.

MANUEL GtJERRERO, THE CHILDREN'S BENEFACTOR IVlanuel Guerrero was a great physician. He was known best as the children's physician. He knew how to cure children's diseases.

When Dr. Guerrero was a young man, he had a Jittle baby daughter whom he loved very much.

One day, the baby became sick. She grew worse and worse until one night the doctors said that" she would die. They did not know of anything that would cure the baby.

"Save my daughter for me, doctor, save her!" the father cried. .

The doctors did their best , but the baby died that very night. [ 119]

The young father realized that physicians were ignorant of children's diseases. He made up his mind to learn all he could about the diseases of children. He knew how sad it was to lose a child.

Some years ago one sickness alone killed thousands of babies in the Philippines every year. This sickness was called taol. If you will ask your parents, they will tell you that taol is a sickness that attacks little babies and causes therv tQ die suddenly. About twenty years ago, tqol waS very, very common. It attacked even healthy babies. The physicians did not know what caused it. They did not know of any -medicine that could prevent it . .

Dr. Guerrero saw how many babies died of taol every year. He began to study this sickness. He wanted to find a cure for it. He noticed that only babies fed with their mother's milk died of taol. At last he found that taol was caused by beri-beri in the mother. Beri-beri poisoned the mother's milk and brought about v lolent sickness路 in the baby.

After Doctor Guerrero had made this discovery, it became very easy to prevent taol. l. 120 1

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DR. MANUEL GUERRERO

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The mothers were made tb drink tiki-tiki, a liquid which cures beri-beri . .

Because of this discovery, thousands of children have been gaved every year since.

1\1anuel Guerrero was the founder of HLa Gota de Leche." This is a society that tries to lessen the number of deaths among Filipino babies. He saw that thousands of babies died because the mothers gave them the W1'ung kind of food. The "Gota de Leche" teacl:es ignorant mothers how to take care of their children. f\also furnishes pure milk for feeding the babies. n this way/ too, many Filipino babies have been saved.

So you see ~hy we should honor the memor} of Manuel Guerrero. Perhaps even you owe your life to him. ta ne. CAYETANOl:ARELLANO, A GREA'1 JURIST _ not mi~ayetano Arellano was the greatest jurist was lPhilippines ever had. He knew all about poisoilaws of the Islands. Even during the violoish occupation, Cayetano Arellano was Af much interested in the study of laws. [ 122]