When these officers learned that the dignified Asiatics who called upon them daily, who drank with them, who talked with them, and who held offices under our government, were also spies of the guerilla leaders, secretly aiding those who were anxious to win the price set on their heads, they were hardly pleased. When they found that every movement of the guerillas was reported to them just too late to be of any use, while every movement of their own small forces was promptly made known to the enemy, and when they were present at the disinterment of the twisted bodies of the men who had been buried alive because they were loyal to us, they decided that stricter measures were necessary. This was a state of war. Within wide limits their will was law. Upon their judgment hung not merely their lives and those of their men, but the honour of their country and their regiment. Perhaps in some cases they met cruelty with cruelty, but they at least tried to be honest and just. And the people came to realize this, and also that they were not afraid, with the result that whole communities transferred their allegiance from their own guerilla leaders to a single young American, not because he understood them or sympathized with them, but because he was a man whom they could trust and respect. It was July of 1902, four years after our taking of Manila, before the Islands could be officially declared pacified. Let us hope that the lessons which we learned then may not be forgotten in our dealings with Mexico.[14] CHAPTER IV FOLLOWING THE FLAG They taught Filipinos the right way to work, And they taught as if teaching were fun; They taught them to spell and to build themselves roads, And the best way to handle a gun. Were their salaries so big that the task was worth while? Did they save a centavo of pay? Have the average men an account with the bank? Never a cent--not they. So we haven't a job and we haven't a cent, And nobody cares a damn; But we've done our work and we've done it well, To the glory of Uncle Sam, And we've seen a lot, and we've lived a lot In these islands over the sea-- Would we change with our brothers grown rich at home? Praise be to God--not we. _From "The Swan Song," in the Manila Bulletin._