There were some rare individual instances in which uninjured Filipinos were treated with severity, and even with cruelty, by American soldiers.  They occurred for the most part late in the war when the “water cure” in mild form was sometimes employed in order to compel persons who had guilty knowledge of the whereabouts of firearms to tell what they knew, to the end that the perpetration of horrible barbarities on the common people, and the assassination of those who had sought American protection, might the more promptly cease.  Usually the sufferers were themselves bloody murderers, who had only to tell the truth to escape punishment.  The men who performed these cruel acts knew what treatment was being commonly accorded to Filipinos, and in some instances to their own comrades.  I mention these facts to explain, not to excuse, their conduct.  Cruel acts cannot be excused, but those referred to seldom resulted in any permanent injury to the men who suffered them, and were the rare and inevitable exceptions to the general rule that the war was waged, so far as the Americans were concerned, with a degree of humanity hitherto unprecedented under similar conditions.  The Insurgents violated every rule of civilized warfare, yet oathbreakers, spies and men fighting in citizens’ clothes not only were not shot by the Americans, as they might very properly have been, but were often turned loose with a mere warning not to offend again.

The false news circulated to aid the Insurgent cause was by no means limited to such matters.  Every time their troops made a stand they were promptly defeated and driven back, but their faltering courage was bolstered up by glorious tidings of wonderful, but wholly imaginary, victories won elsewhere.  It was often reported that many times more Americans had fallen in some insignificant skirmish than were actually killed in the whole war, while generals perished by the dozen and colonels by the thousand.  Our losses on March 27, 1899, in fighting north of Manila, were said to be twenty-eight thousand.  In reality only fifty-six Americans were killed in all northern Luzon during the entire month.

On April 26, 1899, the governor of Iloilo published the following remarkable news items among others:—­

“Pavia, April 6th, 1899.

“The Liberating Army of the Visayan Islands to the Local Presidents of the towns shown on the margin: 

“Towns: Santa Barbara, Pavia, Leganes, Zarraga, Dumangas, Batac Viejo, Tuilao, Batac Nuevo, Banate.

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“Santa Ana taken by Americans burning town our troops advancing to Rosario and Escolta Americans request parley account death General and officers and many soldiers.

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“At 3 P.M. of the 14th battle at Santolan 500 American prisoners who are to be taken to Malolos.

“At 9.45 P.M.  Commissioner Laguna details 6000 more Americans dead and 600 prisoners.