GENERAL TO CITIZENS OF LEYTE, NOVEMBER, 1900

Exhibit 1383.

[Original in Spanish. Unsigned Proclamation. P. I. R . 882.12]

MOUNTAINS OF LEYTE, November, 1900.

Citizens of Leyte:

The moment has arrived when with more energy than ever before you can show your valor and patriotism; the moment has arrived when those declarations and oaths of fealty made by you before our sacred banner may be made good by you as worthy and honored citizens; in a word, the hour has arrived when deeds are necessary, for in all true Filipino hearts is engraved the motto "Liberty or Death, Independence or Extermination."

The hour of strife has come. Our sacred rights have been ruthlessly trampled upon. What, therefore, are you to do? Fly with me to the field of battle where with bolo in hand and a thorough conviction of the justice of our cause we will wage a war without quarter on the invading enemy. Do not fear his power or his arms: heed not the booming of his cannon or the shriek of his bullets, and, least of all fear your own weakness for these things are nothing in the eyes of a people. If you but stand together as one people and fight with determination, there is not an army in existence which can withstand you, and the onslaughts of the enemy will be but as the dashing of waves against a cliff. Do not, I repeat, fear their powerful arms, for when they see your determination, your daring, and your valor, you will see their cowardice, hear their dying gasps and cries, and behold their discouragement and dismay engendered' by the hatred of our people. To war then, and let us defend our country! Deprive a man of what belongs to him, without right or reason, and he becomes offended and hurries, with gloomy countenance, before the courts of justice to defend his rights. Shall we not make a stand against imperialistic America who, without right or reason, and by force of arms, would deprive us of our native land and ignominiously enslave us? Sad, yes sad indeed, is the picture the future offers us if we are to allow ourselves to be deceived by money and false reasoning. Truly pitiable is our case if we are to look for kind treatment at the hands of those who already have so illtreated us; for this would mean the yoke of slavery for our children after us. And then, alas for them. But no, my brothers; as worthy parents we must leave them an honoable inheritance; we must work earnestly for their future, and we shall steep our fields with our blood as testimony of the love and gratitude and love [sic] we bear our country. Why fear that you shall be stricken in the combat? What difference does it make? You shall have died a glorious death in the performance of your duty, and history will immortalize your names. Remember that to die honorably is better than to live dishonored. On the battle field where flows our blood shall flourish the tree of independence. If you want an example, my beloved brothers, look at the inhabitants of Samar and other provinces, who in spite of their poverty and weakness, stand firm, and tenaciously and actively resist the enemy. Neither by night nor day do they give him a moment's rest; they best him at every turn, and it can truthfully be said that the only territory he controls is thaf on which he stands. And why this success? For the very simple reason that they stand united in the spirit of fraternity, which is the foundation of the power and progress of a people.

Set aside, therefore, your differences und wrongs of the past, which lead to nothing, and give yourselves over to that which has a greater call on you and which we are endeavoring to realize. Let us go into the field of battle and fight constantly and unselfishly; and let us keep in mind that this is the only way in which we can attain the glorious object of our aspirations, victory and independence, and which now, in all their glory and splendor, are within our reach.

YOUR OLD FRIEND AND GENERAL.