We were arrested by
suspicious Spanish officials shortly after our arrival and were tried
on trumped-up charges. On several subsequent occasions we narrowly
escaped arrest and imprisonment.
The unfriendly attitude of certain of our Spanish acquaintances
was hardly to be wondered at. They could not believe that sensible,
civilized human beings would shoot tiny birds, pay for eggs the size
of the tip of one's little finger more than hens' eggs were worth,
undergo not a few hardships and run many risks while living in the
simplest of native houses on very inadequate food, unless actuated by
some hidden purpose. At different times they suspected us of looking
for gold deposits, of designing to stir up trouble among the natives,
or of being political spies.
When Doctor Bourns came back with the American troops in 1908 and
I returned as a member of the first Philippine Commission in 1909,
this last supposition became a fixed belief with many of our former
Spanish acquaintances who still remained in the islands, and they
frankly expressed their regret that they had not shot us while they
had the chance.
Over against certain unpleasant experiences with those who could
not understand us or our work I must set much kind and invaluable
assistance rendered by others who could, and did.
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