Aguinaldo put an endorsement on this communication saying
that he had long since ordered that the Insurgent line should not
be passed. He instructed Garcia to throw troops in front of the
Americans at Sampaloc, and order them to leave, and to warn the
bolo men. Obviously, little more was needed to provoke an Insurgent
attack. [187]
An unsigned draft of an order in Aguinaldo's handwriting dated Malolos,
September 13 (?), 1898, [188] shows how tense was the situation
while the question of withdrawal of the Insurgent forces from the
city of Manila was under consideration. It contains instructions
for General Pio del Pilar, General P. Garcia and General Noriel or
Colonel Cailles. Their purpose is hardly open to doubt.
General Pio del Pilar was directed:--
"To have a detachment posted in the interval from the branch of the
river of Paco in a northerly direction to the bridge and so on up
to the Pasig river in the direction of Pandacan, the river serving
as a line until the suburb of Panque is reached which will be under
our jurisdiction. Proceed to execute this order on its receipt,
posting detachments where they are necessary and trenches will be
made without loss of time working day and night. Do not rest for by
doing so we may lose the opportunity; beg of the troops to assist
in the formation of intrenchments.
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