Aguinaldo and his fellows
knew the happy fate of the members of his own family, as is shown by
a later entry:--
"_February 6._--We have been informed that the mother and son of the
honourable president are at Manila, living in the house of Don Benito
Legarda, and that they reached that capital long before the wife and
sister of the honourable president. We have also learned that Senor
Buencamino, and Tirona, and Concepcion are prisoners of the American
authorities in Manila. With reference to the wife and sister of the
honourable president and the two Leyba sisters, it is said that they
went to Vigan and from there went by steamer to Manila." [413]
The mother and son, accompanied by Buencamino, had allowed themselves
to be captured at an earlier date. What shall we say of a leader who
would turn his mother, wife, sister and son over to American soldiers
for safekeeping, and then continue to denounce the latter as murderers,
and violaters of women? Aguinaldo did just this. That the Insurgent
leaders were early and fully aware of the treatment accorded their
wounded is shown by the following extract from a letter to General
Moxica of Leyte, dated March 2, 1900, giving instructions as to what
should be done with wounded men:--
"If by chance any of our men are wounded on the field or elsewhere,
efforts must be made to take away the rifles and ammunition at once and
carry them away as far as possible, so that they may not be captured by
the enemy; and if the wounded cannot be immediately removed elsewhere
or retreat from the place, let them be left there, because it is better
to save the arms than the men, as there are many Filipinos to fill up
the ranks, but rifles are scarce and difficult to secure for battle;
and besides the Americans, coming upon any wounded, take good care
of them, while the rifles are destroyed; therefore, I repeat, they
must endeavour to save the arms rather than the men.
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