overflowing with pleasant thoughts, there came the fatal day of
the 4th February, during the night of which day the American forces
suddenly attacked all our lines, which were in fact at the time almost
deserted, because being Saturday, the day before a regular feast day,
our Generals and some of the most prominent officers had obtained
leave to pass the Sabbath with their respective families.

General Pantaleon Garcia was the only one who at such a critical
moment was at his post in Maypajo, north of Manila, Generals Noriel,
Rizal and Ricarte and Colonels San Miguel, Cailles and others being
away enjoying their leave.

General Otis, according to trustworthy information, telegraphed to
Washington stating that the Filipinos had attacked the American
Army. President McKinley read aloud the telegram in the Senate,
where the Treaty of Paris of the 10th December, 1898, was being
discussed with a view to its ratification, the question of annexation
of the Philippines being the chief subject of debate, and through
this criminal procedure secured the acceptation of the said Treaty
_in toto_ by a majority of only three votes, [7] which were cast
simultaneously with a declaration that the voters sided with the
"Ayes" on account of war having broken out in these Islands.

This singular comedy could not continue for a great length of time
because the Filipinos could never be the aggressors as against the
American forces, with whom we had sworn eternal friendship and in
whose power we expected to find the necessary protection to enable
us to obtain recognition of our independence from the other Powers.

The confusion and obfuscation of the first moments was indeed great,