alled City,
whereupon the Americans who held the foremost trenches entered Malate
and Ermita without firing a shot. At this point the Americans met
General Noriel's troops who had captured the above mentioned suburbs
and were quartered in the building formerly used by the Exposicion
Regional de Filipinas, [4] in the Normal, and in Sr. Perez' house
in Paco.

In Santa Ana (the eastern section of Manila) General Ricarto
successfully routed five companies of Spaniards, being aided in this
by the manoeuvres of General Pio del Pilar's brigade.

CHAPTER XIV

First Clouds

Our troops saw the American forces landing on the sea shore near the
Luneta and Paseo de Santa Lucia, calling the attention of everybody to
the fact that the Spanish soldiers in the city forts were not firing
on them (the Americans), a mystery that was cleared up at sunset
when details of the capitulation of Manila, by General Jaudenes in
accordance with terms of an agreement with General Merritt, became
public property--a capitulation which the American Generals reserved
for their own benefit and credit in contravention of the agreement
arrived at with Admiral Dewey in the arrangement of plans for the
final combined assault on and capture of Manila by the allied forces,
American and Filipino.

Some light was thrown upon this apparently inexplicable conduct of the
American Commanders by the telegrams which I received during that day
from General Anderson, who wired me from Maitubig asking me to issue
orders forbidding our troops to enter Manila, a request which I did
not comply with because it was not in conformity with the agreement,
and it was, moreover, diametrically opposed to the high ends of the
Revolutionary Government, that after going to the trouble of besieging
Manila for two months and a half, sacrificing thousands of lives and
millions of material interests, it should be supposed such sacrifices
were made with any other object in view than the capture of Manila
and the Spanish garrison which stubbornly defended the city.

But General Merritt, persistent in his designs, begged me not only
through the Admiral but also through Major Bell to withdraw my
troops from the suburbs to (as it was argued) prevent the danger
of conflict which is always to be looked for in the event of dual
military occupation; also by so doing to avoid bringing ridicule upon
the American forces; offering, at the same time, in three letters,
to negotiate after