Part Five – Searching For Death In Samar – Hang The Dogs 436Searching For Deaths In Samar

It was American historian, Kenneth Ray Young, who appears to have been

the source for the claim that 50,000 people were killed by American forces in

Samar. Rarely questioned, it has gained currency in history books, in

newspaper articles and on the internet. Yet the figure is demonstrably wrong.

"The population of Samar dropped from 312,192 to 257,715, a drop of

54,477" wrote Young in 1977364. It is a remarkable figure for many reasons

and certainly worth examination.

Filipino nationalist historian Teodore Agoncillo took the claim further,

50,000 Balangiganons were killed according his book, A History of the Filipino

People, now a standard school text in the Philippines.

Agoncillo's claim is bunkum and can be nothing else since the figure is ten

times the population of the entire Balangiga municipality at the time. Up to

six post-Balangiga Attack deaths are known: Ana Nacionales, Geronima’s

mother is said to have been shot in head by American soldiers while trying to

avoid a patrol near Tadan365. The soldiers are said to have taken gold nuggets

from her basket, leaving her to die three days later in the arms of her

daughter, Susanna366; Patricio Carilla is reported to have been captured,

tortured, then killed; Two seven-year old cousins were surprised by an

American patrol to the east of Balangiga, one of the boys was shot dead,

364 Young, Kenneth Ray, Guerrilla Warfare Revisited, Leyte Samar Studies, XI:1

(1977), 21-31

365 Tibe-Bonifacio

366 Duran, p119.

Part Five – Searching For Death In Samar – Hang The Dogs 437while the other was caught, tossed into the air several times, then left; and

three unidentified fisherman.

Reprehensible, certainly, but not mass killings of Balangiganons. But what

of Samar itself?

No mass graves have surfaced. There was no 'bodycount'. Even the oral

history is devoid of massacres on a scale large enough to indicate that tens

of thousands died367. The Historical Data Sheets for the province don't

support the claims either.

One might suggest that the information was suppressed through some

fear-induced conspiracy. Yet from the 1930s to the late 1950s Filipino

participants seem to be willing enough to talk to historians and journalists

and otherwise make a record of their attempts to kill Americans, so why

should they keep silent on American attempts to kill them?

Allegations of American brutality were made consistently from the middle

period of the Philippine American War, Samar, in particular, came in for

examination. After independence large numbers of participants in the war

were only too keen to put pen to paper to claim their part in the conflict.

There are some accounts, but very few. Typical is one mentioned in the

Data Sheet for Guiuan which tells of a number of farmers, heading out to

367 Rosario Narbong-Cabardo cites an anonymous Filipino participant "Everyone

they found – even children, the old, were killed ". The claim is not supported in

interviews with participants in Arens, Loyola and Abletez, nor by oral tradition among

this author's interviewees. Narbong-Cabardo, Rosario, A Revolution Unfolds in Samar

– Victory in Balangiga, in Resistance and Revolution – Philippine Archipelago in Arms,

Reyes Churchill, Bernadita (Ed),National Commission for Culture and the Arts,

Committee on Historical Research, Manila, 2002, p100 et seq.

Part Five – Searching For Death In Samar – Hang The Dogs 438their fields who were seen by a heavily American patrol. Fearing aggression

from the soldiers, the farmers drew their bolos, whereupon the American

patrol started shooting. Such accounts are few and far between and,

obviously, not on a scale to produce the figure of 50,000.

The 50,000 figure usually quoted is remarkable in another way. If true, it

would indicate that each of the 300 US Marines killed an average of 167

people, that 10,000 people were killed each month, approximately 333 a day,

come rain come shine. Common sense tells us that something may just be

awry, even if one takes into account the additional numbers of soldiers and

Filipino scouts.

Young's footnotes reveal that his figure is derived from Blount's 'American

Occupation of the Philippines'368. Blount gives the 1903 census figure of

222,690369, however, not Young's figure.

So where did Young get his numbers? They appear on page 383 of

Blount's book, and are the population figures for Batangas in 1903. And the

312,192 'Samar' figure is the 1899 figure for the same province, Batangas,

according to Blount. Right figures, wrong island, in both cases.

There was no bodycount in Samar by US authorities, and there are no

contemporary Filipino figures. Nor has there ever been an in-depth study.

However, in 2002 a former USAF Officer, Bruce Gordon looked at crude

census figures for the period from 1884 to 1939, with interesting results370.

368 Blount, James H., American Occupation of the Philippines 1898/1912, GP

Putnam's & Sons, New York, 1913, also, Filipiniana Reprint Series, Solar Publishing,

Manila, Philippines, 1986

369 ibid, page 228.

370 Gordon, Bruce,

Part Five – Searching For Death In Samar – Hang The Dogs 439The US 1903 Census shows a figure for Samar of 266,237. It is unsafe, of

course, to directly compare Spanish census figures with American census

figures because of their different methodologies but some comparison may

be indicative.

The Spanish census for 1896, the latest available before 1903, gives a

figure of 244,781. The very low growth rate from 1884 to 1887 reflects a

devastating disease epidemic on the island. The very high rate between 1887

and 1896 is anomalous; a 3.2 per cent increase cannot be accounted for by

simple live births alone. It is nearly twice the growth rate of the Philippines of

1.72 per cent between 1887 and 1903371. Indeed, from 1918 to 1939 the

growth figure is very close to the overall growth rate.

For a growth rate of 0.8 per cent to suddenly become 3.2 per cent is little

short of a miracle, and miracle are in notably short supply. If it was due to a

sudden influx of immigration from some other part of the country, it should

have left a perceptible social impact that seems to be absent. However, if a

thriving hemp-based economy attracted immigration from the southern Bicol

region, which shares geographical closeness, a number of linguistic and

cultural similarities, as well as a hemp industry, then the impact may have

been light.

If one simply takes the growth rates in the American census figures from

1903 to 1939 and places them against the 1896 Spanish figure one comes up

with a notional shortfall of 15,336 people. Still high but significantly less than

the already discredited 50,000 figure often bruited about (See chart).

Projecting back, of course, would show an overage in the other direction.

371 May, Glenn Anthony, A Past Recovered, New Day, Quezon City, 1987, page 87

Part Five – Searching For Death In Samar – Hang The Dogs 440Spanish population records are unreliable and it is generally assumed that

American records were more accurate. But which way does the inaccuracy

lay? And were the American records really more accurate?

There is a natural temptation to assume that Spanish figures erred

significantly on the low side. Those based on church figures were depressed

because many people did not want to go to the expense involved with

baptism or burial. Spanish-era authorities varied widely in their enthusiasm in

collecting data. Samar had few Spanish officials during the period. Figures

based on taxpayers would also be depressed since, in Samar, many people

took to the hills to avoid paying taxes.

There is an alternative scenario that seems counter-intuitive: That the

Spanish figures were exaggerated, and that American figures were too low.

The American shortfall

Batangas had a population similar to that of Samar. By 1903, the war in

Batangas was over and the province relatively quiet. Census takers went

from house to house counting heads and still managed to miss around

10,000 people372.

Samar was far from easy territory. Its challenging terrain and climate

alone had accounted for two thirds of the marine dead on the island during

the war. It also had a large part of its population that did not want to be

found. Under such circumstances an undercount at least of the order of that

in Batangas, and possibly much higher, is to be expected. That would bring

the number to be accounted for down to a little more than 5,336.

372 May, Glenn Anthony, A Past Recovered, New Day, Quezon City, 1987, page 79

Part Five – Searching For Death In Samar – Hang The Dogs 441Another influence is Pulahanism. By the middle of July 1905 there were a

reported 7,000 Pulahanes, semi-religious raiders, in Samar373. This number

did not appear overnight, some already existed on Samar prior to the end of

hostilities on March 15 and their numbers grew after the April 27 surrender as

former revolutionaries took to the hills and came to terms with the Pulahanes

there374.

It would take a reckless census taker indeed to try and count Pulahanes

heads without losing their own and it's fairly safe to say that they are not

included in the 1903 census. Indeed, the Provincial Census supervisor's

report curiously makes no mention of conditions in the hills of Samar, where

a significant part, around 25 per cent, of the population lived. They alone

could account for the remaining shortfall.

A similar situation arose at the same time in the Cordilleras. The same

1903 census provided a count of just 135 Mayayao people in Eastern Ifugao,

a figure regarded as ridiculously low. "The probably is that the enumerators

have been afraid to go among them" said one observer. The low count was

also ascribed to fear among the Igorottes that the figures were being

collected as part of a plan to attack them375.

The Spanish Numbers

373 Arens, page 71

374 Arens page 66

375 Jenista, Frank Lawrence, The White Apos, New Day, Quezon City, 1987, p34.

Co-incidence spotters will note that the legendary Lieutenant Jeff D. Galman, who

successfully administered the Ifugao region with some pizzazz, was aboard the USS

Liscum as a member of Company M, 9th US Infantry, during Company C's journey to

Balangiga. Company M. was offloaded at Santa Rita.

Part Five – Searching For Death In Samar – Hang The Dogs 442The astonishing population growth between 1887 and 1896 is so

anomalous in comparison to later figures that one is tempted to ask whether

it is possible or reasonable to suggest that the Spanish figures were an

overestimate or indicated some strange and unusual phenomenon.

'Yes' is the quick answer. The Spanish imposed taxes and a significant

number of the Samar population was not inclined to pay them. Their tax

avoidance scheme was simple – take to the mountains where the Spanish

were not inclined to go. This resulted in establishment of communities, which

Cruickshank refers to as 'remontados' in the Samar hinterland.

Towards the end of the 19th century, Spanish authorities devised a

scheme to encourage such remontados to return 'under the bells'. This

scheme involved a tax holiday for such returnees and their families. In this

unique situation, the relationship between the population estimates and tax

returns was decoupled – a population increase did not have to be matched by

an increase in tax collections.

Spanish administrators could demonstrate their efficiency simply by

padding the figures and not have to worry about an audit. Given what we

know about the 'Spanish practices' of the time, it would be surprising if they

did not, indeed, do so.

What else happened during the Spanish period under review that may

have affected population figures? One influence may well have been a

typhoon in 1897, the year after the Spanish census, which devastated the

island's coconut plantations. This destroyed economies particularly along the

southern coast and even as late as 1903 it was still very far from recovery376.

376 Llorente, Julio, Samar Province, Census Supervisor Report, Paper 120, Otley

Beyer Collection, The National Library.

Part Five – Searching For Death In Samar – Hang The Dogs 443Back to the Americans

So, we have good reason to suppose that Spanish figures were an over

estimate and American figures an underestimate. One of the first things the

Americans did, of course, was to impose taxes. Given the already observed

behaviour of taking to the mountains to avoid payment. Is it unreasonable to

suppose that Samarenos did the same as their forebears to avoid paying it?

Another influence on the figures was disease. Small epidemics of smallpox

and cholera broke out which caused high mortality among children. Beri-beri,

a disease related to malnutrition also took its toll, especially on the poor377.

As American administrative penetration into Samar became more

effective, one would expect to see an unusually high growth rate. In fact, this

is observed in the 1903-1918 figures of 2.4 per cent, with subsequent

population growth roughly following the norm of the time – 1.74 per cent.

Note that the 2.4 per cent figure is suggestively close in order of

magnitude, to the Spanish era 3.2 per cent, and possibly for the same

reason.

Post War Conditions on Samar

To say that Samar was devastated by the war is something of an

understatement. What few roads and bridges that once existed were

destroyed. More than half of the province's 44 municipalities were raised to

the ground. What few coconuts stands hadn't been flattened by the 1897

typhoon were also largely gone. The abaca crop had fallen so much that even

two years later it was nearly 75 per cent below production. Some 85 per cent

377 Llorente, Julian, Samar Province, Census Supervisor Report, Paper 120, Otley

Beyer Collection, The National Library.

Part Five – Searching For Death In Samar – Hang The Dogs 444of draft animals, essential to the recovery of the abaca industry, had died, a

small number due to rinderpest, the vast majority because of the war. The

same applied to food animals. There were food shortages, and what was

available was beyond the purse of many. There was malnutrition378, although

not famine, according to the census supervisor.

There was little reason for anyone to stay in Samar who could afford to

leave. Combined with yet another typhoon during the war and a locust

plague, both reported by Lukban, and an effective blockade of the island that

stopped food imports for two years, it is remarkable that the drop in

population through emigration, temporary or permanent, is as small as it

appears to be.

This does not, of course, show that no atrocities took place in Samar, they

certainly did. What we don't know is the scale.

The 1903 figures themselves are revealing if confusing. One would expect

to see more male than female casualties represented in the table. They show

1,634 fewer males in the 18-44 years old age group than females. In the

younger-weighted 15 to 29 group there were about 5,000 fewer males. But in

the total population there were 4,903 more males and 2,873 in the upper age

bracket. Fritz suggests that the possible combat casualties on Samar might

be calculated by 5,000-2,873 = 2,127 "or some other figure"379.

The figure of 4,903 is intriguingly close, in order of magnitude to the 5,336

mentioned earlier. But they represent less than 1.9 per cent of the population

378 Llorente, Julian, Samar Province, Census Supervisor Report, Paper 120, Otley

Beyer Collection, The National Library.

379 Fritz, David L. Before "The Howling Wilderness": The Military Career of Jacob

Heard Smith, Military Affairs, November-Decmber1979 p186,

Part Five – Searching For Death In Samar – Hang The Dogs 445and one has to ask whether, given the conditions on the island at the time,

the count could have been sufficiently accurate to outweigh any inaccuracies.

Conclusions

We can establish a) that the 50,000 figure is drawn from a false basis, b)

The methodology was based not on deaths but a general population shortfall

c) given the uncertainties of the available population figures no worthwhile

estimate can be made from them, d) there was a variety of known causes of

disease and death that could account for a population shortfall equal to

greater than those resulting from direct military action and e) Samarenos had

every reason to leave the island in large numbers at the end of the war.

Nothing suggests that the conflict death rate in Samar was especially high

for a combat zone, and no evidence at all of 'genocidal' activities.

Further work is certainly needed on this issue and examination of

municipal and parish records, rather that crude population, may hold the

key380.

380

Part Five – Searching For Death In Samar – Hang The Dogs 446

Part Five – Two Historians – Hang The Dogs 448the Thomas Jefferson Library and later at the Rizal Library at Ateneo

University and editor of the Bulletin of the AHC Foundation, a publication well

worth its modest subscription. His credentials as a historian and

commentator on historical issues are impeccable, as is his American

patriotism. Gleek is a man of forceful views – he regards the Anti-Imperial

League as traitors and many nationalists as 'over heated' would-be Marxists.

He is sometimes regarded as an apologist for American intervention in the

Philippines.

Professor Rey Imperial of the School of Social Sciences, of the University

of the Philippines, is one of the country's foremost historians. He has taken a

special interest in Samar and Leyte during the Philippine-American War, has

published a book on Mojica on Leyte and plans to publish a companion work

on Lukban on Samar. He regularly presents papers at conferences and

symposia, among them the one discussed here. He is a nationalist historian

in the mould of Agoncillo and Constantino,.

It should be emphasized that the criticisms of these papers does not imply

their general application to these authors' other works, only to the specific

papers concerned.

The Balangiga And After That Wasn't

Let us deal with Professor Imperial's paper, Balangiga And After,

presented at a conference in 1998 and available online382. His thesis is that

the 'water cure' was used by Company C., 9th United States Infantry, in

Balangiga and prior to the attack of September 28, 1901.

382 Imperial, Reynaldo, Balangiga And After, Balangiga Round Table Conference,

UP Tacloban, November 27-28, 1998.

Part Five – Two Historians – Hang The Dogs 449The Water Cure, a cure for silence, also referred to as the Water Torture

although some American senators believed there was a difference, involved

laying the victim on his or her back, held or strapped down, with mouth

forced open. Water was then pumped or poured, using a syringe or a rifle

barrel, into the victim's stomach until it was swollen. Then, using a rifle butt,

or by simply jumping on the victim's stomach, the water was forcefully

expelled. The sensation was one of being drowned and among its dubious

benefits is that it left few marks and was rarely, though sometimes, fatal.

It appears to have been adopted from the Macabebes who practiced it

during he Spanish regime and joined with the US forces during the Philippine-

American War383. Its best-known American adherent was Captain Edwin Glenn

of the 5th US Infantry, who operated both on Luzon and Samar. Glenn was

eventually court-martialled, fined and finally ended his career as a Brigadier

General.

The claim that the water cure was carried out in Balangiga has appeared

in various forms. Charo Narbong-Carbardo made the claim in the Philippine

383 The original Macabebes were a separate cultural group occupying a large part

of Pampanga, Luzon and distinct from the Tagalogs who occupied the provinces

around them. The term was later loosely applied by US soldiers to all Filipinos who

were recruited into the US forces as scouts. There is some evidence that the

Macabebes played a key role in the island's international trade in pre-Hispanic times.

After several failed attacks on the Spanish, the Macabebes submitted to Spanish rule

quickly, which probably has as much to do with protecting their trade interests as in

seeking Spanish defensive against the surrounding Tagalog majority. The US

'inherited' the Macabebe forces from the Spanish.