So we stayed; there was nothing else to do; and the insurrection against constituted authority was taken up where it left off when Admiral Dewey steamed up Manila Bay. It was hopeless from the start, and one after another of the leading insurrectos , as the months went by, abandoned the struggle in favour of prosperous peace and came in to Manila to take the oath of allegiance to the United States. But as pacification progressed a few of the leaders declared themselves to be “irreconcilable” and either took to the hills with marauding bands of ladrones , or went over to Hong Kong and joined the little Filipino colony there. This colony in Hong Kong⁠—which still exists, by the way⁠—was known as the “junta” and its business in life was to hatch schemes for murderous uprisings, smuggle arms and incendiary literature into the islands, raise money for carrying on hostilities and make itself useful generally.