He was joined by a number of disgruntled "generals"
and their followers. The telegraph wires were cut and the revolution
had begun.
Before 1905 the seizure of a custom-house was invariably the next
step, which would at the same time provide the insurgents with the
sinews of war and make it impossible for the government to pay its
employees in that province. The custom-houses were eliminated as pawns
in the revolutionary game by the fiscal treaty with the United States,
according to which the customs receipts were paid over to an American
receiver-general. Revolutions for a short time became more difficult,
but where there's a will there's a way, and under a new routine the
necessary funds were derived from the government's internal revenues
and from levies on private citizens.
The first two or three weeks of a revolt constituted its critical
period, for the government at once poured troops into the district in
order to suppress the insurrection, while the rebels sought to obtain
as many strategical points as possible. Both sides lived on the
country while roaming about in pursuit of each other.
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