It is altogether probable that a good American governor would have prevented them, but as it was, neither their cause nor their importance were understood at the outset.

The _pulajan_ movement was directed primarily against Filipinos.
The first outbreak occurred on July 10, 1904, in the Gandara River valley where a settlement of the lowlanders was burned and some of its inhabitants were killed.

Eventually disorder spread to many places on the coast, and one scout garrison of a single company was surprised and overwhelmed by superior numbers.

Officers and men were massacred and their rifles taken.
In point of area Samar is the third island in the Philippines.

In its interior are many rugged peaks and heavily forested mountains.