Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1899-05-13
|BACOLOR WILL Be
ATTACKED next
Macarthur and Lawton Resting Pre-
paratory to Moving on
That Point.
SOME 5000 INSURGENTS THERE
Have Never Met the Americans and
Are Said to BE Eager for a
Fight---Iowa Boys In
Good shape.
SOME 5000 INSURGENTS THERE

Manila, May $40 p. MO clear
the Filipinos out of Bacolor, about five
miles southwest Of San Fernando,
will be the next task of the Americans
The rebel general, Mascardo, a a
force of 5000 men there, well armed
and possessed of plenty OF ammuni-
ton. His troops have never met Amer
lean soldiers and they think, according
to reports carried to San Fernando,
that they AN whip the whole lot.
Bacolor is well e"ntrenched, and nun
dreds of natives are working like DeaV-
crs digging trenches and carrying the
dirt in baskets. The enemy uses MS
rilemen for fighting only, but com
pels the bolomen and Chinese, n
even the women, to labor necessarily.
The rebels have an outpost a
mile beyond San Fernando, with a
trench that holds between 200 ana 5oO
men. From hat point several volleyS
we're fred upon the camp of the wen
ticth Kansas regiment.
Neither Generals Macarthur nor
Lawton moved today, although each
reconnoitered the country In his own
vicinity for some miles from head
quarters, developing the presence OF
small forces of the enemy.
In the vicinity of Laguna de BAY
the rebels are extremely active, put
The lines Of General Oyenshine and
Colonel Wholly, who is commanding
General Kings brigade during the lat-
ter's illness, have been materially
STRENGTHENED, and there is no danger
in that direction.
The armed steamers Laguna de
BAY and Cavadonga, under Captain
Grant, have gone to Qua Qua, ABOUT
five miles southeast of Bacolor, pre-
sumably to establish n base OF supplies
for the troops engaged on the north-
ern campaign.
II is rumored that Mabini, presi-
dent of the cabinet, and minister OF
foreign affairs in the so-called fll-
ipino government, who is a radical, Is
to be succeeded by Patreno, the
Trainer of the Spanish treaty Of 1896
The change Is regarded as Significant
at the present %juncture. The en-
trance Of the Americans into San Fer
nando was virtually ~unopposed. The
Filipinos, who expected the invaders
to approach from the sea, had that
side Of the town strongly guarded, but
there was only one line of trenches
beyond San Tomas. Two battallons OF
the Fifty-first Iowa regiment, which
swan the river north of the city, were
smartly peppered while in the water,
but the rebels disappeared as soon as
the Americans reached the shore. In
the meantime the hospitl squad had
walked across the bridge into the city,
supposing the Americans were there.
They encountered no natives. a few
tSpaniards and Filipinos welcomed the
Americans and offered their houses TO
them, General Macarthur accepting
entertainment at the hands of Senior
'Hizon, a sugar magnate.
If the inhabitants of the San Fer
nando region are to be believed, there
is little sympathy with the ]insurrec-
ton in that quarter. Before leaving
the citv the rebels burned the church
and public buildings and looted the
Chinese quarter. They drove many
rich Filipinos, with their families, out
of the city before them, as well as hun
lrcds of Chinese, 10 prevent them
helping the Americans. They cut tie
throats of some. Many Chinese hid on
roof-tops or In cellars, and some cs-
capped by cutting off their queues.
There are fifty fresh graves in the
ch%urchyard.
The country beyond Calumpit is full
of all sorts of ingenious trenches and
pitfalls in the roads. with sharpened
bamboo. Fortunately the Americans
escaped the swamps near San Tomas,
where General Wheaton's troops did
their hardest fighting, the men sinking
10 their waists in mud. There are
many bodies Of Filipinos smelling hor-
ribly.
The army is really enjoying life at
Gan Fernando, which is the most pic
;~urcsque and wealthy town the Amer
leans have entered since the occupa-
ton of Manila. It is largely built Of
htone, the river is close at hand and
high hills almost surround it. Many
sugar factories indicate a thriving in
,Iustry in that respect, and there are
numerous fine residences. General
tIacArthur's permanent headquarters
have been established in a business
house in town which is richly deco
rated with frescocs and carved woods.
The troops are encamped in the
suburbs and are beginning to think
they may be quartered there during
the wet season.
After Bacolor has been cleared, wa
ter communication with Manila may
be established. Along the roads to
Calumpit the fuel wagons and bull
teams dragging provisions have TO be
ferried, one by one, across two rivers,
but the Filipinos have several launches
I'm the river Delta.
The American troops are much eN-
hausted by the campaign, except the
iowa troops, which are comparatively
fresh. The regiments of the division
average less than fifty men to a COM
pany, and all have n weatherworn ap"
pearancc.
Senator Albert B~everidge, of lndi.
ana. is here studying the Philippians
question. Brigadier General Charles
King has sailed for the United States
on board the transport Pueblo.