The San Francisco call., 1899-05-08

MANILA, May I, $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
Filipino General Mascardo has force
of 5000 men there well armed and pos
sessed of plenty of ammunition His
troops have never met American sol
diers. and they think, according TO re-
ports carried to San Fernando, they
can whip the whole lot" Bacolor is
we'll intrenched and thousands of ma
tfves are working like beavers digging
trenches and carrying the dirt in bas-
kets The enemy uses his rifiemen for
fighting only. but compels the Bolomen
and Chinese and even the women to
labor necessarily. The rebel outpost is
about a mile beyond San Fernando,
with a trench that holds between 200
and 300 men, From that point several
volleys were fired last night upon the
camp of the Twentieth Kansas Regi-
ment.
Near there Major General Macarthur
or Major General Lawton moved to-
day, although each reconnoitered the
country in his vicinity for some miles
from headquarters, developing the
presence of small forces of the enemy.
In the vicinity of Laguna de Bal the
rebels are extremely active, but the
lines of General Ovenshine and Colonel
Wholley, who has been 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 Bal
and Cavadonga. under Captain Grant,
have gone to Guagua about five miles
southwest of Bacolor, presumably to
establish a base of supplies for the
troops engaged on the northern cam
paign.
1t is rumOred that Mabina, President
of the Cabinet and Minister Of Foreign
Affairs in the so-called Filipino Gov
ernment, who is d radical is to be sue
ceeded by Patreno, the framer of the
Spanish treaty of 1896. This change is
regarded as significant at the present
juncture
The entrance of the Americans into
San Fernando was virtually unopposed.
The FilipinOs, who expected the invad-
ers to approach from the sea, had that
side Of the town strongly guarded. but
there was only one line Of trenches be-
yond San Tomas. Two battalions of
the Fifty-frst 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 hospital squadron
had walked across the bridge into the
city, supposing the Americans We're
there. They encountered no natives.
The few Spaniards and Filipinos who
cans and opened their houses to them.
General Macarthur accepting the en-
tertainment at the hands of Signor
Hizon, a sugar magnate.
If the inhabitants of the Fernando re-
gion are to be believed, there is little
sympathy with the insurrection in that
quarter. Before evacuating the city
the insurgents burned the church and
the public buildings, and looted the
Chinese quarter. Thev drove many
rich Filipinos with their families out Of
the city before them, as we'll as hun
dreds Of Chinese, to prevent their help
ing the Americans. They cut the
throats Of some. Many Chinese hid ON
roofs or in cellars, and some escaped
by cutting off their queues. There are
fifty fresh graves in the churchyard.
The country beyond Calumpit is full
Of all sorts Of ingenious trenches and