Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-01-20
GOT HIS WAR CHEST
Graphic Story ofthe Capture of Agui-
naldo's Treasury.
CAVALRY RACE AFTER BULL TRAIN
Location Of the Buried Treasure
Given by Captive.
MONEY SENT TO MANILA
MONEY SENT TO MANILA
Special Correspondence Of The Evening Star.
MANILA 2 Daaax..haz u 100

| MANILA. P. L, December Il, 1899.
| Soon after the succession of stampedes
| of the insurrecto forces in November many
| an interesting tale has come in from the
| front depicting the discomfort and dissat-
| isfaction which has existed for some time
| within their lines The people of Dagupan,
| which is the terminus of the Manila and
Dagupan railway. longed for deliverance
| from Agunaldo's heavy yoke and the heavy
| taxation levied by his so-called govern
ment When at last our forces pushed their
| way up close enough to Dagupan for COM
| municatio the natives sent six times to
| San Fabian request to General Wheaton
| that he occupy the city without delay.
| Nearly the whole of the Pangasinan prov
| ince heartily sick of independence as
\ exemplified by the patriot robbers at
! Tarlac, and the simple Ilocanos were ex-
| tremely grateful to General Young's forces.
| who pushed through their villages, paying
| for what they took in the way of food and
| telling them they need no longer grind
| themselves by paying Aguinaldos enforced
poll tax. They received with considerable
| satisfaction the announcement that Fill
pinos in Manila and elsewhere under Amer
| lean control were taxed only one peseto
| each annually.
| One Filipino who had no hesitancy in
| transferring his allegiance to the stars and
stripes when he found he would be pro-
| tected was Nicholas Fernandez, young
|
and learned the calling of caribao or
| water buffalo driver. 1t was this young
| Fernandez who told the Sd United States
Cavalry where there were hidden many
| Mexican dollars belonging to the Filipino
| treasury. 1t had been buried. and with his
| own hands Fernandez hepled to dig it up
and turn it over to the United States gov
ernmcnt.
Informant Was Remembered.
Fernandez was not turned adrift by our
officials after having given this valuable In
| formation but was brought with the treas
! ure to Manila and given 500 Of the very
dollars he had helped our forces to unearth.
He also has become the body servant Of
Captain Dodd. I'd Cavalry, who brought in
| the money and turned it over to the au-
thorites of the American insular treasury.
| Fernandez relates thrilling story of his
| experiences. With his caribao and cart, he
was impressed by the rebels. and made
part of the big train of twenty-nine bull
carts which attempted flight through the
Tayug and San Nicholas when Gen. Young
and his cavalry began to make thirtymile-
a-day jumps plump into the heart of Aguin-
aldos hitherto uneatered realms, paying no
more attention to the insursent FORCES
which tried to stop him than he would to
ba rricade of feathers. This train of carts
| carried everything conceivable, from the
pSuedo records of the So-called secretary OF
war to Mrs. Emilio Aguinaldos slippers
Several cart loads of Mexican silver, repre-
senting special war tax collected in Co
gayan province. in the far north, had been
| on the way from there tc Tarlac for more
| than month.
Buffalo Trains Are Slow.
The caribou trains only able at best
to accomplish five to seven miles day
When the Pangasinan province was reached
the news concerning the persistent pushing
| north of the American troops was alarm
ing that Comitanttno Rodriguez, the custo-
dian of the funds, decided to abandon Tar
lac as his objective point. swerve to the left
through San Nicholas. and. if possible,
get the money into the mountains to pre-
vent 1t being captured by American forces.
1t was impossible to make rapid progress
with the money. and the presidente of the
Pangasinan province was importuned to
take charge of half of it. But. no. This
presdente had often thought of the desira-
bity of riches, but with the affairs of his
beloved republic" at such crisis 1t be-
hooved every insurrectO to train himself
into becoming Splinter, and compress his
belongings into as small compass as pos
sible. Just for swiftness sake.
How could a man with few gripfuls of
scrap iron be expected to run with credit
to himself and were not Mexican dollars
as bad as scrap iron? But. being kind
hearted. he finally consented to receive
5000 pesos. With the remaining 1900
pesos. nearly three tons of Mexican silver
dollars.
Dash for the Mountninx.
The money train made an attempt at a
| dash for the mountains and found the trails
| hot with the tracks of many other gov
eminent bull trains bound in the same
| direction. Fernandez rushed his buffalo
| along quite diligently, but instead of re-
| ceivng thanks. received only abuse. The
| clumsy procession rushed through Tayug
| just as a courier brought the blood-cur-
ding news that the Americans and the
| mucha grandes caballas had reached Umin-
gan. eight miles away, and they had the
terrible, murderous Macabebes with them.
| The three-mle stretch of road between
| Tayug and San Nicholas was doing
rushing business instanter The citizens
| Of Tayug. fled like stampeded cattle, and
in their midst was the government bull
train, Fernandez and the rest of the drivers
believing at and urging on their steeds.
| All confusion, fright, riot and disor-
der.
Lieutenant VIM. J. Johnston. with Troop
| NJ, I'd Cavalry. dashed into San Nicholas
| iii time to capture many OF the cariboo
carts as they were pulling out for the
| canyon to gain the Bayambong trail, but
| failed to get any trace of the money until
| next evening.
Capture of Rodriguez.
| Sergt Curtain and squad of men pushed
| far up the trail and captured Rodriguez
| custodian of the funds. and the driver
| They were members of a select party
| which had just completed the task of
! burying the many heavy chests of money.
| Nicholas Fernandez was compelled to as
| sst in the job. and was not far away when
| Rodriguez captured by the Americans
| and taken to San Nicholas, the scouting
| detail being unable to accomplish more on
| account of darkness. That night Fernan-
dez was sleeping behindla clump of bushes
| in the lonely little canyon when he awoke
| to hear all the "details of a dabolical
| scheme being arranged by two other natives
| who knew where the treasure had been
| buried. These plans specified that Fer
| nandez must be killed and put out of the
| way at once. fer the secret of the buried
money would not be safe with him alive.
| Fernandez stole away in the darkness,
| aroused companion and with him plan
ned an escape. They visited the money
cache and dug upsthe chests, which con-
| tanned $1,000 Mexican. and putting $500 in
| an old stocking, started for San Nicholas.
Bright and early the9next morning the
squad from NJ troop. with Sergt. Curtain
| in command, returning TO the trail, came
suddenly upon Fernandez and his friend
| charging down the canyon on their buffa-
Ices. The companion abandoned his mount
| suddenly and made for The bushes. with
| score or so of carbne bullets whistling
| around his ears. Fernandez demurely gave
| up-surrendered.