The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1900-03-25
CAPT. BACHELORS
FAMOUS EXPEDITION
How He Shut the Enemy Out
of the Valley of Rio
Grand.
INED OM TIE H0lIN TRV
LIVED ON THE COUNTRY
His Command Charged on Filipenos
Near Fuerte San Luis.
AN ACCOUNT OF IMPORTANT BATTLES
Capt. Bachelor, With the True North Carolina
Spirit, Warmly Commends the Men
of His Command.
(Army and Navy Register.)

(Army and Navy Register)
In an official report which has been re-
ceived from JOS b. Bachelor, cath infan-
try, of the operations of his command
from November "a to December 2S. that
officer gives an account of his expedition
from San Nicolas to Aparri. Captain Bat
chelor had orders to cross the mountains
of Southern Benguet on the Gayapa trail
with the idea of shutting the enemy out
OF the valley of the Rio Grande de Ka-
gayan. He was ordered to live on the
country and to take with him Lieutenant
Castner commanding loves scouts. The
command consisted of companies ana
Fl, and detachments of companies and
= X, oath infantry, and, with loves scouts,
numbered about $40 enlisted men. The
officers were Lieuts. G. II. Miller, C. II.
McMaster G.. S. Lincoln, X. e. Firth. j.
Herring and Parker, and Acting Assistant
Surgeon Heller. Capt. Bachelor in his
report says:
The descriptions given me of the noun
tain trail were so contradictory that /
could not even learn two hours before
and how far distant was the nearest
water. The maps OF the valley are all
wrong. Roads, rivers, and towns are
wrongly placed or omitted and trails
which never existed are described as car
riage roads. Not, so far as / have been
informed was there any knowledge or
the strength and disposition of the in
surrecto forces in this great stretch of
country.
had drawn two days rations of bacon
and hard bread at San Jose on the 21st
of November At Tayug | issued as much
salt as the men could carry. The
battalion then marched to San Nicolas,
arriving about 4 p. M.
Here / organized train Of 30 carga-
dores and 3 capatases, and loaded them
with rice. No cattle could be obtained.
Leaving San Nicolas on the oath of No
vember, the command marched about four
miles up a canon and then struck by
blind trail into the mountains.
On the 25th we marched at daybreak.
and halted at dark OH top of high noun
tain, without water and almost without
wood Here the rice gave out and / was
told that Gayapa. station in the noun
tains established by the Spanards, before
the war was strongly garrisoned. Here
we captured - insurrectos who said they
were ordered TO join Aguinaldo at Bayam-
hong. They had no arms and were sent
back toward San Nicolas. We marched
on the 26th without breakfast except
little rice saved by the men to Gayapa,
arriving about 80 a. m There we were
fortunate enough to find not only water
but considerable quantity of very poor
and down succession of mountain
tans and / at orlce sent out a detail
which brought in two small cattle. This
was the first and only time the command
had meat during the five days of noun
.o;,, vii IN
p m. we then marched over another
mountain ridge to the next river, arriving
Just at dark.
On the 9th we made q long march up
and down a succession of mountain
ridges, to Santa Cruz, an Igorrote village
where | impressed II of the young men
as cargadores, knowing that q number OF
difficult passes were just ahead. We
then moved down a river about six
miles with three bad fords. Lieutenant
Castner with the scouts, who had been
kept all the time ip front, from two to
ten hours, camped this night in Bam-
bang.
On the 2Sth the main command contin-
ued the march down the river. fording
ii eight times, and arrived about / p. m.
ut Bambang. Here I heard that tho
scouts and a cavalry force had. gone in
to Bayambang. which had surrendered.
The men being very weary ] accordingly
halted for the night at Bambang Here,
and at each town where we camped there
after ! had issued TO the command meat
and rice.
On the 29th we marched to Bayambane
capital Of Neuva Vizcay. This town with
the few irsurrecto troops there present
had been surrendered on the preceding
day 10 our forces. Learning that Lieu
tenant Munro. who had entered the prov
ince with detachment Of the 4th cav
airy by the Caraballo. h ad been for sew
cral days negotiating witla General Canon,
the nsnrrecto commander. for the sur
render, Lieutenant Castner who was the
senior, generously allowed all the eclat
OF the actual proceeding to go to Lieu
tenant Monro. Lest his own generosity
starIl in his light, | desire to call atten-
tion TO the energy and dash with which
Castner pushed forward on learning that
there were insurrectos at Bayambang
The command had row marched some
30 miles in six days o7'er very bad
mountain trail. The state of their cloth
ing was by no means satisfactory when
we started; and water and rock had set
many men barefoot. There was consid-
cradle sickness from o7erwork combined
with unaccustomed and insufficient food
The pack train had fallen behind on