were constantly engaged
in making sorties on the road leading to Manila. No further attempt
was made in General Blanco's time to dislodge the rebels from their
splendidly-constructed trenches, which, however, could easily have
been shelled from the sea side.

A number of supposed promoters of the rebellion filled the Cavite
prison, and I went over to witness the execution of 13 of them on
September 12. I knew two or three of them by sight. One was a Chinese
half-caste, the son of a rich Chinaman then living. The father was
held to be a respectable man of coolie origin, but the son, long
before the rebellion, had a worthless reputation.

In the Provinces of Pampanga and Bulacan, north of Manila, the rebel
mob, under the command of a native of Cabiao (Nueva Ecija) named
Llaneras, was about 3,000 strong. To oppose this Major Lopez Arteaga
had a flying column of 500 men, and between the contending parties
there were repeated encounters with no definite result. Whenever the
rebels were beaten off and pursued they fled to their strongholds
of San Mateo (Manila, now Rizal) and Angat (Bulacan). The Spaniards
made an unsuccessful attempt to dislodge the enemy at Angat, whilst
at San Mateo, where they were supposed to be 5,000 strong, they were
left undisturbed. The rebels attacked Calumpit (Bulacan), pillaged
several houses, decapitated an Englishman's cook, and drove the civil
guard and the parish priest up the belfry tower. On the other side
of the river, Llaneras visited the rice-mills of an Anglo-American
firm, took some refreshment, and assured the manager, Mr. Scott,
that the rebels had not the least intention to interfere with any
foreigners (as distinguished from Spaniards), against whom they had
no complaint whatever.

At length a plan of campaign was prepared, and expeditionary forces
were to march in two directions through the disaffected provinces south
of Manila, and combine, according to circumstances, when the bulk of
the rebels could be driven together. One division operated from the
lake town of Vinan, whilst General Jaramillo took his troops round to
Batangas Province and worked northwards. Before the lake forces had
gone very far they met with a reverse at the hands of the rebels in
the neighbourhood of Carmona, but rallied and pushed on towards the
rebel quarters near Silan, where the enemy was apparently concentrating
for a great struggle. The combined columns under General Jaramillo at
length opened th