On the coasts of the provinces these predatory inroads were not uncommon, till General Claveria, in the beginning of 1848, determined to punish them severely, and to intimidate them so signally, as to prevent any repetition of these offences. Accordingly, having secretly fitted out an expedition from Manilla on the 13th February, 1848, the steamer on board of which the Governor himself was, anchored between the islands of Parol and Balanguinguy. Next day the transports arrived, and on that and the following day they reconnoitred the islands, and did all the damage they could, by way of reprisal, demolishing several piers, and destroying a large quantity of paddy which they discovered concealed in a cave in a retired place. At daybreak, on the 16th February, the troops were disembarked before Balanguinguy under cover of a fire from the ships, and after a little resistance from the Sooloo men--who were excessively frightened by the appearance of the steamers, whose facility of movement they were quite unprepared for--the fort, consisting of bamboo, was taken by escalade after a brave resistance. The attacking force, consisting of about 4000 men, behaved with great coolness and decision, when exposed to the enemy's fire and missiles of all sorts, such as arrows, javelins, &c. About eighty of the defenders of the place were slain, many of them with the desperate bravery--or ferocity if you will--of men who neither would give or accept of quarter, having first stabbed their wives, children, and useless old men and women. On seeing the success of the Spaniards, they formed themselves into a band, nearly all of whom perished on the points of the soldiers' bayonets, fighting bravely to the last; when the few survivors, seeing their companions dead and dying around them, with all the desperation of pirates, threw themselves from the walls, which were lofty, preferring certain death to the chance of falling into the hands of their enemies alive. Fourteen pieces of artillery were found within the place, which was destroyed, and preparations were made and acted upon for attacking the forts of Sipac and Sungap, both of which were successful. The Governor, General Claveria, gained at the time a good deal of reputation from his soldierly management of the forces at his disposal; and when the news reached Spain, he was created the _Conde_ of Manilla, &c. On his return from this expedition, a great deal of absurd parade was, as is usual with the Spaniards, prepared to welcome him; and the General was forced to march under triumphal arches, &c., all of them bearing the most glowing inscriptions to the conqueror of the three bamboo forts from a race of barbarians, most of whom were unprovided with better arms than bows and arrows, spears, &c.; for although they had some small cannon, they could not make a proper use of them. Truly it was a pity to see the good deeds of the Balanguinguy expedition burlesqued by these ridiculous pageants.