﻿186 MERRILL. 



breaking out all over their bodies, and the faces of some individuals 

 swelling so that they could see only with difficulty. On April S they 

 succeeded only in covering 2-J- miles but they were fortunate in securing 

 the services of a Mangvan as a guide. On the following day, finding 

 further progress up the Alag impossible, they retraced their steps a short 

 distance, leaving the canon of the Alag and following the bed of a small 

 river flowing from the west, making camp in the bed of this stream 

 at an altitude of 1,500 feet. It rained at intervals during the day and 

 all the night and the party gave up hope of ascending Halcon. On 

 April 10 and 11 they crossed the divide at an altitude of 3,230 feet, 

 striking the headwaters of the Bagbaujan Eiver flowing westward, in 

 these two clays suffering much from the attacks of leeches and from the 

 constant rain. On the night of April 12 a camp was made in the narrow 

 canon of the Bagbaujan but, at 8 p. m., because of the heavy rain and the 

 sudden rise in the river, the water coining up about 5 feet in one-half 

 hour, the party were obliged to desert their tents in the darkness and take 

 shelter on a ledge above. The rain continued until 10 p. m. when the 

 river subsided as fast as it had risen. On the following day they went 

 down the river for a distance of If miles, being obliged to make use of 

 ropes for scaling the cliffs. This method of procedure continued on 

 the morning of the 14th, but later in the day they came out into a more 

 open country and left the river bed. As much of their food had become 

 wet owing to the prolonged rains, the question of rations became a very 

 serious one and caused the members of the party considerable anxiety. 

 However, after the 14th, no grave difficidties were encountered, the party 

 continued on down the Bagbaujan and reached the mouth of the river on 

 April 19, having been seventeen clays in crossing Mindoro. 



In June, 1906, Lieut. T. H. Jennings, Seventh United States Cavalry, 

 accompanied by Mr. M. L. Merritt of the Philippine Forestry Bureau, 

 made an attempt to ascend Halcon, but little information regarding their 

 trip and experiences is available other than Mr. Merritt's report, who 

 being ordered to reach Manila on the last of June was obliged to return 

 to Calapan before the highest part of the mountain was reached. The 

 party left Calapan on the morning of June 13, going overland by a trail 

 leading inland, reached the Catuyran Biver, the south fork of the Baco, 

 on the morning of the succeeding day and proceeded up this for some 

 distance, and then followed a stream known as the Dulangan Biver which 

 flows from the Halcon Bange. Here most of their carriers deserted 

 them, and they were delayed in securing more. Continuing up the 

 Dulangan Biver on the 16th, they left the bed of the stream on the 

 following day and took one of the ridges, which was followed on the 

 18th and 19th until they arrived at the place where Whitehead had estab- 

 lished his camp in 1895. Up to this point the trail was fair. On June 



"Apparently the Bolton River. (See map.) 



