LUKBAN
Smith ’ s first priority was to conduct a survey of his assigned territory to acquaint himself with the challenges that he would be facing . After his inspection tour , he realized that , beyond Samar ’ s harsh terrain and climate , he would have to overcome many serious obstacles quickly . General Smith immediately went about solving the largest challenges : remedying his lack of troops and cutting the insurgents ’ sup ply chain . The attacks at Balangiga and the Gandara River convinced him that concentrating troops into larger for mations was required since the “ small detachments were not safe at isolated points .” Hence , Smith requested additional troops from the division commander and gladly accepted a Navy offer to supply him with a bat talion of marines led by Marine Maj . Littleton W . T . Waller . With it was the Navy gunboat support to blockade the coast of Samar and thereby disrupt the smuggling of food and supplies from the nearby island of Leyte . 9
In keeping with their strategy of denying food supply to insurgents , Smith also attacked their ties with the underground supply chain , the food stores and hemp , which transited among the small villages of Samar and extended to the neighboring island of Leyte . In his first circular , Gen . Smith required that all barotos , bancas , or boats of any kind in the waters off the coast of the waters of Samar and adjacent islands ( except fishing boats , or those in the employ of the United States , or authorized by the military authorities ), had to be painted red , with the name of boat and home port . Boat users were told to get passes signed by the commanding officer or adjutant of the military station at their home port . Boats not following these orders were considered contraband and were to be destroyed or confiscated . Fishing boats by day had to show a white flag and by night a white light , and their passes had to prescribe the limits in which the boat was allowed to fish , and also show the names of the crew . Passes were limited to absolute necessities to stop illicit trade in rice , hemp , and other contraband of war .
Towns , villages , hamlets , etc ., in the vicinity of which signal lights or fires were exhibited , would be subject to the fire of gunboats and troops and destroyed . 10
Not satisfied with its results , some weeks later , Smith ordered that all traffic by natives and others passing between Samar and Leyte be restricted , and all natives found passing between these two islands , or afloat on either shore , without passes were to be fired upon and killed , whether on the Samar or Leyte side . 11 Trading in food items between the two islands were reduced to the minimum and confined to ports where US troops were present . Trading outside these ports was not cleared . Barter of rice for hemp could go on , but rice thus obtained was limited in quantity to the actual subsistence needs of the parties getting it . Eva-
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