LUKBAN surely damage the steamer.
Sweeney’ s men gathered all available axes, lowering the small boats, and landed a corporal and four men on each side of the river to stand guard while he took the remainder of the men to the blockade, which they destroyed after much effort. A tree 100 feet high, bordering on the river bank, was cut at the base, so that a strong pull on the ropes that were tied near the top and stretched across the river to the other bank would have formed a second blockade almost as complete as the first. The soldiers cut and destroyed the ropes, freeing themselves of the blockade.
His men found four nipa huts at the river bank which were reportedly used a temporary barracks by Lukban’ s men. Inside were over 100 pounds of fresh beef, which he ordered to be thrown in the river, and 150 pounds of rice, which they confiscated. Then they burned the houses, and proceeded down the river in the direction of Catubig. A quarter of a mile away, they could hear the firing in the beleaguered town. So he ordered the boat captain to proceed full steam ahead, until they run into a hail of bullets from the mausers of the rebels coming from all directions. They returned fire. The small boats were lowered after calling to the men to locate their positions, as the barracks and many of houses were in flames.
Despite the constant fire, Sweeney did not hesitate to land with his men, leaving three of them in the steamer. But before everyone got into the boats, two of his men were hit, and they had to be put back into the steamer. The rest fortunately made the landing and were able to save the men trapped in their trenches at the back of the convent.“ We could have taken a position in the grass, where we could not be seen, but by doing so we could not command a view of the enemy’ s movements,“ Sweeney reported. 10
He had to send two men to bury two of the dead in the trenches, while some acted as guards as the firing from the rebels’ side continued. As soon as Sweeney was able to bring the survivors, including the wounded, on the boats, they boarded the steamer. There were dead insurgents on the streets and two floated down the river. He estimated 200 dead on the rebels’ side.
From the steamer, Sweeney could see that the town was fortified at every turn, particularly along the river front, where the rebels had accordingly used bags of rice, dirt and hemp for breastworks. At the place where they were earlier blockaded, the rebels had placed another blockade made of long bamboo strips and canes, attached to the highest tree, expecting that the smokestack of the steamer would pull it down on them, but the rope was poorly tied and so was easily removed. Sweeney and the American survivors made it to safety. 11
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