LUKBAN
of holding the town against the enemy and sending a team to Basey for help , but their wounded were in such a deplorable condition that surgical aid was imperative . So they decided to embark on getting to Basey where there was an American garrison . 23
Pvt . Manire said they took care of the wounded , and gave them the best comfort that could be afforded . These were placed in the shade and given water . As for their dead , they sorted them out and put them together in the shade . At about 10 that morning , four of them secured barotos for the trip . 24
Meyer said they tried to burn the main barracks , but without success . Thus the Filipinos were able to secure the rifles , ammunition and other goods left at their commissary on the ground floor . Two of them emptied a can of crude oil in the church and convent and also tried to burn the structures , but the natives must have put out the fire as soon as they left . Then they went to the officers ’ quarters and took a case of whisky which Lt . Bumpus brought the day before . He said this must have saved them on their 24-hour sea ordeal . 25
Gamlin said they divided themselves among the five boats that they were able to secure in the river west of the town . The smaller the boat , the fewer the soldiers . The largest had 18 riders , the smallest two . As luck would have it , the boats all had outriggers attached , the tide was in , and they had no trouble getting to sea . Pvt . Ernest Ralston added in his account that they had fresh water , a case of hardtack , bacon and coffee , in addition to some 30 guns and ammunition , which they had to throw overboard later when their boats were swamped with water . 26
In the account of official historian David Perine , by the time the survivors had assembled at the river to paddle their way to Basey , there were 31 wounded and only five unscathed . The remaining 38 men of company C were killed .
They did not leave Balangiga at the same time . The boat of Markley with only two riders left an hour earlier . It reached Tolosa then proceeded to Tanauan where they reported to the 11 th Infantry . Markley Swanson gave the first reports of the attack that reached Washington , claiming 140 Filipinos were dead . 27
The second boat with six riders did not have problems with the sea , except that they consumed all their water at dusk . The bottles of whisky was a life saver that helped them reach their destination . 28
But the third boat with nine people , including Francisco , Connell ’ s houseboy , experienced problems with navigation . They mistook the cape west of Balangiga as the Capines point , and were soon swamped with water due to rough seas . So four of their passengers were transferred to the other boats to enable them to float , while the remaining passengers
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