LUKBAN
himself with a small advance guard of three men and a trusted guide nicknamed Jocko , an older man with a thorough knowledge of the area and an expert at detecting the deadly traps his men had encountered on more than one occasion .
Hearing the heavy fighting in front of him , Swisher urged his men forward , which they faithfully followed , but at what cost . Swisher , Corporal Gaughan and Pvts Joseph Weippert and Frank McAndrew were cut down and fell by the trail , dead of multiple bolo and dagger wounds . Others were hacked as they ran the gauntlet . Only three men - Pvts Benjamin Antry , Nathan Fisk and Edward Butler - arrived unscathed . A fourth man , Arthur Bonnicastle , an Osage Indian from the famous school at Carlisle , Pa ., was slightly wounded . His cartridge belt absorbed the full force of a vicious bolo to his midsection , saving his life . With their magazines empty , they clubbed their way forward , cracking the skulls and limbs of the insurgents who swarmed about the survivors . It was now up to these four and Schoeffel to do the fighting as none of the others were sufficiently strong to carry a weapon . Here they prepared for a second assault they feared would soon come . They stood back-to-back and poured round after round into the grass to discourage their attackers .
Within five minutes the battle was over , their foes having slunk away in the tall grass , leaving their dead behind . Schoeffel was still conscious but was unable to stand and was sick to his stomach . He gave orders to retrieve the dead and wounded and bring them to the front where they could be treated . They were collected and placed within a tight circle . One man , Pvt Clark , was missing .
The natives at the rear of the column were now brought forward . Only Angel , their leader , and a handful of others had responded to Swisher ’ s orders to come forward . Angel was dying and two others were wounded and out of action . When the others were asked why they did not rush forward , the natives replied that they had only bolos and feared they would be mistaken as enemies and shot down by the Americans . 17
The newpapers in the US would later report that “ a sergeant , a corporal and five privates were killed . Captain Schoeffel was wounded , but not dangerously . Five privates were dangerously and one slightly wounded . No property was lost . The enemy was finally repulsed with heavy loss ’.” 18 Still Lukban eluded capture . The hunt would continue . He remained the only unsurrendered Filipino guerrilla leader , which became an embarrassment to the American public back home .
Captured
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