Page:Under MacArthur in Luzon.djvu/292

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page has been proofread, but needs to be validated.
262
UNDER MacARTHUR IN LUZON

As but little was known of this section of Luzon, the command under General Wheaton had, necessarily, to move with caution, and on the second and third days after landing, scouting parties were sent forth in various directions. One of these parties moved toward San Jacinto, and had hardly gotten fairly started on the road when the Filipinos opened fire, killing six men in the front rank. A terrific battle, lasting well into the night, followed, the Filipino sharpshooters doing frightful execution, and bringing down, among numerous others, Major John A. Logan, one of the best beloved of the officers of the 33d United States Volunteer Infantry.

It was now learned that Aguinaldo was just beyond San Jacinto with the remnant of his army, and General Wheaton's column tried to push on faster than ever, toward the mountains on the north. But the passes were held by the very best of the Tagalog sharpshooters, and it is said that they had orders never to give up. San Jacinto was taken by the Americans, and then it was rumored that the town was to be surrounded, and General Wheaton prepared for an attack on a large scale. But this never materialized, and the flight of the Filipino President—he now proclaimed himself Dictator—