Brookings weekly register. (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1898-1903, 1899-04-13

Manila, April 12.--Gen. Lawton has
captured Santa Cruz, at the extreme
end Of the lake. He drove the rebels,
who were commanded by a Chinaman
named Poa Wah, into the mountains.
The Americans had six men wounded
! The rebels lost sixty-eight men killed
and had forty men wounded.
Santa Cruz was the Filipino's strong
hold on Laguna de Bay, and it fell into
the hands of Gen. LawtOn's expedi-
ton after some sharp, quick fighting,
! forming one of the most interesting
and important battles of the war;
About fifteen hundred picked men
! composed the expedition, which was
under the personal command of Gen.
Lawton on account OF the illness Of
Gen. King. These troops partly sur
rounded the city, while the gunboats
l.aguna de Bay, Napidan and Oeste
under command of Capt. Grant, of
the Utah battery, shelled the city and
| outlying trenches. Gen. Lawton and
his staff accompanied the troops, some
| times leading charges in
| Indian Fighting Tactics
which eventually resulted in the COM
plete rout of the rebels with the small
est amount of damage to the city and
slight loss to the Americans.
At sunrise Monday the assault COM
menced. The American outlines south
of the city stretch two miles inland,
and with its left sweeping the shore, it
| moved north, while the Fourth caval-
rymen on the point advanced toward
! the city, pouring yolleys upon the
! trenches. simultaneously the gunboats
! lowered along the shore shelling the
woods ahead of the troops and driv-
ing the Filipinos inland. The Gatlings
cleared several trenches. The whole
! brigade was divided into squads of
! twelve. and the fighting was carried
on in the old-time frontier fashion from
behind trees, crawling through bushes
or rushing across the open. The
! trenches that were not cleared by the
gunboats gave considerable resistance
when the line was nearing the city,
ard the Laguna de Bay and Deste
| bombarded for one hour in the hope OF
J ilidAiI~ iiltllA wv W tl III lpl w =
but did not succeed in clearing them
entirely. Gen, Lawton. with the Four
teenth infantry battalons, approached
J a narrow iron bridge across a creek on
/ the south border of the town. Here
a company of Filipinos
Was Intrcnchcd
across the stream and behind a stone
| barricade ut the entrance of the bridge.
| The Americans rushed forward in
single file in the face of CALLING fire,
demolished the barricade with their
hands and drove the enemy from the
trenches, killing a dcZen. The Fill
pino soldiers IN the town Were occu-
pying various buildings and firing from
/ the windows and gave the invaders an
interesting hour The Americans,
singly or in pairs entered the houses
and many warriors We're taken prison
ers. A considerable body of Filipinos
! fed northward, crossing the open
marshes. but the Gatling guns poured
upon them a deadly hail until they dis
| appeared In the woods, Staying dozens.
! Mai. Weisenberger deployed the sharp
! shooters along the shore and they crept
steadily forwards with the Gatlings.
| Suddenly large body was sent
against the enemy in the woods, driv-
ing them toward the mountains. Gen.
Lawton established headquarters at
the elegant palace of the governor and
a guard was Immediately placed in the
church. as the sacred edifices are al
ways the first objective Of loOters.
Within an hour the town
Was PatrolIed
and all looting rigidly prevented. AL
most all the inhabitants had fed dur.
ing the two preceding nights and only
n few Chinese shopkeepers have
/ emerged from hiding and resumed
business. On the marshes north OF
town We're found forty dead Filipinos.
some terribly torn by shells and many
Others wounded. to whom the Ameri-
cans offered their canteens as though
they were comrades. A surgeon who
traversed the field counted eighty
killed, and Gen. Lawton will report at
least sixty-eight. One Filipino, at
tempting to make his escape, slashed
viciously at Maj. Weisenberger. who
shot and killed him. Sunday the in
surgents captured two men OF the
Fourteenth infantry while unarmed,
but the Americans stole the guns Of
their captors, dubbed them, hid in the
trees over night and returned In the
E,orning. The gunboats have been
searching the Santa Cruz river for
Shipping. To-day the expedition Will
push forward, the Americans having
destroyed miles of telegraph lines, cut
ting off insurgent communication east
and west