The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1896-04-01
"cRIPpllNG THE ENEMY"
-one Of the Most Successful Raids Of the
War"

"CHiffIlfNd tfIG EVENT.
-one Of the Most Successful Raids Of the
War"
mount Fall in Right dress Roll
CALL BY fours right WHEEL march,"
and away we go over the rough road, with
sabers jinglinR and horses steaming in the
frosty air as reveille sounds to arouse the
tens Of thousands Of sleepers to roll call
and another day--to the south until the
last tent is passed, to the south until the
last broken down wagon is loft behind,
to the south until the $50 horses plunge |
down the bank and into the icy waters |
and take a sip now and then as they |
pick their way across, with bits of Ice
swirling against the saddle flaps and
patches of icy foam touching the troop
ers' heels In spite of their elevation. 1t
IL Raccoon ford On the south bank,
shivoring with cold as they bend their ears
30 the north to listen to the olatter Of the
moving column, are the enemy's vedottes.
In the woods in rear OF them, still linger-
ing In their blankets or building up the
slumboring camp0res to prepare for break
fast, is the reserve picket. We came upon
them suddenly There is pop, pop, pop
| Of carbinos and muskets; two or three
troopers in blue reel In their saddles and
fall into the waters to go floating down as
corpses always float; a cheer, rush,
and 1t is over. We sit In our saddles and
| look down upon five dead mon, upon five
great blood blotohes on the white snow,
| upon five human beings sacrificed without
| pity and unpiticd as they lilo. There were
| 40 Others but they rushed into the woods
and escaped. Only five dead. That was a
cheap Offering to the god Of war. Not
grave for one of the dead, not look be-
hind as we push up the long hill to the
south Tho rush and the excitement have
warmed up the blood Of the troopers, and
they light their brier roots and laugh and
joke as they ride on.
mile away the smoke Is ascending
from a farmhouse chimney, and the noise
Of firing at the ford has called gray haired
old man down to his gate. Behind the pa.
per window curtain, as we ride up, we
catch sight of the snow white hair and
motheriy face of the wife The meanest
thug in q great city would hesitate to rob
and destroy after seeing the gray hairs and
wrinkles of age, War has less conscience
than thug. There is well filled barn
opposite tho house whose contents have
comforted the enemy and may again II we
do not destroy 1t. A word of command;
the striking Of o match; we hear the
flames roar and crackle behind us as we
ride on. The old man holds up his hands
as II appealing to heaven; the aged wife
opens the door as II she would get a clearer
sight of men who could do such things;
our rear guard wave their hats and laugh
as the flames burst through the roof.
Down the hill on the other side, through
q bit Of woods with the dead leaves fiut-
: tering as they fall and we come to a creek
5 spanned by covered bridge. The olatter
OF the irun shod hoofs of the $50 horses on
the frosty planks would sound to one-half
, mile away like the noise of q summer
cyclone as 1t strikes into a prairie hamlet
and rends and tears and roars and leaves
wreck and ruin on every hand. The last
horse is scarcely over the bridge before the
torch is applied 1t is bridge in the en-
= emy's country something to aid and as
sist our foes in making war, and we shall
: return another way.
At high noon the passions Of war have
been aroused. Every house belongs to an
enemy Tho fundamental rule Of war Is
to cripple your enemy. His forces must
find neither shelter nor food nor forage as
they march over this road. We come up
on horses and cattle and sheep and hogs,
and we shoot them down or drive them
q ahead of us, and in applying the torch to
j. barn or stack no one cares IL the gray old
:, homestoads are also licked up by the
h flames.
More barns, more stacks, more cribs
8. more bridges. 1t is burnt burnt burn
n On the creeks we hear the hum of the bis
water wheels as they grind the grists, ant
B. we rush In, apply the torch and leave 1
r. pillar of flame and smoke behind
We head to the south for 8 miles, theme,
to the west for 10, thence back to thu
north for Is, a ride Of 40 miles in II hours
Wounds, death, destruction and desola
toni We found peace, and we brough
war. We found comfort, and we left pow
erty watching our rear guard out of sight
We found old men and young children
with words of kindness on their lips; w
- left them with such bitterness of hear
that death alone could efface it. A gigan
tic serpent serpent with eyes Of stee
and tongue of fire, had dragged itsel
over 40 miles of the enemy's country, ant
no who rode after must have prayed Co
that war might never come again.
As the sun begins to drop like ball
and the clouds to bank up, and the snow
flakes to whirl about the enemy stretche
across our path. This is good. The toro
Is thrown away for the saber; the jest
silenced by the blasts of bugles. We ar
yet almost $780, the enemy fully as strong
Down go the fences, companies deplo
right and left, our battery comes gallon
ing to the front to open fire. In five min
utes there is hot work. In five more W
get the orders: "Trotl Gallop! Charged
This is not house and barn burning; thi
is not jeering at helpless women and chi
dren; this is not sweeping the farm Of II
live stock. Mol This is fighting. Here o
the broad fields /, 700 men shoot, cut, slas
and kill You can hear the horses sorear
out as the bullets burn them, the shrek
of men as they throw up their hands an
tumble to earth. Round and round, bac
and forth, death holds high carnival fc
half an hour Then the enemy falls bac
and leaves the road open, and we pus
past him. Re-enforoements are coming u
to him, and we must escape while he
binding up his wounds. On the froze
grass of the meadows lie 200 dead an
wounded men. The wounded call to us {
we ride past, but they cannot be take
away. When we have gone, the enem
will do as he sees fit with those who wea
our uniform. Wounded horses follow u
however, and more than one trooper WI
can sit his saddle feels the hot blood tri
kle down his leg or off his fingers 1t
trail of blood-a hundred trails in Oh
which the wolves would howl over
they followed Now and then as "
push ahead In the grimness Of night son
wounded man is overtaken by death an
falls beneath the feet of the horses The
step over him, and their riders may VOL
ler who 1t Is but there Is no halt. Can
and the finish at last, and within a fe
hours there Is exultation over the report
bridges destroyed, 40 miles Of COUNT
laid waste, the enemy beaten off with s
we're lcss One of the most successful rait
Of the war;" M. QUAD.