The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1898-10-16


which, subsiding, gave way. in turn 10
an expression of bitter humiliation and
keen disappointment. H, SAID one
fellow I'VE have worked like slaves
and starved like castaWays and now
they won't even give US chance 10 get
a shot at
But he was mistaken. The First Cali
fornia was to receive plenty of shots
before nightfall.
Finally, about o'clock, Brigadier
Anderson suddenly made his appear
ance, and the shrill, stirring notes OF
the assembly f1oated out on the air. L
have seen men fall in many times since
1 joined the army, but 1 have never
witnessed anything like the prompti-
tude with which that call was obeyed.
Men came out of their tents as though
propelled by catapult, and regu-
lar race for the end of the street en-
sued, the boys fairly falling over one
another in their eagerness to fail IN,
while the whole field rang with their
wild cheering. We had waited long,
but when we once started no more
time was lost. We fell in, counted off
and then the whole regiment was
marched down in front of headquar-
ters, where the flag Joined us and where
our chaplain, Father McKinnon,
blessed us and gave us absolution. 1t
was a sight never to be forgotten. The
-
its staff as though 1t rested in prepar-
alton for the work it knew was to
come; the chaplain, standing between
it and the ranks he was addressing
and eXhorting by everything they held
dear In this world or hoped for in the
world to come to act like men in the
work before them, and promising them
the forgiveness of their church If their
destiny should be death, and lastly, the
long, brown ranks stretching from end
to end of the encampment, bare head
ed, reverent and resolute, longing for
the commencement of the action, not
withstanding the death and carnage
which must accompany it.
When Father McKinnon had con-
Guided we were marched in columns of
tours to the right of our camp. where
the column, turning to the left,
marched past the fringe of bamboo
lining the front of our encamp-
ment, and took up our position as re
serve in the open fields in front. We
were lined up in battalion forma-
ton, our left resting short
distance from the beach and our
lines stretching across to the Gale
Real or Royal Road, on our right
Ahead of US we could see great masses
Of troops drawn up in similar forma-
the opening of the ball. [ don't know
what weight the other troops carried
into battle with them, but l do know
our load of ammunition, rife and ra-
lions amounted to nearly sixty pounds,
altogether too heavy a load for troops
to go into action with. AS soon as we
had reached our position we were halt
ed, arms were stacked and rubber
blankets thrown over them to protect
them from the light rain which was
falling, while the boys, unslinging their
blanket bags with the heavy loads of
ammunition and rations, proceeded to
make themselves comfortable while
waiting for the bombardment to begin
/ have often heard of the sensations
which animate man under similar
conditions. I cannot speak for others,
but lack of sensation more than any
thing else would express what I did not
feel. The humid heat was something
terrible. My whole body was reeking
with perspiration, which was helped
along by my canteen, the stopper of
which had come out, and which was
slowly emptying its contents of hot cof-
fee down my legs. L was tired, wet, hot
and uncomfortable, and I did not par
ticularly care what happened so long
as something did occur which would
change my condition. My back was
aching from the load it was forced to
bear, and my shoulders where the
straps passed over were raw. The only
sensation l had was one of relief as [
Sank QOWH OH the wet ground and
watched the native boys passing along
the lines with trays of bananas and
oranges, which they tried to sell to the
troops. The boys about me were smok-
ing, laughing, joking and conversing
about the coming battle. Our officers
stood in little groups in our rear and
talked together Colonel Smith and a
few other officers had disappeared from
sight in the fringe of trees that
stretched along the sandy beach and
hid the water from our sight. They
had gone down to the shore to witness
the opening of the bombardment In a
word, the whole scene was just such a
one as one would see at a review in the
Preside while the troops were resting
for a few moments.
We had rested for but only a few
moments when b-o-om-the sound of
a great gun burst through the fringe
of the trees and passed along our lines
while in the same moment the wild
whrrng and shrieking of an eight
inch shell was heard, as it were, hurting
over our heads toward the Spanish in
| trenchments. The effect of this first
shot was very curious to note. pro-
| found silence fell upon the ranks, Gig
arettes and cigars were dropped, and
| the mems faces suddenly assumed a
| different expression. They grew
! strained and hard in an instant
! Wrinkles came into their brows, while
| lines which [ had never noticed before
| stretched down past their nostrils and
| along the edges Of their upper lips
| Their jaws set hard together, and one
could hear their respirations as they
| sucked their breath in as though
straining it between their teeth. Out
! Of their eyes all good humor and
friendliness had vanished. They had
/ grown cold and hard, while in their
| depths there glittered strange sort OF
| light. Yes, with that first shot a great
change had come, and it was not pleas
| ant to see.
| Following the initial shell came an
other, then another, and still others, In
| rapid succession. The Utah batteries
in the trenches which constituted oul
| firing line, Joined In, and the din be-
came terrific. The noise of the shoot
ing, terrible as it was, was nothing
| when compared to the horrible hum
ming and shrieking the shells made as
| they flew past us from the mouths OF
their cannon on the ships, which were
stationed in the bay on our left and
| slightly to our rear. The fringe OF
trees, of which l have before spoken
hid everything from our view. We
could only tell what was going on by
our ears, and when the sharp, quick