The age-herald., 1898-11-01
CAPTAIN PHILIP.
A Battle Picture and a Man in the
 Foreground

From the New York Herald.
 "Hello" said the man behind me. 1T guess came pretty near being shot"
 We stood on the quarter deck of the Tex as at Guantanamo. The marines few hundred yards away were moving through the thick cover in skirmishing order, driv- ing the Spanish guerrillas before them and across the water came the continual sput- ter of their rifles.
 Puffs of white smoke gleamed for an in- stant against the green foliage and faded. A roar came from the ravine in advance of the marines occasionally, telling that Com mander McCalla, who had taken the Mar blehead to a position enabling him to di- rect fanking fire upon the Spanish, had dropped another shell where it was needed.
 The picture was an absorbing one. But when the man beside me said that he had nearly been shot I forgot the marines in- stantly and turned to ask about it, realiz- ing that if he had nearly been shot I must have been, too. He pointed to the deck at his feet. A Mauser bullet had gouged piece out of it. and the wood beneath showed clean and new.
 Several of us became interested in gun shield of improved pattern right after that, but it was uncomfortable there, for Captain Philip and the officers about him were too busy scanning the smoke-topped ridge to notice a mere rifle bullet, and we came out from the shelter to see the rest of the piece.
 Then a queer thing happened. The Span ish moved a gun down to the shore across the opposite to that in which the marines were busy and opened fire without giving notice of motion.
 Then the Texas belched smoke and flame, first on one side of the newly posted gun, then on the other, pouring shrapnel into the cover toward which the marines were advancing An armed collier added the music of her guns. The sputter of rifles was heard on both sides of us, and on the flank thundered McCalla of the Marble head.
 It struck me that Captain Philip of the Texas must have more on his hands than one man could possibly attend to. so I went to see how he was succeeding He was get ting his own marines and his machine guns into boats to reinforce the hard-pressed men on the hill. He had seen that their situation was serious. To the fighting he paid no attention apparently, but a glance here and there told him that his officers
 were carrying out his orders. He had no | thought of stray bullets, that was plain. 1 And he was not to be deceived. l A young officer, a bit excited, told him l some Spanish troops were visible beyond ! the crest of the ridge.
 | Up went the busy captains telescope. It 1 was leveled for an instant only. "Nonsenss." he said Those are our fel- 1 lows not dagoes."
 And that night when the camp of the
 marines was surrounded on three sides by | Spanish riflemen, the men and machine | guns which Captain Philip toiled to get l ashore that afternoon while bullets sang | and batteries were roaring helped to sweep
 back the enemy and avert disaster. Per 1 haps the aid he sent was just enough to 1 turn the scale.
 So now, when think of that spirited bat tie at Guantanamo, see In the foreground 1 a busy man who could weigh we'll all the duties which pressed for attention in the
 roar of battle and tell which was of para mount importance.