The Dalles daily chronicle. [volume] (The Dalles, Or.) 1890-1948, 1899-05-05
AS TOLD BY A DALLEs BOY.
Harry Fredden Tells of Real war-He
WAS It With the Rest.

cerning his experience. He writes home
as follows:
CALoocAN, P. l., BLOCK HOUSE, ON
FIRING LINE, March 29-As we are lay
ing around camp and are only doing
duty at that. thought 1 would drop
you line to let you know that after go
ing through three good battles, 1 have
come out without a scratch, but have
eeen some noble men go down by my
side, some shot dead and others
wounded.
No doubt ere this you have heard all
about US, and the work we have done,
which, If do say it myself, is something
the PEOPLE of Oregon can justly be
proud of, and their Oregon regiment;
and the Eighth army corps can be proud
of their record. As the paper here states,
never in the history of the United States
or the war with Spain has any regiment
made such a gallant charge across an
open field to fortress made of trenches
that seemed almost inevitable. In fact,
it was said the artillery dare not approach
under deadly fire, but the Oregon regi-
ment, from that good old Webfoot state,
fought every inch of ground until the
trenches were scaled and the negroes
driven from them. It is difficult to ex-
plain to you on paper, or even by talk,
just how the trenches are constructed
the only way is to go and see them, and
then think how in heavens name we
ever came out alive.
Only the Kansas regiment, which has
been guarding them for forty days. knew
how strong they were; and they have a
colonel who had been through the civil
war, and also under Gomez in Cuba
before the war with Spain. He said that
those trenches could never be taken by
infantry, and to try to capture them
would mean the death of every man
but we took them and now are called
light artillery. We were told before we
went into them we would have the
hardest position, go collected ourselves
and faced it bravely.
| After we left the city on March oath,
we marched within one mile of their
entertainments and rested for the rest of
the day. When it was dark we pushed
on and fell into our places while the
gunboat Helen sent forth its blazing
search-light, SO as to assist us in locat-
ing the insurgents in case they should
fire upon US. We could see them, but
the light was SO strong on them they
could not see us.
Everything was quiet until daylight,
when the artillery threw some shells at
them and soon the insurgents were en-
gagged. After few minutes of volley
firing the command came, Toward !''
Lord but that took my breath away.
They were showering US with lead, but
quickly we pushed on and over we went.
| We had scarcely taken ten steps when
three boys went down to my right, for
you see the negroes were only 100 yards
away-but on We went forgetting every
thing, until the command was given to
lie down. tell you, dropped like
fash, and don't think I ever got so
close to the ground before in my life.
About this time it sounded like there
were 10, 600 men beating on tin cans and
the heavens seemed to burst open and
revealed light as strong as day, or as if
a hugh fre-cracker had burst right
before my eyes, giving that funny feel
ing of wanting to wink your eye as fact
as you can.
The next order came like death war
rant to the poor soldiers, when they
screamed, Forward boys! give them
hi" And we did; with one yell and
with a run we were on the top of their
entrenchments, in less than ten minutes
after we had left ours. After we sue
ceeded in routing them and chasing them
for one mile and quarter we stopped,
for that was sufficient to let them know
the stuff that makes the American.
It was undoubtedly gallant charge,
but it cost US some fine men. In that
ehort time we lost more men than any
company-three killed and eleven
wounded, and one has since died-yet
we made name for Oregon, and Com
pany L is on everybody's lips.
When we retreated, it was then 1 saw
the horrors of war. Was surprised to
find them so strongly entrenched. II
was miracle that every one of us were
not killed, for the insurgents were
scattered in punches of three or four. 1t
was complete victory for US in Malabon
that day.
We didn't enter the CITY for thev