The daily morning journal and courier., 1899-11-18

the flat ground, and nothing to hide
 behind. We ain't doing much yet.
 Just the outposts returning flre.'
 There was a pause, and then a
 bright, faring line of fire and the
 noise of ripping canvas. "Listen to the
 Krags," said the sentry. We've open
 ed on 'em out thage now. Now look at us slingng 1t into 'em.' Away over toward Bacolor came the muffled
 sound of volley firing. Then the firing
 began over in the direction of Betis.
 Then we heard it down toward Guaga.
 Boom! Boom.' This from Guaga.
 The soldiers laughed. Listen to the gunboats. And there goes the old cof-
 fee mill! Oh, ain't they a-gettin' itp'
 A steady roar, clattering much line the
 noise of a mammoth coffee mill, could
 be heard from Guaga. It was the Cat
 ling guns on the gunboats. After a
 time the firing quieted down.
 It is very discouraging on a night so
 black that you can't see a man two feet away from you and Remington
 bullets are whistling and Mausers are popping overhead and a young recruit 1 near by is repeating over and over
 They're shootin' from the houses! They're a-shootin from the houses" to find out that the grim wall which you supposed to be three feet thick and cap able of defecting shrapnel is made of bamboo about half an inch thick, that even a brickbat would go through as easily as 1t would a bass drum. Gen l eral Wheeler and two of his aides went clattering by again as we walked over to the church. It's all right" said the general. 'They found us ready I guess the rascals are sorry Away out on the left there was a sullen boom and then there came the "boom a-room a-room a-room" of shrapnel.
 The sound of some one running came through the darkness.
 Halt" commanded the sentry. Who's there?"
 | Friend" came from the darkness in breathless tones
 l "Oh,' said the sentry, "come in I thought you was an outpost" A breathless boy-soldier appeared out of the darkness into the light that streamed out through the church door,
 Well, I was on outpost" he said de- ! fantly.
 Then what are you doin' here?" de- manded the estnry Don't you cookies know enough to stick to your posts?" The recruit sat down and held his hands together to keep them from shaking "Oh! we'll, I stuck as long as any man would, but good Lord, me and the feller that was with me couldn't fight five hundred men.' We was way out there in that rice field, and they must have got within twent 7-ffye yards of us be- yxn cn T e,Jo T Bill he kicked me and woke me up and just as I sat up they turned loose on us, and the bullets hit all around us Bill he ran and then I picked up my gun and hiked out. We tumbled over rice dike, and then we both turned loose and the next chance we got got up and hiked in here, and you bet they can't get me out there again.
 You God-forsaken rocky" said the sentry. Do you know what you done? You deserted your post, that's what and I would sooner be out there now in the middle of that road where the Re mingtons are a-striking fire from the flint at every jump than to be in your shoes"
 The recruit looked like he was going to cry. What else could do?" he de- manded. II could stay out there and be killed"
 ''Why couldn't your" demanded the sentry. Somebody's got to get it. You ain't no better than them felers laying over in that rice field now that's a-holding them fellers back and that were holding 'em back long before the companies got out. You don't know nothing about the game That's the | trouble with you. But you're a poor, misguided rookie. and you can't help it." The rookie slid away. I heard the next day that he was to be tried by court-martial. felt sorry for him. He | had not learned that in war it Is maxim that a few must be sacrificed for the benefit of the many. The lonely little groups of three and four men away out on the outposts a mile from their comrades are the few.
 The night passed slowly. Finally the gray dawn appeared. Major McCalebs battalion was ordered out by General Wheeler to advance along the Poras road to cut off the retreat of the in- surgents if Colonel Bell should drive them south, and also to assist the Twenty-sixth if It met with serious re- sistance. The troops were given has ty breakfast General Wheeler and his staff swallowed some coffee and ate a little hardtaek, and then were in the saddle again. The companies wheeled into column of fours and the hike was begun.
 hike" in the Philippines is the same as march in other parts of the world, only hike is taken to be of wider meaning, for it means tropical suns and tropical rains, and two hun dred rounds of ammunition and heavy haversacks, and fourteen-pound rifles, and blowing through rice paddles, and tearing through canefields with the sharp leaves cutting the mems faces and tearing their hands, and usually it means whistling of bullets from an unseen enemy, and wild charge for ward only to find nothing except mo- nents rest, and then another rush for , ward. The men were not happy when they i liked out of Santa Rita that morning. 7 Turning out In the middle of the night ( md excitement of the attack in the { lark had taken the spirit out of them. Four miles from Santa Rita and about (