The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-05-14

ana the Americans even easier victims
than the SpaniardS. This was the eX-
PLANTATION of their dash and spirit when
assaultiDg early Sunday morning and
of their obstinate defense, for a while
at least. when our lines advanced
Now, can only tell from hearsay of
the gallant act of a young officer of
the Fourteenth regulars, but it is the
talk of the first division and has won
him the recommendation for the medal
OF honor. A b9ttalion of the regiment
Checked by the fierce fire from the
thickets in their front and dispirited
by its seTere loss in killed and wound
ed, was lying down for shelter. One of
its best and bravest officers, Lieutenant
Mitchell, lay dying in their midst. when
Lieutenant Perry l.. Miles, an Ohio boy,
only four years out of West Point, was
suddenly called upon to report to his
commanding officer. In brief words the
battalion chief gave him orders: THAT
blockhouse must be taken at once
and | want you to do it, Miles is one
of the 'quietest" young fellows in the
service and he probably went off with
out word. As the story comes to me,
1t was decided that he should call for
volunteers, and he did. The men looked
at the bristling blockhouse a few hun
dred yards away and shook their heads.
1t was crammed with insurgents, and
the only way to reach it was a straight
road with dense bamboo and under
brush on each side. 1t was d lane of
death and the soldiers knew it. Only
five men responded to the call, and
with these five Miles made his dash.
Full tilt they charged through the
storm of Kissing lead that greeted but
could not stop them. First one, then
another, two of the daring five dropped
in their tracks, bur Miles darted on
no t1afT rod rr1I,
dauntless courage and fearful of their
fate when the Americanos reached the
blockhouse, came scurrying down from
the upper stories. Possibly they were
afraid it might be fired and they be
burned alive. Possibly they were
awed by the prospect of hand to hand
fight with big fellows who We're proof
against their Mausers, but down they
came and out they went-the last Fill
pino rushing from the back door as
Miles, revolver in hand, sprang in at
the front. 1t was a desperate chance
and one of the braveSt pluckiest
things of the day
But here is another that calls for the
medal of honor, if 1 understand it
Alright. The military telegraph line, be
fore the battle began, extended on our
front OF blockhouse II, close to the
Santa Ana bridge. The officers of the
signal corps followed up the movements
of the brigade and stretched their wires
far to the front. But the line ran
through the village of Paco-a nest of
insurgents out of uniform, therefore all
the more dangerous. Pace church was
found to be a stronghold of the rascals
early in the day, and dozens of the vii
layers houses proved to be only Turk
ing places for assassins in the garb of
peace-the white, everyday dress of
the Filipino. OF course, it was not long
before church and huts innumerable
were in flames and the lurking occu-
pants hunted out, but the huge stone
tower of Pace church refused to burn
and there, safe sheltered until we could
smash it with artillery, and fanatical
to the last, a party of perhaps half a
dozen insurgents kept up incessant fire
on Americans, whose duties compelled
them to cross Pace bridge on the one
line of communication between Santa
Ana and the city. Toward IL o'clock
right at the telegraph pole in front of
the church and not 200 yards from It.
the wire was clipped and a young sig
nal officer, Lieutenant Charles E. Kill
bourne, jr., springing back to find the
break, was saluted by volley. Get
away from there. for Gods saken" yell
ed some soldiers, who, from the shelter
of the village walls, were trying to an
swer the fire from the tower. ride
for your life, mani shouted some
horsemen, who dashed by at full speed
and bending low over their pommels,
but Kilbourne was made of better stuff
Swept away at first by the excited rush
of stampeded riders, he regained con-
troll of mis- pony, refined him about, rode
deliberately back to Pace. dismounted
at that identical pole, climbed it to the
very top in the face of a calling fire
that clipped a second wire while he
was repairing the first, calmly, pluck
lily. skilifully mended both wires, in
plain sight of half a dozen officers and
a score of men sheltered by the walls
up and down the blazing Gale Real.
Then he mounted and rode on about
his other business. If that wasr. t pluck
and heroism. I'm no Judge of either.