The age-herald., 1899-12-17
WHEELER's THIRD BAPTISM
His First Appearance on the Philippine
 Firing Line

Manila Letter to the Chicago Tribune.
 An orderly stood in the middle of the road pulling with both hands the bridle of a stubborn little native pony that reared and plunged and tried to jump away from the strange things that went shrleklng ana whistling by his ears. The horse decided that the things must be some new kinds or mosquito or gad fly, and he did not want one of them to bite him. One WhlSked by his head and said 'whoo-eeeee,' and two more stopped right close to his foreleg and said "popl pop The horse dragged tne struggling orderly farther away into the pitchy darkness, until, although they were within fifteen or twenty feet Of the little patch of light that fell into the road from the window of the house, nothing of them could be seen. Only the sound Of scutHlnS feet could be heard, and the voice of the orderly swearing.
 stand still, d-n you!' said the orderly's voice out of the darkness. stan Stlll, fore I kick you fool head off,
 There was a sound of some one coming down the steps of the house from which the light came. The some one came In a hurry for he descended two steps at time. Four dark figures crouchinS down behind a low stone wall hurredly stood upright as a little clanking big spurs ran past and stood in the circle of the light in the road. He was pulling on a brown kahki coat as he waited while the orderly, by main force, dragged the unwilling horse over to him. The light fell full on the lit tie mans gray hair, and the night treezeS rumpled it. Some one brought him hel- met. He caught the horse away from the orderly, and valued lightly into the sad- dle. Two more horsemen rode up to his side. Something sung in the air overhead, and the two figures standing stiffly by the stone wall suddenly bowed as though they were automatic dolls, and the orderly ducked his head, and then strengthened up.
 "D-n close,,' he said.
 The little man on horseback strengthened up in his saddle, and frightened the rein, and his horse with the other two following, plunged forward into the darkness, and went clattering down the road.
 Gee" said the orderly, "hes' baptized now
 It was the third baptism of war for General Joe Wheeler. The orderly and the four soldiers decided that 1t had been sue cessfuL It was rather small wall that they sat under and good sitting room was at a premium, but they made way for me, and the orderly gabe me half of a cigar that he was smoking, and refrained from laugh ing when I threw my hand up to ward off a bullet. "He5 game, Joe is," said the order ly to the four rockies. "You can see he's all right. You fellows back here, of course, couldn't see,'' he went on with the naughty air of one who had fired a rifle on the 4th day of February
 -"You fellows couldn't see, but, Lord, them bullets. were a-hitting fire out of the pike clippety- -clip-elip, and old Joe he jest gath CTS up them reins when I gives 'em to him, and away he goes right into it. and so darn ed black you can't tell but what the niggers are in the houses or up in trees orwhere'n 'ell they are"
 This all happened in a little town called Santa Rita on the island of Luzon, in the Philippines, on Saturday morning of the 9th day of September General Wheeler was dulv baptized under the fire of popping Mausers and whistling Remington bullets, into full membership of the fighting broth erhood of the American army in the Phil ippnes.