The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1899-04-11
STORY of Id.ho-' FIshs.

tilS uOSt VIVA TeClbalS ever WIFI
ten on the noble and daring fight
of the Idaho boys in the Manila
campaign. We publish this &C
count to show that the boys from
the Gem of the Mountains" are
doing some of the fighting, as
well as the Utah battery
February 9Th will never be
etfaced from the memory of the
First Idaho. They received the
baptism of fire and death, and
while they paid fearful price
for the victory the wonder was
that the mortality was not TWEEN
ty times as great.
We moved out to the field at
o'clock in the morning and were
stopped at the Paco church and
rested on Our arms for about an
hour. While we were lying there
the sharpshooters were making
the bullets whistle above our
heads and occasionally against
the walls of the church yard and
in the ground at our feet, but
none of our men were hit.
Soon one of the Mountain bat
terry boys, driving CARLOAD of
ammunition, was seen to pitch
forward from his cart. An ex-
animation showed that he had
been shot through the heart.
Then search was instituted to
discover the sharpshooter and
many of the houses were search
ed. Soon was seen in the tower
of Paco church, a large stone
edifice very old and of vast pro
portions. Fire was Immediately
opened up on the tower and al
most Immediately the fire was re.
turned, and three men belonging
to the First Washington were
killed. OF course that doomed
the church and it was immedia-
tely set on fire and destroyed.
About 20 Filipinos were killed.
We marched up to the battle
line and took our position about
$50. Companies A and X had
been left at Malate and detached
from our brigade and joined onto
the Second, under Gen. Oven
shine. Company d had been
placed in the First battalion
under Major Higgins, so that F,
III and ID formed the First, and
B, G and G the Second battalion.
The First battalion was placed
on the south and the Second on
the north of the main Santa Ana
road. The insurgents were in
possession of Santa Ana and we
were to dispossess them.
There were perhaps 5000 in
surgents in front of us. while our
attacking party consisted of the
First Idaho, First Washington,
First battalion, First Wyoming.
part of the First California Il
don't know how many as / only
know of two companies, the four
guns OF the Mountain battery, and
the Utah battery planted on Bat
terry knoll some distance off our
right TO assist either the First
brigade under Ovenshine or the
Second under King, as necessity
required.
The insurgents had two mod
ern Krupp guns with about a 4
inch bore which were captured
by the Second battalion First
Idaho, and are now at our bar
racks as trophies. To show you
how bravely the insurgents
fought and how much value they
placed on these guns. 10 out OF
the 20 that were working them
were dead at the guns, and sew
eral of the others that surren-
dered were badly wounded. Our
boys got all of the 90.
AS we were fighting, each bat
talon separately, / will have to
follow each one through, to con-
meet the story SO it will be intel
Hgible. | was with the First
battalion under Higgins. AS
formerly stated, we took the field
adout $3.50 aud deployed out to
the right covering at least a
third of mile of the line.
General King held as on the
the bank of lagoon for perhaps
ten minutes before he ordered an
advance, and those ten minutes
were worse than all the rest of
the day. We were under a heavy
fire and the bullets were drop
ping around us and whistling by
In way that makes men very
nervous.
Several Of our boys were hit
In these ten minutes but none of
them SO serious that could be in
duced to go to the field hospital.
AT last Gen. King gave orders