The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1899-11-02

noitre the bridge. an especially hazard
GUS undertaking with the enemy in
trenched in force at the other end
He not only succeeded in reaching
our end of the bridge, but, under cover
of darkness, crawled along on the iron
work where the floor of the bridge had
been cleared away to the other end and
under the insurgent outpost. He had
nothing but his revolver.
He came back and reported that at
the other end of the bridge there was
nothing but one steel girder three inch
es wide on which to walk, and this
precluded the possibility of stOrming
the bridge under cover of the fire of
the rest of the command so we had to
look out for some other means.
The enemy was intrenched all along
the opposite bank of the river in con-
siderable force, and had three pieces of
artillery and one Maxim gun, which
they used literally, but without hurting
any of US.
At noon of the 29th concluded to at
tempt to force the passage of the river
600 yards below the railroad bridge,
where the enemy was not intrenched in
great force, but where they had some
small earthwOrlIs. A raft had been left
on our side of the river. This we cut
up into three small RATS, in the mean
time keeping down the fire of the enemy
by sweeping the top of their trench. [
again called for volunteers to swim the
river. This was an extra hazardous I'M
dertaking, because the river was deep
and wide and the current very strong,
and where a man swan he would be eX-
posed to the fire of the enemey in
trenched all along from the bridge down
to the point of crossing.
We stationed men who were known
to be good shots along the south bank
of the river to protect the flank, and
Lieutenant Fleming brought up
HOtchkiss revolving cannon. With this
we opened fire on the trenches of the
enemy, sweeping the tops.
TW- HEROES.
A number of men volunteered to
swim the river, but only two were need
ed. These were Privates Trembly and
White. These men took a rope in their
teeth and swan across the river to-
gether, reaching the shore twenty-five
feet from one of the enemy's intrench-
ments. They were naked and had no
arms. They kept under cover of the
bank as well as they could our men
from the other side firing over them in
volleys, and the Hotchkiss also being
used. AS soon as the enemy heard our
two men talking they jumped out and
began to run out, fifteen leaving this
trench. Some of them were shot by our
men on the south bank as they ran.
Meanwhile the men could not find
anything to tie the end of the rope to
more convenient than one of the up
right posts of the insurgent trench, 50
one of them worked himself up hand
over hand, and making a, moose, slipped
it over the post within six feet of three
armed insurgents on the other side of
the trench. After the rope had been
secured we began to cross.
First I took eight armed men on one
raft; we worked our way along the
rope, hauling the raft over, and then
sent it back with two men for another
| load. Another rope was obtained and
we had two ropes One of them was
used to bring the RATS over loaded In
this way we got 100 men across.
As soon as we had fOTty-fiVe across
took this number officers and men, and
started out to drive the insurgents from
their intrenchments at the end of the
railroad bridge. We encountered a
stream running parallel with the rail-
road and at about 300 yards from it.
We found that it was too deep to wade
but from this position we fired into the
enemy's Entertainments until they va
waited them. They fell back to another
line of works and while we were at
, tempting to cross this second stream
they opened fire on US from two sides
with infantry and from a third side
with Maxim gun, firing from a distance
of 300 yards.
The Maxim tore up the ground for
100 feet in a strip about three feet
wide, but it simply ploughed a furroW,
as the earth was so soft that the shots
did not ricochet. In the meantime the
artillery on the south bank had been
firing on the enemy.
The Maxim opened for about twenty
seconds, and then stopped. AS we af-
forwards learned from prisoners the in
surgents in attempting to work it too
fast damned the mechanism.
We succeeded in getting myself, one
officer and eight men across the second
stream and into the intrenchments,