Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1899-05-25

Fred Funston,
II So BaSF n n XsS# leader of the
NTySessxSagy sxnssAINT1ea&t% Twentieth Kan
AE{~ }sssxskJk,SCsa s volunteers in
ey9N H. the Philippines.
E>SSZYXZY x.LssSbN\ 1T h 9 Kansans
Aky3 X.s5,f MA woke famous
!: !: a 4: !: !. !.
VA ESz%S1A the morning aft
W ~ Wer the capture Of
NN lW/IN Caloocan and the
lT8S NNNM LQ@lI V type Of regiment,
~ An .sM GAS we'll as the
L%%GX NW 2NWiNkltype of leader, is
t-ssH .------a. - l.lN!s shown in this
scrap from letter credited to Colonel
Funston:
GAS all the world knows before this,
we arc mp sg' in it and the long job Of
licking that bumptious, insolent crew,
the Philippine insurgents, has begun
Kansas has been up near the band
wagon and has simply covered itself
with glory. The Twentieth is the most
talked of regiment here because of the
way the boys swept everything before
them at the taking Of Caloocan, town
three miles north of Manila. Five Kan
sas boys have been killed and ~ wound
cd up to date.
1--WE buried 100 Filipinos, piled mp
on the ground that the Twentieth Kan
sas advanced over in the various fights,
| and this Of course does not include the
dead that they managed to carry away.
| 1.-The trouble with the Filipinos is
that they do not shoot straight. while
I hy1 o1p
to the ground. A good deal of our fight
ing has been at close quarters in the
dense bamboo jungle, and several fellows
were bayoneted by the Jayhawkers. -
trfe more in detail is the story of
Captain Bishop. who commanded a
company which took an important part
in the attack on Caloocan. Says Cap
tain Bishop;
Colonel Funston realized that sue
cess depended upon haste, and as he
hurried up and down the line urging
us on to Caloocan we realized that we
had the bravest colonel that ever led a
regiment, and a thousand brave Kansas
boys responded to the commands. As
two of our battalion commanders were
absent-Lieutcnant Colonel Little and
Major Whitman-Colonel Funston left
part of the regiment absolutely in com
mand Of Major Metcalf and it was no
mistake he made AS we neared Calico
can it seemed as if all the devils Jumps
were in front of us. We could hear but
could not see. The only thing that
saved US from great loss was the fact
that the natives invariably fire high.
1T would have done your soul good
to have seen my country schoolteachers
as they made these PUSHES, with Ser
geant Sampson always at my right
hand and Sergeants Brockway and Will
son urging their sections on. We knew
our left flank was safe, as there was
Glasgow, with Sergeants Fox and King
looking after the second platoon, and
to the right of the road was the big
stone church, surrounded by a seven
foot stone wall, and that was what we
were after. One more rush would take
rs to it, and then over the waSs we
would 60 As Harry Todd was ringing
the bell in the church tower with lead
from his Springfield | cried out How
many will follow meg and every man
answered, 4 am ready! or Here,
herel' and away we went. 1t was my
ambition to be the first man to scale
the wall, but, bless your soul, am get
ting old, and 40 or more brave lads sat
astride the wall shooting natives before
| got there. And here we rested until
the other companies, which were pick
ing their way through the underbrush
|, I ,,,I th.r Il Df
the town, came up. We were proud of
our rush on the town and proud of the
brave boys who forced the intrench-
ments right and eft-intrenchments
concealed by brush and vines and full
of natives with Mausers and Reming-
tons
Like the rough riders in Cuba, the
Twentieth Kansas is in danger of over
; praise. 1t is said that Colonel Funston
, boosted that he'd make his hardy Dor
derers the rough riders of the Philip
, pines. They started in well. For bat
, tlecry they adopted the resonant, sig
nificant legend, Rock chalk, Jayhawk
X. v" Jayhawkers in the best SENSE
these unconventional. enthusiastic west
ern volunteers are.
= 1t is not necessary to depend solely
upon fiattering friendly reports Of thu
doings of Colonel Funston and his Jay
hawkers to make out a case of heroisn
, for the Twentieth Kansas. In the re
, port Of the brigade commander, Gen
eral Harrison Grey Otis, the doings o
the Kansas men take up fully half, al
5 though they count numerically but one
:ifth, of Otis force.
, The insurgent attack on the night o
y Feb, began on the Kansas outpost
p Two battalions were rushed to the from
5 by Colonel Funston and the insurgent
! held in check for the night Next da,
y the whole regiment charged gallant.
l. through the gardens and bamboo thick
:, cts directly upon the insurgent strong
hold. When the Jayhawkers got With
=. 80 to 70 yards, firing as they pushe
d on, the insurgents gave way. Rallyin
,, at the captured barbados, the Kansan
It were abont to storm the isolated block
houses beyond when they were recalled
% Next day, however. 1t advanced to til
It barbados and held them. One con
o pany went forward into the brush an
u stirred up shSrp fight with the enemy
=, Colonel Funston took out three con
"a panies and charged the insurgent pos
a ton, carrying it after fight of half a
Y hour at the point OF the bayone