The times., 1899-06-12
REPORTS FROM MANILA.
Official Accounts of an EnEngement
February -.

oh
Accounts of sharp engagement Of con-
siderable interest, but of no strategic i'm
portance. near the pumping station just
outside OF Manila. on February q. are
continued in reports forwarded to the Ad-
jutant General by Brig. Gen. Irving
Hale and made public yesterday.
The reports are from Col John NJ. Stot-
senburg. who was killed later, while lead
ing a charge OF his regiment. the First
Nebraska; and Capt K. H. Barber and
Lieut.. Charles ~ Murphy, of the Second
Oregon Volunteers. The First Nebraska
had been much annoyed by Filipino sharp
shooters. Early on the morning of Feb
ruary "A they began peppering the position
OF the Nebraska regiment from the field
west OF MariquiI1a. Some of the shots en-
tered the tents of the Nebraskans. ArJil-
lery drove the enemy cat of the fields and
into the rocks north of the Mariquina road,
where according to Colonel Stotsenburg.
they made il very unpleasant for us"
With General Haies approval Colonel Stot-
senburg sent twenty five picked men of the
Second Oregon with ECtchkiss gun to
dislodge the rebels.
The Hotchkiss gun became disabled. -
said Colonel Stotsenburg, and besides, the
moral effect was of little use to us. This
was nc fault of the gunners, as they did
hard work. One of the Utah battery guns
came ever and drove the insurgents out
toward Mariquina. They remained away
until morning, when they returned again
in small bodies, but up to the present have
done no firing. Last night was the quiet
est one we have had on our outpost The
entire Second Oregon detachment, under
Captain Barber, did good work The only
casualty was Corporal William Ponath,
Company G, Second Oregon, slightly
wounded in chest and muscles OF the arm.
-Four insurgents are known to have been
killed"
Captain Barber's report discloses the in
teresting information that in the engage
rlent the Filipinos used smokeless powder
| while his men had black powder shells.
The Hotchkiss gun early became disabled
and was left behind by the Oregon detach-
ment for repairs. 1t was sent to the firing
line later. however, and opened on the
enemy. but after few rounds, says Cap
tain Barber, "again jammed, owing to the
breaking of the Shells" From that time
on the gun was useless. In conclusion
| Captain Barber says:
Il would venture to suggest that black
powder is dangerous as betraying our po-
sition, while the enemy using only smoke
| less powder, can only be located by the
| noise or quick eye. and that is uncertain,
while each time we fired black powder they
| Immediately sent a volley toward the
smoke. Their firing was controlled by
bugle, which We heard at intervals, and
they evidently had the range as in the
second fight the bullets were well aimed
and not too high as is usual. AS regards
| the loss of the enemy. we could only locate
| them by sounds. Those we saw we left
there. The sharpshooters who stayed toe
| long behind the main body of the enemy
we could locate, and as we had picked men
We had no difficulty in disposing of them
| l desire to draw attention to the fact that
| when Corporal Ponath was wounded ht
was at the left of the line. He was prompt
| ly carried 10 the shelter of the mill by Ser
geant Lano. Privates William A. Schoe-
maker, Albert A. Eide, and John j. Max
we'll, all OF Company G. Second Oregon
Voluntary Infantry, under a heavy fire
| On my request for volunteers to carry min
| TO the road. as there was a raking fir,
| acress the open, these men promptly re.
| sponded and carried the wounded mar
| gently across the road, the bullets mean
while spattering all around them
In his report of the operations of tht
Hotchkiss gun detachment Lieutenan
Murphy says the shells penetrated house!
in which Filipiros were concealed but fail
ed to explode and he adds in note
Shells exploded BY striking rocks; woul,
not explode by striking bamboo houses O.
ordinary soil. The gun jammed severa
| times"