Bismarck weekly tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1943, 1899-03-31
UNDER FIRE.
Bravery Of the North Dakotans Under
a Calling Fire-A Gallant
Charge.

Private Dana Wright of the North
Dakota regiment writes an interesting
letter Of the part the North Dakota
boys took in the battle with the insur-
gents. He says:
Sunday at 6:34 a. m. a cannon ut the
fort opened fire. This was a signal
for us to begin. We did. We had
been watching insurgents In front of
us 500 yards who had been acting care
lessly; at the signal we opened fire and
the way they "got" was a caution.
the bay opened fire and the way they
threw shells back into the jungle was
wonderful. One cannot describe a
b~ombardment but it can perhaps be
partly imagined when a great piece Of
steel, twelve inches in diameter and
weighing a half a ton, is fired half a
mile from q. ship striking the ground
under Il hut (which flies into the air
like an ant hilD and. turning Over ard
over cuts Il road through the ju' gle
for miles, making a noise like an en-
CINE going up a steep grade.
Our fire gradually silenced the in
surgents who only answered by an
occasional fire. The Fourteenth reg
iment got the best of the natives near
Singalong and with a great cheer sent
them flying down the Pasay road. It
was grand to see them coming pouring
volleys of steel bullets after them.
The regulars halted when they came
on line with us and rested on our left
flank. We continued firing at the
natives in their huts and rife-pits till
they seemed gone, and then we laid
around on the bank cooling off and
resting while a few kept watch and
tried to drive out the sharpshooters
still in the pits.
After a while Gen. Ovenshine came
down the line and asked what we were
firing at and gave orders for the N. d.
volunteers to drive the enemy out Of
the cemetery and rife-pits on our
front. The cannon in the fort and on
the feet cut up the ground in front of
us but could not dislodge the insurg-
ents, so in q few minutes, the entire
line at a given signal sprang over the
bank of entertainments and with a
Sioux yell ran forward. The moment
we went over the bank they opened a
sharp fire on us from two directions
the rife-pits in front and jungle on
left, n quarter of a mile away. I was
on the extreme left of our line in the
edge of the open field, and at any other
time would have realized how danger
Gus my position was, but we were ex-
cited and didn't care for the bullets
which came in q shower, as the fire
from the left al very sharp. At
times, as I saw q native, l knelt down
and with several others fired at them.
We on the left devoted attention
to the jungle with apparently good
effect, and many natives We're seen
running back. On iii right other
companies and the most of Fl were
having it hand to hand with the ma
tives and the way they did was grand
driving the enemy out, firing the
huts, and had it out at arms length
with those who dared to fight. There
were many narrow escapes and brave
deeds which will never be recorded,
but nothing could have been finer.
The officers could not stop them or
n them so it vas a wonder that
none of us were. hurt. But we drove
them out. killed several, took five
prisoners and retreated to u trenches
without a man being hit.
We had silenced the fire on our front
so when we were settled in our
trenches the Fourteenth charged in
their front and dislodged them from
the jungle, but they lost about a dozen
men and left two wounded behind
when they came back to their trenches.
The natives murdered these wounded
men.