Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1899-08-10

on TIE FIRING LINE.
fight March 90. In the foreground Of
the picture you see this field, with the
shallow firing trenches running across
it like fresh earth thrown up by plow-
share. Near these blood stained trenches
lie yet unbnried the bodies of two
American soldiers whom death has mus
tered ont in a country far from home.
This nasty job would have been over
months ago if the natives were civilized
men, as so many good old ladies in the
United States senate and elsewhere
have been fond of telling the Ameri-
can public. But they will not come ont
and fight Their way is to crawl on the
ground like Shiny serpents, through the
bamboo and banana thicket, till they
can pick off American soldiers. If they
are caught, they swear they are 'ami-
gCs" friends. After having made this
declaration, so soon as the soldiers
back is turned they will ont with a
holo and knife him from behind and
then run like deer back to their jungle.
On one of Our outpOsts not long since
South Dakota lad was on duty at even
ing in the cleaning. He discovered two
natives siding toward him. They had
no guns. He challenged them, "Who
goes there?" amigos. they answer
ed. He let them by. By an odd chance
he had no cartridge in his rifle Mt that
moment As the two fellows were pass
ing they jumped behind him, and, in a
lightning flash of intuition, he detected
their intention to knife him. As they
whipped ont their knives he snatched
cartridge, dropped it into his gun
and fired. Fate guided the ball, and
one fellow dropped dead. The other ran
for his life The Dakotan dropped an
other cartridge into his rifle and fired
again, taking aim as well as he could
in the fast vanishing evening light of
the tropics He could not tell then what
the dead body of the other "amigo'
who had come so near numbering him
vas found lying in the road where the
Dakotan had dropped him.
That was merely the Tagalo idea of
honorable warfare. Last summer, when
our first troops landed here and were
such great friends with the rebels, an
insurrecto officer proposed to captain
in the American army that they should
make an expedition together for the
purpose Of capturing arms from the
! Spanish soldiers
You and l." said this sweet Tagalo
officer, Twill slip up easy behind a
| Spanish soldier on outpost duty. seize
him and cut his throat and then take
fare hundreds of guns and cartridge
/ belts have been added to the rebels
available stock.
On recent Sunday | was out on our
extreme outposts southwark. On Sun
/ day the soldier is apt to be either wash
ing or fighting. Here On the south, al
though there had been considerable
firing early in the morning, the boys
We're peacefully renovating their week
ly linen. AT the same time, on the line
tc the north, around Malolos one Of
the bloodiest fights since February was
taking place, fight singulary fatal
to our officers. There the brave, lament
ed Colonel Stotzenberg of the First Ne
braska was killed.
On the south of where we We're the
insurgent times were-less than a thou
sand yards away, though we could not
see them through the bamboo and ba-
mana bush, Major McCammon of the
Fourteenth regulars conducted us along
the line of the trenches. A little beyond
these, dotted here and there along the
line, were the soldiers on picket duty.
They had generally secured mat Of
some kind from a ruined native hut
and made of it screen to protect them
from the fierce sun rays. This mating
was likewise adroitly nestled in among
swaying, rustling banana banners, that
II might not be an attraction too WISH
be drawing toward it n brown man s
rifle or knife, as the case might be.
stood awhile at the intrenchments, ad-
miring about equally the beauties of
nature and the fine physique of the sol
diers, when the voice of Major Mccain
mon spoke softly. but persnasively
Better not linger here very long !;
might draw IA shower CT insurgent bull
lets any minute, you know -
did not lingcr
One thing am glad to report to the
people at home-you will not see in a
months travel in the civilian world a
body of men who look in better health
and spirits than our soldiers ont on the
lines. They are now mostly clad in the
brown cotton fabric called "khaki, "
which the British army has found so
excellent for wear and cconess in India
and Egypt, These khaki suits are be
coming, and no men can fill them to