Bismarck weekly tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1943, 1899-09-15
WORK
Lieutenant of Company A Made a Good
Record in the Philippines.

The correspondent of the Mime
apolis Tribune at Frisco writes:
The old reliable army mule was a
success i'll the Philippines.
Lieut.. w. J. Mclean, Co. a, First
North Dakota volunteers, says so,
and he should know, as he had charge
Of A mule teams during Gen. Law
tons great march lasting 33 days.
"The only trouble was there was not
enough mules" said the lieutenant.
Give Gen. Lawton plenty Of mules,
men and free swing, and he will soon
put all end to the rebellion. The eli
mate agrees with the government
mule just as well in the Philippine
islands as anywhere, If the animals
are fed rightly, and they are patient.
reliable fellows. I tell you.
For two months l had charge Of
the wagon train Of Gen. Lawton's
command and became pretty we'll ac-
quainted with the mules, also with
the drivers, but that is another story.
There We're four mules to q team,
and they hauled the wagons carrying
the supplies and ammunition. They
were supposed to keep up with the
column and they did it pretty we'll,
too, in spite of the fact that the march
was through q mountainous country.
l really believe that my mule train
was the first that ever went through
h a country. 1t was discouraging
work at times, getting the wagons
over those mountains, but the mules
were stayers, and we came out all
right.
1--WE would often come to a stream,
with water several fathoms deep.
There would be a little bamboo bridge
across it, and the banks were very
sharp. There was nothing to do then
but make a raft, send some men
across with Il rope, rig up a pulley,
hitch a mule to one end, and then pull
the raft over. We carried some i'm
mense loads in that way, as each
wagon often weighed five or six tons.
The mule was a friend of the soldier
at such times, as otherwise the soldiers
would have had to pull the RATS over
themselves.
'The Australian horses were a fail
ure, II often the soldiers would have
to take hold and pull the bull teams
out of the mud or up over a hill. The
only time we had to dispense with
mules was when we came to a rail
road bridge too narrow for the teams
to be driven over. They boys would
have to push the wagons over, and
then we would swim the mules, as
they could not walk on ties.
1--WE had to carry an immense
amount of supplies, but after we had
broken in the green drivers and the
mules we got along all right. The
Australian horses were balky, but
the mules were all right. The insur-
gents generally left the wagon trains
alone. They tried to bother us once
when opposite Arayat but no dam
age was DONE"
Lieut.. Mclean is one man who can
not be said to have tired Of war in the
Philippines. Gen. Lawton heard that
he was willing to remain there and
accept Il commission in one Of the
new volunteer regiments, and he gave
him a letter strongly recommending
him for the place. In the letter he
says that Lieut.. Mclean took charge
OF the transportation problem and
soon had order out Of chaos, doing
such efficient work that he was glad
Of the opportunity to recommend him
for the position.
The lieutenant, however, is not very
anxious to go back, He says that
he might accept a commission, but