The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-08-20


way. ovenshine was to strike south from
San Pedro Macati. over the hills until he got
below Paranaque then swing to the west, and
come in below that place. II the movement
were successful, Ovenshine would have a
large force Of the enemy trapped in Pa
rafaque ana when he pressed in on the
town, Wholly, with the Washington regi-
: ment and Haskeli's battalion Of the Twelfth,
was to sail out OF the trenches we had been
occupying In front Of Pasay and finish up the
| business.
1t was a blisterlng day, one Of the hot
test Of a season which has seen some awful
heat The troops hiked out Of San Pedro
along the river road for little distance and
then turned off by a small trail to the south.
Wheaton was well In the lead The trail led
up over n rough billy country. and the men
OF the Thirteenth soon began to show signs
of feeling In the heat. 1t was about 8 o'clock
when Wheaton got over near enough to Ia
guig to uncover the enemy. The hills over
which we had hiked had been dotted on
their tops with insurgent lookouts and out
posts. All these places were deserted
promptly as we approached, but at Taguig
they evidently had determined to make q
stand. They were behind the usual trenches
and Scott opened the ball with his 3.2 guns
at long range. The Smelling did not last
long, and then the Colorados went in and
finished the business. The rebels concluded
very quickly that It was not worth while to
hang about Taguig much longer, and started
to clear out That is the part Of the action
that our fellows always enjoy most. To the
onlooker It is very suggestive Of rabbit-shoot-
ing, but to the boys who have had all the
hard hunting to do, and who have had 30
many experiences Of treachery on the part
Of their enemy, It is a very serious business
and there is little tolerance for the man who
let's an insurgent get away. This fight at
Taguig was very short. but It was hot while
1t lasted, and ten Of the Colorado boys were
hit. two Of them very severely. 1t was here
that Lieut-Col Moses got q bullet in his
arm.
aUNB0AT GHTs INTO THE FIGHT.
While this performance WINS In its most IN
terestins stage. there appeared, scramblins
up over the blur that hid the lake from the
Wow OF Wheaton's men, what seemed to DO
column Of several hundred insurgents, all
running for the dear life Gen. Wheaton saw
or where they came from. or why they were
80 anxious to get out Of the country. They
were at least a mile and a half away, and
we'll out Of range Of Wheaton's fire II was
not until the other day. when the Napindam
cfme IN for some supplies, that Wheaton
learned who those fellows were and why they
ran 30 fast when he was 30 far away Frank
lin had been keeping a sharp eye out along
the lake for any signs of insurgents, and
when he heard Wheaton's fire he got In n
little closer. II any OF the Insurgents whom
he could not see at that stage Of the fight,
tried to run down by the lake road, he would
be ready 20 paralyze them, The Napindan
mounts two six-pounders on the upper deck.
one fore and one aft; has a Calling gun In
the bows behind an iron shield on the lower
deck, and carries a Colt rapid-fre, calibre
.236, such as is in use in the navy. and A
Hotchkiss one-pounder revolving cannon,
both on the superstructure behind boiler
plating shields. Each man in the crew also
has his Krag- Jorgensen rifle The Napindan
ID gunboat all right. bat she is ,commanded
by Lieutenant of the Twenty third Infan-
try and, she Is manned by the biggest dare
devils In his company. specially selected by
MIN Tor the service. after long acquaintance
with their personal peculiarities of temper
and temperament.
Soon after he began to close in on hear
Ing Wheaton's fire. Franklin saw coming I'D
the road along the lake a column of about
hve hundred insurgents. They were march
ing close under the BLUFFS and paying no at
tention whatever to the lake, their whole
idea apparently being to get In on the flank
OF WI atom. which they were almost sure IN
do II they were not DETECTED. Franklin nm
dertook to change their minds and their
direction at the same time. They were quite
concealed from Wheaton, and they knew It,
but they were 80 intent on getting into the
scrap ahead and to the left Of them that
they never once looked around to the rixbt
or they would have seen the Napindan
steaming In on them. There was pretty good
water. and Franklin got In Just as close as
he could and have any room left for ma
n9uvring the old arsenal. and then he let
go with everything he had all at once. The
range he had figured to be 500 yards. Every
man not needed at one Of the machine guns
or six-pounders. or at the engines, took his
rifle and cut loose with that
The first crash of the fire was absolutelv
unexpected by the insurgents The shells
from the three-inch guns burst fairly in the
middle of the line, and the machine gun fire
was terrific. The first discharge decimated
the column. Those who we're left we're in
the widest panic and confusion For an in
slant they did not know what had caught
them. then they saw the Napindan and turn
ed to run. They didn't care where they went
so long as they could get away from the
gunboat. They had forgotten all about get
ting in on the flank OF the Americans over
the bluffs. They had been marching in good
formation, but all that was of now. 1t was
a helter-skelter scramble for safety, each
man for himself, and the gunboat sure to
get those who Jagged behind. The officer in
command Of the battalion was as gallant
fellow as ever bestrode a horse He rode
up and down among his frightened men
swinging his sword, and beating them with
the fiat of 1t, and trying his best to get them
to stand or to get into something like for
nation and 90 on Put ~ uao oil ,,,oIa..