Omaha daily bee., 1899-04-04

| colonel OF the First Nebraska Her expert
ence was a rare one fer a woman and suffi-
ciently thrilling to be remembered for a
lifetime. Mrs Stotsenburg tells about II in
a letter to her sister-i in-law at New Albany,
Ind, dated, Manila, February u, as fol-
lows:
THE last weeks experience has been very
trying to me. quite Unexpectedly l was
under fire as they say in the army, for
little while, contrary to my desire or eX-
peataton. l went out on Saturday last 20
Camp Santa Mesa, where the First Ne
braska was stationed having heard that the
insurgents, who have been giving the regi-
ment much trouble for the last three weeks
by trying to come within our lines had
been reprimanded for doing so, and that
their commanding officer had promised that
they would give our troops no further an
noyance by their trying to pass by the sen
tries, John would not believe their state
ments and quietly doubled the guards.
"a little before dark we could see through
field glasses about 400 long -hared savages
gathered together and undergoing inspection
by insurgent officers. The savages had
been brought down from the mountains and
carried shields, bows and arrows, hatchets
and spears. Their officers wore red coats
and the mountain men were placed in the
front
after watching them little while sat
down and was conversing with one of the
officers, when a rifle shot rang out and in
a minute the sound seemed to me to be like
that we hear on the morning OF the Fourth
of July, only many times multiplied.
came out to the camp in quelis, or Phil
lippine wagonette, and some one ordered the
Philippine coachman to harness the little
ponies when a bullet went right through
the vehicle aitl the Philippine driver ran
| away as fast as he could.
THE doctor and quartermaster told me to
lie down in a trench, and / assure you
that lay low for time, while the bull
lets whizzed over me. In a little while l
walked about 300 yards to where the Utah
battery was stationed, and there by the
aid of DR.. Jensen | procured a quelis, and
was driven into the city. On the way in I
had to get out for little while, and lie
down by the roadside on account Of the
storm of bullets, which cut the cane trees
on either side of the carriage l tried to
keep cool and to appear brave, even if l
was not
when l reached Manila I heard moth
ing from the regiment until Monday, when
ellison, whom you will remember as the
Indian fighter who accompanied Johns regi-
ment to Manila, came and told me that
John was safe, and that five regiments
were fighting the insurgents to get posses
sion of and control of the water works,
which are the main reliance of the City or
Manila. Late on Monday the battalion
which John commanded succeeded in doing
this. 1t was made up Of his own and four
other regiments, and his headquarters are
now in a large stone house formerly occu
pied by the insurgent chiefs.
what pleases me most of all is the
splendid reputation which the First Ne
braska regiment has gained here for good
discipline and gallant behavior in the bat
tlefield, and the whole regiment is proud OF
John and declare that they will follow
him anywhere"
A correspondent of the Boston Transcript,
who accompanied the American troops to
Santiago, writing of the late colonel of the
Twenty-second infantry, says: "Coone:
Harry o. Egbert, killed at the head of his
regiment near Manila Sunday, came as near
being 'paladin of old romance as any man
could in these times. Taken prisoner twice
in the civil war, exchanged once and escap-
ing the second time by the aid of brave
exploit, and rejoinng his commands re,
ceiving a wound through the body in bat
tlo at Bethesda church, but early resuming
his place in the line; serving faithfully for
many years and slowly rising grade by
grade going into the battle at San Juan
hill an old man, in command of his regi-
ment; being shot in that fight clean through
the lungs, but keeping his feet most of the
time thereafter, nevertheless, and reporting
for duty in an astonishingly short time ana
entering the Philippine jungles in good
trim, once more at the head of his regl-
ment, this time to fall and die on the field,
after nearly forty years Of faithful service
that is certainly career for a soldier.
He knew wounds and battle well enough
to be aware when he had got his coup de
grace. When the Filipino bullet struck
through his vitas he said: It's no use
I'm too old
"No such notion came into his head when
he was shot at San Juan. ] came back with
him the steamer Seneca, and there was
no livelier person on the ship. He and
Major CCrliss OF the Seventh were always
together, and they were striking pair
white mustached and goateed soldiers of the
old type spare, small of stature, simple
hearted and almost boylilSe in their man
per shaped and nodded by long and eX-
elusive service into the very model and pat
tern of the faithful officer of the line.
Both We're in their battlegear on the
Seneca, except that for SHIRT Colonel Egg
bert had nothing but the embroidered
nlBntBOWn Llldl nau DetH put oh MN oll Ilc
hospital ship Relief, to take the place or
the lIood-staine garment in which he had
been t,ought from the field He looked
pallld as the result of his experience on the
field and in the hospital, but reported
promptly for all the meals there We're, and
was on deck all day. ] should say that
Colonel Egbert may have weighed not more
than 125 pounds, and, as an old army
officer expressed it, 100 pounds of that
was clear grit When the question arose
whether Egbert should be sent to active
service in the tropics so soon after receiv-
ing so severe wound, a fellow officer sale,
Not send him to the Philippines? way,
he'll demand court of inquiry If you
don't!' He was sent at any rate"
The home coming soldiers that crowded
the train which was standing on the track
at a little country town were collectively
and individually jubilant. Among the wear
ers of the blue however, there was one more
l Al. Fan1 Ia ,iHlF