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


MEN KNOCKED OUT Ut THE NEAT,
While Wheaton was thus employed In
thrashing the enemy In Taguig. and Frank
lin was busting up the face of the bluffs
with their reinforccments, ovenshine was
trying to get his lines into shape to. take
Parahaque in reverse. That is mighty
good word but whenever It Is Used In one
Of our schemes for attacking the enemy. It
is usually the enemy who does the reyers-
ing He has had the most singular luck
In doing It. The country over which our
boys had to march to carry out the plan
was rough and rolling. with steep-banked
draws and ravines between the hills, and an
almost impenetrable tangle Of scrub and
thorn infested vines and brambles In each
gully. The grass on the tops and slopes
of the hills was tall and thick. and so
tangled that 1t was the heaviest kind Of
marching. 1t not only made the boots Of
the men very slippery on the soles, but
SO caught their feet and impeded their
movements that It was extremely difncult
to make any advance whatever.
Ovenshnes scheme was to send In the
Fourteenth on his left, and the Thirteenth
on his right, with the rest Of the brigade
in readiness to be used wherever needed.
He was a little south Of east Of Parahaque
when he began to extend his lines. Tho fall
ure to inform the field officers as to what
was expected Of the brigade showed it's eff
fects Just as soon as the effort to get into
line was made. Not an oflcer knew where
he was expected to go or what he was ex-
pected to do. Not even the STAFF officers
knew the general plan. The result was that
when the different battalion commanders
got their orders from different aides,
each of whom had a different notion
of how what was to be done was
to be done, the line that was formed
was a curious sight. Capt. Taylor took his
battalion Of the Fourteenth down a hill and
through a big ravine filled UP with a tangle
of all sorts of briar bushes and thorn
covered vines. He went under the per-
sonal direction Of one Of Cen ovenshine's
stan. and NO sooner had he cot Into plaoe
than he was ordered back. Back through
the ravine the men scrambled, and half way
up the hill they had Just como down. when
along came another star oficer, and said
that there had been mistake, the battalion
was to form line on tho other side Of the
ravine. 1t was the stiffest kind OF work
getting through that ravine. and several
of the men gave out 1t was hot up on the
hill-tops under the sun. but down In the
ravine. where no air gould come, and the
humidity was almost at the saturation
point, 1t was simply sweltering. However,
there was no help for 1t, and back through
the tangle of men forced their way for the
third time. -,
A second battalion Of the regiment was
on the right Of Capt Taylor, and
on the right of this battalion the Thirteenth
was to go in. But when It came to the
Thirteenth there was almost no regiment
left. The men had never hiked under
Philippine sun before, and they didn't know
what it meant. They started out with
bottle or two of beer In their haversacks,
and when they got thirsty, as they did
before they had gone half q mile. they began
on their beer. That was soon gone, and
then it was water, and before they got
near the place where they were expected to
form line they were ready to drop. aud
good many of them had fallen out. The
backing and filling in getting the line form
ed took lot more OF them. and then when
the line was finally formed, word came from
Gen. Lawton that they were not to go in
until Wheaton had got further down the
lake with his brigade. So they stood out
In the sun and waited, and that Is what few
Americans can stand in this country. es-
unseasoned troops as the Thir-
teenth men were.
Men who have campaigned here drink all
the water they can before they start out
in the morning. and then go Just as long
as they possibly can stand 1t before they
touch their canteens. Once you tackle the
canteen you are gone. You will drink every
bit of water 1t holds before you stop. and
in three minutes you are as thirsty as II
you never had drink In all your life.
After that you will drink anything that IL
wet, and you don't care rap what sort
Of green slime is over It; you will Nil your
hide and your canteen at tho worst stagnant
mudhole you can find and be glad to get 1t.
The only way to get along Is to hold out
from the hrst II you possibly can do It until
there is a chance to get q skinful of decent
water, then drink all you can hold and 60
on again.
This morning the Thirteenth boys were
soon out of water and beer. and then they
went dry. They had nothing to keep up
the sweat supply. and they keeled over In
squads The way over which we travelled
was lined with men who had been over
come by the heat, and nearly all Of them
were new men. Very few Of the veteran
Colorados fell out because Of heat They
had been there before, and they knew how
to take care of themselves. But 1t was a
terrible day, and even officers who could
ride and didn't have to pack twenty-five or
thirty pounds of rations and ammunition
were unable to go on sometimes. The
Colonel of the Thirteenth made a gallant
struggle, but 1t was too much for him. He
got all of the campaigning in the Philip
pines that he could stand that one day.
turned over the regiment to his next IN
command, and came to Manila and applied
to be retired under the length of-service
provision of the army law.
This has been a long depression from tho
actual business In hand. but If you had
made the hike, as the writer did, and had
saen men give I'm and lie doWn hesda the