Brookings weekly register. (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1898-1903, 1899-09-14

0 Aks SMI(W az we'll as the
&E@2oMI type of leader; is
scrap from letter credited to Colonel
Funston:
"As all the world knows before this,
we are up in it and the long job of
licking that bumptious, insolent crew.
the Philippine insurgents, has begun.
Kansas has been up near the band
wagon and has simply covered itself
with glory. The Twentieth is the most
talked of regiment here because of the
way the boys swept everything before
them at the taking of Caloocan, a town
three miles north of Manila. Five Kan
sas boys have been killed and 81 wound
ed up to date.
I'VE buried 1919 Filipinos, piled up
on the ground that the Twentieth Kan
sas advanced over in the various fights.
and this of course does not include the
dead that they managed to carry away.
1.-The trouble with the Filipinos is
that they do not shoot straight, while
our men keep their bullets down close
to the ground. A good deal of our fight
ing has been at close quarters in the
dense bamboo jungle, and several fellows
were bayoneted by the Jayhawkers.
A trifle more IN detail is the story Of
Captain Bishop, who commanded a
company which took an important part
in the attack on Caloocan. Says Cap
tain Bishop:
Colonel Funston realized that sue
cess depended upon haste, and as he
hurried up and down the line urging
us on to Caloocan we realized that we
had the bravest colonel that ever led
regiment, and thousand brave Kansas
boys responded to the commands. As
two of our battalion commanders were
absent--Lieutenant Colonel Little and
Major Whitman-Colonel Funston left
part of the regiment absolutely in COM
mand of Major Metcaf, and it was no
mistake he made. As we neared Caloo-
can it seemed as if all the DEVILS imps
were in front of us. We could hear. but
could not see. The only thing that
saved us from great loss was the fact
that the natives invariably fire high.
1T would have done your soul good
to have seen my country schoolteachers
as they made these rushes with Ser
geant Sampson always at my right
hand and Sergeants Brockway and Will
son urging their sections on. We knew
our left flank was safe, as there was
Glasgow, with Sergeants Fox and King
looking after the second platoon, and
to the right of the road was the big
stone church, surrounded by seven
foot stone wall, and that was what we
were after. One more rush would take
us to it, and then over the walls we
would 60 AS Harry Todd was ringing
the bell in the church tower with lead
from his Springfield / cried out, How
many will follow meT and every man
answered, i am readyr or Here,
herer and away we went. 1t was my
ambition to be the first man to scale
the wall, but, bless your soul, l am get
ting old, and 40 or more brave lads sat
astride the wall shooting natives before
I got there. And here we rested until
the other companies, which were pick
ing their way through the underbrush
and across trenches on either side of
the town, came up. We were proud of
our rush on the town and proud Of the
brave boys who forced the intrench-
ments right and left-intrenchments
concealed by brush and vines and full
of natives with Mausers and Reming-
tons
Like the rough riders in Cuba, the
Twentieth Kansas is in danger of over
| praise 1t is said that Colonel Funston
boasted that he'd make his hardy bor-
derers the rough riders of the Philip
pines. They started in well For bat
tlecry they adopted the resonant, sig
pificant legend. "Rock chalk, Jayhawk,
K. "" Jayhawkers in the best sense
these unconventional. enthusiastic west
err volunteers are.
1t Is not necessary to depend solely
upon flattering friendly reports Of the
doings of Colonel Funston and his Jay
hawkers to make out a case of heroism
for the Twentieth Kansas In the re-
port Of the brigade commander. Gen
eral Harrison Grey Otis, the doings Of
the Kansas men take up fully half, al
though they count Numerically bnt one
| fifth, of Otis force.
The insurgent attack on the night OF
Feb 4 began on the Kansas outpost.
Two battalions were rushed to the front
by Colonel Funston and the insurgents
held in check for the night. Next day
the whole regiment charged aallantlS