Bismarck weekly tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1943, 1899-06-23
TAKING SANTA Cruz.
Description of One Of the Fiercest
Battles of the War in the
Philippines.
One Battalion of the North Dakotas
Among the Picked Men
Who Fought.
High Compliment Paid the Force of
Men by General Lawton,
in Command.

fercest of the engagements that have axe
place in the Philippines. One battalion Of
the North Dakota troops under Major
frame were engaged, and 1t was of the
body of men that were engaged there that
General Lawton said that with them he
could take any city IN the island. The
artist correspondent Of the Chicago Record
gives an interesting description of the en-
gagement as follows:
In the taking Of Santa Cruz there was a
brigade Of 1900 soldiers under Brighten.
King. These were 219 men of the 4th
cavalry under Capt. Gale; two battallons Of
battalion Of Tdahos under Maj. LincK; one
battalion of North Dakotas under Maj.
Frame, and two mountain guns Of the Haw-
Ter. These were all picked men and the
column, was a superb fighting force. From
these picked men there was another picked
Of Maj. Weisenberg. of the Washingtons,
which were selected on account of their
4 aRhar ea1airya he fT Sort the pa atth !nf tS n idas the
and the Washingtons: t was a great
body Of men. and its operations subse-
the islands. but that it would require 1OO,-
600 men to hold the places he had taken.
had Early aGpea In the Spd mof fh h gjirb be S}'ls t the sun sur,
circled the Laguna, Capt. Gales 4th cav
alrymen were ,wading ashore to the end Of
t thinp sslrm,sh 19 lins. f Ssns il aui IF ths and ad 4
began: A SECOND line; acting as support,
S Hind, While dHen a thru aau line 1s!' OF Reserves a r si proug est
up the rear. The Laguna, on the city
front, steamed as close inshore as possible.
While Yha 1.-THE the oes ss drew in mont on the ave, west side = leo Of
line under Gale advanced there came the
others. There is no installing this sound,
sounds nearly like. the echoless pop of an
descent-light globe. When it is once heard
At the first report the 4th cavalry dropped
Smelling the bamboos and nipa huts:. What
lings. and shrapnel mad life almost i'm
horses that became frightened ran toward
the woods. reached that deadly zone and
went down like a flash. The Mausers
ley at the troops, then a volley at the La
guna and then another at the crouching line
Of brown v sGld,er after N yajleg W we're s oaf m 'nfa
in short dashes, A volley,, then a short rush,
then drop down and another volley:
pick off the gunners, on the Laguna. for
there was a sustained intermittant fire di-
asirse ii Ike me TRIP k9nR ammer Ins and Sat the n @sEs
in at minute intervals. On shore there
were the popping, Of Mausers, the cracking
of the Krags and the explosions of shrap-
mel shells, and everywhere was the sinister
Cumming and whirring Of Mauser, bullets.
The insurgents couldn't stand such a fire
forever. The shrapnels bursting over
them made their trenches untenable, and
began to break. Down along. the point we
could see them passing hurriedly between
the trees and evidently making for the
p p,,nH I,eEa ytben The Gat dn 36e and nd,nt heavy es;ty
dde eni we Accuracy ' T '%'re sSell on aft tne s Re1nt p watn
trated the roofs and walls and shrapnels
We're bursting in the air directly over the
building, while the Gatlings We're moving
raked the immediate vicinity of the old
stone building with an effectiveness that
left many grim evidences scattered along
the blood-stained breastworks.
Terror !, must AYE oyertaken the Filipinos.
trench resistance-their object was escape.
Again there were the white figures darling
distractedly out toward the eastern limits
in the cover Of the fringe of trees. Scores
of them could be seen running along be-
tween the houses, AS they were. nearing
the friendly protection Of the bamboos
American volleys from the very woods that
offered the only safe avenue of escape.
What desperation and terror must have
realized that they had been en- trapped and
that a relentless circle Of death was closing
in around them! The bamboos in front Of
them were roaring with volleys and they
knew there was no hope Of ESCAPE there;
their last desperate chance. They must
try the broad open plain and attempt to