The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1899-05-03

been harvesting in this historic year OF
war.
When the story of the military opera
tions on the Isle Of Luzon, at and
reaching out from Manila to Caloocan,
to Malolos, to Calumpit, along the Pa
sig, on Laguna de Bay and its remoter
coasts, is written in detail and is as
we'll understood as the events and in-
cidents of the contest in Cuba, the |
American soldier, from the general in |
command to the private in the ranks,
volunteer and regular, will be found
to be the speer of full rank eft his COM
rade who won imperishable renown in
the West Indies.
The events of last week of arduous
fighting in Luzon, eliminating in the
humbling of the Filipinos and in their
prayer for peace, vindicate the abiding
Conscience of all good and patriotic
Americans in the ability and resolution
OF their military commanders in the
East, in the valor, daring and endur-
ance of the Yankee soldier, in his quick
intelligence, his fertility of resources
and unlimited capacity to meet prompt
ly and successfully any emergency
that confronts him.
The Filipino commander believed
his army north Of the deep and wide
Rio Grande secure from American pur-
suit. But Col. Funston, of the Kansas
regiment Of volunteers, who at Marilao
: had eclpsed Mulvaney's taking OF
Lungtungpen, rose to the full height
of the inventive and daring Yankee
soldier confronted by an obstacle that
was apparently insuperable, and yet
! must be surmounted. The enemy was
> intrenched on the other side Of an APP
: parently impossible stream. To come
Y to close quarters and dislodge the Fill
( pinos the American troops must be got.
@ ten across that river. There was nc
:, bridge, the colonel had no boats. He
8 had long rope and there were food
i wood and other floating debris. These
8 were the limit of his material resources
e He called for volunteers. There wal
v the same response as at Cienfuegol
" when the cutting of the cables, thu
same as at Santiago when the blocking
1. of the channel, was the military neces
o sity and the objective point of heroi
d daring. The response was the same
a Two men were selected. The tasI
IL they had undertaken was to swim
AZ the Rio Grande in the face of the en-
,e emy's fire, carrying one end of the rope
n to secure it to tree on the furthe
n verge of the river and defend it ii
ID they were reinforced. They swan tn
ic river, unscathed amid the storm c
Il. hostile bullets. They secured tn
err rope and protected it, and present..
i'd guided by this line, on rude raft col
err structed from ruder materials, their il
ne trepid commander and comrades cam
It to their support-and Calumpit We
an won. "a remarkable military achiev
o. ment," was the high praise 30 good
of judge of gallantry as General McA
thur bestowed upon this feat of tt
We Kansas colonel and his volunteer
an The "Hero of Calumpit" fits CO
re Funston well, and if he is not speedi
D. constrained TO exchange the colonel
ID for the generals insignia of rank OF
be republic at least will, indeed, be u
of grateful.
n Such climax to the continually a
et cumulating evidence of the invincib
ed ity of the new foes they had dare
,ix broke the Filipino's spirit andihe quic
of ly sued for peace. The Yankee natiC
DIV was not the sort of foe he had BET
lin rebelling against and fighting for son
in three hundred years. He could tt
with the Spaniard. 1t was useless
for resist longer the demi-god from the +
ar West, that knew no sleep, that pursue
IT'S relentlessly and fought without rel
me swan impossible streams unharme
"a stormed aud carried intrenchments d
the Tended by outnumbering legions wi
i've no fear of defeat or death. So the F
les, ipino reasonably sued for peace.
un- Good Bye to Captain Clark.