Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1899-06-03

was accustomed to at nome. lie
growls when it comes time to so to
bed at night and again Mt reveille. On
the march lie growls when ordered to
put on his accoutrements and get
ready to move, and have even heard
him growl when ordered to take them
off again. All his downsittings and
uprisings are accompanied by COM
ments upon the reason why. In all
my observation of him | am free to
say that the only time when L have
seen him move with alacrity and in
apparent mental accord with the au-
lhority directing the movement is on
the firing line when the order comes
to advance. That seems to be the
one particular thing that best suits
everybody. All complaints and
criticisms are hushed when there is Il
chance to get at the enemy, and the
greatest difficulty the army has is to
keep men away from the front who do
not belong there.
At all other times, wherever a group
of men is found, there also is found a
debating society, and the very air is
impregnated with military wisdom.
There is not n soldier in the ranks
who is not prepared at any time to
give the commanding General advice,
and if one wants to learn all about
what never happened, all he needs to
do is to walk about the camp and hear
the gossip and the Chops" that go
from man to man and group to group.
But it is about the courage, the forth
tude, the self-sacrifice, anil the ten
derness OF feeling one to another dis
played on the battlefield and in the
field hospitals that | want to write,
and I wish could write it in letters
of gold Incidents Of the battle of
Malabon bring these CHARACTERISTICS
ont with the brilliancy of an electric
light.
Rumors and camp stories I will not
repeat, though they are many, and
most of them doubtless founded on
actual occurrences, but L will write
only of what 1 saw and know. The
names of some Of these heroes ] know,
but because OF the many heroic deeds
of others whose names are unknown
and who are entitled to as full need
of praise as those whose acts come
under my own observation, | will give
no names, and let the credit 60 to the
American soldier as hole, for in an
army of heroes no one should be sin
gled ont for special praise.
As the troops jumped over their
breastworks and charged against the
magnificent defences of Malabon, a
sergeant who had become famous in
his regiment as chronic Growler re-
ceived Il severe wound. Two OF his
comrades stopped to help him, and
bound up his wound with tirst-aid
package. The sergeant grievel at
being hit so soon, and begged the
men to hold him up long enough to
give him Just one shot at the enemy,
and ~ they were in the rear of our
own line this could not be done. So,
telling him to lie still until the hos
pital corps reached him to take him to
the rear, they fastened on to over
tako the advancing line. Fifteen
minutes later the hospital men came
upon him, ana found him crawling
slowly towards the front, dragging his
gun with him, determined to get that
one shot before his strength gave out.
They put him on u litter, i'll spite OF
his protests, and carried him back to
the lied hospital, and in q few hours
lie died. still mourning his failure 90
do the work he had waited SO long to
do. His company had been on special
duty until that day, aud this was his
first fight.
Not far from him man Of another
company was shot through the breast
When those beside him stopped to
give him attention he objected and
said he was all right and Tor them TO
go on and keep up the fight. In
spite of this they banuaged his wound
and helped him little TO the rear,
but he protested that he could go
alone, and finally they left him aud
fastened back to the firing line. He
was only boy of twenty, and had
been jokcd by his comrades many
times about "cold feet" but now they
knew better. lie struggled along n
little farther and came upon man
wounded in the leg, and when found
by the hospital corps he was doing
the best he could to bind up the other
mans wound. ''Don't mind me-" he
said to those who found him, "but
take my gun and belt aud help lick
those towards behind the trenches in
front" But they did mind him.
They placed him tcnderly on II
stretchcr and carried him to the rear,
but before they reached the field
hospital the young hero was dead.
On tho extreme left an officer with
twenty men advanced up road COW
cred by heavy intrcnchments from
which flank fire was being poured
upon the liuc storming the breast
works III front. This fire was an
swered by this little band until three
of them were killed and five wound
ed For half an hour they stayed
there, drawing this fire away from the
main line, until, with the loss of those
hurt and those who had taken the
wounded to the rear, the platoon was
reduced to eight men, two of them
wounded. The insurrectos saw they
were cut of and began advancing on
them, screened by the brush on both
sides of tho road, and the officer saw
that he must withdraw or lose all of
his men. The road was pike five
feet high and liankcl on both sides
by bayou too deep to be crossed.
One OF the wounded men was shot
through the thigh, but could walk n
little, but the other. shot in the arm
and neck, had lost SO much blood he
could not stand up. The first one,
pulled in front by one man and pushed
from behind by another, worked his
way slowly along the edge of the pike,
up TO his knees in mud, the officer
bringing up the rear and encouraging
him ut every step. As for the other
man, two OF his comrades stood him
nm bia foot on1 with ono SupnortiDo