Kansas City journal. [volume] (Kansas City, Mo.) 1897-1928, 1899-03-24

niauser OuIieto WhlDtio over w. me0n8 u
duck our heads.
Private McFsdden stopped oncs during
our nrst light to pour water into his gun
barrel. which was too hot to handle"
go
Writing to the Eudora News from Ma
nila- J. w. Ozias. n member OF Company
ii. Twentieth Kansas. thus describes the
charge which made that regiment famous:
Then the enemy began a heavy fire: we
sought cover and gave them better than
they sent until We got tired Of that kind
OF play. Advanced 'Charge! rang out
along the line. Again every man responded.
Across gardens. rice fields. through a belt
Of timber filled with insurrectos. by the
LEFT flank to a railroad. along 1t through
barricades Of iron and ties banked up with
earth. and again on through the open
space to a fort. which thirteen Spanish
crack regiments had failed to capture. the
air full of lead. until the men were in the
fort and around it. Bullets flew too fast
and thick for anyone to stay out of cover.
SO as each man came to a halt his nearest
comrades found him lying in u ditch or
behind a wall. AS some legs are long and
others short. 1t was first come. first
served: this left me to throw myself across
a ditch on my back. head and feet high in
the air. a six-footer's shoes pushing me on
one side. and John Steele's head. he full
length in the ditch. huEging intentionally
close where he would not ordinarily.
Soldiers who were in Cuba declare that
the mad rush We made Sunday evening
exceeded In intensity. rapidly and enthusi-
asm anything before Santiago or in Porto
Rico. the famous charge UP San Juan hill
not excepted. Officers counted for naught:
they had no control: they yelled their or
ders: sergeants and corporals hurried back
and forth along the line. which was kept
tolerably straight. because everyone wanted
to be in front. coaxing. threatening and, I
may as well say it. swearing. for it was
the only thing left for them to do, which
probably brought the case under the ruling
Of Secretary Long. who has said that
Swearing ought to be avoided. except when
absolutely necessary A deep creek with
abrupt banks stopped us for five minutes
OF parleying. during which we were re-
formed. right-faced and marched In quick
time across the bridge and to the fort.
Here. after fifteen or twenty minutes. Col
onel Funston. with quivering and apologize
voice. announced that by command of Ma
5or General Macarthur we were to fall back
to the regular line of the advance"
Continuing, Mr.. Ozias relates some of
the Incidents of the battle as they came
beneath his own eyes. saying:
Early in the morning a light breakfast
of bareback. red horse and beans was in
tensely enjoyed. every mar coming out bold
ly from cover. At 1. dinner was served I'M
der similar circumstances, a spoonful Of
dried apples for each one. and a tack apiece
until they ran out; later coffee was to be
had. There was not a murmur, We had
become soldiers, somewhat disappointed,
however. for We had expected to fight
Spaniards. the oppressors. not the oppress-
ed. This disregard Of the Filipino lead and
brass must have been the most bewildering
sight of their lives. In q few minutes they
began to fire, which was received with the
usual welcome. This time l saw two men
on a house roof straight In front. I told
the boys next me; We asked them to come
down. which they did without a ladder. At
a corner of the same house l thought I
saw a Filipino maneuvering for position and
warned the same ones I did before. A half
dozen bullets at once went into the
branches of the tree and down came the
fellow head first. Then a tall white man
in white shirt and black trousers. bare
headed, hurriedly ran out of the same
house. He was a priest. there is no doubt
of it. for later developments go to prove 1t.
but the man who saw him was so surprised
that he lost his presence of mind and failed
to stop him.. Under a clump of large trees
near the one out Of which the white man
ran. an old. decrepit man. a half grown
boy, a girl and a lot Of women were huddled
together. We about faced to the rear a
few PAGES. hating nearer the Filipinos,
who arose and set up heart-rending cries
to be spared. They were assured OF our
peaceful intentions toward them and they
became more calm. Fear had made their
faces nearly al white as ours. (Ours are
lighter here h in Kansas. They were
told to 60 to Manila. Mournfully turning
to their house. they lifted an elderly wom-
an. shot in the head. who may have died
since. took q basket of a year-old baby
which had been killed. gathered some bed
ding and personal effects and began their
march into town, carrying the dead and
wounded. The boy had been shot in the
back. a little girl had received a bullet. the
old man was bent with age. yet he and a
child carried the dead baby. These people
had remained probably under promise of
protection by the insurgents or because of
the presence of the white man. a priest. All
other native houses on the line of advance
until the present were deserted"
MISSOURI POINTS.
Fruitgrowers in Southwest Missouri are
cutting down their winter-killed peach
orchards, but the big. red apple. a patriot
ic local chronicier gives a waiting public
welcome assurance, will be as big and red
as ever next fall.
Farmer Gehlbach. of Grundy county. Is
convinced that spring has come. notwtth-
standing the continued presence OF January
temperature. Fire resulting from a stroke
of lightning destroyed several hundred dol