The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-09-10
anks-ovenshine's brigade manning

ffanks-Ovenshine' brigade manning
those to his right-nline to his left
and then the Californians came burst
ing their way through the underbrush,
hot, sweating and saying swear words
soto voce over the unwonted speed
and difficulty of their push through the
jungle. Lawton smiled grimly, bpt
said nothing as we studied the ground
through our field glasses.
Facing a Skirmish Line.
Then the horses were brought up by
a belated orderly, and, mounting. we
rode out eastward toward the bltllls
overlooking the delta OF the Pasig
and the picturesque towns on the
islands below. The Californians were
far from their base and couldn't keep
up with Lawson's huge black horse. My
pony had to trot or icpe, and petore
long we were far FROM any supports,
With only one orderly and two Re
voivers-
"Yonder's. where they nearly shot my
boy" said Lawton, placidly, after we
had gone mile, and that had nap
pened when the slopes toward the river
were dotted with the skirmishers OF the
Fourth cavalry.
All the lire to the Pasig bluffs and
back the way we came, not t-ilp'no
rifle cracked, but the North Dak0tas
vouac close TO the river and rad sent
out a skirmish line to see what was up.
I.awton commendei tneH watc:IuI-
ness, designated points for their pick
cts to occupy ON the ridge that night,
and sent them back 20 the Pasig, TWO
miles away, to get their blankets ana
supper.
Twenty minutes laterI all Of sud-
den and not more than l,2OJ YARDS
away TO the south, up Popped a ski
lnish line of at least 'srty esllplnos,
deployed facing us. They had
been watching US evidently for
some time, and, seeing that the Dako-
tas had disappeared, they boldly stood
up in plain view. The immediate ques-
ton was, Will they attack? OF course
we knew that only a short distance be
hind them lay the insurgent camps, In
the shelter of the bambqos, and, fur
thernore, that they could speedily
summon hundred to our one. The-
little squad of Californiahs were stll
with US, crouching or spraWled along
the crest, but Lawton stood erect, ms
long legs straddled wide, and calmly
surveyed them through his glass II
only forty advanced, we could PROD
ably stand them off with our bakers
dozen-the sergeant and twelve mem
while Mills, our brave orderly, gallop-
ed to the Dakotas for aid, but they
didn't advance, they didn't even open
fire. They merely wished US TO under
stand, apparently, that we had better
not come their way, and LaWton began
to twitch in his eagerness for fight.
Lawton Wanted to Fight.
One thing our corps commander es-
pecially had forbidden, and chat was
that we should bring on a battle While
our force on the southeast line was
SO small. The regulars had all gone TO
the north to reinforce Macarthur JUST
then, and only thin line of volunteers
interposed between NorieFs swarming
camps and the walls of Manila.
Good Lordr' said Lawton, what
a. pity we let those Dakotas go! If they
were here now we could go Town ana
clean those fellows out in five minutes.
Do you think?"- and here he turned to
me and then eyed the little squad OF
| San Franciscans.
He was more than half disposed to
forget his major generalship, imagine
himself a subaltern again, and lead
our little dozen down to the attack
For a moment 1 thought the tempta-
| ton might be too much for him as our
! eyes met and a. grin expanded his sun
| tanned face, but the veteran Indian
fighters "horse sense" presently rose
superior to the troopers lust for
fight, and, with sigh and more than
one regretful backward glance, he re-
| mounted and we rode away.
And Johnny Filipino never seemed to
know how easily. he could have bagged
| brace of silver stars that hot Mafeh
! day. and l was very glad he didn't.
CHARLES KING,
Brigadier General, U. S. ".