The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-05-05
ON THE FIRING LINE.
A California Students Graphic story
of the Desperate Fight in Manila.

nett who is with Battery A, Utah Artillery
Burnett was Stanford's big center in the
football team. He says his lot is cast
among strangers, referring 10 the First
California, in which a number of Stan
ford men were enlisted, which was fight
ing miles away from his company. But
l have not disgraced old Stanford. | have
! pulled the lanyard every time out Maxim
| Nordenfeidt has spoken, and il has never
made a move that / have not given
hand Burnett then tells of the advance
10 the front. and continues: AT last We
came TO the firing line. For half mile
back the bullets had been dropping around
US. AT every side were great columns of
black smoke where villages We're burning
a Elite TO cur right was the Pasig, where
we hac tug lifted up as gunboat. Its
machine gus We're making horrible
din. To the trent our two guns and the
Nebraskans w1e in a hot place, wnlle
on our left the insurgents were making
a determined attack upon our lines. They
were returning the fire volley for vo.ley
and tell you the noise was tremendous
We We're right in the crater of The battle
and litter after litter passed us wch the
dead and wounded. but we pushed on in
n sort of a dresm passing ever toward
the front. Finally we came up 20 our
first two guns. They had just carried a
dead comrade away
I'VE grasped hands, but barely had time
TO exchange a few words when we went
on again. The stone bridge was a point
of vantage which both sides coveted, and
we settled the question by planting our
two guns on it. We had TO advance down
an open road for three-quartars OF a mile,
ana we had the combined fire oG the Fiji
pinos upon us Al last We reached the
bridge and threw our guns around for ac-
ton Insurgent sharpshooters lay in rifle
pits in the canebrakes within 100 yards Of
US, and several of the boys We're hit All
the boys got under cover except a few OF
US who remained at the guns The infantry
lay down under The bridge and along I'M
der raised road that ran up The hill from
the bridge. Every few minutes we would
run our guns few yards up the hill by
band Everybody who saw us sad he
thought we could not hold our position ten
minutes and would all be killed The brow
of the hin above was a sheet of smoke and
lame On our right the woods were fun
of sharoshooters.
Our infantry advanced up the hill us
ing the raised roads as a breas work and
poured Voley after voliey across the road
III front OF US to project our right. II was a
e peautiful s SHIT 10 see that long sheet Of
hane and smoke roI, up in FROM of us. An
the guns went together for these voun-
) teois are veterans row.
ne lew OF us at The guns were almost
exhausted, and finally began 10 grunhle
at one another for not doing his share
when he had to run the gun 10 a new no.
sl!loh or SWING her around in another di-
feeuon. We never thought Of about fifteen
Of our gun crew EyiOg around in projected
spots 1t seemed US though that was the
proper thing for them 10 do.
, Al evening We noN ed outside an in
closure about great stone reservoir.
when ~nich was covered and made sort Of
loIuess. went on guard at dark. win a
IaS'ns headache ana sore throat 10 keep
me company. Firing was going ON ali
ABOUT us, but fellow soon becomes &C
customed TO such things ana paws bur IT.
tie attention TO them. During The ntght
our other two guns came up.
Inc next morning, Monday, Feb G. We
began ahoiher advance. Inside of a mile
we were again on the Hiring line The AIS
intination We had of this was a sho,8-ar Of
bullets from our left. A ditch runs along
by the SIDE OF The road there. ana we cll
plunged into t. The Insurgents sem up a
yen of delight, as they evidently fhougbt
they had killed all Of US.
our infantry had dropped down the hi,;
below us and had taken a position in a gul-
~ ana Were, they sad, in sort of a bot
tie until We goa them out with the artU-
lery, The enemy held a ridge and hillside
few hundred yards from us. and Il was
with difficulty that we located them a.
they are supplied with smok6Iess powder
When we I'D locate them we tbraw the
four guns around for action, and in a short
time Fnipinos were flying in all directions
except ours. One shell struck in stone
fertilization and scattered it and pieces of
insurgents to the four winds.
Fright at this point ] made the Dretfiest
duck on record. We had just got The com
mand Action left and three of us iumoe1
for orr guns and threw them around.
BIZ went the bullets so close that The
wind famed my cheek We all went down
and l am sure l broke the record for a
long tackle as l threw myself full length
on the ground. one does such things be-
fore one thinks.
From then on until we arrived here
we were constantly on the fire. CAT the
time of writing Burnett was in the field
eleven miles from Manila, on the road to
/ Maraquina river water works. our des-
tination was the city water works, which
the insurgents held, and they had shut
off the supply of water from Manila This
is the pumping station and is eleven mics
from Manila. We had come aut through
a rolling country of wooded ridges, with
open valleys. The only reason we were
not all killed is because the Insurgents
are poor shots, but they hit sometimes.
"Our guns were always on the skirmish
lines. Half a mile back the enemy made
their last stand, and for half an hour thew
held their ground ike men. They were on
a wooded ridge crowded with fortified
lions, and had to be driven out at the point
of the bayonet Some of them womb ac
tually hold their ground until some az
our boys were within twenty feet of then,
before they would run, and then God pitv
them.
"Our boys are brave. and want to saw
right here that the grandest sight ever
permitted mortal 10 gaze upon is to see
a thin skirmish line walk up in the face
of a whitening fire, not man falterinn
the line advancing with a mechanical nre
cison though they were on exhibifion
drill. Once in while gap is made a
couple of arms are thrown in the air FOR
an instant, a feck of cardinal cans o,,l
on the blue shirt, and then their Is worl,
for the hospital corps.
"The day after our last skirmisb tho
burying detail found seventy eight dead
Filipinos in one spot. The firing line was
...o~ =. ,ofIo IopO and the daaI ''1'