The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1899-03-22
A BRAVE OFFICER
STANDS AMID FLYING BULLETS AND
USES HIS FIELD GLASSES.


Removal of Some of HIS Cutiole--A Brave
BOY who Was Shot Through the Head
But Didn't Finch.
In cot alongside of Post was an
other Seventy-first boy, George ].
Hamon, of Company ID, fever patient
also. Most impressive, to my notion,
was his story of what happened that
day of July list, when he reached the
top of San Juan hill.
my company got mixed up" said
lIanlon, 'in the charge, and l pushed
on with the Thirteenth regulars.
When we reached the top some of us
took shelter in blockhouse and began
firing from there at the opposite hills
There wasn't one of the enemy in
sight, unless you count dead ones, so
we blazed away at nothing at all for
while. But they had us dead in range,
and it was no dream the way their
bullets played around us.
zone of the bravest things | saw in
the war happened right here. An Off
Ger came up-he was n major of regu-
lars, | don't know his regiment-and
he saw we didn't know what to aim at
and were getting a little ratified. SO
what did he do but quickly walk out
in front of the block house. where the
Mauser' were coming thiCkest and
proceed to study the hills with his
field glasses, just as unconcerned as
you please And every now and then
he would call to us who were inside;
Men, fix your sights at eight hundred
yards and sweep the grass off the
ridge of the hill Or, again: Men.
| can see Spaniards over there: try
thousandyard range and see if you
can't get some of them. Fire low |
never saw such nerve as that officer
had: he'd have stirred courage in
anybody"
Didn't he get hitf ASKED
III tell you about that in a minute,
put while he was out there, shaking
hands with death, you might say, |
was witness to little incident in the
blockhouse that is worth telling about.
A lot of us were in there from differ
ent regiments, some from the Thir
teenth, some from the Sixteenth, and
some cOlored boys from the Twenty
fourth. We were all blazing away
through the firIng-openings in the
walls.
Just beside me was a big niger
ested in what he was doing. 1 saw
him pull a dead Spanlard out of the
door with a listless movement, and
then pick up his rifle as If he thought
the whole thing a bore. Suddenly
bullet came in with zip along the I'M
der side of his gunbarrel glanced
against the strap, and took the skin
off the niggers knuckles as if they'd
Unit An
you should have seen ,-.e change! He
wasn't scared not a bit; but he was
mad enough to have charged the whole
Spanish army alone. How ne did
swear-not loud, just quietly to him
self-and how he did grab his cart
ridges and begin to shoot!
Speaking of cartridges some of the
boys run short because they had
thrown away a lot in their haver-
sacks; but l had put two belEuls in a
pair of socks and pinned them inside
my shirt with safety-pins. SO l had
plenty. And 1 was peppering away
from behind brick chimney when one
of the Thirteenth lads called out to
me: Come over here, Seventy one;
I've got a fine shot for you
81 looked around and saw him
standing by a window that was barred
with iron, but had no sash to it. He
was kneeling on the floor, just showing
his head over the sill and looking
at the Spanish line. He was a nice
looking lad not a day over twenty
one and his face was smooth as
girls.
" All right said 1, going over to
him; where's your shOtT
" There said he, pointing to one of
the hills; 'nobody's fired at that one
yet, but I'm sure the dagos are there.
Set. your sights at six hundred yards
and We'll try it together.
$50 fixed my sights and we both
fired out the window with our rifles
resting on the ledge. AS | drew back
| saw there was something queer with
the boy, and noticed splash of red on
the lobe of his ear, just like coral
bead.
Did they wing you" / asked, and
even as | spoke he staggered against
the wall and turned around so that l
saw him full in the face. There was a
hole in the other side, just at the
cheekbone, that l could have put my
finger in He had been shot clean
through the head.
Poor chap! l said, and lifted him
over behind the chimney, where l had
been. He didn't speak. left him
there and went to the door, thinking
that l might see Red Cross nurse
somewhere about. And sure enough,
there was one bending over man
stretched on the ground. 1t was the
major who had been giving us the
ranges.
Is he hurt badY ] asked
1.-The Red Cross man had the majors
shirt open, looking at his wound. He's
shot through the heart he said,
Can you come in here a minute
when you get through with himT
There's a Thirteenth boy just been
hit
Hit whereT
In the head
9" Hold him by the jowls,' he said,
until / come So l held him by the
fowls, and then he spoke for the first
time, and what he said was this: Say,
Seventy-one, / done my duty, didn't
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