The Meeker herald., 1899-05-06
BRAVE KANSAS MEN.
THEIR WONDERFUL ACHIEVE
MENT.
Handful OF Them Cross = River Under
Fire and Chsse Thousands of Filipinos
From Their Trenches

chicago, May Especial dispatches
from Manila TO the Record give fur
thcr details Of the remarkable success
es of the American troops few days
ago in the face of great obstacles. The
correspondent says:
The taking of the bridge over the Rio
Grande at Calumpit was deed Of as
tonishing daring. 1t was the most
strongly defended position held by the
insurgents. Located on the north shore
of the Rio Grande. opposite Calumpit,
! il is the most valuable strategic point
| in Luzon. The fact that 1t was guarded
by the most trustworthy and best dis
ciplined regiments of General Aguin-
aldo made the feat the more note
worthy. Army officers tonight say the
daring displayed by the American
troops to-day is almost unparalleled
in the annals of modern warfare.
1t was red-letter day for the Twen-
tieth regiment of Kansas volunteers,
commanded by Colonel Funston. one
hundred and twenty men belonging to
that regiment crossed the river in the
| face of Il deadly fire from 5000 insur-
gent Mnusers. This torrent OF bullets
was augmented by the fusillade of n
! Maxim gun of which the insurgents
have obtained possession.
Colonel Funston. with only nine men,
charged the trenches manned by thou
sands of insurgents. dscharging their
rifles as they ran up the embankment.
| The American artillery. on the south
| shore of the Rio Grande. poured shot
and shell into the Filipino stronghold.
| The rebels We're stampeded. They
| went to the north toward Bacolor.
| Despite the extraordinary risks and
| chances taken by the Americans, our
troops suffered very few casualties.
| Only one man was killed and the
wounded do not exceed dozen. The
| insurgents lost heavily. fully twenty
five were killed during the mad charge
of Colonel Funstons men on the
trenches.
counted fifteen bodies in the trench
es and along the railway in a distance
of quarter of a mile.
The bridge where the desperate fight
ing took place is about 100 yards long.
1t extends over the Rio Grande and Is
the gateway. practically. to the entire
northern portion of the island of Lu-
zon. All the ties and rails had been
removed from the structure, making 1t
almost impossible TO cross. as the men
had to creep along the iron framework.
At the further end of the bridge, op-
posite Calumpit. We're the most care
fully constructed and formidable
carthworks They seemed almost i'm
pregnable. They We're in the form Of
semicirculnr trenches around the ap-
proach of the bridge. These trenches
have roofs of steel rails. These roofs
formed a splendid protection against
bursting shells, and for time made
the work Of the artillery almost futile.
About 800 yards west of the railroad,
on the north shore of the Rio Grande,
deep narrow stream empties into the
river. Beyond this stream nre other
trenches commanding the south shore
Of the river.
The American forces occupied the
south shore. within 400 yards Of the
insurgent earthwOrks.
Early In the morning the Filipinos
began steady fire from both their in
fantry and artillery Most of it was
directed upon the freighthouse where
the 9th artillery gun was stationed.
The Americans. however, returned
such n heavy fire that the insurgents
were obliged to keep beneath the cover
of their earthworks.
1t was during this fire that Colonel
Funston and his 40 Kansnns per-
formed the exploit of the day.
They marched down to the river, n
distance of 800 yards from the freight
house, in plain view of the insurgents.
Immediately the Filipino fire was di-
rected upon the Kansas men. Colonel
Funston and his men were prepared to
cross the river so that they could make
n flank attack upon the rebels in the
trenches.
Privates White and Trcmbly of COM
pany D Of the Kansas regiment strip
ped off their uniforms. jumped into the
river and swan directly toward the
Filipino breastworks. Almost immedi-
ately they drew the fire from the
trenches Of the insurgents. but evil
IDENTIFY they had not been noticed by
the insurgents at the end of the bridge
The latter were fully occupied by the
artillery and infantry fire of the Amer
leans.
When White and Trembly reached
the shore they carried rope to the
beach. tied 1t to an upright of the
bridge, and by making n tremendous
noise frightened the insurgents out.
They had no arms. but they threw
clods of dirt into the trenches and kept
up such terrific yelling that the in
surgents thought whole company
was upon them. All this time Colonel
Funston and his men on the south
shore of the river kept up steady
fire, thereby protecting White and
Trembly. Two more Kansans follow
ed in small boat with the clothes and
rifles which had been stripped off by
Trembly and White, but the boat cap
sized. Its contents were lost and the
two men in it were obliged to swim
for their lives.
Colonel Funston in the meantime fol-
lowed on n raft with about twenty
men. Close behind him came two more
RATS on which were thirty men, The
appearance of this number revealed to
the main force of the Filipinos the dar-
ing trick which had been practiced up
on them. Immediately they directed a
wild fire toward the RATS. 1t was in
effective. AS soon as Colonel Funston
reached the opposite shore with his