The times., 1899-08-07

even sHe Ndfcnman OF MI. hapeheF
ranch, but of this we were not notified.
The next morning, being the anniversary
OF Bunker Hill, at a little after Z o'clock
four men of the re-enfoFced squad reached
us. The steamer had come TO anchor a
mile or more from the proper place, and
these men had come to hunt US up. This
addition raised our force to nineteen en-
listed men, besides Lieutenant Goodell and
myself About !: 80 Spanish employe of
the estate rode out to the southwark to-
ward the river, which is only some 600 or
800 yards away. Here ne was fired upon,
and came gailoping in TO announce that
a body OF Tul1SaneS was at TaIabe. Mean
while few bullets struck the buildings or
whistled by, making a familiar sound |
had not expected to hear again in this
world excepting in my dreams. A corporal
and ten men were sent to the river to deal
with the Tulisanes there. They had hardly
disappeared along the path to the river
between the rank fields of sugarcane
which surround the hacienda, when we
spied some twenty-five or thirty men
creeping cautiously down the road leading
to it. They were only couple of hundred
yards away when they were first seen, and
had already reached the more easterly
buildings of the establishment, having
doubtless been concealed up to that time
IN the sugarcane. Leaving four men at
camp Lieutenant Goodell took four men to
meet this band, and l went, too. OF course
the lieutenant had his pistol and | had a
little popgun, five-Shooter made by
nameless maker, which | had borrowed at
San Carlos The Tulisanes, who had the
impudence thus to advance upon the
hacienda, had waited till the bulk of the
soldiers had gone out 10 the river, appa-
rently in the hope that the hacienda itself
would then be left unprotected. They
were also divided into two lines, one about
hundred yards behind the ether, so that
they really displayed some glimmering of
tactics
OF course, we opened fire on them with
the four rifles. To my utter astonishment
| there was no response. For an instant /
thought we must be mistaken and have
made the frightful error of attacking ranch
laborers, but such an idea was untenable
even for a second. These men were ad-
yancing in open order under such cover as
the natural and artificial inequalities o.
the ground afforded, and every attitude dis
played hostile intent. But not only did
| they not fire, but we could see no rifles in
their hands. In short. We presently came
/ to realize that we were actually being at
tackled by bolo men,
Let's go in on them," l codnseled, and
we moved up dozen PAGES at time,
firing, OF course, at each pause and taking
pains to spare ammunition, with which We
were none too well provided.
| Our advance seemed to cheek the Tu-
lisanes. who still came on, but more slowly.
A couple fell. Presently, advancing en- the
| right of the road. we came nearly opposite
a ditch on the left-hand side This ditch
was at the very edge of a heavy growth of
cane and about 100 feet from u.s. Every
instant or two a head would lob out OF
| this ditch long enough to get glimpse OF
US and disappear again 1t really seemed
/ wicked to fire at those men, but there was
| no help for it. Ne knew they meant to
kill US if they could. We could not know
how many were lurking in the cane behind
| them, waiting to rush upon US if we showed
any symptoms of weakness, and they made
no sign of surrender. Had we known all
we know now we should have had less COM
junction than we felt. Our only safety
seemed to lie in shooting straight. Conse-
quently when a head bobbed up couple OF
the men marked the spot and waited for it
to reappear.s The other two attended to
the more distant line or support OF the
attacking party.
After this state of things had lasted for
a few minutes, during which three robbers
were killed where they lay and several
more fed into the cane, a really fine action
was performed. One of the Tulisanes in
the ditch we were facing had the nerve to
spring from his cor and rush upon US,
He came straight at me. | suppose lie
thought my Importance proportionate to
nay evident age, and of course he saw
had no rife He ran like a sprinter, hold
ing a long boio horizontally ON a level with
his hip. When | became quite aware OF
his goal fired my popgun at him, but be
did not pause. When he was about twenty
feet from me | fired second time His
right arm then fell helpless at his side
his bolo dropped, he turned as rapidly az
he could without checking his speed and
dashed into the cane in spite of the rifle
shots sent after him by the men. l have
, the bolo, but he carried away my sheath
If he would send it to me | could almost
congratulate him on his escape provided
that he has indeed survived his wounds.
But though admirable in its way,
regret to say that this feat was not purely
brave. The man placed an overweening
reliance on charmsi On his, i. e., my
bolo was a spot of thick Ointment
resembling curry gravy. This I was TOLD
; by the natives is magic ointment.
the forehead, lips, heart, and weapon of
! man are thus anointed he becomes in.
, vulnerable, excepting by one who is il
possession of a still more powerful charm
or anting anting, than his owni Every on
! of the men killed bore amulets to protec
. him from the fate which did not spar
him.
This dashing attempt was the last mad
by the Tulisanes, and in an instant tn
: last of those alive had disappeared. Tn
little detachment which / accompanie
killed five men in their tracks and sen
many more wounded into the almost i'm
penetrable canefields. One of the killed Dor
insignia and is said TO have been Gen
Vicente Ornedo who carried with him
: list of persons to be killed, on which wa
? the name OF the wife OF the manager {
: the estate 1t will be a day or two ye
i | before all the corpses in concealment wi
: be disclosed, and meantime the number {
. dead is unknown.
i The ten men and corporal who went I
the Talabe River found at least 200 Tul
sanes, according to their estimate, draw
up in some sort Of order. The natives al
Il said TO have had only their rifles. Rapi
but careful fire by our men at short rang
!, kept this relatively large body at a SUI
ficient distance, and the Tulisanes mad
; no charge. They stood their ground, how
Il ever, for some time, and when they retire
e three of those who had been instantly kille
{ were found on the ground, while man
:. wounded were seen iimping or staggerin
3 into the canefields. The whole action Taste
:, about half an hour.
Different natives told me the next da
that there were some 300 aggressors an
5, that more than twenty had been killei
's If so. there must have been between II
N and $50 wounded for only about one ma
N ordinarily dies out of seven or eight WI
20 are struck Not one American was IL
jured!
y This engagement was in part slaughtt
u rather than fight, yet the result was 1
l. foregone conclusion. Had even one Amer
re can shown the white feather the Tulisan'
N would have thrown themselves upon us
Al such numbers that we could not have sh
u them down fast enough to keep them o.