The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1899-11-02

that capital. Half a mile north of town
is the railroad bridge over another
river, the GuiguintO, broad and deep.
They fired this bridge and Funston
hurried up company to extinguiSh
the fire, after we had marched all over
the woods looking for an enemy At
p. m. my battalion and one battalion
of PennSylvanians crossed the bridge
side by side in file. They deployed to
the right of the railroad e1bankment
and we to the left in an open space
about 100 yards between the fringe of
timber on the river and the dense woods
toward Malolos. We were told no
enemy was near. The battalion had
deployed at right angles to the railroad
and had just marched them up to a
rice dyke about ten inches high. 1 made
it a rule to do this so that if suddenly
attacked they would have some prOtec-
ton. We were all standing there await
ing the troops following on this bridge.
Whitman had come in ahead of his
battalion and was taking a drink from
my canteen, when some 5000 of the
little imps suddenly opened from the
thickets and began the most extensive
engagement the regiment ever had.
% KILLED AND WOUNDED.
1.-The enemy's fire was fully as hot as
any of the smaller fights and they made
as good stand as they ever did We
had p killed and wounded-the largest
list of casualties furnished by any en-
gagement of the Twentieth Kansas.
The hope of the enemy evidently was to
cut the First battalion to pieces before
soon as the fire began-at the command
Lie doWn'-the battalion dropped be-
hind the rice dyke. Immediately at
Commence firing the whole battalion
opened and kept the enemy busy till
Colonel Funston brought the other
battalion across the bridge, took them
across the open behind our line and
formed on our left The firing was ter
rife. We ran forward to the edge OF
the woods and after bit the little peo-
pie quit. The First battalion did not
have man hit till we ran forward
thanks to the dyke. went up with
the center of my line just at right of
company B. and to their left, F and
L to the right. AS we ran four men of
B were shot within four feet of me be-
fore you could count 80. I stopped an
instant over Smith till 1 saw he wasn't
much hurt. SpurlOck looked so CHASTITY
thought he was killed as Ben Nor
thrup raised him up. never want to
see another place like that. Early in
the fight walked over to my right and
jumped into the railroad ditch to Cap
tain Watson of L to tell him to raise
his sight to 700 yards He was looking
over the top of the ditch and as came
in a Remington bullet threw the dirt
in his face. As I went down the line
again gave Fire at WILL and their
firing was tremendous. I know one
man who fired 175 rounds in the Gui-
guintO fight. Captain Watson of Pitts
burg was dangerously wounded here.
The rear of the Third battalion (now
under Captain Orwig) did not arrive in
time to participate but as they had to
cross the bridge under the heavy fire
they were in the same danger. The be-
haviOr of officers and men was uni
versally goOd-the doctors and hospital
corps doing as well as anybody. AS a
matter of fact we were caught in a
trap and had to fight our way out It
was entirely Kansas and Pennsyl-
vania fight. GuiguintO was the best
stand made by Aguinaldo before
MalolOS. That night we camped three
miles south of Malolos. AT a. M,
March 81. General Macarthur had half
an hour of heavy artillery fire when the
infantry went forward. There was a
little opposition, a few voIleys fired by
Second and Third battalions and one
man in F wounded in the First battal-
ion-W agner-and we marched into
MalOlos-the firing line and support to-
gether. We entered through an awful
jungle. The town was deserted except
for a few Cinnamon and the place on
fire. Some of the railroad track was
torn up.