The Saint Paul globe., 1899-04-29
COL. FUNSTON AND THE INTREPID
TWENTIETH KANSAS ACCOM-
PLISH WONDEI
FACED DEATH FEARLESSLY
PHIVATES WHITE AND TREMBLY
SWIM A RIVER AND MAKE
POSSIBLE VICTORY
KANSAS YELL BRINGS PANIC

Co1. runsfon, Aided by Eight Men.
Drives Hundreds of FiIipinos
From Their Trenches-RebeI Of
fcers VainIy Urge Their Men to
Stand Against American On
sIaught-COmpIete Rout.
MANILA, April 28.-The taking of the
bridge over the Rio Grande at Calumpit
was deed Of astonishing daring. 1t was
the most strongly defended position held
Dy the Filipinos. Located on the north
shore OF the Rio Grande, opposite Calum-
pit, 1t Is tie most valuable strategic point
In Luzon. The fact that 1t was guarded
oy the most trustworthy and best dis
ciplined regiments Of Gen. Aguinaldo
made the feat the more noteworthy.
Army officers say the daring displayed
by the American troops Is almost un-
paralleled in the annals of modern war
fare.
1t was a red-letter day for the Twen-
teth regiment of Kansas volunteers.
commanded by Col. Funston One hum
dred and twenty men belonging to that
regiment crossed the river in the face of
deadly fire from 5000 insurgent Maui
sers. This torrent of bullets was aug
mented by the fusillade of Maxim gun,
OF which the insurgents have obtained
possession.
AN INTREPID LEADER.
Col. Funston, with only nine men,
charged the trenches manned by thou
sands of insurgents. discharging their
rifles as they ran up the embankment.
The American artillery on the south
shore of the Rio Grande poured shot and
shell ttno the Filipino stronghold. The
rebels were stampeded. They went to the
north toward Bacolor
Despite the extraordinary risks ana
chances taken by the Americans, our
troops suffered very few casualties. Only
one man was killed and the wounded do
not exceed a dozen. The insurgents lost
heavily. Fully twenty-five were killed
during the mad charge of Col. Funston's
men on the trenches
The Fflipinos began a steady fire from
both their infantry and artillery
1t was during this fire that Col Funston
and his 120 Kansans performed the ex-
ploit of the day
They marched down to the river, a lis
tanee of 800 yards from the freight house,
in plain view Of the Insurgents Imme-
diately the Filipino fire was directed
upon the Kansas men Col. Funston and
his men were prepared to cross the river
so that they could make a flank attack
upon the rebels in the trenches.
Privates White and Trembly,, of Com
pany d, of the Kansas regiment, stripped
off their uniforms, jumped into the river
and swan directly toward the Filipino
breastworks. Almost Immediately they
drew the fire from the trenches of the
insurgents, but evidently 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 Americans.
WILD KANSAS YELL.
When White and Trembly reached the
shore they carried a rope to the beach,
tied it to an upright of the bridge, and
by making tremendous noise frightened
the insurgents out They had no arms
but they threw clods of dirt into the
trenches and kept up such terrific YELL
ing that the insurgents thought a whole
company was upon them. All this time
Col. Funston and his men on the south
shore of the river kept up a steady fire,
thereby protecting White and Trembly.
Two more Kansans followed In a small
boat with the clothes and rifles which
had been stripped off by Trembly and
White, but the boat capsized. Its con-
tents were lost and the two men in 1t were
obliged to swim for their lives
Col. Funston In the meantime followed
on a raft with about twenty men. Close
behind him came two more RATS on which
We're thirty men. The appearance of this
number revealed to the main force of
the Fflipinos the daring trick which had
been practfced upon them. Immediately
they directed a wild fire toward the rafts
1t was ineffective. AS soon as Col. Fun
ston reached the opposite shore with his
fifty men he rushed down to the small
stream which empties into the Rio Grande
about 300 yards from the railroad bridge
His men were yelling like demons. They
were pouring a terrific enfilading fire into
the main trenches Of the insurgents
across this small stream
REBELS PANIC STRICKEN.
The Filipinos became panic-striken.
There was q regular stampede. When
Col. Funston saw them running he
searched for some place to cross, and in
so doing got under fire from several hun
dred insurgents who had retreated some
distance from the smaller stream. A
Maxim gun was opened on them from a
different direction and this cross fire
compelled them to retire. When the
Maxim ceased the Filipinos returned
Il iHdliy OCl. uilSlOll lOuIlQ a small DO1C
and with Capt. Orwig and eight men
crossed the small river, and with this
handful of volunteers charged straight
into the heavy trenches held by the Fill
pinos. They chased the insurgents out of
their protected position, and by the time
Col. Funston reached the railroad the
Kansas and Montana troops began creep
ing across the bridge.
1t was thought the insurgents had fed.
They were noticed, however, in a big
field to the rear of their intrenchments
forming a long skirmish line. Several
hundred Of them prepared to advance.
They appeared greatly demoralized, how
ever Two generals on horses galloped
wildly back and forth endeavoring to re-
store order.
They finally got the Filiplnos into fairly
good order as skirmish line. The gen.
erals could be seen by the Americans urg-
ing their men TO advance. AS the line
moved forward the Kansas regiment
opened fire from the position on the north
bank of the Rio Grande. The insurgents
broke again.
Again the generals whipped them into
battle formation. The advance had just
begun when Gen. Wheaton, who crossed
the bridge among the first troops who
had gone over under cover of Col. Funs-
tens men, ordered all available troops to
attack the enemy. Again the insurgents
stampeded. AS they retreated the Kan
sas and Montana regiments followed
them, while Col Funston ordered the Ne