The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1899-05-05

NEW YORK, April pa cable to
tions against the insurgents were re-
sumed with undiminished activity and
vigor this morning and with small loss
to the Americans. The Filipinos were
driven to San Fernando. about nine or
ten miles to the northwest of Calum-
pit, where they remain at present.
The days fighting was marked by
another American deed of daring,
which had much to do with the defeat
of the rebels The fighting began as
soon as there was light enough to per-
nit effective firing. The battle was be-
tween Gen. Wheaton's brigade, which
was on the south bank of the -sR. s,
Grande de la Panpanga, and a strong
force of insurgents on the north bank
of the river. The F'ilipinOs used old
muzzle-lOading cannon, but failed to
do any execution with them. The en-
emy were in a strongly intrenched po-
sition, and the fire from our artillery
failed to penetrate their defenses; con-
sequently the battle was waged chiefly
by the infantry. The FfIipinos appar-
emily suffered little loss from our rife
fire, and the prospect of dislodging
them was not very bright, as the river
prevented our troops from making
their usual charge and driving the en-
emy from the trenches.
IL
their three miles of trenches along the
river. At this time Col. Funston, OF
the Twentieth Kansas Regiment, de-
termined that it was necessary to give
our men an opportunity to get into
closer quarters. He called for volun-
teers to cross the river, and a number
OF his men responded. Two men were
finally selected, and they jumped into
the river and swan across with the OBJ
ject of establishing means for an Am
erican force to follow them. Prior to
calling for volunteers Funston had OBJ
tanned a long rope, and this the two
men carried with them, no easy task
under any circumstances, but particu
larly hard and dangerous when the
line had to be slowly dragged through
the water in the face of a heavy fire
from the rebel trenches.
The men seemed to bear charmed
lives, and though bullets fell all around
them, kicking up little jets of water,
neither of them was hit, and they
landed safely on the opposite bank,
and there secured their end of the rope
to a tree.
While this was being done our troops
kept up such a hot fire on the trenches
no
their shelter either to capture the two
men or to cut the rope A raft had
been hastily made with any material
that would answer the purpose, and on
it Col. Funston, with two companies
of his regiment, crossed the river. the
rope being used as a guiding line to
hold the raft against the current Sew
eral trips were necessary to land the
men, but they all got ashore unharmed,
the craftsmanship of the enemy being
extremely poor
Once ashore the Kansans formed and
were ordered to attack the trenches
with an enflading fire. This was
more than the rebels could stand, and
the backbone of the defense was brok-
en-, the main body of the Filipinos re-
northward, while the remand
er escaped up the railroad under a
heavy fire.
The left flank of the enemy reformed
on the plain north of the river. and
part of them took up new position in
the second line of trenches, where they
made a futile attempt to hold their
ground. Meanwhile the remainder OF
the KansanS and first Montana volun-
teers slowly crossed the bridge, that
had been badly damaged by the enemy,
and then advanced on the trenches,
from which the F'ilipinos were speedily