Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1899-09-28

| Special Correspondence Inter Mountain
| San Francisco. Sept 25.-When the
history of the struggle of American arms
in the far-off Philippines is finally writ
| ten one of the brightest pages in all tina t
narration of valorous deeds will be that
which is devoted to the First Montana
volunteer infantry. The famous dash of
the handful Of kansans will find it's par
! allel in the four mile charge Of Montana
men from Malolos to the Bagbag river:
| the most daring deeds Of madcaps from
the east from the south, the western
prairies on the Pacific slope will be fully
offset at one time or another in the five
months of almost incessant fighting of
Montana's sons, commencing on Febru-
AIRY 4, and ending July 8, last.
lNSOLENCE OF FIIIPlNOS.
It has been said of the Tennessee regi-
ment that they only stopped fighting
when their ammunition gave out and
that the only way they We're kept in any
thing like control was to issue a limited
quantity of cartridges to them at a time.
But the Montanians had the reputation of
disdaining to cease their onslaught even
with the firing of their last bullet, but fix
ing bayonets they would continue their
whirlwind rush upon the enemy until the
little brown men fairly melted away.
Could a command earn higher testi-
monial than the letter from General Mac
Arthur to Colonel Kessler as the First
Montana was on the eve of embarking on
the transports at Manila? There is no
Drawer or more efficient commander in
the United States army than Macarthur,
and the fact that he retained the big
mountaineers in his division throughout
the five months campaign, and they We're
the last of the volunteers to be With
drawn from the firing line, is but addi-
tional proof of their intrepidity and
steadfastness. For the Montanians We're
as thoroughly disciplined as they We're
brave. When the final charge on the
Filipinos was made at the Bagbag. over
a stretch of country that afforded not the
least protection from the Mausers, and
under sun that struck thirty men down
with its pitiless rays in that brief quar-
ter of an hour. there was not a WaVer in
the line. not faltering footstep seen as
some unfortunate was stricken by bullet
or heat. Usually. in such charges, the
men deliver volley while lying prone on
the EARTH spring to their feet and make
a dash of twenty or thirty yards. drop |
are fire again. But those Montanians |
poured in their volleys standing erect |
and with a GOODNESS and accurac cy such as |
would be looked for were they firing at
jack rabbits
why don't your men lie down." shout
ed the general as he rode along the line.
Takes too much time,' replied
brawny miner bringing his Springfield to
his shoulder, taking hasty aim at flee
ing rebel and scoring a bulls-eye.
Once General Macarthur asked Col.
kessler how many men in the regiment
we're fit for duty.
There's about $50 here now" was the
'eply But if there's a fight on hand
lust give me time to send to the hospi-
al and every man in the regiment will
'eport."
six hundred and fifty Montanians
ire enough for my purpose was the
aughing rejoinder. Those $50 had a hot
ime of it that day, but they made good
len. McArthur's statement that they
we're ample for his purpose.
PRAISED BY MACARTHUR.
It was not Montana's fault that it fell
o the lot of a Nebraskan to set the ball
olling. They could have begun the fight
month earlier. and they would have
one so, too, had it not been for impera-
i've orders that forbade them to fire on