Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1899-11-17

Somewhere between the Golden Gate
and Hawaii the transport Grant IS
speeding toward the orient and bearing
to the battlefields of LuZon 1000 men
who would rather fight than eat. They
compose the Thirty-third regiment OF
the United States volunteers. recruited
in Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, Ar
kansas and the Indian Territory No
regiment in Uncle Sans service can
boast of more picturesque features
than this one, says the New York Her
aid. 1t is almost entirely made up of
the sort of men who Theodore RooSe-
Welt said make the best all round sol
diers and the finest cavalrymen in the
world"-the sun Drowned, rawboned
danger tried rangers of the southwest
ern plains.
These men of the Thirty-third fight
equally well on horse or afoot. They
ride like centaurs. march like veter-
ans, are at home in the open or the
chaparral and are dead shots always.
Among them are descendants of Crock
EFT, Houston, Travers and Bowie and
many another American pioneer who
died with his boots on while fighting to
free Texas from the Mexican yoke.
Whole companies of the regiment have
seen service in the ranks of the Texas
rangers, an organization which fought
Indians, bandits and cattle thieves, the
like of which no other state in the Tn
ion has ever possessed.
The commander of the Thirty-third
is Colonel Luther Il. Hare, a West
Pointer of the class of 1874, and n son
Of Judge Silas Hare, who ably repre-
scented one of the Texas districts in
congress for several terms. but was
finally succeeded by Joseph w. Bailey,
when the judges constituents learned
that he had been seen in Washington
wearing n "swallowtail' coat at an
evening reception. Colonel Hare was
formerly a captain in the Seventh
United States cavalry-the famous
regiment of the lamented CuSter-aEd
at the battle of Little Big Horn, in
which Custer was killed. Captain
Hare was in command of Il body OF
Indian scouts. At the beginning of
the war with Spain he was made colo
mel of the First Texas cavalry.
Among the daredevil fighters in the
rank and file of the Thirty-third regi-
ment are many men who have figured
bravely both in open battle and il
typical Indian warfare. One of the
most notable OF these is Lee Hall, 4
first lieutenant, who for five years was
a captain of Texas rangers. and was
known to and feared by almost every
desperate in the southwest. How
much of n terror he was to the bad
men of Texas may be guessed from the
fact that in one year Of his service in
the rangers he and his men captured
as murderers, 10 cattle thieves and A.
highway robbers. In all they made
so arrests during that single year,
and never bothered their heads to eff
feet the capture of n criminal of a
lesser grade than cattle thief.
Six feet tall, well proportional and
with face as brown as n tanned skin,
Captain Hall is n soldier worth look
ing at. In his company are 4 dozen
men who served under him in the
Texas rangers. and all are like him,
brawny and muscular, fighters from
their youth up and trained to endure
almost any degree of hardship.
Second Lieutenant Donald c. Nc
Clelland is another noted character in
the Thirty-third. Brave, did you ask?
Well, for one thing he rushed up the
hill ut San Juan. was shot in the left
shoulder, the right hip. the left side,
the right kneecap and the right arm,
but in spite of all this peppering with
Mauser bullets he Kept on. reaching
the summit of the hill, and did his
share of the fighting from the captured
blockhouse afterward.
There are a score of Indians in the
Thirty-third. among them Charley
Griffin. Robert Nave and Tilden Hayes,
all half blood Cherokees. Griffin is
one of the crack shots of the regiment,
and Just before it broke camp in San
Francisco he hit the bullseye five out
of six times at distance of 500 yards.
Tilden Hayes. who was born in 1876,
is almost as good a shot as Griffin. his
record being four bullseyes out of six,
also at 500 yards. Peter Nail. of Choc-
taw blood. was for years n member of
the Indian police in the Choctaw Ma
ton. He has killed his man" several
times over and had many an encounter
with desperadoes bent upon murder or
train robbery. Peter is now 4 private
in the Thirty-third and looks forward
with positive pleasure to the expected
meeting with Aguinaldo's little men.
Lieutenant Colonel Breleton is anoth-
er of these daring fighters. He has
seen service on the plains and is an old |
hand at guerrilla tactics. He was a
captain in the Twenty fourth infantry |
during the Cuban campaign and was |
In the thick OF the fighting around FL |
Caney and Santiago. At the first men !
toned place he was shot through the
hip. and his gallantry in battle won |
him promotion to his present rank.
There are few 'tenderfeet" in the
reSiment-good fighting |
though. they are; for exam
pie. Major John a Logan. son of the /
ate distinguished general OF the name 4
but nine-tenths of the members are
fellows after its coloneI's own heart,
men who can fight Indians and beat