The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1899-12-26
GRITTY LITTLE JAMES MUNRO.
Blumng Lieutenant Who Compelled
the Surrender Of 500 Filipinos.

the Surrender Of 500 FiIipinos.
wINONA. Mimi, Dec. s.-Albert
Myhre. of this city, who recently returned
from the Philippines as an honorably dis
charged soldier. has some interesting data
to tell In regard to Lieut.. James Munro,
who is now nationally famous for having
successfully worked such gigantic
''bluff'' on Gen. Conon and his garrison
OF 800 at Bayambong. The story OF how
the lieutenant secured the surrender of
this town and garrison, while he had but
fifty men behind him. is still fresh in the
minds of all. the brilliant act having been
accomplished November IS.
1.-THE deed was just like Munro" said
Mr.. Myhre to a reporter. IT was in the
same regiment with him. He used to be
niclxnamed 'Buntie' for some reason or
other. He was known In the regiment
as q great buffer, and, like most Of the
West Point graduates, something of a
crank being overparticular in every de-
tail Of the service, and extremely strict
fellow--I should say not much over five
feet four inches in height-but he Is not
afraid to tackle anybody or anything.
Capt. Lockett, Of Munro's company,
was called away to take charge of
regiment. This left Munro, who was first
lieutenant, in command of the company.
I remember seeing him one day go UP to
a big sergeant who stood six feet four
inches in his boots and do about every
thing to him but pitch in and fight. Munro
has any amount of sand and all the
men under him know 1t.
Eat one time after he had raked some OF
his men over pretty severely for some trlf-
ling matters the company got little sore
at him. Munro found out about this feel
ing in some manner He was a fellow who
would always give fair play, and one day,
after he had brought his company out to
drill. he marched UP and down In front Of
them and said:
If any man who thinks he has
grudge against me wants to take punch
at me he can come but and do 1T now
Nearly every man in the company was
larger than the little lieutenant, and the
men only laughed at him and no one stir
red
Munro is good soldier, only about 20
years of age. He always attends to his
business and devotes his whole time and
apparently all his thoughts to his work.
But he expects every man under him to
DO the same. and wants everything perfec-
ton. For this reason he is not as popular
with some of the regulars as he might
otherwise be.
'.For time his company, for some rea-
son. was poorly rationed The men actu-
ally had not enough to eat But this made
no difference to Munro. He worked Just as
hard ana expected just the same results
from the men as when they had three
square meals day. In this regard have
known him to work bluff In one in
stance, when the men had no rations and
had a days march before them, he told
them he had some for them at the end of
the trip This inspired the men to the
long march with no food, which they might
otherwise have refused to undertake.
II have known of four or five men de-
sorting in one day from Munro's company
because they did not have any food to eat.
But such a trifle as not having anything to
eat did not seem to trouble Munro and he
attended to business just as strictly as be-
fore"
Lieut.. James N. Munro was born at
what is known as the 'Scots settlement"
some seven miles out of Lake City, Mimi,
a district settled entirely by Scotch people.
1t is purely a farming district and has not
even a postoffice. The people, although
clannish, are very thrifty and good citizens.
The lieutenant is the son of Mr.. and Mrs.
John Munro. He at first attended the coun-
try district school, then the Lake City high
school and in 1890 went to the Minnesota
state university at Minneapolis. which he
attended for three years. then receiving his
appointment to West Point from Congress
man Fletcher.
AS student he was among the best, pos
sessing an exceptionally clear and grasp
ing mind. An intimate friend OF Munro's
says: "If. Jimmie was mixed up In any
scrape you can rest assured ne was not
numbered among those caught. Core
spondence Chicago Chronicle.