Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1900-08-18

feet long, perhaps, and presenting ONT
aspect of war that might well bring
tears to the eyes even of the mos
hardened veteran.
FUNsToN's HEROIC DEED.
One of the most heroic things I saw
during my campaign in the Philippines
was at the Bagabag river. We were
trying to get body of troops across
the stream and were experiencing very
determined opposition on the part o
the enemy, which was in strong force
on the further bank. Tt was a diff
cult position, for our soldiers were ex
posed to scathing fire of artillery and
small arms. Nevertheless, under this
destructive fusilade, two of our mer
swan across the river with ropes and
tied them to poles on the other side
thus enabling Funston and his men te
pull raft over with twenty Americans
on it. This soon wound up the fight
the Filipinos taking, as usual, to their
heels.
PERSONAL COURAGE IN WAR.
The modern system of warfare has q
tendency to discourage individual he.
roism. Acts of personal daring are
necessarily exceptional, because it is
demanded of troops that, in all ordi.
nary cases, they shall act as body.
Our discipline and drill encourages
both officer and soldier to do their
duty on certain definite lines and in
accordance with prescribed RULES, an
army operating like single machine
under the. direction of one mind-that
of the general commanding. What ]
admire 10 our officers and men is not
only their courage, but also their de-
meanor, which has 80 great an infu,
ence upon the. morale of troops in the
field. Both in Cuba and in the Phil.
ippines have had opportunities of OBJ
serving officers whose cool and deter.
mined bearing has extended over raw
recruits an influence almost doubling
the efficiency of the entire fighting
force.
Certainly we know, 20 our great sat,
isfaction, that the American soldier has
not retrograded. As a veteran of three
wars, in each of which my part has
been such as to enable me to overlook
the activities of great numbers of men,
am able to assert that he is as capa-
BILE fighting man to-day, as brave
and efficient as he has ever been.
Taking him from all points of view, l
have no hesitation in declaring him to
be the best soldier in the world at the
present time. AS brave as the bravest,
be adds to the quality of fearlessness, q
coolness, steadiness and subsection
to discipline which make him the beau
ideal of a battle winner. He will
prove it in the future as he has done
in the past.
A NOBLE CONFEDERATE SCOUT.
Every war has its heroes. To my
notion the hero of the Civil war on the
Confederate side was Sam Davis, the
scout. He was caught in Tennessee,
with papers of Importance on bis per-
son, and arrested. A young fellow
and of fine appearance, his case ex'
cited sympathy on the part of the Fed.
eral authorities, and he was informed
that if he would tell who gave
him the papers they would give him a
fine horse, with equipments and pis'
tol, and send him under safe escort
through the lines. He refused and
was sentenced to death as spy. Up
to the very scafiold they begged him
to yield, urging that a mere boy
like him ought not to sacrifice bis
life for such a trifle ; but he shook
his head, and was hanged. Gen.
eral Dodge, who was in command
of the Federals, was so struck with ad.
miration of such noble fortitude that
he Gent his own check for $25 as con.
tribution to fund for monument to
the scout, with words of praise for
his character.
A CASE OF BLOODY VENGEANCE.
Perhaps the most remarkable char
acter in tbe Civil war, though do not
speak of him as a hero, was the ia
nous, or infamous, Champ Ferguson.
He lived on the border-line between
Kentucky and Tennessee, in a part of
the country where the most distressing
of all phases of the internecine con-
flict were developed, neighbor fighting
against neighbor and brother against
brother. From this situation of affairs
teuds of the utmost bitterness arose,
as was inevitable, and some, who did
not join either army, became guerillas,
killing without mercy.
Champ was a guerilla; but he did
not become such without provocation.
He was hard. working farmer, and on
one fateful occasion 16 Federals came
to his house during his absence and
insulted his family. Among other
things, if I remember correctly, they
stripped his wife and made her dance.
Ferguson was a changed man from the
moment he learned of the outrage; be
knelt and vowed that he would kill
every one of those concerned in it..
And be kept his word, killing them all
within two months. In one case he
killed four in one house, breaking
down the door, shooting two at once
and dispatching the others while they
begged for mercy.
ChamD did not stop there. however.