The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1900-06-23

y
ing enlis ments in The Philippines to-day
Will be so der for all time They are N
sense irreclaimables, for they have
pla. ed at the me Of all games. comuar-
Cd 10 which all other game are for lite
children. The shooting of jac k rabbits is
no sport fer Ion hunter. There is only
enc more thrill same him. 1t is he
splendid hazard of holding your face to-
ward host lie fire, meanwhile replying
TO 1t. 1t puts new thoughts in your head
new quivers in ur limbs and a ge eral'v
new t, ar of God in both places. And when
II Is all over Qf the thought does not bite
its way into your brain that Won are a
craven born), you VIII fe affectionately
inclined toward yourself as never before
one can best tell how it feels ueder fire
by explaining his own sensa lions l ric-
'ured m If lodging 5 2ells aid becoming
generally absorb in witchng fir w rks
as soon as the ship crawled into Manila
narpor AS matter of fact it was some
Gays before l heard the crack of a car
bine. found that you have to hike" for
night in Luzon-"hike' first last and
most of the time
FINALLY the great day dawued. l felt
stronS and was pining for trouble 1t was
MacArthur's arm of the general expedi-
uoh IN the north, last November. The
General advised me to get in the rear,
out l explained that I would be unwept
ana unsung at all events, and so my pony
can Do" and l were allowed to stay in
advance with the scouts
Gan Do didn't seem TO be tickled with
the prospect, but l was heartlessly hoping
LOT the worst and wondering what il
would mean when il came. For an hour
me rains had ceased and the sun was
dtagSlng up moisture from man. beast
ana rice paddy. Eight hundred yards
aheau through the midday simmer we
could see the low ruins of an ancient wall,
extending along this end OF the town, and
oehind the green palms and the brown
OF nlpa shacks Slowly the column
crawled forward through the killing sun
shine Skirmishers were wading through
the mud an water on each side of the
trail.
Much boom-boom POGO TEMPO" Wits
pered the Macabebe to the General and
his staff. The little native traders squet-
ted forward is they walked. They didn't
seem TO like it and would have hung back
had 1t been possible. There was a queer,
hard look in the faces of the white SOL
dlers. and the cir was full of the gutter
ing OF cartridges as they were slipped into
the Krag magazines. Things began to
look serious-depressing so Can Do
had no sympatf% with me. and required
much prodding. l would not have insisted
further upon the pony TO keep in the ex-
IRENE advance. but l had fought with
Macarthur to let me ride with the scouts,
and felt his black eyes on the back of
my neck. 1t occurred to me that l did
nave a bunch of close acquaintances back
in the states, and l felt for the sake of
Can Do that l should not be so far for
ward but il really seemed as if the Gem
eral had lost track of the possibility of
fight taking so much interest in me. All
the time the sun sent down rays TO show
me how pitiless perditon will be. few
minutes before such a suggestion would
IN ri ia faV off hut
Something hit me. II wasn't a Mauser
or Remington-only the ground. The
low stone wall ahead was obscured in
white smoke and about 600 natives behind
ii were actually shooting in my direction.
1t never struck me this way before-not
the ground-but the fact that fellow
must get shot at. Never before did
feel that I had so lille to do with
my own finish Can Do" had shak-
en- me. l could hear him thunder
ing back and toward the rear Of the col
umn, forty miles an hour. l could also
hear a series of croons and drones and
snaps, These last are what worry one
knows the bullets are high when they
sing in passing but when they come with
a NenomouS StaccatO s1aD-it isn't en-
iertain ng. l found myself in the midst
Of heroic and well-directed effort to
bite cavity for myself in the black mud
thought came to me-if j should place my
head in the mud sideways. instead of teeth
down, less would be exposed, since it is
fatter that way. I did it.
Now the Vollevs were over | looked
about and saw that all men save the Cen
eral and a few other officers were down.
This is the proper thing during a vo,ley
Though the ragged fire which follows is
often better directed and more deadly.
Now he ard the voice of he General and
saw things At the sound of that voice the
skirmishers in the field, half of whom |
thought must be dead, or dying rose
as one man. In truth, it is hard to kill
Forward sllirmishers. Fire at Will"
The command rumbled magnifcently
for h and settled into every mans under
standing l didn't have to get up. No one
was looking for me. In fact | was
strangely comfortable, but the fear was
far stronger now that some one might
see me down, and 1 went into the town
with -ho men.
Young man" said Macarthur to me
that night after camp had been struck
in the new town. was to-day your first
experience under fre?'
Yes, SIR" 1 answered, abjectly.
you did pretty We'll"
If he had only known the thoughts
which had been mine while the hostile
fire was crashing in front!
One oVercomes the maudlin sense of ter
ror apparent in the first trial under fire.
but no after engagement with the enemy
clines so indelibly in memory. It has
been claimed that personal fear is to
some natures a pleasure exquisite and
lasting. Stevenson's Suicide Club"
brought out well such a theory. There
is certainly something in this, but l be-
lieve that the satisfaction arising from a
perfect mastery of self in a trying mo-
ment has much TO do with the pleasure
Where there is n perfect sanity there
is also a sense of fear. Courage is
that fine. clean quality which master
fully holds the dread in subsection and
cpurs the other faculties to intelligent
effort. Courage is not given 10 all mon.
This is sadly true. 1t is not given to all
soldiers.
soldering is a bad drug TO give up"
1t is a wild hard, animal life Tho
man who follows il denies himself all the
soft things which make life beautiful, but
it gets into the blood and stays. A man
needs only 20 be apart from the life for
little whilc to learn how dearly he loves
it. The old cavalry horse dies when he
is condemned and sent back to the hated
civilian.
And the soldier who has tried his man
hood and found il vibrant with virtue
who has come out of a campaign of
harsh service-will crave and crave for
the rest of his days TO feel again the saw
age Joy Of the fight
BULLFIGHT HORRORS.