Little Falls weekly transcript. (Little Falls, Morrison Co., Minn.) 1894-19??, 1900-06-12
Ct. SOLDIERS.
Campaign Experiences OF Amer
leans In tee Philippines. =;
ESCAPE OF TWO CoNDI3lNLD MEN.

How Privnten James and reterxon
Fled From a Ffl.r!u" Firing qtsi,0
ca The: We're .AEv:: % &c Shot.
Experience OF Two ST. dis .Als-
pushed In q Launch.
A letter received at Columbia. Ia.
from Walter Cans. Columbia boy
now, in the Philippines. contains much
information. stys the st.
Louis Glo;."-Democrat. 1t tells uiuon2
other things OF wonderful escape.
Two Of his comrades. he says. We're
recently captured by the enemy. They
were Privates James and Peterson Of
the Twelfth infantry. The commander
Of their captors condemned them to
death. They were marched to spot
near Victoria and told to prepare to
die. The Americans determined to
make a dash for life and agreed upon O.
signal for the start. They were told
that, according to custom, they must
die with their backs to their execution
ers, with faces turned from the firing
squad. They saw just in front Of them
a large, deep gully skirted with a,
growth of bushes and small trees. The
commander granted them a moment
for prayer, and they kneeled, with their
backs to the firing squad, who bowed
their heads for an instant in respect
for the doomed Americans. At a sig
nal James and Peterson dashed for the
ditch. A volley crashed behind them,
and each was pierced with Mauser bul-
let's. but they reached the shelter alive.
Peterson. who was hit hard. buried
himself in the underbrusl. and the ii
lipinos Numbered past him in pursuit
of James. A scouting party Of Ameri-
cans heard the firing and reached the,
scene in time to save their calni:iues.
both of whom will recover from their
wounds.
". r. hurry of Company e. Six.
teenth United States infantry. FAR in
the interior of Luzon. P. L.. writes his
father. ]. w. Murry of Ethel. Macon
county, near Macon. Mo-. a letter con.
tanning an interesting account Of d
piece of daring by two young soldiers
Of his company. its fatal results and
the swift apprehension of the ambush-
ing party Of insurgents. says the St.
Louis Globe-Democrat The letter was
received the other day. :,
1.-TWO volunteers were called for"
writes Private Murry. Ito man small
launch loaded with supplies for one of
the outposts some 80 miles up the riv-'
er. A hundred hands went up. The
two men from our company were Sc
lected because of their known precision.
with the rife and quick eyes. We
crowded down to the landing to see
them of and wish them godspeed on
their perilous voyage. and even there
several tried to get them to exchange
places. It Is hard to explain the fas-
cination an errand of that sort has for
a soldier; there were men. there who
would gladly have given their months
pay! to have got IN that little craft. {.
"'The next we heard Of the expedition
was two days afterward. when some
of the: boys were in the water and
found a floater. The body was taken
ashore and found to be one Of the sol
diers who had volunteered to take the
supplies up the river. He was literally
cut to pieces, and determined effort
had been made to sever the head from
the body. The body was entirely nude.
This was the first many of us had
seen of such warfare, and several were
sickened at the CHASTITY sight. Then
we waited with much foreboding for
news Of his companion. But he had
better fortune. He came in late in the
evening as party was about to he
sent out to hunt for him. He told us
that when within eight miles Of their
destination. while passing through q
narrow channel. their boat struck some