The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1900-07-24

' j
Colonel Liscum never uttered, words
( more significant ofiiis personality than
y these. 1t was one OF the big days for
) American arms In North Central ,Luzon
last November. Every officer, cores
pondent and soldier had been looking
forward to a grand time at Tarlnc.
This town was fifteen miles beyond the
point whcre1 first snw Colonel Liscum.
5Tarlac was the reputed stronghold Of
indefinite thousands. Agulnaldo was
said to be there and II did not s.em
possible that the Filipino adyenturcr
could escape. Three divisions from
three different points had Tarlac for an
objective point. General Wheeler,
with couple OF regiments, was push.
Ing down the Dagupan end of tbs. trail,
while General Macarthur and General
Wheeler were forcing their way north
ward through rain, steam and fathom-
less mud. General Lawton and Gener-
al Young were coming down from the
y northwest and destroying the killing
lmonotony OF dawn-to-dark marches
through the medium OF an occasional
brush with the rebels.
"A bunch of correspondents T..
McCutcheon, Of the Chicago Record;
John +. Bass. OF the New York Her
aid. and myself, says VIII Lexington
Comfort in the Kansas City star-were
riding with the Ninth Infantry. Colonel
Liscum's regiment. Ahead was the
Bambam river and on the opposite side
was the town, bearing the same name.
4 The Ninth expected fight at Rambam.
Under Llscum5 the regiment was rae:
Ing toward Tarlac to get the first hon.
3 ors in the expected capture OF the no.
torious rebel. The roadbed sinks Into
narrow pass Just, before reaching the
/. Bambam river. AS the vanguard
swung through the deflle firing began
upon the opposite shore. TWAS Won
derful to see the transformation in the
sweating, muddy infantrymen. thrilling
to hear the commands OF the officers
/, and the. mutterings Of the men. There
( was no .cursing. no tagging In the lines
now. Here was longed-for recreation.
Y Colonel Liscum stood upon the bank
directing his men. stood straight up
md minded the bullets as much rs II
they had been paper wads. The fellows
In dirty brown canvas. who had been
curslng the .,ky and the trail and at
each other moment before. were In
{ harness now. Each took his proper
place In the deploys; each struck nj the
heart of the matter, not with the dog
ged ventionallty OF a machine. but
with an unerring and Individual SYM
{ mctry which showed brains and nerves
and fighting bottom It was standing
there under fire that. Colonel Llscum
vas heard to say: Look at those
beautiful men,"
Liscum's Ninth Infantry.
There was strange beauty in this
thread OF wet brown skirmishors in
front. The boys played low. poked with
: the fellows nearest them and laughed
and dvanced-meanwhilc the rebels In
the trenches. rot fifty yards away.
were pouring wicked volleya at the
2 white men, who bucked the swift cur
rent, belt-high. filed krag magazines
with loaded. dripping shells and neared
the swaylng white cloud OF smoke
across which showed where the
trenches were. The thoughts which
prompted the words OF the leader that
moment came to all of US who watch
ed, a thought that these fellows from
the states would strike and strike and
strike again until there was giving
away in front. But they only had TO
strike once at Bumbam.
The Mausers glanced screamlngly
from the streams and made holes in
the sand. in the bamboo Tickets on
the opposite shore, and In the soldiers
bucklng the current Of the river. a
couple OF men were carried down
stream: their heads were under most
of the time, Lieutenant Davis. Of Col
onel Bells. regiment, fell dead in the
Z river, shot In a place where he did nor