The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1900-03-15


! When we got within forty or fifty feet
| of the top I saw one of the insurgents.
and he seemed to locate me at the same
time, and let drive, and the bullet went
right over me, l yelled to one OF the
men on my right to kin the 'hombre, -
| and two of the scouts let drive and miss
] ed. Then / took q rifle away from one
of the men and fired. The bullet struck a
| root in front of the insurgent and went
/ through, missing him. not more than six
/ inches. l though I had him sure, and
| crept up a little higher Then he ran
/ up and l ducked. and he landed II bullet
| between me and Sergt Lightfoot. A
/ mighty close shave-worse than the first.
/ | got mad then and dragged out my PTS
tol, handed back the rife. and crept up
on my stomach under a rock. and then
raised up and fired a shot at him. This
! time | was not thirty feet away. My pis-
| tol missed fire the second time. and
| dropped back. The stone protected me,
and lay There and looked around to see
how many men were with me Martin
was on my left and Lightfoot on my right
with three other men-and that was all
we had. The others were either ARA u
| to come up or else couldn't get up. So
I knew we would have TO get more there
or else we were all gone.
Just then some one in the rear opened
up, and then the whole outfit-about sew
enty men-turned loose.
| We poor devils on the hill were right in
it then. Three bullets hit just below my
! feet fired by my own men. The insurgent
tried another shot It me, which went high,
! thanks be to God-and the rock. l curled
up like a worm to make a small target for
my men, and yelled like a stuck pig TO
cease firing.
It's bad enough being UP against the en-
envy without being between two firing par
| ties. Pretty soon Leonhaeuser got the hre
| down, and then l told Martin to hold on,
and l went doVn the hill and got half a
| dozen more men; then we rushed the hill
and carried it, The scouts were put across
the neck of the ridge, then we waited until
most of the command was up, when
moved out with my scouts.
Murder of American Prisoners.
We came to an open place where all of
| the huts WERE and chased across in OK
| tended order. l sent back for the rest OF
| my scouts, and we went right across the
! open, looking for trouble. | saw dead
man with long, black hair, and took him
| for an insurrecto whom we had civil
| lied" so told my men to pay no atten-
| ton to anything but the enemy, and had
| them push into the brush on the edge OF
| the town 1 searched the houses very
| quickly, and then chased back TO the dead
man and foud three other men lying IN
| pools of blood. One of them said, "Ameri-
cans-we are Americans" so l thought
| they were part of an attacking force VINO
| had been shot at the top of the hill Ihen
| one said they wanted a doctor right away,
| and l gave him god swig OF WHISKY, ana
| asked about their fight. II sort OF dazed
me when heard what they told me. one
man. Charles Cook, told me all about it.
| He died, poor fellow, about an hour after
| ward He and two others were captured
at Capas the time Conner chased the cap
tors half a mile.
| When the insurgents knew we were COM
| ing-for their outposts on the long ridge
| informed them of our advance-they wait
| ed until they were pretty certain we mad
| captured the position, then the insurgents
| made all five of them kneel and shot them.
| Commissary Sergeant Peterson, Twelfth
| Infantry, fell down the hill and was
| found in a ravine below. He was shot in
! the thigh and was very weak, but may
live One man was dead, and another died
| in an hour and half. One other will
| probably die; the other two may live. Our
| wounded will come along all right. have
| marked the place near the Generals house
| where the men were murdered.
| When 1 found ouT about this business l
| told my scouts to shoot every man they
| saw, whether ne was armed or not. Then
| | went back and told the doctor to come
| up and dress the wounds of the men VINO
| were alive.
| now chased back and secuted into the
| mountains on the traii over which the IN
| surgents had retreated. Two were seen to
run across the road, so put my men into
| skirmish line across the trail and we laid
| for them, but saw no more They had
| evidently had adj they wanted OF the 500
| datlos negros." After we had gotten the
wounded dressed we started back and
| covered the retreat with the SCOUTS The
| insurgents were 1000 in number, but they
| did not show their noses, 50 we came
| right along.
| Comanci and the loop are from 100 to
| $50 feet high in every place except the
| tran at the south end leading up the
| mountain. In one place was stairway
made of logs held by forked sticks, and
| the drop here was fully $50 feet, and the
| slope about 80 degrees. In fact You could
| not get into the town without climbing a
| slope almost as steep as the roof of
| house The place is a regular Gibraltar,
and absolutely impregnable on an sides
| except from the mountain. American
| troops could never be whipped out of 1t,
| and when in future years rne place 81. Is
| pointed out where the Twenty fifth
| charged the hill the tourists Will put it
| down as a lie.
| do not know of ever having climbed
| hin as steep as this one, and | have had
| considerable experience. Leonhauser En-
| ochs and SharOne cOmpl,mented me highly
upon taking the hial with The scouts, but
|
| twice with his pistol at the same man
missed, but we neither got the man.
one of the prisoners said that four
| wounded men were carried off by the in
surgents and we killed one in tree, so
we left our mark on the force. My feet
| bothered me quite a little, being very
sore but they VIII be an right soon.
| We had 945 men in action, and one kill
ed so we got off pretty well Gen. Grant
| is going against Aquno with about
regiment. and we will be in another scrap
| pretty soon I am willing to charge any
| place and go anywhere, but | want my
| command to come with me, and not re-
main behind and shoot at me when l get
| in front. l am going to recommend Sergt
| Lghtfoot, Company X, for certificate.
Of merit for his splendid work for ne
would go anywhere / wanted him to.
Martin was as game as a pebble, and a
| hrst-class man all around. When we were
within thirty feet of the top of the hill
and getting 1t from both ways, | thought
we were surely gone, but the Lord was
| looking out for us both. That is my clos