Evening star., 1900-02-05
EXPERIENCE AT THE FRONT
Lieutenant Mckinney Tells What Uncle
Sans Soldiers Are Doing.
Was in the Fight With the FiIipfnos
When Major Logan Was
Killed.

tive of Maryland, but for many years re-
sided in Washington, having attended Co.
lumban College and later being employ ed
in the War Department. He went through
the Porto Rico campaign and was then COM
missioned in the volunteer army organized
for service against the Filipino insurgents.
The letter is dated from Cervantes prov
ince of Leponto. Isle of Luzon, December
y, 1899, and is written upon leaves taken
from the rebel General Pillars portfolio 1t
reads as follows:
Sleet, snow, b,iZzards, turkey, cram
berry sauce and Christmas presents are
doubtless the order of the day with YOU
While shade, rice, mountain climbing and
Agulnaldo are the things most important
IN our minds at the present time. After
landing at Manila we did outpost duty for
five days at La Iona Church when we
We're sent to San Fabian. We landed the
Ith of November under cover of a very
heavy fire from the gunboats in the bay
and had a little scrimmage on the sand.
our battalion reformed on the plaza by the
church, when Company E (my company
was sent to hold the bridge for two days
and night, when We were relieved and came
INTO the town and got fine quarters in the
nIra huts, of which the village is composed
Or the 10th took a town about three
miles to the south of San Fabian with only
two of our men wounded, but with a loss
OF twenty-five for the Filipinos.
Major Logan Killed.
THE following morning the whole regi-
ment advanced on San Jacintos After the
column had advanced about two and a half
or three miles Maj. John A. Logan, who
was with the point was snot through
the head by Filipino sharpshooter, who
was on the top of a cocoanut tree. That
developed the position of the enemy and a
fight in dead earnest was in progress in
two minutes The battle formation here
is to deploy and simply advance in line of
skirmiShers. As it happened my CFG) COM
pany was on the extreme right; company
II was on cur left. and the two were IN
the hottest of it from start to finish. My
platoon was the first to reach the church
in the town. We fought for two and a half
or three miles through canebrakes, rice
fields, rank and tall grass from six to
eight feet high: through villages of nipa
huts with insurgents shooting in all direc-
tions from trenches, huts and tops of palm
trees and across rivers neck deep. We
came to one stream which the men said
could not be crossed. 1t made me so hot ]
jumped in myself and sank to my neck
straight down. l thought then the men
were right but after that they all piled in
and were across in a minute. We after
ward crossed q number of very swift and
sometimes deep streams. One of the men
thought / was drowning once Il am so
smalD and waded down to pull me out
but l was only ducking my head for a cool
off. One of our boys, Private Pettus fell
almost in my arms. shot through the head.
He died instantly. ] took his belt and gun
and went on, but had to throw them away
at one of the rivers. At the time Pettus
was shot Tanner (of my company ran up
for me to tie up his wrist. He had teen
shot by a brass explosive bullet. Our SER
geant major lost his left arm and Castillo
Mexican and Interpreter of my company.
was shot through the left lung He may
recover. Capt Green was shot in the leg
and McHay of my company finished the
.aa1 +h1+ =I,o 1.
of H company shot through the head
and killed, and the old hospital steward
that went TO Mai. Logan's assistance was
killed instantly. We had seven of our regi-
ment killed and l don't know how many
wounded, but, as one of my men said, who
was wounded and came over the field later
there were dead F'ilhpiners' scattered
everywhere We stayed in the town one
night and then pulled ou Our companv
had the heaviest loss in killed and wounded
The March Northy.ard
"On the 21st of November we started on
our march northward First we went east
to San Fabian, then north to Condor, max
ing forty miles the first two days. From
Condor we marched eastward over the
Tilad mountains to Angai, then south to
Cervantes AT Condor our troubles began
Our road from there was a steep and rug
ged mountain trail
Half way up Tilad pass we had one of
record.
Gen. Gregerio de Pillar occupied a position
that would have been impregnable to any
but blue-shirted American soldiers under
Uncle Sam, to whom nothing is impossible
When around with a krag-Jorgensen. That
battlefield was spread out like a painting
From below ii looked more like a picture
| than stern reality. Company was an
hour in the lead over the trail, where we
had to travel single file. The point -four
mem was ahead: then came my bugler and
myself, he leading Capt Davies horse and
l leading my own:, then followed the rest
| of the company, under the captain
THE insurrectos allowed us to get with
| in thirty-five or forty feet of them before
they disclosed their position, when our first
| intlmation of their presence was a volley
| OF Mauser bullets, which tore I'D the
| ground like a harrow. Imagine our posi-
| ton Forty feet, say, beneath them, in full
| view, was one company, that could not
| even see the enemy's position, and an hour
| away from reinforcements of any kind
| Well, that one little company did the best
| they could, picking off the natives when
| ever one showed his head. They came out
| of the trenches and threw down rocks upon
| us, yelling and taunting with American
| slang too filthy to put in writing Finally
| the rest of our battalion came into view
| way down the trail they looked like ants
| crawling on a crack in floor. Company
1 II executed flank movement, which saved
| the day. Immediately HIS fire commenced
| we charged up the pass. You would have
| thought the insurgents were repaid for
| Z.
| Their general lay dead across the pass
| with a hole through his head.
| Il was the first officer to pass Cen
| Pillars body, but as I had expected they
| would make a stand at the next trench /
| did not stop.
Warm Fight.
'The captain and 1 both left our horses
down the trail, held by the same man when
his was shot. That was a mighty warm
| fight, and I don't want to be placed in a
more uncomfortable position as long as ]
live. l overheard the bugler, an old fellow
who has been a borderman all his life, and
who went up San Juan Hill with Roose-
welt, say he would be - if he would fol.
low Lieut.. Mckenney any more 1 assured
him that Lieut. McKenney would have beer
| with his company instead of so far ahead
II he had known what was in front
| I'VE nearly froze to death that night or
the mountain, four thousand feet above sea
level. Well, after We got to Cervantes 4
| part of the battalion went off for two days
| and 1 was left acting adjutant for the re-
| manning detachment and commanding Com.
| pany Z. Gen. Conception surrendered tc
| the detachment which went out, and re
| ceived him and his staff with a pair O,
Pillars trousers on. We have had no gov
| ernment rations for weeks and weeks, an(
| ltx-fn ofP he