The Butte inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1901-1912, 1901-06-01

or Cowboy" as he was known. Rey-
holds was fire-eating Texan, trans
planted to South Dakota and from there
to Montana. He was, and is, a wlry,
hardy fellow, for he is now in San Fran
cisco following the arts of peace. He
has transferred his affections from the
wild cayuse of the plains to the front
end of trolley car, and now has the
right of way down the streets of the
Golden Gate city. Doubtless he often
yearns for the old roundup days, when
he was fitting his bow legs to the worst
buckers of the herd, and sticking to
them. too. for he rode like centaur.
And he would fight, too. 1t might be
guns, for all anyone knew; though he
carried no notched six shooter, and was
too brave to need weapon for men.
But he had two handy fists and the grit
of an emery wheel.
Cowboy made his debut into public
life as race horse rider, and was a
very successful jockey until increasing
weight put an end to that career. Then
he sravitated to the range, and for ten
years the plains of Dakota and western
Montana We're to him as an open book
Then he drifted to Bozeman, where he
was when the Spanish war broke out.
He enlisted in Company c of the Mon
ming of soldier career that is full of
honor.
1t was on the 9th or 28th of April,
1899, that the regiment was in the lead
at the attack on the strong Filipino
position at the River Rio Grande. The
day before they had seen the capture
Of the bridge at Calumpit. where Cen
eral Funston made his debut as a swim
mer The Filipinos had torn up the rail-
road track, SO that the armored train
that had been prepared for the advance
was of no service. They were strongly
entrenched on the opposite side of the
river, and local tradition asserted that
the place had been the high-water mark
Of the Spanish invasion; that no Spanish
soldier had ever passed that point, save
as a citizen. and that an army of 5000
Spaniards had once been met and ami
hilated.
Company c was in the advance on
the extreme left Of the line. near the
railroad. A hot fire came down the
track, blistering the young corn through
which the boys had to march, and final
~ an order came for the company to
retire to cover and wait for the artillery
to come up and do business with the
enemy. The company finally found
cover under one of the iron bridges
along the railrOad-a bridge built for
wet weather only, as there was no water
under it at the time The artillery,
after few hours wait, came into ac-
tiOn and was merrily roaring away
all the afternoon and evening. 1t was a
trOpically hot day. and the iron bridge
offered but scant protection from the
sun. The boys We're restless and ready
for trouble of almost any kind, either
foreign or domestic.
AS was natural, the conversation
turned to military matters. The Fill
pino fieldpiece up the straight stretch of
track, less than mile away, and the
large number of rifles that kept a con-
slant fusilade in that same direction,
SCATTERING lead on the fellows as the
bullets struck the steel of the bridge,
was all suggestive of war. Just at the
moment the topic was the charge at San
Juan hill, where the Rough Riders and
the colOred cavalry won fame as gallant
soldiers.
The statement was made, or under
stood to be made. that the colored man
was Just as good as any white. Per-
haps 1t was qualified in some way; no
one knew exactly. But Cowboy" I'M
derstood 1t in all it's offensiveness He
had come from the south, and was no
friend of the negro race. 1t took but