The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1901-11-22

istfc of his Confederate Days.
A very important incident in the
Philippine career OF General Joe Wheel
er the distinguished veteran Of two
wars. has been overlooked by the news
paper correspondents in Uncle Sans
Hcw possessions. Captain William l..
Sibcrt. now in charge Of the Louisville
office Of the United states engineer
corps, was the only eyewitness to the
episode. says the Washington Post At
the time he wAs chief engineer Of the
Eighth army corps. then operating In
northern l.uzOn. Official record Of the
incident appears in General MacAr-
thurs recently issued reports.
The particular page Of history here
for the first time revealed tells how
General Wheeler. cOstumed Ia the garb
OF good Father Adam. with supple.
ment iu the way ~ a tattered hat.
went IN swimming because he wanted
immediate facts Oh the condition OF
wrecSed railroad bridge The camera
fiend was "a long way OF at the time
the thing occurred. but Captain Sibert
was fortunate enough later to secure a
photograph of the exact spot in which
his lllustrious superior officer took the
plunge.
Everybody remembers when General
Wheeler climbed a tree just before the
battle Of Santiago in order to gcs
obove the tors OF the bushes. 50 he
could secure an unobstructed view Of
the Spanish lines The idea Of an old
fellow beyond sixty and major gen.
eral shining up a tree raised a great
laugh az the time. but the veterans
who had served with Fighting Joe"
said that IL was trick 10 which he
had often resorted during the civil
war.
The maneuvcr in the Philippines.
however, more than doubly discounts
the tree episode At Tarlac on NOV.
is 1899, General Wheeler went swim.
ming for the purpose Of investigating
q railroad washout. portion Of the
debris lay in water seven feet deep.
part Of which was a swiftly running
stream. II there Is any other major
general who AZ the age Of sixty-four
diyestcd himself of his uniform and
plunged into a treachcrous stream un-
der similar circumstances. history has
failed TO record il. General Wheeler's
report says on the subject:
/ walked ACROSS .p0J icet % oycya0wcI railroad
track at the end Of which found that the track
and r0adbad were entirely lolg ior a distance %
tb0ut 2l0 feet The tr.t thirty feet Of this break
F.T.I.'H
90 eight fee in depth. By exploring The bottom
d the river ] f1und part ot what lad been
span ~ a bridge, tHe iron rails still ldHcring 90
the s,rugar. This . a.ltrt4ineI hy personally
feeling the iron rIils and s-ringcr. seven feet be-
low tle surface. alta my hands Continuing the
examination. Q next found series of brick pIlrs.
about hitecn Zoo number aI, however. beneath
the surface. Beyond these brick piers
found a rapid run 0i water about 10 feet wide.
Che gruItCst depth, ~ six feet being near f.a
north eide. where tie railroad commences again.
] aitcrwlrd crossed the river and examined
the railroad north gf 90.
AS there was not a boat within fifty
miles Of the spot, all of this getting
around in the rapid stream was done
by swimming. IL was very necessary
that the work on the washOut be com
pleted within few days for the pur-
pose Of forwarding supplies TO the sol
diers who We're operating against the
insurgents beyond the river. That was
the reason why General Wheeler was
In such great haste 10 ascertain the ex-
act condition OF the wreck and the
length Of time 1t would require 10 re-
pair the track. The engineer soldiers
who were at work upon the washOut
were a considerable distance farther
back along the track. and 30 none save
Captain Sibcrt witnessed the generals
swimming feat. The nearest newspa-
per correspondents were several miles.
away. either at the front or I'm the rear.
Naturally none OF them supposed that
there would be any such history max
ing M mudhole like the Tarlac wash
out, which was at once many miles
from the enemy and the American
headquarters
The bathing costume Of General
Wheeler was Identical with the one In
vogue I'm Georgia during the last year
OF the civil war-namely, an cid slouch
hat and a very determined expression
Of countenancc. The general did not
explain why he wore this hat, as he
was under the water almost as much
OF the time as he was on the surface
General Wheeler showed that he was
an adept at swimming every stroke
known. The swlftness Of the current
apparently gave him but little trouble.
and when he got ready TO 90 to the bot.
tom hc went down like rock and
stayed under an alarmlngly long time.
He hardly stopped TO rest five minutes
at time, but splashed as Justify as a
young porpoise from the moment he
plunged In until he clambered back up
the bank.
General Wheeler's friends have al
ways known OF his prowess as a swim.
mcr At Santiago he jumped off one
OF the army transports and took a dip
In the sea.