The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1901-03-15

lN tween n'"s ,..a a "a Get, ,,H h%sat @9,,s.S Of
Infantry and a force OF GV u Cailles's
men. variously estimated from 200
20 $50. OF these lnsurgent} some were
holomen and hence did not lket Into the
thick Of the fight, but IT bpeaks well
for the valor and fighting tkill OF the
nine Americans that they were not
overwhelmed and killed Od carried of
as prisoners.
The detachment consisted Of nine
men from l. Company and was In
charge Of Sergeant PhIlbon. who had
orders 10 go TO the town OF Paete on
the Laguna de Bay and bripg back the
meat ratiOns for the post He set out
about daylight on the morning Of De
.ember 81 10 march from lumbar, the
company headquarters. dpwn along
he river and lake front to faete. The
wear closed in a spell 81 glorious
Weather, and the men swung along
With easy gait through long stretches
IF cool, shady cocoanut grdves.
Nothing Of note Occurrep until the
men had gone about half the distance,
when a native was seen TO run across
the road a short distance in front Of
them. 1t was undoubtedly surprise
for both parties. but though the native
escaped, the soldiers found a bit of pa
per in the bushes where he had disap-
,eared. on the paper was a message
rom the insurgent General OF the dis
trlct to the local commander ordering
an attack TO be made on lumbar at
sunrise Of the following ddy.
The little party made apl haste TO
Paete. where they reported the discOY-
cry and notified the Lumbah company
to be prepared for the attack. As soon
as the fresh meat and PROFESSIONS had
been secured the detail hurried of
again so as TO reach Their company In
time TO become mixed upI in the eX-
pected scrap, but it turned out they
had row that was all thelt own.
II was after dark whe1 they left
Pactc, but the moon was w. and the
night was clear, and they itged along
the heavily laden pack pobcs at top
speed Suddenly, just aftkr the de-
tachmcnt passed through nhe barrio
Of San Juan, the insurGet us opened
fire from the front and bog sides Of
the road.
II was a pretty lively surprise, but
In n moment the ponies had been run
off 10 the side and Philbot had dis
tributcd "!s men TO the bfst advan-
tagc. Then firing began iIj earnest.
with nothing more than fhe fash OF
the rides to guide them, tls' men lay
fiat i'm the road, firing regularly and
trying to locate the scattetcd enemy
and make every shot count. For half
an hour the uneven struggle was main
tanned, and then as the moon rose
higher and higher the insurgents could
be seen gradually closing in on all
sides.
Early in the fight Sergeaft PhilboD
was wounded. but he said npthing and
went on giving commands y naturally
that some of the men did not know of
his hurt. shortly aftcrwatd Private
Kcarney was hit, aud his, comrades
pulled him to place of shfcty, and
then Phlbon was wounded again.
In the meantime the Paeic garrison
had heard the shooting and Captain
Smith aud Lieutenant Banf0rd rushed
out with relief party. They arrived
none too soon, for the insurgents were
closing in rapidly and firing so quick
ly that il was evident that they were
well supplied with ammunition. When
the relief arrived the insurgents made
for the hills as fast as they could.
When rescued the ammunition of the
Americans was well nigh. exhausted,
and some of the men would have
given little for their chances of eating
the New Years dinner. Pbilbon was
hit four times. One of the shots shat
tered his left hand and blew off the
bolt of his gun. Private Brannon was
missing. and it is almost certain that
he was carried off by the retreating
enemy.
Five or six Filipinos were found
dead and four others were picked up
SO badly wounded that they could not
crawl away. All the wounded men
were taken To the American hospital
at Santa Cruz, where they are receiv.
ing all possible attention.-N York
sun.