El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1901-03-19

Glad TO get home again? Well,
should say so. I feel like a boy going
to circus for the first time. In fact
1 can scarcely realize that ] am no
longer subject to the daily grind of
soldiers life"
The speaker was James T. Witt eX
trooper of the 18th U. S. cavalry just
landed from the Philippines. He was
tall and straight. with a sun-tanned
face and tn epeculiar stride of the man
who has spent much of his life in the
saddle. The Herald reporter met him
in the corridor of the Sheldon hotel; his
story was modestly told and was only
elected after considerable interroga
ton. Pieced together 1t was about as
follows:
It formerly lived here in Ell Paso and
filled a position with DR. Race during
the smallpox epidemic out here. I en-
listed in the 18th U. S. cavalry on Sep
TENDER 2, 1899, and left San Francisco
September % on board the transport
Sherman. We had on board the 30th
infantry regiment. a detachment of the
SO tn infantry, and a detachment of the
18th cavalry. which gave total of
ZOO men beside the crew. We were
seven days making Honolulu and IS
days from Honolulu to Manila, arriving
there'October q. We landed the same
day and received our carbines, pistols.
! and ammunition, and that night
marched nine miles to a place known
as the water works. it being the pump
ing station from which Manila obtains
its water supply. We were stationed
there until December. 1899. during
| which time we remained inactive ex-
| cept being sent out on scout duty oc-
OCCASIONALLY.
"On the night of December Is we re-
| ceived orders to move on to San Mateo.
General Lawton was in command and
| it was the night before he received his
death wound. The town of San Mateo
is situated on the east side of the Mara
quino river and our forces approached
from the west side so that the river it
self was between us and the town. All
river were fields of ribbon cane, and
the enemy were we'll entrenched on
| their side of the river in front of the
town. Our forces were composed of
cavalry. (dismounted) infantry, and ar
tillery. All the troops did not come up
that night, being detained by heavy
fall of rain. but they came up during
the latter part of the fight. The state
ment has been made relative to Gen
eral Lawton's death that he was picked
off by sharp shooter. But it is a
mistake The fight opened in the
morning about or s o'clock. Our men
were we'll sheltered by the cane brake
and were gradually moving forward.
General Lawton, who was always in the
front of the fight. stepped out on a ris-
ing piece of ground in plain view of the
enemy. He had on long rain coat
and his big helmet and as he was very
tall he made a conspicuous figure. The
enemy rose in the trenches and fired a
volley and the general was hit. They
are such bad shots that no single man
could have picked him off in my opin-
ion. 1 did not see General Lawton fall
as / was with number of other men
who had been detached and sent higher
up the river with the object of cross
ing it and attacking the town with
flank movement. but that is the story
told by men who were close to Lawton.
An orderly came to our colonel with
the message that General Lawton had
been shot. and he took command
General Lawton only lived few
minutes after he fell. The town was
captured after some hard fighting. We
di not know how many of the enemy
were killed. as their bodies We're car
ried off by their comrades.
Lieut.. Curry's Watch Chain Shot Away.
-Four or five days after the fight at
San MateO We had another Skirmish
with the insurgents at place called
Matlebon. |. however. did not take
part in that as | had been taken down
with typhoid fever and remained in the
hospital for As days: in fact l was sick
ffand on up to June. when l reported
again for duty. | mention the fight at
Matlebon for the reason that it was
during that scrap that Lieut.. Curry of
AlamOgOrdo and we'll known here had
his watch chain shot away.
The night l reported for duty the
enemy made an attack upon the town
where we were stationed Santa Cruz
in the Laguna province. They came up