The National tribune., 1902-06-05

| left into line facing one of the sides of
the Spanish square and stood at ease
with all the GOODNESS and self-possesSion
of men to whom the receiving of the sur
render of 5000 men was almost n daily
occurrence. Gen. Merritt having finally
| arranged the exact terms of surrender by
consultation with the Governor General in
the Archbishops Palace, the Spaniards
stacked arms and the OregOns put guard
over them, several other companies hav-
| ing arrived by this time. Then. in accord
| ance with the terms of surrender. the
| Spanish troops were marched to quarters
| assigned them in the various large church
es in the walled city. to remain under the
| orders and custody Of their own officers.
| AT this juncture the royal ensign of Spain,
which had until now been flying from the
| official staff on the walls of Fort Santiago,
which constitutes the corner of the walled
city abutting the river and facing the bay.
was lowered and Old Glory went up in its
place, to remain there forever is the hope
of every man who saw it rise.
Lieut.. Brumbv. Admiral Dewey's Flag
Lieutenant, had brought ashore flag TO
hoist, and with an escort of Co. a of the
Orogons he proceeded to Fort Santiago to
give it to the breeze as the official signal
of occupation of the city by the Ameri-
cans. With him were several others,
among them Lieut.. George w. Povey. of
my own company, who, being on special
duty with the Quartermaster' Depart
ment, had been enabled to get into the
city in advance of the company. His
hands were on the rope that hauled down
the rcd-and-gold symbol of Spanish tyran-
ny and raised in its place the starry flag
of liberty. the visible sign that the light
of a new era of civil liberty was breaking
upon the darkness of the Orient. AS the
Spanish flag came down women cried and
men cursed, while the natives took it all
in that stolid and non-committal mood
long experience had taught them was wise
to assume. But when the beacon of lib
erty rose i'll the air there came Il burst of
cheers, and from outside the wall came
the jubilant strains of THE Star Spangied
Banner where my own battalion stood
with uncovered heads, while the band of
the Oregon regiment played the National
anthem. We had paused in our hasty ad-
vance to pay this respect to the emblem
of our country. Then we entered the city
to the support of those who had preceded
u.s.
A story in connection with this incident
is worth relating The Oregon band was
composed of men detailed from the ranks
and not enlisted as musicians, and in con-
sequence it was not celebrated for the
superior quality of its music. few days
after the surrender Pierre Boeringer, the
newspaper artist to whom ! have already
referred, visited our quarters and in the
course Of conversation with Il group of
officers said:
81 understand that men and women
cried when the Oregon band played The
Star Spanglcd tanner"
We assured him such was the case, and
his only response was, And well they
might
Another incident of the surrender. pos
sihly more or less ampliiied by repetition,
supplied mirth upon occasion in the off
GERS quarters. Col Summers was APP
pointed Provost-Marslia of the walled
city by Gen. Merritt Immediately upon the
surrender. and upon him devolved the duty
of conducting the details of the surren-
der, taking possession of the captured
property, guarding everything and polio
ing the city. Field artillery from the
trenches had been brought in, and Col.
Summers directed a staff officer to take
charge of the artillery and park it. A lit
tie later the officer returned with the re-
port that he had been unable to find a
park anywhere except the little plaza
where the surrender occurred. and was
ordered to do the best he could There
upon the officer directed the artillery to
be hauled upon the restricted area of the
plaza, turning deaf ear to the protests
of the Spanish officers that the regular
housing for the guns was but two blocks
away and that the guns would suffer il
left out in the rain. Tasting the Joys of
military activity for the first time. and
deeply impressed with the necessity for
obeying orders literally, the officer who
had been instructed to park the artillery
refused TO put it under cover in an ar
mory. and it was parked in the nearest APP
proach to a park he could find. Incidental
ly, also. several million gallons of rain fell
upon the uncovered guns that night
The streets around the plaza were
paved with Belgian blocks, and upon these
the battalions stacked arms and then the
men sat down in their places in line to
eat what was left of the ration they had
brought with them, distributing with
thoughtless prodigality they regretted the
next morning samples of the ration to the
gazing natives, and at the same time
'.Joshing' them in mingled Spanish and
English.
Solemn as was the occasion and great
the event. big with potency for the future,
the irrepressible humor of the volunteer
asserted itself, and wit and army wisdom
flowed and dubbed from one end of the
line to the other. If there is a being on
earth calculated by disposition to extract
sunbeams from cucumbcrs. it is the Amer
lean soldier No danger is too great and
no discomforts too depressing to obscure
for him the humor of the situation or pre-
vent him from making light of it. "Kick'
he will, in season and our, but he even
nahes Il Joke Ol tHe KICK ltSel1 II there Is
the least opportunity for doing So Men |
tally and physically active and alert and
strongly individual and seIf-reliant. he !
does not accept conditions with the stolid
Indifference and accomplishing submis-
sion of the soldiers of Europe. He kicks, |
he jokes he laughs and he keeps eternal |
ly doing something with both mind and |
body, but when action is desired, when |
danger is to be met with courage and in |
telligence, when trust is to be discharg- |
ed, then it is he shines forth the most eff |
Gent, the NEST self-reliant, the most re-
liable and withal the best-natured soldier |
on earth. Whether he be wet OF dry, hun
cry or well fed, cold or warm well clothed |
or in rags, sick or well, give him some
thing to do that taxes his courage, resolu- |
ton and intelligence, and he will do it |
with vim, the while making joke of his |
discomforts and dangers, growing more |
because he cannot get at the enemy than |
cOngratulating himself because the enemy |
cannot get at him.
Go be continued.}
Wnrk Wall nnno