Omaha daily bee., 1902-05-11

A want to give you some stories of
fEg5EAl army life in the Philippines. Tn
49, country is full of them. Every
soldier has his adventures and there are
thousands of unknown heroes whose deeds
deserve credit. In other wars the acts OF
bravery are connected with great engage
ments. when, under the enthusiasm melted
by battle, men march to the cannon's
mouth. In the Philippines no man knows
when his life Is safe. Day and night, week
In and week out, the year through, the
soldiers who are in the field are subject to
ambush. There Is not a hundred acres in
the whole Of Luzon which has not a hiding
place for a murderous Filipino. The pick
cts are sometimes lassoed and killed before
they can speak. A party with a bullock
train is always liable to be shot at and
boloed. and a terrible uncertainty fills the
air. Amid all this our men laugh and joke
They have their sports, play ball ana TOSS
one another in blankets, going bravery on
with their lives In their hands. The ten
sion Is too great for some and they grow
insane, as you will see from the many such
cases on the sick list, but the great major
ity have fought their way along, doing their
duty with the full knowledge that II they
be SO murdered they will be merely marked
as missing, and go down to history unhoh-
ored and unsung.
Marrow Escape on Mount ArHynt.
Have you ever heard Of Sergeant Peterson
and Private Norval OF the Twelfth united
States regulars? ! venture not. l touh"
these two at Angeles in a cathedral whlcI
had been turned into a hospital. They nae
been brought in by troops a few DAYS De
fore. having been rescued from the FIJI
plnos on Mount Arayat. They were scarce
with bolos, their wounds were yet uh'
henled and In them still were about MAJ
n dozen Filipino bullets, ! sat beside tnen
en- their couches as they told NE the stol!
of their ambush. They had started out u
take a bullock train from Mapolocat an'
had been ambushed. A large band OF wv
pInos had shot at them and then attacks
them with bolos. Norval received five boil
cuts. He told me he did not feel IN
knives as they sank into his flesh ana
was only from the blood which flowed dow
his hack and chest that he knew he ma
been 80 badly chopped up.
Wounded as they were the Filipino
dragged them across the country to Moui
Arayat. There they found other prisoner
and a large body Of Filipinos. They wei
half starved and prosecuted during the
stay. They were guarded by men WI
thrust the guns into their faces and threa
ened TO shoot them. and at last, when OF
soldiers appeared, they were put on the
knees between them and the Flllplho
Said Sergeant Peterson to me:
The place where we were was almost i
accessible. bat Lieutenant Schenck lea u
colored troops right up the mountain
under the hre OF the Filipino guns l
fought his way step by step and at Ia
the Filipinos saw that they were oou
TO be taken. and they decided to nee
tbs time their general detailed nine IN
TO shoot the prisoners. We were placed
our knees and The general himself oFder
the firing. We all dropped. l was D
but not seriously. | pretended to De ue'
however. not daring to raise my head
fear they might know that ! was st
alive. They fred again and again ana
received another ball in my leg, out
Kept my head down.
after awhile l heard the sound OF ~
ming. and in about twenty minutes ran
M and looked about me. The enemy '
not in sight, so l rolled along to anotI
man who had been shot. lie had been
with a bolo over the right eye and ha'
bullet through his lungs. He begged