The National tribune., 1903-08-13
AN OUTPOST INCIDENT.
Story of the nsugent Night Attack Manila, and the Re-
pulse OF the Filipino Army.
By S. Nj. SHIELDS.

y t.J
with the British army in India and South
Africa, andi was as brave as he was ex,
quisite. ne
His companion was of an entirely differ
ent type. a lean. wizened. swarthy Yer
mont Yankee,i he was only a few months
discharged lfram the Regular cavalry when
he joined us at Frisco. He was as sloven
as Fifty" was neat. and wore as many
ill-fitting rags rs n tramp. He was de-
cidedly Outspoken. and but for an incur
able habit of stammering would have been
! the most tluently versatile .swearer in the
regiment. However. he was brave to
foolhardiness,- and courted the presence Of
danger. .4.4, s.. a-
SURROUNDED BY INSURGENTS.
They were alarmed by the heavy firing,
but had resolved not to leave their post
without orders. We could see signal rock
cts ascending in front of us, but no attack
had yet been made / instructed them to
hold their position as long as possible as
the safety of the whole party might de-
pend on them. Just as l turned around
to leave, we heard a scattering yolley in
front of our outpost a the forks. A body
of men could be dimly seen stealing for
ward between us and the road. Our re-
treat was cut off and the only chance of
ing upon us, lay in cOncealment. Throw
ing ourselves fiat on the ground, we crawl
ed through the dense thicket as noiseleSsly
as possible. We kept together, and man
aged to reach a large water-hole without
discovery. As we crept into this, a cara
bao which has been enjoying a bath in the
Shiny fluid clumsily climbed out on the op-
pOSite side Apparently reassured by our
silence. it re-entered the pool, and lay
| IL r iGfn af.- 20
managed to bury ourselves in the water,
leaving our faces above the water, under
The overhanging foliage along the edge.
| 1t was no desirable berth, but anything
was better than capture by our savage as
sailants. Our guns lay covered with leaves
in easy reach on the bank. Escape seem
ed hopeless, but we were determined to
sell our. lives; as dearly as possible.
The boys at the forks had returned the
Insurgents fire with a pretty volley. We
could tell from the noise that they We're
slowly retreating down the road toward
the reserve. The natives pressed after
them with hdeOus yclls and curses in their
mongrel jargon.
Our situation was by no means enviable.
| We could hear the enemy drawing near
er, and a hail of bullets swept over us
toward the road. A stray shot must have
struck our neighbor, the carabaO, for he
snorted wildly and plunged madly through
the advancing line. With fierce threats
against all foreigners, and loud boasts Of
the plumber they would find il Manila on
the morrow. the foe hurried by. They
seemed to think the whole American army
was retreating. and it was all over but the
shouting. One dusky warrior almost step
ped on my,,nptGyned face as he stumbled
through the, brush to the edge of the wa
ter hole. The other boys had equally
narrow ESCAPES. but the line soon passed,
and we could draw u full breath once
more. A fierce, battle was raging in the
south, and more than one bullet struck
the surrounding trees, or fell in the water
near us. Our men appeared to be holding
their own. as the firing did not become
more distant. The filthy water chilled
our bodies until our teeth chattered so
loudly feared the noise would betray US
to the enemy. who was continually pass
ing. Our limbs were cramped and chilled.
The odor OF, the ,decayed matter in the wa
ter overcamA u.s.. Still we dared not move
AbOuty3 o'clock the moon arose, and
shone directly in our faces. We were glad
the muddy water hid our bodies so well.
Time passed. each minute seeming as long
as n full hour Finally it became light
enough to size up the situation. No Fill
pinos were in sight. but we dared not
leave our cover, as the enemy was between
us and safety. The sufferipgs of the day
were tenfOld worse than our experience
during the night. Under the blazing sun
our faces were burned as if by fire. Nor
gan was cursing his luck, and declared he
would make n bold break for safety, rath
er than ''die like wolf in a trap"
Fifty" was of like mind, and complain
ed most ruefully of the filthy condition
of his clothing. Really he whispered,
Il should be ashamed to he rescued in so
horrid make up"
A FILIPINO ROUT.
I restrained their impatience till 10
o o'clock. when the Insurgents began falling
back before the fierce onslaught of our
fellows. Back they hurried, too busy with
their dead and wounded to make our posi-
ton very dangerous We could hear the
ringing cheers of our hardy mountaineers
as they poured deadly volleys into the fu-
gitves. One panic-stricken Tagal flung
his rifle into our hiding place as he fell
wounded on the very edge Of the pool.
Some comrades picked him up and hur
ried on. Had they tried to recover his
weapon. discovery would have been inevi-
table But their purSuers We're too c.Ose
and they scarcely glanced in our direction
as they fled. We drew even lower in the
water till our nOstrils were barely above
the green scum on the surface. The ma
tives had all passed, and the long line of
boys in brown were drawing nearer. We
arose stifIly to our knees and regained our
pieces. We were still unseen by the en-
emy. But Morgan longed for vengeance
An officer was trying to rally the panic
stricken mob, not more than n hundred
yards north of US. He was partially sue
cesSful, and a number stopped in their
fight and faced about.
Morgan carefully covered the officer and
sent a Springfield bullet through his head.
We gave an eXultant yell and sprang to
our feet A heavy vOlley was the result
of Morgan's rashness. ! felt sudden
shock and fell over backwards in the pond
felt the tepid water closing over my face.
4 ringing in my ears almost burst my
head, and l knew no more. When l open
ed my eyes Capt Callahan was bending
over me and Surgeon was pinning
bandage across my chest. MY boy" the
Captain said, '.Nou have a hole in your
right lung, ,but that will heal, if you keep
a stout hearth,
What has become of the other fellowsW
| asked feebIy. Poor Banks was killed.
but the rest of the party are all right, ex
cept few q scratches" l was sent to
the hospital at once. The last thing 1 saw
as two Chinos carried me to the rear was
Fifty" washiHg his clothes, and trying
to restore the l9ster of his shoes with a