Hopkinsville Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1889-1918, 1903-10-16
THE MALlNGERER-
ny BERNARD BARpY

IL pass. The opening gun had
been fired-it might be said-al
most accidentally, and all through
the night of February 4, 1899, the
land side of Manila was semi
circle of crashing Springfelds
and suffering Krag-J orgensons.
Outside that semicircIe the Fill
ipinos were rapidly losing self
confidence and gaining respect for
the Americans. Within it the
United States troops Of the re
serve checked an attempt at an
uprising, and waited impatiently
for orders to the front. But that
semicircle remained unbroken
through the night.
In the cool of the morning the
"nyihg battalion of the First Cal
ifornia regiment hurried along the
read to El Paco to join the First
brigade. At intervals, a brown
face would peep through the door
of one of the nipa huts as the
troops passed, only TO De with
drawn quickly. There was con
tinuous conglOmeratiOn Of sound
very similar to the disturbance
created by any large city on indie
pendenee day. 1t increased in vol
ume as the soldiers moved. The
men should have been in a sober
frame of mind, but they seemed to
be thrilled with unholy JOY, for
they whistled to the effect that
there would be a hot time present
ly, and profane witticisms were
shouted from one end of the line
to the other. There was an impa-
tient acceleration of step, but the
Rhythmic swing of the blue sleeves
and the leggined limbs would
have passed muster at dress pa
rade.
They found the brigadier and his
staff on a little hillOck outside Of
FL Pace. The order their colonel
received was whispered through
the ranks: 1.-TWO companies to
the block house on the double.
Report to Col. Whalleyw The
commanding officer swung his
horse about and met the pleading
eyes of four captains. All of them
wanted the chance; but there was
no time to weigh their claims.
Fl and NJ" he said, quickly. A
sharp command, emphasized by an
oath, and, with a stihed cheer,
two companies rushed around a
bend in the road into the zone of
stray bullets, just as two crashing
reports that seemed to minimize
the incessant rattle of the rifles
announced that an American field
battery had begun to clear the way
for an advance. The Ecu of the
Mauser bullets overhead was the
signal for some instructive duck.
ing, and a repetition of the jest
ing, forced and otherwise. First
Sergt. Joyce, of T, was one of the
humOrists. of we were 40 feet
high a lot of us would be hit in the
head" he remarked.
The two companies trOtted up
a slight incline in the road to a
noisy little block house that al
most hid itself in the smoke of 30
Springfelds. In the shelter of the
block house a surgeon and two
hospital stewards were working
over some casualties" There
were white faces and bloody linen
bandages, and farther on some mo-
tionless forms with campaign
hats covering their glazed eyes
and set features, but even where
the knife glittered there was no
sound of complaint
To the right of the block house
was an irregular line of gray
smOke-puffs where a battalion Of
Washington volunteers was
sprawled behind a dixie in the rice
fields. One of them, a few yards
from the road, rose suddenly and
fell forward on his face. Two of
his fellows lifted him quickly and,
crOuching close to the ground,
half carried, half dragged, him to
the dressing station.
The captain of f company threw
aside his cigar, and turned to
Joyce, who lay close beside him.
His narrow eyes seemed a bit big
ger, and he gnawed his gray mus
tache refectively for an instant.