The Powder River County examiner and the Broadus independent. [volume] (Broadus, Mont.) 1919-1935, 1919-06-20


our way. The enemy shooting mighty close
too. The trenches were awfully hard to pick up
although we were only about $50 yards away
They were on hill and had carried their dirt
away.
The battalions made slow progress on the
Hanks on account of the thick underbrush. The
enemy had an immensely strong natural position
and had they had few machine guns and some
barbed wire they could not have been rooted out
without great loss of life.
"A call went up for hospital apprentice as
Corporal Frazee had been shot in the head. He
had been working hard getting his gun pointed on
the enemy and had just succeeded.
"'You are right them now; give them fits
were the last words he said
His pointer was also shot in the head and two
others were wounded in the arm. corporal in
the Thirteenth company shot twice while
operating a Benet-Mercier. He refused to leave
his gun and had to be carried away struggling to
get back into the fight
"Nhlle this was going on our other guns be-
gan to come up one at a. time and we obtained
fire superiority the enemy, who shot very
wildly from now This last is an after iudg-
ment. At the time they seemed to be just MISS
ing me. don't know how the other men felt
but l expected to be shot any minute and just
wanted to do as much damage possible to the
enemy before cashng in. Several members of
our platoon did cool and creditable work in chang
Ing cartridge eXtractorS and repairing jams I'M
der fire.
I'VE faced the enemy much as possible while
repairing the guns, had horror of being
shot in the back
"One Of the sweetest sounds ever heard was
the cheering of the infantry battalion as it charged
the right flank trenches of the enemy Gunnery
Sergeant Ralph was among the first of these. He
had a pistol fight with the rebel general in COM
mand. Ralph and some other man with rifle
hit him at about the same time. Result-exit
general.
1--WE moved up IT, the trenches after the battle
and reformed, getting equipment together
Corporal Frazee died soon after being hit and
was buried within few feet Of the place where
ne nad fought so well. The enemy lost very
heavily and If Santo Domingo was not an island
some of those birds would be running yet"
Maj. Gen. ]. Franklin Bell now in command
of the eastern department, with headquarters on
Governors island. won the medal in the Philip
pines AS colonel Of the Thirty-sixth infantry he
was proceeding along the San Antonio Porac road
to head off band Of insurgents who had attacked
the Ninth infantry at Guagua and Santa Rita
Colonel Bell, mounted, was riding near the head
of the advance party and had with him Lieut.
COL William r. Grove, Major Straub, two mount
ed orderlfes and about twelve scouts on foot.
Just at dawn the party fired upon from
what seemed fairly large body of insurgents
hidden in the brush The American fire dislodged
the enemy. about seven of them running down the
road around bend. The scouts pursued them
but Colonel Bell saw at once that the men, with
their heavy equipment were being easily outdis-
tanced by the lightly clad Filipinos and he dashed
after them on his horse.
Before Major Straub or the two mounted order
lies knew what he doing, Colonel Bell was
far down the road in the midst of seven strug
Cling insurgents, firing with his revolver and
slashing about with his saber.
The mounted men gallOped to his assistance
and the infantry supported him best they could
with rifle fire, although it almost impossible
to shoot, tangled up were the insurgents and
Colonel Bell.
The officer would have been perfectly justified
in remaining with his troops even behind them
and merely directing the dislodging assault and
for charging alone and driving into the jungle at
least seven Fflipinos, with two officers among
them the Medal of Honor was awarded to him.
Two Of the few medals awarded in the war
against Spain went to second class fireman and
a coppersmith board the battleship Iowa.
While the vessel cruising in Cuban waters
July 20. 1898, at about seven o'clock in the morn
ing manhoe gasket blew out in one of the
boilers in fire No. 2
Under 120pounds pressure, live steam roared
out into the room and boiling water swashed
around the floor.
In the adjoining compartment were Robert
Penn, second-cass fireman. and P. B. Keefer, q
coppersmith. Hearing the wild of the es-
Gaping steam they dashed to the door Of fire
room No. 2.
The men who had been working there blinded
by the escaping steam, foundering in the scald-
ing water, had been so overcome that they could
not get out One Of the coal passers had already
sunk to his knees and was dropping forward.
In a matter of seconds he would have toppled
into the water and been boiled to death.
Undaunted by the terrifying roar OF the steam