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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 8, 1903)
Dare -Devil Warriors of Japan X (Copyright, IMS, by T. C. McClure.) THK battle of the Yalu, one of . I fii th decisive conflict of the Chlno- JTm. I Jape nose war, while a Japanese t . gaUof WM standing on the rail of t -,- , f hla ship watching the enemy he was struck by a fragment of a hell, hor ribly wounded and knocked Into the aea. lie roac for a moment In a whirl of bloody foam, shouted to hla comrades, "Nippon baniai!" ("Japan forever!") then sank, to rise no more. This Incident Illustrates the dare-devil courage and absolute devotion of the mika do's great hearted little warriors. There are a thousand other true stories of ua Japanese army and navy which are fit v) keep It company and to prove that the men who will fight Japan's next battles rank among the best soldiers In the world. Of all these stories, the heroism of a private named Harada. during the siege of Plng . Yang, Is regarded In Japan as the most re markable. "I don't believe this story of the war with China has ever been told to the western world," said a Japanese merchant, now living in New York, "but In Japan It Is re garded as the classic Instance of national bra very. "The fort at Ping-Yang made a most des perate resistance. Again and again our troops tried to storm the gate, but the mas sive door was secured by a heavy Iron bar. and they could not gain entrance. They were beaten back, but Harada stayed be hind tinder the shelter of the battlements. While the enemy were triumphing over their victory, he quietly scaled the wall, and dropped down suddenly Into the midst of a hundred yelling Boxers. Before they leal lied who he was. he had shot a couple of them, bayonetted a third, thrown down the Iron bar and swung the gate open. "Then, for a few strenuous moments, he beid the gate alone against hundreds of Chinese, .until his comrades rushed up. cheering madly, and swarmed in and took the fort. They found Harada covered with blood and surrounded by a rampart of corpses but alive and only slightly rT, Me WM decort the mikado and Is today one of the national heroes of Japan." wI6" v' I0" "nd bana,s have' been S " Harada s exploit and his example is held up to all tho boys In the Japanese schools Me.a.r ,Adm,rT1 Kbakma Is another na tions hero. In the battle of the Yalu he Zll.1 .Tr1"1 f a raerchant eteamer which had been hurriedly turned Into a transport and mounted with a couple of 7hC adra,ra, d,d not expect the battle and almost before he knew what was happening, his feeble craft was cut off from the rest of the Japanese fleet ?h M"ed t0 .tHe "re f the blBt of the Chinese cruisers and battleships. It seemed impossible that It could escape destruction, but the admiral handled it beautifully dodging In and out among tho Chinese ships like a clever dancer in a crowded ball room. He crumpled up a torpedo boat with one of his rapid-fire guns and even had the audacity to pump some shot Into the battleships. A shell burst on the deck, but he kept as cool as a cucumber and calmly told two of hla officers to fetch their cameras and take ome pictures of the battle. Then another torpedo boat hurried "up and discharged a torpedo broadside at the ship. As the admiral saw it cutting through the water, he lit a cigarette and said to his officers, "Here comes our finish, gentle men !"-or the Japanese words to that ef fect However, the torpedo dived clean under the ship's keel and exploded far away on the other side. Things were growing too hot, and the admiral determined he would not be cap tured. He sent his ship full speed ahead and tried to ram the biggest Chinese battle ship. It dodged out of the way and the transport steamed on, little damaged, and rejoined the Japanese fleet. Kabayama's heroic fight takes rank with Blr Richard Grenvllles battle of "the one and fifty-three," but It had a happier end ing. Although his ship passed through a storm of shot and shell, only a few of the creV were killed or wounded. It Is often supposed thtu the Jups, though bravo enough, are careless of their comrades' lives and Imbued with the usiml oriental Indifference to suffering. But the records of the Japanese army and navy teem with numberless deeds of devotion and self-Bacrlnee which prove the con trary. At the bloody ba.'lle of Taping Shan a dying officer emulated Blr Philip Sidney by giving his water lwttle to a wounded soldier, although he was parched with thirst himself. "He needs it more than I do," he said, almost In Sidney's words. Consider, too, the heroic self-sacrifice of a private soldier named Orlhara Tamo kichl. His battalion had fought all day, and then marched over rough, snow-covered country until midnight. When at lust they bivouacked for the night, It was found that a wounr.ed soldier had fallen out of the column and been left behind, to perish In the snow. Orlhara was himself wounded and tired out, but he volunteered to go back and look for his eomruda. He found the man lying seoseleas In tlie snow, a mile away. He lifted him on his back and staggered toward the camp, but missed his way In a blinding snow storm and wandered about for over four hours before he found his comrades, and fell fainting with his burden before- the camp fire. Both men recovered, and are today serving In the Japanese army. Perhaps the strangest Incident of the Chlno-Japanese war wan the appearance of the famous Wel-hal-wcl baby. It Is discussed to this day In every Japanese barracks, and the story Is told to the tour ist who foregathers with the soldiers. During a lull In the land attack on one of the forts, a Chinese woman suddenly made her appearance In tbe firing line of the 8lxth division, apparently coming from nowhere. She was hurriedly ordered to the rear, and disappeared. A few minutes afterwards a lusty baby boy was found lying on the ground, beside a gun. Captain Higuchl Sells buro, who Is a fam ily man, picked up the baby and nursed It with experienced care. The bugle rang out for the advance of a storming party on the fort. The captain tried to hand his tiny captive over to a Chinese prisoner, but the youngster yelled as if he would go Into convulsions. He did not want to leave his friend, the enemy. The bugle rang out again, and, with the baby in one arm and his sword In the other hand, the gallant captain led the charge and captured the fort. The bay nestled to his breast, untroubled by the roar of bat tle, and. passed safely through the fight. After it was over a home was found for him in a Chinese village. At Hwangchlatai five Japs, led by a sergeant named Kadoda, routed a Chinese army. They were sent out by their gen eral to reconnolter the enemy's right wing and rear. - After getting the desired Infor mation, Kadoda thought he would do something on bis own account, so he worked around to the left flank and boldly led his men In a charge right Into the enemy's lines. They yelled so loudly and seemed to appear in so many places at once that thu Chinese thought it was a general attack, and the entire army fled in confusion. A remarkable trait of the Mikado's sol diers is their Indifference to wounds. It takes a great deal to make them stop fighting.- At the battle of Kaiplng a Jap anese private was shot through the head. Exercise for i OME entertainments, in which the H whole family and chance vis itors may join, are desirable dur- IV fl lng the long winter evenings. ' Some clever young women re cently devised a variety of authors game that has proved a great success. The way it is played Is for some one per son, generally the eldest of the party, to read from some such list of prepared ques tions as Is given herewith, with the rest of the company, who are seated in a circle, an swer In turn. If No. 1, after amlnute or two, cannot answer the question put. It is passed on until some one does answer it, and that person Is given credit. The one who answers the greatest number of ques tions Is given a little prize of some kind, and the "booby," of course. Is also pro vided for. Any bright-witted person onn get up questions of their own to supplement the list below, and work In any author wanted. The originators of the list here with given took up the names of standard authors for the most part: Q. What a rough man said to his son when he wished him to eat properly. A. Chaucer. Q.A lion's house dug Inside n hill where there Is no water. A. Dryden. Q. Pilgrims and flatterers have knelt low to kiss hip. A. Pope. Q. Makes and mends for first-class cus tomers. A. Taylor (Bayard Taylor). Q Represents the dwellings of civilixed men. A. Holmes. Q.-A kind of linen. A.- Holland (J. G.) Q. Is worn on the head. A. Hood. Q.- A name that means such fiery things, I in n't describe their pains and stings. A. Burns. Q. Belongs to a monastery. A. Prior. Q. Not one of the four points of the compass, but Inclining toward one of them. A. -Southey. Q. What an oyster heap Is apt to bo. . A. Shelley. Q. A chain of hills cuiilaining a dark treasure. A. Coleridge. Q. An American manufacturing town. A. Lowell. Q. Humpbacked, but not deformed. A. Campbell (pronounced cam'el). Q. An Internal pain. A. Aiken. Q. The value of a word. A. Words worth. Q.A worker In precious metals. A. Goldsmith. Q.A very vital part of the body. A. Ifarte fBret.) Q.A lady's garment. A.-'-Baxe (J. OX Q-Small talk and heavy weight. A.-- "One should not stop for a wound!" he cried, and plunged into the thick of the fight, after making a rough bandage. The bandage slipped, and In a moment he was deluged In blood from head to foot. Yet he raged among the Chinese like a bare sark Viking of old a spectacle so awe Infeplrlng that the enemy soon broke and fled. Then, and not till then, he allowed himself to be taken to the field hospital. The women of Japan are like the Spar tan heroines they tell their husbands and sons to come back from war "with their shields or on them." Many stories are told In relation to the Chino-Japanene war of the heroism of the women who were left behind when the men milled away from the Island kingdom to fight the Mikado's battles in Corea and Manchuria. When the Eighteenth Infantry was marching through a' little village on its way to embark for the front a Japanese woman named Mlkt Masu Insisted on speaking with one of the lieutenants who had been kind to her son, a soldier In the regiment. The lieutenant reluctantly consented, expecting that she would beg for his discharge from the army. But that was not her Idea, "I have come to thank you for your kindness to my son," she said, "and to ask you to see that he does his duty well. I am a widow and he Is my only son, but I have told him that when he goes Into bat tle he must be quite ready and willing to die for his emperor and his country. I have told him, too, that I shall die of shame If he disgraces himself by playing the coward. That Is the only thing I feel anxious about." The son, Choklchl fought throughout the war in gallant style, as he could hardly help doing after being trained by such a mother. He won honor and promotion and went back to her without a scratch. Another woman, whose son was her sole support, told him that he must return to the colors, for he was a reservist. "The duty to the flag," she said, "comes before the lesser duties to the home. Though I should die of starvation, you must not hesitate. You must think of your country, not of me." The Japanese leaders are worthy of their men. Several of them are men of brilliant ability and International reputa tion. In the event of war the people of Japan Your Wits Chatterton. ' . Q.A prefix and a disease. A. De Qulncey. Q. Comes from a pig. A. Bacon. Q- A disagreeable fellow to have on one's foot. A. Bunyan. Q.A shk place of worship. A. Church ill. Q.A mean dog 'tis. A. Curtis (George William). Q. An official dreaded by the students of Rngllsh universities. A. Proctor. ' Q. His middle name is suggestive of an Indian or a Hottentot. A. Walter Savage Landor. Q. A manufactured metal. A. Steele. Q.-A, game and a male of the human apecies. A. Tennyson. Q. An answer to "Which 'is the greater poet. William Shakespeare or Martin Tuu per?" A. Willis. Q. Meat, what are you doing? A. Browning. Q.--Is very fast indeed. A. Swift. Q.A barrier built by an edible. A. Cornwall (Barry). Q.-To agitate a weapon. A. Shuke epeare. Q. A. domestic worker. A. Cook (Rose Terry). Q.A slung expression. A. Dickens. Q - Pack her away closely, do not scat ter, and doing so you'll soon get at hr. A.- Stowc (Harriet Beecher). Q.A young domestic animal. A. Lamb. Q. "Mamma la in perfect health, my child." And thus he named u poet ini!d. A.- -Motherwell. Q.A girl's name and a male relation. A. Addison. Q. Put an edible betwixt an ant and a bee, and u much-loved poet you will sec. A. Bryant. Q.A common domestic animal and what It can never do. A. Cowiier. Q.A hoy's name and my child. A. Johnson. Q. Colorless and hard as rock. A. Blackstone. Q. Decidedly mixed up A.-Riley. Q. I'pper rooms. A. Story. Q. To secure with anchors. A. Moore. Q. Twice written. A.- Mark Twain. Q.A girl's name and light. A. Emer son. ' Q To wade. A.-Ford (Paul Leicester). Q.A dark color. A.-filack. Q. Always lively and bright, whether sober or tight. A. Gay. Q.-A watery sport. A. Roe (13. P.). Q. Is found near a vessel. A. Cable (George W.). Q. Is what authors want you te do. A. Reude (Charles), will look to Admiral Ito for great deeds. He is their Nelson. He commanded at the battle of the Yalu. Foreign offloers whe have served in eastern waters say he Is a genius in the handling of a fleet. At pres. ent he Is commanding the reserve squad ron. Japan's greatest general Is Viscount Kat sura, who has taken a prominent part la reorganising the national army on Euro pean models. He is a veteran who fought In the civil war which overthrew the 8ho gun and crested the new Japan. In hi youth he Ik came famous for reckless rour ago In battle; lstcr In life he proved him self to be a great general, just as careful of hla men's lives as he had been careless of his own. During the Chlno-Japanese war he won victory after victory, and the foreign experts with his army hud nothing but praise for the manner In which ho handled his troops. He has been a soldier since 1HS7 and stands at the top of his profession. Two years ago he was made prime minister of Japan. General Otorl and General Tachlme are two other famous warriors. The former Is a fine old soldier, with a flowing beard and almost European features. He dis tinguished himself In the civil war, but his fighting days are over now, and he Is an Important member of the board of strategy. His experience and counsel are regarded as being of the greatest value. He may be called the Nestor of the Japa nese army. General Tachlme, on the other hand. Is a young man who won rank and famo In the Chlno-Japanese war, and whit still has the greater part of his career before him. Major General Oshlma, who commanded the Japanese In the Peking campaign, Is another famous veteran. He commanded an army In the Chlno-Japanese wax with courage and success, and In the opinion of many expert foreigners he was second to none among the brilliant galaxy of the world's generals who participated in Hie march to Peking. One of the favorite heroes of the Japa nese army Is Major General Fukushlma, Shortly aiter the war with China hhr name became a household word In Japan by Ids daring ride alone through Siberia and Man churia into Corea, He covered thousands of miles on horseback, enduring great bard ship In order to make himself thoroughly familiar with the lines. of the Russian ad vance in the far east. The Mikado and the German emperor decorated him tor that exploit. When the Boxer trouble broke out. . he went to Peking with the Japanese relief force, and distinguished himself by sev eral heroic deeds. . The Japanese say that he was really the brains of that brilliant little campaign, the foreign commanders relying absolutely upon his special knowl edge of the country and the Chinese. Ha now holds a leading position on the board of strategy of the Japanese war office. When he made his famous ride he was only a major, but he has been promoted with extraordinary rapidity, until he is now a major general at the early age of 40. When next Japan goes to war, whether with Russia or any other power, Fuku shlma will play an important part In the 'conflict. General Fukushlma Is said to be the most popular officer in Japan. His men Idolize him. "He Is the Cheva'ier Bayard of our a my." said the Japanese resident In New York already quoted "the bravest, the most gallant, the most chivalrous of all our officers. A hundred stories are told of him wherever Japanese soldiers are gath ered together how, when he was a young subaltern, he once gave every cent he pos sessed to save a brother officer from ruin and disgrace; how. In the Pes in J campaign, he shared hla blunkets, food, wine, luxu ries and money with the common soldiers; how leniently he treats hla men and yet obtains better work from them than any body else can. In the Japanese army a word of censure or even a reproving glance from Fukushlma la more keenly felt than severe punishments by other generals." Officers and men have a fine example set them by the emperor, to' whom they Kive such unquestioning devotion. During the conflict with the Chinese, the mikado worked steitdt'.y at the business of the war from 5 o'clock in the morning till midnight, tiring out all his ministers and secretaries and refusing to rest or even to take food. "Why should I enjoy luxury and ease," ha asked, "while my brave soldiers In Corea are suffering hardship and ieril." The mikado's eldest son, the crown prince, was In Corea, shuring to the full the hardships of the soldiers, sleeping un der the cold light of the stars, eating a private's rations and dividing his blanket and few luxurios with his humbler com rades. Later on In the bitter co'd of a MuiK'hurlan campaign, he wore only a white duck uniform, which he even declined to allow the soldiers to wash for him. "Everybody else has to wear a dirty uni form," he said. "Why should mine be washed for me? Here I am not the crow prince. I am simply on of Japan's diers.