The New York herald., 1874-08-19

hand-even against its unskllled defenders.
act OF gallantry which any soldiers IN the world
the Boutans appears al nearly tmpregnabe as any
stronghold possibly can be- The sides Of the the
at sharp angles, and often perpendicuary. TO
height OF about five hundred ieet on one side and
between them, at the base. Is about thirty Feet
which is entirely filled by rapid stream that
greater length OF the pass and is waist deep at its
only iordabe point. Except under pressure OF
THR MOST DESPERATE NECESSITY,
no one would ever dream OF attempting to scale
these heights; and in fact no earthly power could
accomplish such task II any attempt, however
feeble, were made to defend them The crag OF
the right hand pillar topped ey sharp spires not
unlike the .'peedleso OF the Chamouni valley IN
iorm though OF course much smaller. and cef-
tainiy as orbidding in their defiance TO lntruders.
But over this barrier score OF Japanese marines
ages from ABOVE. Before the action really began,
few shots were fired at the advancing line from
WITHIN the right side OF the gate-that is, to the
left OF the beslegers. Whether this was intended
only as an outpost or not cannot say, but 1t was
hurriedly abandoned on the approach OF three OF
the unattached volunteers OF whom have spoken,
for some time, quite Unconscious that the enemy
were lying concealed behind rocks and trees
within ew % ty yards Of them IT. ad mot Ss SUIT Wnics ine
they might easily have done, their plan being TO
lie IN wait for q greater number or victims. In
course OF time some twenty-five other Japanese
came iuto the pass, carelessly and without precau
ton, as is their inJudiclous custom, and began
exposed. and for the moment deienceless, they
were fired upon from q distance Oh certainly not
TINS first discharge two or three Of the Japanese
were killed and more than half Of them were
wounded. They Immediately sought such conceal
ment as they could find among the rocks which are
SCATTERED OVER THE BED OF THE RIVER.
Wnch Creates sor o fail or Tap us
above the ford, and thus, for several minutes, the
opposing forces silently confronted each other In
engaged, not only our side, but also on that OF
the enemy. Everybody knows the df1culty OF
reconciiing confctng statements as to the size of
mountain skirmlsh; but SO far as l can
there were really about seventy savages
present. or course, the strength of their
an Infinitely greater superiority Of NUMBERS.
After the lew inactive moments OF which have
segan n 20 E M ne
some OF the wounded endeavored to retire. This
was the signal ior second discharge from the
covered their bodies, which was at once taken ad-
vantage Of by the Japanese " who ,tn threw ID an az
them succeeded in shifting their position to
points
This manGuvre was several times repeated, a
soldier rising purposely, in case Of need to draw
Japanese gradually worked themselves closer, but
the progress was so slow and the number OF the
oficer In command, Colonel saRuma, ordered the
bugles TO sound recall. Nobody could mlsconStrue
such com mand coming from Sakuma ms repu-
tation for bravery in acttOn having been long ago
established but as the greatest OF Englsn sailors
was once blind TO signal ior retreat, 80 these
ardent pioneers deaf to this unwelcOme
strain. Not to put too fne . point upon
it, l suppose must admit that they dis.
obeyed ORDERS; but 1 have not heard that
anybody has since greatly. blamed them for
It. l afterwards heard one Of these contumacious
not returning, say that IL would have been more
dangerous to 60 back than to advance, and that
mere prudence would have kept hm where he
was. lie was reminded, however, that ne had
been seen to leave his place. rejoin the main body,
be- answered. with some embarrassment, that it
was true: but ne had been compelled to do as he
a as ne nsa % the & Te the
! DIsLoDGNG THE sAvAGEs.
Tins irregulariy and with no directions except
those suggested to their own mln0s by the part-
cpators, the contest went on 1or nearly an nour
nearer their opponents 1t might be supposed
that sudden rush would have put an end to the
land In any thing ike iair field. But here the
soldiers were up to their waists in stream, the
only with great effort force their way against it.
The best and only thing they could do was to
siS" ssnind sas' o%e roe9 60 another length
Colonel Sakuma conceived the idea that
/ a small body Of rl1lemen might ascend the cliff to
his lett and assist In dlslodging the savages by
firing upon them from that commanding height.
and, u alter % severe Struggle. reached the summit
BY this ume the Boutans were closely pressed
| below. Some OF the attacking party naQ
approached so near them that their b0ulders no
longer afforded them secure protection. One or
two mad already turned and fed when the marines
appeared their heads. That sight decided
the matter. They broke in body and made for
the river banks, leaving sixteen OF their humber
dead behind them. OF those who escaped fourteen
were mortallv wounded among Lnem the leader OF
the BOutan tribe OF the number OF less severely
wounded have never had any account Our
own casualties were six killed and thirty wounded
all OF the latter OF whom Will recover including
one whose at first considered desperate.
Such was the gallant little sklrmlsh OF "Stone
Gate" complete understanding Of the dIicqises h s
will presently be photographed and hope tnat
clearer idea Of It's massive strength may in due
time be thus impaired. Ihat 1t was brilliant al
Tor the japanese is douby fortunate, lor they
are not likely to have other opportunities OF dis
enough in tnat single lesson 10 keep them from at
tempting to squarely confront taeir conquerors in
futures
FORWARD, OVER ALL OBSTACLES.
The passage of the ''Stone Gate' was not with
hand to dispute tie way. The ford was now some
what hazardous, ana number OF men had lost
their oothold while attempting to cross and had
been swept down stream, happily, without serious
consequences. Tn,s had happened before our ar
rival, and was, thereIore, surprised TO see num-
path among the rocks OF the lett side Oh the gate
or the right, as we faced up stream. IL seemed the
correct thing to do, and l. therefore, followed as
often on hands and knees as oD feet; but dis
covered, after having gone half way, that II was
waded the river at one point and pushed up to the
recrosslng ford. / had worked myself half way
over and was hiled with seii-c0ngratuiation, when
my attention was attracted by singular retro
gressive movement on the part OF the
staff which paused to contemplate from
MY HALF sUBMERGED STANDPOINT.
Presently the General-in-ChIcf descended the
hill which he had just climbed and gave rapid
orders in consequence OF which "c0Olles" came
out, ike skirnishers. into the river and orhcer
OF the Quartcrmssters Department, wearing moth.
ing but a most benevolent smile, planted himself
in what appeared to me uselessy uncomfortable
and exposed position in the midst OF the current.
The whole proceeding was utterly obscure, but /
saw self beck oned, and recognized the lmpOsst-
bility OF waiting to investigate It. So moved or
ward. and In three strides found myself In water
so deep ana rapid that no strength OF mine
could stem 1t Tor Instant. Before had time TO
think was In the arms OF stalwart 'coOlie, "
, who straightway passed me on to another, and SO
following until the master OF transportation
at last lifted me to firm ground Tnen became
aware that the operation In question was one In
n | which 1 wa