The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1895-01-13
FIELD OF PING YANG
Personal OBSERVATIONS THREE
WEEKS AFTER THE BATTLE.
More Testimony Showing Chinese
Umbrellas as weapons of War.

DR.. Graham Lee. a Presbyterian mission
airy in Corea, who was sent to that coun-
try in the expectation that Ping Yang
would be the basis of his operations, Wis
tied the scene of the battle and has writ
ten the appended letter to relatives in
this State:
ION Oct. / Mr.. Moffett and I, in company
with DR.. Hail. of the Methodist Mission,
left Seoul for Ping Yang, on a tour of in
vestigation to find out in what shape our
work was after the recent stirring events,
The japanese had captured the place ana
were In such force that we felt no fear
about the Chinese army returning; so, haV-
ing obtained passes through the Japanese
lines, through the kindness of the Japanese
minister, we got together our travelling out
fit and started. All was quiet along the road
very few signs of an army having marched
through the country. On the last two days
of our journey we saw several villages that
had been entirely deserted by the inhabi-
tants and the ruins of quite a number OF
burned houses. We left on Monday morning
and arrived the next Saturday evening,
enjoy who likes clean food and hates YER
min. | made the trip on a bicycle, while
Mr.. Moffett and DR.. Hall rode in the usual
way, on ponyback, and the trip has proved
to me that a bicycle in Corea pays and
pays we'll. With one a missionary can save
money, time and strength, and there is a
deal more interest in travelling when you
can spin along over the ground on a good
wheel instead of plugging along on the
back ct a little runty pony; l reached safnee the the
others and found it fun of Japanese sol
diers, with hardly a Corean in sight; |
went first to Mr.. Moffett's house, TO find
in what shape his goods were. Our Coreans
had all fed and the place was deserted. OF
Mr.. Moffett's goods there was absolutely
wretch had smashed. and a few tracts
scattered everywhere, which had been
paved over and tramped over, and kicked
about, until the place looked as if a West
ern cyclone had passed through II. From
Moffett's house l went to DR.. Halls place,
and found everything there all right; His
ing with them was a japanese Christian
doctor, belonging to the Japanese army.
this doctor came across this house and dis
covered that the Coreans who lived in it
were Christians. He made 1t known that
he, too, was a Christian. and upon that
was kindly invited in and asked to stay
while he remained in the city. He accepted
the invitation. and, through his influence,
pensities, were kept out. DIR. Hall has cause
to be very thankful to the Japanese mis-
sionaries through whose influence this man
became a Christian.
'The first three or four days we spent in
viewing. the battlefield, and it was a most
interesting, and in some parts. a most ter
rible sight. The Chinese had thrown up
an immense number of earthworks and had
posted themselves in strong. position, but
little use without good fighting men be-
hind them. Whatever else the Chinese
be, they certainly did not prove themselves
to be good fighters. From what We saw,
been oe evacuated Without q strlggIe. The
Japanese first made an artillery demon
stration for two days on this side of the
river, and while the attention of the Chinese
was turned this way, two divisions of the
Japanese army got around behind the city,
ready to attack it from the rear. On the
morning of Sept. Is a simultaneous attack
was made from three sides, and before
night the Chinese in the outer forts were
N I-;xv1, --fI@ 49, 1ftx N~AN@e rl, -,
the north, inside the city wall. This must
be held at all hazards, for, if once taken,
learn the Chinese did hold this for some
time during the day, but that showed no
ceedingly strong one, and by an Anglo-Sax-
on army would have been made almost
impregnable. This was taken, and after
that the Chinese army had nothing left
but to try and escape.
A COMPLETE ROUT.
"On the night of the 18th in the darkness
and rain they left the city, and from all !
could see and learn their leaving was not a
retreat, but a mad rush, with every man
for himself. For miles west of the city
the country is strewn with Chinese clothing
thrown away in the flight. I saw many
paper umbrellas which had been cast aside
by their fleeing owners, and it was inter
esting to pote. that a portion of a Chinese
Il . ~ d ClQiliSy paper uIll-
brella- / saw also many bamboo pixies
tipped with iron points. very frail, and very
useless as weapons of modern warfare,
and also / picked up as a relic of the bat.
tie field, a large two-handed sword with a
blade about two feet in length and a
handle about four-a heavy, awkward, use
less weapon. AS ] saw these things l began
to realize one of the reasons why the Chi
nese army was not able to hold Pins
| Yang. They were armed with good guns
to be sure, but they were also loaded dowr
l with a lot OF useless fr1JrnnPrV which wa
worse than useless in time of battle. ano
which showed only too clearly that China
was yet several hundred years behind the
times. Imagine a modern soldier trying tt
fight, and at the same time trying to shield
umbrella! Is it any wonder that an army
unpatriotic, poorly drilled and badly
equipped could make no stand against al
opposing, force. smaller in number, bu
drilled almost to perfection. patriotic to {
man. and armed with the best of modern
| implements of warfare.
Such was the haste of the Chinese figh
that very little indeed were they able t
take with them. Some thirty-ive cannon
captured by the Japanese. There is on
interesting fact about some of this gol
and silver which it might be well to men
ton. 1t seems, from letters that wer
captured, that a large amount of gold an
silver had been sent by the Chinese En-
peror to the soldiers who won the victor
over the Japanese at A San. 1t will b
remembered that at A San the Chimes
were completely routed and scattered Xix
SiSCH. 1iio iaSt SPCdho ~ llSSlL III Ic
gard to what kind of reports Chinese gen
erals must send to Picking; and this fac
too, may account for some of the report
in the home papers about the Chinese victo
rieS in Corea, many of which reports com
from Shanghai. This battlefield of Pin
Yang is the first I have ever visited, an
l cannot say that I care soon to visit ar
other. We saw many of the dead, bot
men and horses, lying just as they fei
1t was three weeks after the battle, an
one can imagine how horrible must hav
been the sight and how fearful the stencil
The dead that fell near the city hav
nearly all been covered, but those thu
were killed some distance away are sti
unburied. In one place I counted invent
bodies literally piled one on top of anothe,
lying as they had fallen. In another plac
where a body of Manchuria cavalry ra
into an ambush of Japanese infantry, til
carnage was frightful. There must hay
been several hundred dead men and horse
that made a swath of killed about a qua,
ter of a mile long and several yards wild
The sights and smells about this plac
were so dreadful that I couldn't stay Ion
enough to make an accurate count of ii
dead. Truly. war is a dreadful thing whe
men kill each other like that. and leaN
the bodies of their vanquished foes withol
a sign of burial. In this battle the Chine:
loss in killed was about one thousan
while the japanese killed numbered le
than $50. Without a doubt this bait
takes the war out of Corea, and now CHR
must look sharp and act with vigor, lie
she be dreadfulIy worsted by her heret
fore despised enemy"