The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1901-01-15
JAPANESE GRATITUDE.
Frank Morse's Experience After He
Had Tried to Save Drowned Boy.


From the New York sun.
Frank Morse, the Princeton foot ball
player, who has just returned from an
extended business trip through CHINA
and Japan, tells an interesting story
about the Japanese.
"In the latter part of August. he
says. Il was travelling by rickshaw
to Hiashima. a small place. in the in-
terror of the island. As we approached
a village I noticed little knot of peo-
pie outside of "a rice field who seemed
to be very much excited about some
thing. told my man to hurry up and
when We came to the crowd was told
that a little boy had been drowned
In one of the irrigation streams in the
rice field. He was lying on some
straw on his belly and his parents
We're burning incense and crying SOFT
ly while the relatives and neishbors
exhorted the gods to bring him back
to life. OF course ! did not know how
long the boy had been In the water
or what the chances of saving him
were. but I did know that all the in
cense and cxhortation wouldn't do him
any good, while the application of 'iirst
aid to injured. might. SO / jumped
down. brushed the exhorters aside and
picked the boy up.
II saw at once that he was gone. but
still l had seen wonders worked on
drowned people and l sailed in for
fair. Well. worked for an hour
kneading his storach until l got all
the water out of him and then rubbing
him from head to foot in an endeavor
to get the blood circulating. l kept q
lot OF the villagers working, too, and
If there had been any way of saving
the little fellow we would have done
it. But he was past help and so | fin
ally gave 1t UP.
II had accomplished absolutely
| nothing except to get my white fan
nels covered with mud, and / wasn't {
sure but that the villagers might re-
sent my interference in their method
| OF saving the boy. in view of the fact
| that | had failed to bring him back
| to life. / started to get back into my
| 'rickshaw when an elderly man mo-
| toned me to stay a moment. ] turned
| around and saw coming from every d.
| rection men and women with white
| cloths and bowls of water. They put
| the water down alongside of me and
| then went to work on my soiled cloth
| ing. In few minutes they had rle
| looking quite respectable again.
wanted to do something i'm return for
| this courtesy, so as the mother and
father carried their dead boy away
| gave my interpreter some money and
| told him to take il tn the parents with
| my compliments and tell them to use
it for the funeral OF the little fellow
| Then l jumped into the 'rickShaw and
we went away on our journey.
| Later in the day on the return trir
| passed through THE same village
where ] tried to save the boy. Wen
sir, the tip went ahead that | was CON.
ing and every man. woman and child
turned out to greet me. They forme
into two lines, through which I passed
in my rickshaw and as l passed they
bowed very low. The mother ant
father of the dead boy came out and
prostrated themselves on the ground
in front OF me. l was quite touched
by it all and felt that 1 would have
given almost anything to ba able &c
save that boy. They would have de
tained us if had let them, but stil
had a long journey to make and so in
sisted on going on.
demonstration they had made in my
honor. what did the parents OF tina
hoy do but trudge over to the factory
had visited and try and find our Th,
was. The head man there told then
the name OF the representative of m!
firm at Banto and at their request h,
wrote letter which | have just re
ceived here in New York. The lette
| .,N lN,,t
translated 1t for me and sent on boil
the original letter and the translation.
This is the letter referred to by Mr.
Morse:
when a gentleman from your New
York office came around to this vii
lage on his last visit to the mattin,
district he passed a boy drowned II
the ditch by the road. AS soon as h
look at the corpse he went to hin
and exerted his utmost efforts to res
cue the boy with every possible means
Unfortunately, the corpse being foun,
unrecoverable at any way, he wen
away leaving the parents of the bo,
certain sum of money in hand, an
then he looked as If he had done moth
ing in 1t.
THE family being very poor tfar
mer In the country had felt the bless
ing as if htey met with a light Il
the darkness. A few days ago tn
parents of the child proceeded to m
residence here and heartily eXpresse
their gratitude. asking me to sen
J their best best regards to the gentle
man, with as much words of thank
as possible. I shall feel obliged if yo
We're good enough to deliver thei
. words to the gentleman"