Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1904-12-23

TIE Loaf. TLen We are shown our /
stHteroOms. ~here. with true japanese 1
courtesy. everything has BEEN done 10 /
make Us comfortable. We have barely /
time o. straIghrsn ont our belongings I
when tl.e-i..-p rllr ~ tie steam wills I
tie tells that Ne are 81.
After We were fairly on We had an
opportunity to hook about tie boat q
bit The Wakasa Naru + a ~. boat o.
s0methin. more than "'rh tons bur
den aud can make abOut fourteen
knots. Her lower deck forwarI had
been lined with horses boxes. and her
lower forward hold had l.ecn similarly
equipped.
With their heads facing the center Of
tie boat. the little horses wee Swln-
in tier frail wooden stalls by belly
bands placed beneath tbeir aGG1neu>
and secured 10 the top Of tie sled -
that in case of heavy weather tie AMI
mails could not be thrown OF their feet
but would swing as in hammock
Here. separated by thin Partitions. lie
wicked little animals s4uealed and
kicked and vainly tried TO reach around
and bite their neighbors or an unfOr-
tunate passerby. Indeed. | AIN in
formed that there have been no end o.
accidents occasiOned in just this way.
Tie first officer Of the boat told me that
lie had seen vicious stallion tear
mans stomach out, and on another &C.
casion one had bitten of al one snap
of his jaws the four fingers of mans
hand
on the main deck forward as well as
aft and on part of the lower deck are
placed the soldiers. II doesn't sound
very comfortable, but as matter Of
fact il looked very pleasant down
there Great rolls Of cool straw mat
ting had been spread about on the
floors, and here and there hunks had
been knocked in. On posts and in
racks along the sides were arranged
the equipments OF the soldiers them
selves. AT night electric lights were
| strung about, and very homelike ii
| looked TO see the soldiers laughing and
| playing together on the clean straw
| mating like so many thoughtless
given the first class quarters, Of course,
and, like their humber fellows In the
hold below. managed to keep very
cheerful and to enjoy themselves not a
little In spite of the fact that they
were going to a war from which many
of them may never return.
We are carrying 10 Dalny the last
battalion of regiment which Is the
last batch of division which is al
ready in Manchuria In this battalion
there are almost 1000 soldiers, as
healthy and rugged looking lot OF
men as one could wish to see. Be
sides the infantry there is a field hos
pital corps, with its equipment and
what not This consists of 100 IneI
and officers. besides three field sur
geons. In addition there are also
about a hundred of the cody soldiers
of the division transport service whC
are going along to help the regiment
in the field.
There are between forty and fifty
officers In charge of the men. For tn,
most part they are youngish men. but
here and there one sees a griZZed vet
eran of a major or colonel, with &
string of badges across his breast, tell
ing Of achievements in the Chino
Japan war or of some creditable per
Torrance in the Boxer campaign.
Way down below in the deepest OF
the deep holds is piled case after cast
of small arm ammunition. Severa
thousand tons of supplies are stowe(
somewhere else below. Besides all thi!
there are the fifty or more evilly dis
posed ponies on deck and some more o.
their less favored companions ponder
ing on their wickedness in the depth:
beneath. Those on the deck are foi
the most pert officers horses, while
those below are the division transpor
animals which are to carry the bag
gage Of the men on this boat.
So with it's freight of human beings
horses and war materials the Wakas;
Maru, being the certain ship speci
fed" sailed from Osaka. Japan, a
noon, Oct. 10, just as the general stat
said she would do.