Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1904-08-20
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.IAI IS:
Fighting Hand to Hand.
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or older events which tney nave not
witnessed and arrive at totally diff
ferent conclusions as to its reliability
The very graphic description in
the Times of June 20 in the dispatch
from Liao-Yang of the battle of
Vafangow was brought to me by
friend and shown as proof of an old
contention of his that the news from
the Far East was totally untrust-
worthy. He knew that l thought the
same way about news from Chefoo
and Shanghai, based on statements
of Chinese refugees reaching those
neutral points where military censor
ship does not prevail; but / called his
attention to the fact that the Illness
dispatch was from a correspondent In
the field with the Russians at Lao
Yang. and that it must have been
passed by the Russian censor before
transmission.
But he insisted, bit angrily, sit
bears evidence on it's face of it's ex-
aggeration, if not absolute falsity-"
Wherein" 1 asked him.
"All parts" he exclaimed; even in
the headlines. Look at these big
lines: Attacking Party Stoned
Rage of Mikado's Men in Trenches
Met With Muscavite Chaff-' B"
except that history does occasional
ly repeat ITSELF
Then" he continued, Gin the body
of the dispatch it says, The battle
at this point became a hand-to-hand
fight with stones and rife butts"
There it is again." 1 said, those
far-away fighters in 1904 doing just
what the Union and Confederate
troops did at Chattanooga in 1868"
"Then again in the body of the dis
patch it says: Thirteen Russian guns
were smashed to atoms and their
| horses killed. A majority of their
gunners killed or wounded. The guns
| we're useless to the Japanese, as they
| were literally shot to pieces before
they were abandoned"
you wouldn't believe that unless
you had seen it =" 1 suggested.
mo, neither would you," the in
credulous one replied.
But ! did see just that thing hap
pen at Resaca, Ga, on May Is, 1864"
said.
lie was thoroughly angered by this
| time and Indignantly exclaimed with
what Horace Greeley used to call
| verbal emphasis but which is COM
| monty denominated profanity, Il don't
| believe a id word of it,
1 charitably construed this to refer
| to the correspondent words, and in
stead of resenting it as personal, L
| rushed to pen, ink, and paper in this
| defense Cd of a war correspondent
| 5000 miles away who gets his story
| to New York in less than two days.
| whereas it took me ten days to get
| there with similar stories from points
| not over 1000 miles away. But that
| was in our war time, forty years ago.
| when railroad trains ran at a speed
| of about ten to fifteen miles an hour.
| and New York war correspondents did
| not use the telegraph very freely in
| those days.
send you this defense CD in the
| hope that the Times readers will be
| as much interested in the illustrations
of history repeating itself as my
| friend seemed to be after / had out
| lined the story below.
| At the battles of or at Chattanooga.
| fought Nov. %, % and "a, Gen. Will
| liam T. Sherman, commanding the
| Army of the Tennessee, was assigned
| to the duty of crossing the Tennessee
| river above Chattanooga, and attack
| ing the extreme right wing of Bragg's
| army, posted on Mission Ridge, in
such force as not to drive it away.
| but with such demonstration of
| strength as would compel Bragg to
| weaken his center, in front of which
| the Army of the Cumberland under
| Gen. Thomas lay concealed in woods
| now long since replaced by blocks of
| houses
Gen. Thomas Ewing's division was
| employed by Sherman for this dem
onstration against Bragg's right. and
his three brigades under Corse.
| Loomis and Matthias made the assault
in the strong position of the enemy
on Tunnel Hill, the northern extrem-
| ity of Mission Ridge, a low-lying
range of hills about 500 feet high.
From the point at which the Con-
federate shells from this elevation be-
| gan to drop among Ewing's troops.
| who went along singing at one time.
| John Browns body lies a-moldering
| in the grave;" at another, "Weu
| hang JEFF Davis on sour apple tree"
| to the summit of the hill, was a
| march of about a mile, a quarter of
| it up the steep ascent of the ridge.
| Gen. Sherman had made his headquar-
| tiers on a detached hill overlooking
| the point of attack, and l, having a
| wholesome regard for an entire skin
| and knowing that Sherman, like every
| general who wasn't insane, wisely Sc
| lected a safe place for headquarters
! during battle, followed to his point OF
/ vantage.
L