Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1904-05-31
General Fukushima.

General FukuShtma met nr1t IN Ger-
many-he was military attache at the
Court of the Kaiser, and as such was in
vited to attend the great autumn field
operations of the army, which lasted a
week or more, and which brought to-
gether some fifty to one hundred thou
sand men of all arms.
Fukushima discussed things with me
because he and had friends in common
in Japan. He evidently concluded that
he could trust me, and when Japanese
gives you his confidence you may bank
upon it, as though he were a Boer or
Briton.
At that time this little Moltke was but
a captain, and the smallest soldier In
uniform that had ever been seen in Ger
many outside of museum. The En-
peror had raked his stables in vain for
horse that could squeeze between the
legs of his little guest. At last one was
found; it came from circus, and had
spots all over. It was the smallest
mount available, yet small as 1t was the
witty ones alleged that glove stretchers
had been used before the legs of the
Oriental could be made to straddle with
ease. Whatever may have been the
truth of that Fukusbima managed al
ways to stumble accidentally upon the
point of chief interest in the days opera
tons, whether it was an attack of caval-
ry, massing of artillery, the bridging
of river, or something novel in balloon
ing. On the way to the point of meet
ing, usually about four O'Clock in the
morning, the important colonies and
generals who constituted the main body
imperial guests held forth learnedly on
what would be done that day, and where
they should 60 in order to see what was
important. FukuShima never said any
thing, but when counsels diverged
amongst the great and learned We soon
came to seek light of our little Japanese
captain, and when we did 80, he in
variably protested to know nothing, but
would, in his childish manner, place his
little finger as though at haphazard upon
a point of his map; and those who steer
ed for that point were never disappoint-
ed.
He passed, however, for feeble in men,
tai capacity and he took pains to pre-
serve that character. The Russian
military attache took him for stunted
and stupid. The jovial British delegate
regarded him as an idiot, and many OF
my friends asked me seriously how it
was that l managed to waste 30 much
time in his company. told them was
an alienist, and besides that / was re-
freshing my knowledge of the language.
| Even then, and am talking of few
years before the Chinese-Japanese war
/ &c Fnly oh
graphs he had taken throughout the
border country of Russia-about the
Black Sea, down the Danube, in Rou.
mania, Turkey, Bulgaria, etc. He knew
all there was worth knowing about the
strength of Russia this side of Moscow
and the Caspian, and as / had been twice
in those territories found a comparison
of data very interesting.
But he never allowed any one else al
the Berlin Court to suspect that he was
more than a commonplace piece of uni
form. Though he spoke seven Ian
guages to my knowledge, he never al
lowed any one else in Berlin to suspect
that he knew anything but a few garbled
scraps of German.
One day little Captain Fukushima dis
appeared from Berlin and many moont
later arrived on the shores of Manchuria
or Mongolia, forget which. He bought
a little Cossack pony somewhere east Of
Moscow, and had steered his way across
that vast Siberian plain, keeping his earl
and eyes well open, and his mouth tight
shut. He had notebooks, but he wrote
in figures that gave no comfort to any
but himself. He counted the telegraph
poles as he rode, he noted the bridges
and the wells, and the farms, and every
thing that might prove interesting to
Japanese visitors who might come aftel
him.
Fortunately for him, Russia also de
spised his intellect, else he would have
met with an accident in some lonely sec
ton of his long ride.
The next time saw Fukushima wal
in his own home; he was the same hun
nv, moony, smiling and sympathetic
Fukushima, but had become general
and was recognized as the hero of thu
Chinese war. But to look at him, hi
was the very same man that had passed
in Berlin and Petersburg for a Harmless.
toy.
He lived in Tokyo in a bandbox sor
of bamboo bungalow-all lacquer, ant
mating, and fans, and dainty tea things
He wore the native gown spattered will
storks or some such design, and in hi
arms was baby-just like the japanese
dolls we see at Christmas. Genera
Fukushima, as chief of a nursery, wa
worth coming to see, and he played hi
part with the same success as dis
Itinguishes him at the head of an army
| Like all real men, and particularl!
great men, lie is the simplest OF men
When all the world was praising Valdez
see as a great soldier, it made me hest
tate to accept his verdict, merely because
Moltke had the simplicity, the modest!
of greatness. At any court ball in Der
lin it would have been hard to fine
Moltke, but harder still to avoid seeing
Waldersee.
| And so it is with Fukushima; you fint
him most readily with his children, O
chatting with the few intimates whom
he can trust.-Harper's Weekly.
Il n0NYnTNrTYA cTDAJN