The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1904-08-26
FIELD HOSPITALS OF
the EASTERN WAR
Japanese Wounded Ignore Pain
But the Russians Suffer
Severely.
o
Getting Lost on the HattIefields-The
Perils of Crossing on River Ferries
-cablegrams Held Back by
the Censor.


to the Chicago Daily News, Wiju. May
6:-The rifle fire died away. The Jap
anese flag was planted on the mile
trenches above Chiuliencheng. We say
from the walls of Wiju, where the Jap
anese staff had placed and held us, the
japanese infantry swarming over the
hillsides. They We're no longer fight
ing men, but curiosity seekers. They
stood in groups evidently around Rus
sian dead. They drained the fields dry
of relics.
Suddenly the japanese batteries on
~Choigkiagai island limbered up and
went galloping through the deep sands
of the island toward the ford of the
All river. At each jump the horses
Seemed to be dragged pack by the
heavy pull of the guns through the
sand. They We're going to support the
infantry, which was starting in pursuit
of the enemy now in full flight on Ham
titan. They never caught up. Had
they walked their horses through the
sand and galloped when they reached
the hard road they might perhaps have
arrived in time.
Correspondents Un!er Guard.
Were We not to be allowed to cross
the river and see the results of the
fight? No." said Capt. Okado, You
must return to your quarters M there
wait orders. l will come for you my
SELF We, the foreign newspaper men
of friendly n allied countries With
no better standing than prisoners. re-
urned to our miserable quarters. They
were Korean huts in a little cluster two
miles to the rear of Wiju, which was
now the rear of the Japanese army.
fNhpv hn1 acctp,,15 @-.l 49,
house, n at night every once in a
While a guard would appear to count
us, to make sur that we had not es-
capped.
Hour after hour we waited in our
prison, but no Capt. Okada came. Al
last our patience gave out. If we were
to get our kilograms censored we must
hunt up the intelligence officer Of the
staff at headquarters. orders or no ord
ers. Our Korean ponies were quickly
saddled n we were off. Two miles
to Win and a mile beyond to the first
bridges of the first channel of the Yalu
at Genkado. Here the way was blocked
by a multitudinous never-ending line
OF little two wheeled carts loaded with
bags of rice for the hungry troops.
Each cart had a soldier of the trans
portation department leading the little
Japanese stallion. The guard at the
bridges allowed US to cut in and lead
SeH 80 w kt1S w luz ~
was one of the bridges built by the
japanese out of timber cut on the hills
of Korea. On the other side was the
sandy waste of Kurito island. The
ponies sunk to the fetlocks in loose
sand. These Korean ponies are shay
calf. After an hours trudging through
the sand the most humane of us dis
mounted and trudged along on foot.
Still the line of carts stretched out as
far as We could see. Occasionally a
cart was drawn by a Korean COW in
the whole line would stop, held back
by some cart sticking in the deep sand.
Then the little square men in blue uni
forms would put their shoulders to the
wheel.
On the Field of Battle.
Again there was a bridge and a
jam. There was a line Of empty carts
coming back for food and ammunition
and for the time being they had the
right of a This bridge was longer.
IT was built of pontoons over the main
branch Of the Yalu. Men We're busy at
work bailing water out of the pontoon
boats that supported the bridge. On
the other side was more sand and more
carts. noticed that each cart had Just
the same humble of woven straw sacks
OF rice, nine in each cart, each sack
Weighing sixty-eight pounds.
We crossed another short pontoon
bridge n found ourselves at the foot
OF g hill. Then we turned east
over another short bridge, partly of
trestie work. partly of pontoons. and
started again over the interminable
desert of sand. One Of our number
thought he would take a short cut. His
horse sank up to his belly in quicksand
and was dragged out with great diff
AT last we reached the bank of
the All river. Here a train of tired pack
horses were wading the stream. Some
OF them heavily laden were nearly car
ried off their feet by the rapid current.
The soldiers, half stripped, held them
up.
In the Field Hospital.
the foot Of Conical hill, just twelve
miles from orr quarters by the cir
cuitous road. Tents had been pitched
here and a field hospital established.
There were japanese wounded and
wounded. A doctor was p.ob-
ing Tor g bullet in the shattered leg of
out with pain. Colonel Hagino. chief
OF the Intelligence department., leaned
over the officer n spoke soothingly |
to him In Russian. Then he drew out
a cigaret, gave 1t to the wounded man
and helped him to light it. over in a
corner . doctor was operating on a
japanese soldier. No anaesthetic was
administered. The face of the Japanese
was unmoved n he uttered no plant.
l ooked about me: some of the Rus
slams were moaning. The japanese
were silent. You could not have told
the wounded from the whole except
for the white bandages. 1t was as tf
they were %insensible to pain.
AS l looked at them they did not
seem human. Their faces were as ex-
p~ressionless as usual. They watched
everything with an impersonal air, as
If they were not concerned in what
was going on. For wounded men they
were almost uncanny. There was no
call for sympathy here. In feet. there
was no expression of any kind sug-
costing the human nature to which
we are accustomed. The japanese is
impersonal even nto death. Is there
a real man behind the mask with feel
ings such as ours?
With the Russians it was different.
l stepped to the side of a litter. on
lay a young Russian officer. His
was pinched and white, his ewes
closed. The doctor was exam
lining a Jagged hole right through him.
There was no hope for this nan The
opened his eyes. had looked
INTO Japanese eye for months without
a thought or a feeling. I had
against the blank wall of their
lm~personality without once feeling