The Washburn times. [volume] (Washburn, Wis.) 1896-1976, 1904-04-07
LANDING OF
JAPANESE TROOPS.
An Eyewitness Describes the
Scenes at Chemulpo.
NOT A DETAIL WAS NEGLECTED.

sn Spite of the Tidal Difficulties the
Transport Department Landed In
One Week a Large Amount of Sup
plies and About 10000 Men With
out Any Noise or Acknowledgements
ance OF Troops Excited Admiration.
The ease and rapidity with which the
1900 Japanese troops were landed at
ChemulpO, Korea, during the night of
Feb. was but forerunner of the far
greater operations which were carried
on during the next ten days, says the
New York Heralds Chemulpo CORE
spondent. The original $500 men were
divided into two sections, 1900 going
by train to Seoul and the balance re-
manning in Chemulpo. AS later events
have shown, these men were only for
the protection of Japanese interests in
the two places in case the natives, an
gered by the appearance of an armed
force, should indulge in riotous pro-
ceedingS and were in no sense intended
to form the advance of the column to
men were allotted to quarters in the
houses of Japanese citizens in both
Seoul and Chemulpo, and their pres
ence has effectually prevented any dis
turbances the seeds of which may have
been slumbering in the Korean breast.
On Saturday, Feb. 13, five days after
the first landing was effected, two Jap
anese transports arrived at Chemulpo.
the Hitachi and the Sanuki Marus,
both four masted, 5000 ton ships.
These boats carried no troops, but were
filed with supplies for the army and
carried one army medical corps, with
accessories, and also about 1000 coolies
for the use of the transport service.
These coolies were fitted out with the
close attention to detail that charac-
teriZes all departments of the Japanese
army. They were clothed in strong
service costumes similar to the Ordi-
nary cody garb, with a badge Of red
cloth on the arm bearing the Japanese
characters indicating army cody corps.
A new red blanket, rolled, hung about
the neck Of each man, tied in front
with extra sandal strings, and a can
vas bag containing immediate neceS-
sites completed most interesting pic
ture The men were divided into
squads of twenty each, with a head
cody in command of each squad. AS
fast as landed they formed into COM
panies and as the boat loads of sup
plies came in were told off to handle
the cargo.
With the coolies came a carpenter
corps of 100 men, similarly clothed,
each man carrying his box of tools;
also an equal number of army black
smiths. These men had hardly set
foot on shore before they were detail
ed at putting up a blacksmith shop
close at the head of the landing jetty,
and some of the carpenters started
work laying a cleated wooden runway
up the rough stone landing pier to IA
cflitate the landing Of horses and artil-
lery.
The medical corps of 800 men came
ashore in charge of the supplies for
their own department, small trunks of
about 100 pounds each containing
first aid to the wounded" necessities,
sterilizers, stretchers, cases Of medi-
cines, bales of bandages, heating
stoves, small boilers and everything
that a well equipped hospital corps
would have need of. These supplies
were landed and handled only by the
medical corps men and were carried
from the landing jetty as fast as
brought, disappearing to places al
ready prepared to receive them.
In the meantime the coolies were en-
gagged in landing, asserting and piling
up lumber, poles suitable for temporary
bridges, barracks in sections for quick
erection, telegraph poles, galvanized
iron sheeting, iron kettles, cleated gang
ways for use in places less adapted for
landing, wooden pier in sections,
pack saddles, bundles of tents and tall
poles, handcarts, coils Of rope, pom
toons and anchors, bundles Of picks
and shovels, cases upon cases Of sup
plies and ammunition and, last, but by
no means least, cases of silver none.
for use in the interior; not thing for
gotten, everything figured out to nice
ty, put up in packages of a size suit
able for handling, tagged and marked.
The army authorities depended upon
local supplies and facilities for abso-
iutely not thing They brouc4t with
them everything that the tanning Of
years for this very contingency could
foreSee
These transnGrts also brought four
steam larn. Is, several hundred fat
bottomc boats for landing horses and
tcOo1'a nd six tank water boats rugged
W. hand pumps. While a portion of
e army coolies were engaged in land
ing and storing these supplies more
were detailed to repack rice (already
stored in warehouses in Chemulpo) in
smaller packages of about 100 pounds
each, q suitable size for carrying by
cody or pack animal into the interior.
During the next ten days, under the
direction OF the army engineers, two
temporary pontoon landing piers were
erected adjoining the permanent stone
jetty. Korean junks were comman-