The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1904-11-16

Il remember one case came across
in a little Held hospital Off the battle
aeld. "A japanese soldier was sitting on
bench with a gaping wound in his
chest where some Russian had run
aim through. He was smoking Gig
,rette. as unconcernedly as you please
while the attendants washed out the
wound with antiseptics. He never
gave sign Of the pain. and without
even looking down at the nurse who
was dressing his. wound he talked to
me through Japanese correspondent
about the charge in which he had fall
len. Behind me was another man with
I great piece torn from his upper arm
by schrapnel. He, too, was putting at
a cigarette and conversing casually to
friend. The only sign he gave Of the
pain which the wound must have
caused him was an occasional shrug Of
the shoulder when the surgeon touched
some tender spot. Then, while we were
sitting there. a wounded ofIlcer was
brought in with his right side shot
away. In an instant soldier number
one jumped from the bench, his wound
still open. to make way for his supe-
rior. And that is how the japanese re-
gard suffering. They think it is dis
grace to show signs Of pain.
Armies ef Dead.
LAS for the wounded and dead they
were innumerable. You can imagine it
for yourself when you remember that
in the battle Of Liayang there were
$4,000 killed before the fighting was
over. I remember that early in the
morning Of the great battle, before the
sun had risen, $50 Japanese engineers
stole forward in the dark to cut the
wire entanglements. Twenty-Five of
them came back. But when the day
broke that morning and the batteries
opened fire you can not imagine more
splendid sight. You could see the
flashes Of the guns and then far off
there would be a squirt of red fire-a
puff of smoke-and the dull boom to
tell you that the shell had broken.
And we war correspondents saw It
all, although, perhaps, we should not
have been so fortunate if the Japanese
had been able to get hold of us before
hand. When we got word that the
battle was finally due we put spurs to
our horses-each man for himself-and
left the Japanese escort crying out to
please stop because we were not yet
DUE But we distanced him, tied our
horses where we could find stable room
q left mine in an old temple) and
promptly lost ourselves for the next six
days, and we saw the battle.
Il think that Grant Wallace, of the
San Francisco Bulletin, and Reginald
Kann, of the Paris Figaro, were the
most fortunate of us all, for when we
separated they took up quarters with
regiment of reserves on one of the
hills, and when that regiment was
ordered to charge they charged with
it and were the first correspondents in
the city of Liayong. But the rest of us
did not suffer for want of excitement.
and though 1 cannot say how the 9TH
ers felt, I know that for myself there
there was more than one moment when
I was quaking. 1 remember at one
time l lay with Fred Whiting, the ar
fist for the London Graphic, in a half
dry creek between a cross fire of the
two armies. And it pleased me might
lily when l was out once more.
THE japanese stood the fire WELL
but it was in their charging over the
barbed wire barriers that they showed
themselves at the best. They would
run forward in groups of five and ten
run forward and drOp-one little bunch
after another. When they reached the
first strands of wire they would throw
UP their hands and fall as though
struck. And then, playing possum
would wriggle ahead on their bellies
like snakes and snip! snip!-the wires
would be cut. Sometimes they carried
mating with them at the wire to
throw over the points and climb past
untouched.