Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1904-11-04
A JAPANESE HERO.
How sanko Taksno Toilsd Through q
Frozen River.

Frozen River.
Writing Of Japanese Devotion and
Courage" in the November Century,
Oscar King Davis, who has been with
Gen. Kurokfs army almost from the
beginning of the war, says: Sanlko
Takano, sergeant major, special duty.
belongs to the Second Company, Sec
ond Cavalry Regiment, Second Divi-
sion. On a dark night in early April,
soon after his regiment had reached
the Yalu river, he and Lance Corporal
Shinobu Watanabe were sent out with
a third man to ascertain the width and
depth of the main stream Of the river
where It flows between two large Is
lands opposite wiju. They crossed the
first channel in a boat which the SER
geant-major and the corporal left on
the first island In charge Of the third
man. Then the two worked across the
island to the main stream. The Rus
slams occupied little village on the
opposite side directly across from the
place where Takan6 and Watanabe
struck the river. It was DIM
cult to get scross without at
tracing their attention. Ice was
running in the river, and the water
was bitterly cold. Takano thought
that IL he tried to swim he would sure
ly arouse the Russians. So he deter
mined to walk across on the bottom OF
the river, rising occasionally for
BREATH They had coil Of light rope
with them. Takano took OF his UNI
form and fastened one end Of the line
to his body. Then he picked up stone
to help him keep on the bottom, ana
waded In leaving the lance corporal
to hold the rope by which he was to
be dragged back whenever he gave q
signal Of two sharp pulls.
Pounded by the ice and chilled to the
marrow by the cold water, Takano
struggled on. The water rose over his
head, but the heavy stone he carried
enabled him to keep on the bottom.
Now he could walk little faster, for
he was free from the battering Ice;
but as he neared the center Of the
stream the current grew swifter and
swifter, until, II It had not been for the
stone he carried, 1t would have swept
him down. He grew numb from the
cold, and 1t took all his strength, stout
swimmer as he was, to rise to the sur
face and stay there long enough to
breathe. Yet he dared not drop the
weight, for he knew he could not get
down to the bottom again. So he
worked, with Watanabe paying out the
rope, until he felt the bottom rising
and knew he was beyond the middle
of the stream. Almost senseless, TAX
ano stumbled along, striving to carry
out the letter Of his orders and reach
the opposite bank. But not even jap
anese ature could stand such q test
and Watanabe, waiting on the bank.
felt the long, steady pull on the rope
that told him Takano had lost con-
sciousness. With all his might the
corporal hauled in the line, and soon
had the unconscious sergeant-major
out Of the water.
A brisk rubbing and the contents or
his flask finally revived Takano, who
got into his warm, dry uniform again
and started back with the corporal
across the island. But when they
reached the place where they had left
the boat, 1t was gone. The third man,
concluding that they had been captur-
ed by the Russians, had started back.
There was nothing for it but to swim.
so in the two men plunged. The float
ing ice hammered them and the cold
water: numbed them so that they could
not make headway against the current
and were carried down stream. But
fortune had not deserted them, and
they drifted against the boat in which
their comrade was trying to scull back
to shore. He, too, had been swept
down stream by the swift water and
the Ice which hindered his sculling.
He hauled them in, and soon they
were landed on the Wtu side, to be
commended by their captain for show
ing the real spirit Of Yamato Damashii.