The San Francisco call., 1904-12-22
Stray Pig Causes
Cessation Of
Strife,
SldVS and Brown
Join in It's
Pursuit.

ON THE FRONT LINE OF THE
( RUSSIAN DEFENSE, BELOW MUK-
DEN, Nov. Cove have just come in
from a ride around the front. 1t was
nearly a mile to the extreme front,
throughout fields of the giant millet
Of Manchuria which is being rapidly
burned for fuel Whole villages of
Chinese huts have been robbed of
every particle of woodwork for the
same purpose. Nearly the whole of
the army is living underground, where
body heat has to serve instead of fires.
Toward noon we came TO an extern
sive entrenchment and encampment,
where numerous little fires were burn
ing and big kettles swung from cross
sticks. showing that the soldiers were
preparing tea. Here the general COM
manding and a group of staff officers
welcomed us and in addition to the
tea one of them actually produced a
lemon TO go with it. How a lemon
ever got into that part of Manchuria
was mystery that the lieutenant re-
fused TO solve.
There was a disturbance toward the
forward line of trenches that might
have presaged a Japanese attack and
we rushed to a knoll that commanded
view. There, from a seemingly de-
serted Chinese hut rushed a half
grown pig-a shote of the Manchur-
ian razorback variety. After it a
Cossack followed in hot pursuit. other
Cossacks joined the chase, but the pig,
threading the trenches. gained the
open ground and headed for the Jap
apese lines, less than 400 yards away.
Reckless of death or anything else.
six Cossacks dashed in pursuit with
their long brown coats tucked around
their waists. But the pig headed across
the imaginary dividing line and
charged the japanese position. The
opposite hill slope. to all appearances,
had been vacant and silent as the
grave, but a hidden trench suddenly
gave up a party of Japanese, and away
they went after the pig. The Cossacks
stopped and the Japanese headed the
pig diagonally back toward the Rus
sian lines. They did not catch il, but a
fresh relay of Russians took up the
chase and the pig veered over again to
the japanese.
Not a shot was fired in all this time
and the Japanese and Cossacks stood
within a hundred PAGES of one another
in the open, laughing at one another's
non-success and hurting mutual male
dictions after the pig. The last we saw
of it, the pig was keeping strictly to
the neutral strip between the forces
and holding westward in the direction
of the Lao River.
The general laughed, though he also
sighed at the thought of the vanished
pig, and invited US over to have more
tea at his palace"
Il do not patronize anything but pal
aces he explained, as we mounted to
follow him, and there being none here
abouts / had one built
1t was down steep TRAIL where the
horses fairly sat down and slid on the
frozen ground. Overhanging the edge
of narrow valley was the palace. a
more than unusually commodious dug
out. and inside was stove cunningly
built into the wall with home made
bricks. 1t had had fire in it the day
before and was shut up tight and still
warm. Before 1t on the ground sat
Prince RadZivil, just come in from a
scout, and warming his red hands
against the bricks. There was a table
and a tiny window letting in a little
light from a tunnel on one side. And
hot tea, without lemon this time, added
to the joys of living.