Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1905-11-15
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His Hearts Brother. !
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

4 Ills Hearts Brother. +
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES
BY G. A. Stephens.
On May 26th, few hours before
the battle of Nanshan, Capt. Okla of
the Ninth Tokyo Regiment was sent
icrward with flag of truce on a
mission pertaining to the Red Cross
service and Its stretchar-bearers. He
was young man. barey twenty, of
the Samurai class, we'll educated,
speaking both French and English. :
From the Russian redoubts there
came down to meet the white flag a
4 lieutenant, Alexander Yannofsky. OF
the Archangel Artillery. He, too, was
young man, and he spoke French,
g do nearly all the Russian officers.
vannofsky salutel stiffly, and asked
the object of the flag.
The question raised was one which
the Russian lieutenant felt Obliged to
refer to his superior officer. The SER
eeant accompanying him was there
iore sent back with a. written note for
instructions, and a delay of some
minutes ensued.
To pass the time while they stood
there waiting, Capt. Okla began CON
versation with his youthful opponent.
very formally at first, then more cor
Z daily. They talked of London. Paris
and New York, which places both had
visited.
IN the ffsesn or twenty minutes of
waiting each had taken liking to
the other. And when ct last thy
saluted to separate and go back, there
was q still further exchange of cour.
tesies. and the young Japanese officer
4 placed his hand on his. breast and
said, "Yon are my hearts brother for
the future. i" g
Twice afterward, as the great sierA
vent on and opportunity offered, Cant.
Okla sent his good wishes to Lieut..
vannohsky. with the expye ssed hope
that NO harm had come,to his ..heart,s
.,ae0ther.s u And In AuEustf Just aSftaf
me great assault when twenty.f,ve
tAousand Japanese fell, the Russian
Vas able to transmit pencilad note
q greeting to this young friend a. an
alien race. with warmest rem am.
ORANGES, and signed, "Thy Alexandra.
Witch. = =. .se4.u' =
Amid the fearful vicissitnfes. ~
those weary days there seemed little
Likelihood that they would meet
again. Yet meet they did six weeks
tater-but under what terrible cir.
camstances and after what horrnrs,
II was at the Wedge Of Death
mat blood-staintd zlgzag. which Gen.
NoEi finally drove through the earth
up to the very parapet of the lofty
Russian fort, known as the eternal
Dragon. :,
This was after 1903 Meter Hip haf,
oeen taken by the Japanese, and their
huge mortars had destroyed, by plurg.
ing IRE, what, was left of the Russian
meet In Port Arthur harbor. Ye. still
u was found impossible to take Port
Arthur by assault. The line OF lofty
forts on the heights. surrounded nv
broad moats, often forty feet deem.
proved inaccessible. Every approach
was over tangled thicket of barbed
wire. Into which currents Of electricity
could be turned from dynamos hisen
IN bomb proofs. Night attacks were
OF no avail. for se,rchlights playel
constantly, and star-bombs scatterel
blazing phosphorus over the glaces of
che forts and for miles around.
After their frigh.ful losses during
the last week in August, the Japanese
were forced to adopt the slower, sa Ter
method of regular siege operations
with trenches, zlgzags and tunnels
carried up beneath the walls of the
forts, which were then blown I'M with
dynamite. In this Herculean effort
X they excavated nineteen miles q;
trenches in the hard earth and rock.
always at least six feet deep and eight
feet wide. frequently deeper, and
covered over with planks and earth
II was one Of these zigzags, now af-
vanced up near the meat of the
Eternal Dragon fort, which became
known to the armies as the Wedge Of
Death.
More soldiers lost their lives here
than would have filled the trench with
their bodies and covered all the
ground about 1t four deep. 1t WIS
here that, after a savage. sortie by
the Russians, the Japanese used Their
own dead and wounded to form finll
breastwork of defense.
The point of the Wedge of Death
was within forty yards of the Russian
parapet, and here assailants and de-
tenders lay watching each other
through chinks between sand-bags,
waiting for chance to shoot. A few
inches at time a low steel screen
was pushed forward by the Japanese
sappers. and while Russian bullets
tpattered furiously about 1t a little
more earth was dug away, and thus
the trench advanced.
The soldiers here were : relieved
every thirty minutes. Human nerves
could not endure the strain longer.
The besiegers were more than fifty
days pushing forward this trench,
inch by inch; yet rarely. by night or
day, did minute pass without the
crack Of rife or the rat-a-tat OF ma
chine guns, accompanied by the whiz
and patter Of balls.
Yet up and down the shattered gray
slopes Of the hills and forts outside
there was never a living thing In
sight Both err,ies were invisible.