The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1905-09-26
JAP HORSES, TOO
SMALL FOR WAR.
Continued from First Page.

be under way in any direction that
may ~ be sra rfeg q j ed ia !, !, . j,
lea and things American and for an |
entire afternoon talked with us Of his
experiences and Of the war. We slept |
at his headquarters and. at his invita-
tion, went out with him in the morning
to see some new Notifications which
two batteries in village four miles
away ava were to have completed by day
How long does it take to intrench |
a battery in ordinary soft earth?" l
asked him.
''The position to which I will take
you in the morning. he replied, lis q
fair example of the average work which
of hill. We are going to begin work
at $3.50 O'Clock in the morning and by
sunrise the guns should be in position
and ready to open fire. You will see
the Notifications and can judge for
yourself as to the quality of the work.
An Early Start.
The sun was Just rising as we rode
out Of headquarters the next morning,
the general, on a great black horse, his
staff and two orderlies. A half-hour IS
stiff trot down valley, across a ford,
up another valley and thru a little ra-
vine brought us out into a smaller val
ley between two ridges.
'.sSee," he said, as we rode up slope
and thru cornfeld on the side Of the
hill; they have finished their work
and my guns are in position ready to
He pointed with his riding crop. For
a moment I saw nothing, and then,
ro,,oh;v,or hoh1nH T1dOnS 0f
earth. Here and there against the
background of. blue the figure. Of man
could be distinguished slipping about
IT was an Ideal morning. The val
ley lay like a mirage behind u.s., the
fine mist curling up from the meadows
and melting into thin veil, from
with little Chinese villages, began to
creep out beneath the rays Of the sun.
When we rode forward 1 heard a
rustling amid the kowliang, seven feet
high, to the right Of us. | turned my
head and there, almost hidden amid
the giant stalks, bathed in the rosy
hues of sunrise sitting in thru the !dde9wy
blades Of the corn, I saw the artillery
horses, hitched six to a caisson, their
riders sitting motionless amid the.
green, while the horses champed and
tossed their wicked little heads. or
squealed with vitality engendered or
the fresh morning air. These were the
caissons and ammunition wagons Of the
battery on the hill above.
Concealed by Cornstalks.
We rode forward toward the crest,
and at word from the general we dis
| anime the positions which the soldiers
had made In a little less than four
hours. A trench had been dug around
each gun. Bags filled with earth were
piled around in front, leaving only
port thru which the long nose. Of blue
gunmetal was poked. From the front
the vision was deluded into security
by freshly cut cornstalks piled along
the newly dug earthwork,. that no enc,
my might notice the position until ILL., It It
announced it's presence by the White
puffs Of smoke from the guns. i
What subtle things these guns are!
| We see them in their villages, sleeping
/ with their&lo barrels muzz!ed, their
noses covered with canvas, andEwe pass
them by with scarcely a thought, but
here today in the morning sunlight we
see them in their. real element. Grim,
keen and alert, they lie naked and
the Impression of a vindictive wicked
ness, as the guns lie in ambush andsleer
out upon the valley that stretches away
q good five miles at their feet About
them crouch their attendants. !, In.the
villages the soldiers tie them up In can
vas and leave them as dumh. things Thin
meagerly respected; Here al is d 1a[[.
]eashed, and even their masters creep
about them, diffident and respectful.
How the Batteries Are Worked.
There is no, action today and no shots
are wasted in practice. The soldiers
move about performing the motions and
obeying the orders. Behind the gun
positions is the trench, sheltered oy
cornstalks from the glasses OF the en-
: emv. where stands the officer in com
mand of the guns. :,
Ahead of him in yet another trench
. similarly protected is the range Under
J Here an officer calculates the distance
to the enemy and then calls the range
: Instantly the gun crews are busy. O y,
with long lever swings the butt, Wh1le
another with screw sets the Level. M II
soldiers who had been crouching in the
, ammunition trenches run; creeping for
ward with the charge. It is slid home
) Then comes the word of command IRON
} the officer in the trench. Then, wher
: there is a fight, the six long lean mouth!
: shoot out their SIX puHs OF smoke ant
: their six tongues Of flame, while s, SD
t shells 90 hurting across the valley; eIht
: officer in his lookout watches. with nj!
Z glass to see where the shells burst ant
/ then alters the range to suit.
5 Off to the left on another ridge IS ye'
s another battery similarly entrenched
: Rehind and between both is the sigma
station from which the commander Of
one or more batteries communicate tf
his units.
Getting Action Pictures.
= The general tells me all these thing
} and then says: 81 am going to Civ
Won an opportunity to photograph Thu
guns at; full speed. u am gong t.
I Change these batteries to that advanced
{ RIDGE and he points to hill lying
J. mile or so in front of us. So w
t mount our horses and skirt along be
9 hind the hill, finally emerging on 1t
/ summit Again he shows me the posi-
g tion to be occupied and then he point
d to the thread Of the road lying beneat
s THE guns ;, he says, "will pas
It down that read If you will go ther
+, and wait few minutes they will com
o over the ridge and gallop into their ney
positions. - Even as he speaks thre
horsemen cross the ridge, ride down tn
road and up. toward the hill the genera
has pointed out. 'sThey. are part. o
the staff he explains, going ahea
!: Of the guns to pick the best position:
: : so that when the cannon come up Their
: will be no, delay in placing them. Yo
had better hurry, for the guns will no
] be far behind
orr