The Central Nevadan. [volume] (Battle Mountain, Nev.) 1885-1907, 1905-11-23
Why q japanese
Boy Went to War
foriginai.I

lOrfglnal.I
While acting as newspaper cr-
respondent with the japanese army In
Manchuria | met d young officer &C.
cupying a very important position on
the staff Of one Of the generals who
loo..ed better fitted for the schoolroom
than for war. | asked him how one SO
young happened to come to the front
and attain such high rank In the serv-
Ice, and he told me the following
story:
Six months ago l entered our mill.
larry school. which l have been told
was modelled ON your school at West
Point. The boys l found there were
all very young, because all the older
ones had been pr~ematurely graduated
and sen up here, the vacancies being
filed by youngsters like myself. The
officers OF duty, too, were very young.
Coming from the country and not of
the samurai, or, military, class, l knew
nothing about the army regulations.
scarcely realizing the difference be
tween an officer and a cadet. Indeed,
at the school there was not much diff
ference, some of the instructors hav-
ing been made cadet officers after q
years study and put In as drill mas
tiers. One Of them, Lieutenant Ishi-
mura. a beardless boy. put on a great
many airs and took special pleasure
In doing SO toward me. I was very
patient under his structures. but at
last they became ~unbearable. and !
rebelled. He kept up a perpetual
sneer at my marching in the drill
squad. and, noticing, or affecting to
notice, that / carried my belly forward
instead of my chest, he struck me In
the former, causing me great pain.
Under the impulse of resentment at
the unjust treatment I knocked him
down.
My act was mutiny, and mutiny Ii
punishable with death, but Ishimura
had no right to punch me as he had
done and was puzzled to know what
to do in the matter. After ~consulta-
ton with several of his brother officers
he decided to teach me a lesson by
IA of a bluff. That night l was
taken out of bed and marched silently
to a room where sat about a table
several cadet officers who proceeded
to try me for mutiny. They played
their parts 30 well that I was complete
~ deceived. When at the conclusion I
was convicted and sentenced to be
shot, / had no doubt that the court
was bona flde and the sentence would
really be carried out The only thing
about It that surprised me was that I
was to be taken at once to a wood ear
the academy and executed. I begged
for time to write a letter to my par
ents, giving my reasons for the disgrace
| had brought on the family and bid
ding them farewell. No attention was
paid to my request. and. having been
placed In the center OF half a dozen
cadets, l was marched out OF the bar
racks. Every now and again some one
of the boys who were evidently thrown
out as scouts would fall back to re-
port something ahead. Then me would
halt and wait. l did not know at the
tine what they we're doing. but learned
IL ~ aAttt U AZ WO00 nA3
reached without serious interruption
anil ! was placed at tie center Of IN
opening IN the trees. The cadets were
drawn up as a firing squad. and I was
asked IL l had anything to say before
being executed.
Only" l replied. that Lieutenant
Isllimura IL a coward or he would give
me an opportunity to fight him on
equal grounds before die"
There was a consultation IN whispers,
AMI I was told that Ishlmura would
meet me. We were given swords and
Get to work. Ishimura had considered
me easy to disarm, which would end
the contest, but while he was trying
or,y to disarm me I was trying to kill
hin before being shot. Ny situation
gave me IN unnatural strength and
rapidjty Of movement. Making q des-
pesate lunge, | pierced his sword arm.
rendering 1t for the time being use
less.
The youngsters, who were In the
wrong from the beginning, were
thrown by this into deeper water. Aft
er a hurried consultation I was placed
again before the firing party and told
that my second offense of wounding
an officer was worse than the first and
l was to be shot at once. / was 30
pleased Mt the punishment I had given
my tormentor that l felt comforted.
Taking a cigarette from my pocket l
lighted It and smoked while the firing
party were loading their guns. When
they raised them and aimed at me I
puffed away, thinking that l was TAX
Ing my last smoke. The order to fire
was given, there wat a fash In my
face and-f stood unframed. The guns
had been loaded with blank cartridges.
Gentlemen" said the superintend-
ent OF the academy. stepping from be-
hind a tree, this farce has gone far
enough. Lieutenant Ishimura, go to