Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1905-04-14
Orchard II. Little. in Chicago Daily
News

1C OHdhHe, quoted my mentor
friend, philosopher and guide, Capt
William JudsoH, American military
agent with the Russian army. as we
stood on the crest of Erdigo hill and
looked down at the blue ribbon of ice
at the bottom Of the bill Before us
spread out fat plains crowned here
and there with low hills. The white
snow carpeted everything. Here and
there smoke rose slowly into the air
from the companies bivouacking in the
trenches, but other signs of life were
there none. The silence was profound.
Japnnese Open Fire.
The captain gazed long and earnest
ly at the distant hills and then repeat
ed again, "All quiet along the Shade. !"
Zwo-Zwo-Zwo-Zwo," l knew what
that sound was. l had heard it before.
Into the trenches. gentlemen. -
spake the captain. do not interfere
with The war Remember. we are non
combat" MY word it wath a SHIN
othie," said the English correspondent
who lisped.
1T wath," said Capt Judson, grave
~. and it wath a big one. too
We decided to remain awhile in the
trench before going back Capt Jud-
son has a theory. He says he always
waited five minutes before leaving
shelter. If the Japs intended to fire
again they would do so before that
time. If they did not. it would be safe
TO come out of cover and take the
back trail. We waited three minutes,
four. four and a half, four and three
quarters. We arose.
''Zwoo. 700, ZOO.
Gentlemen of the overture" spake
the captain, "be seated"
We sat.
Then we squirmed. for the shell had
kicked dirt into the trenches and some
of it had gone down the backs of our
necks.
What l want to know is" l ven
tured after | had shaken most of the
gravel down my back, lis, why are
they shooting at US" The captain
thought il was because of my striking |
resemblance TO Gen. Kuropatkin. Sug- |
gestion rejected.
| thought that possibly the riCkshaw
man in Nagasaki whom the captain
stood on his head for demanding ex-
cess fare. had been made battery COM
mander and was seeking revenge. The |
English correspondent said he did not
think a rickshaw man could become a |
battery commander in such short |
time. True enough, l realized how alb |
surd my theory was and withdrew 1t. |
The captain said whatever the cause |
was he wished they would quit. 1t
made him homesick. When he heard |
a shell coming his way he felt just the |
way he did when crossing Broadway |
with two trolley cars coming at him |
from north and south. an automobile |
charging him on the right flank and |
three state carriages of the naughty |
rich bearing down on him from lee |
ward.
Big Guns are Active.
So finally we clambered slowly
down Erdigo. and the Japanese indig-
nant that their targets had gone away
shelled the unoffending Chinese wood
cart in the valley out of pure spite.
But it is nevertheless a fact that
il is very. very quiet along the Shade. |
Capt Judson pronounces it Shakkha
as the Russian do The Chinese them |
selves and the missionaries pronounce
il Shahhuir Nobody pronounces ii !
Shade The person who first gave the
English spelling to Chinese sounds
did a very inartistic piece of work.
OF course this question of the Shaho
must be taken in relative sense. |
There's enough racket at times along
the railroad tracks where the big guns
are located to make a boiler factory
jealous. and every day looking either
east or west from any of the high hills
on the left flank one sees the sudden
bursting of white smoke in the air and
the disappointed '.poom' of some
shrapnel that wastes it's sweetness on
the desert air. While at some points
the opposing pickets are on friendly
terms in other spots they are peevish
and take vicious delight in shipping
away At the other side at the slightest
provocation or without any at all.
What | mean is that it is very quiet
along the Shaho compared with what
YOU would expect to find it with an
army of something like 250.000 men
on one side and hardly a pistol shot
away another army Of
(Rule XXTI Regulations for war
correspondents. The number of Rus
sian troops in an army or position
must not be made public)
Armies Close To Each other.
Here is certainly 4 strange situation
The two armies confront each other
along a front of more than 10 English
miles. At some point the two sides
are not a pistol shot apart At Inch
inpu. on the plain near the railroad
tracks. the Russians occupy the north
portion of the village and the Japanese
the south. and there is more local pride
and municipal rivalry than there is
between Minneapolis and 81. Paul