Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1905-04-27
ON THE YALU
COrigtnal,l.

- kAS Adlu IlVCx,
which divides Manchuria from Korea.
q Japanese family who had wandered
from their native land worked a little
farm. When the japanese armies were
advancing to force the passage Of the
Yalu. though the little patch of vege-
tables raised by this family was grow
Ing finely, starvation stared them in
the face. for no army will advance
through any country without the rank
and file, either s%tealthily or openly, ap-
propriating everything acceptable to
the human stomach.
One morning little Saiki, the twelve
year-old son, hearing that the Japa-
nese were advancing, consulted with
his mother us to what was to be done.
They knew that their being Japanese
born would not protect them. The
mother did nothing but rock herself
and moan, and to escape the distress
Ing sight Saiki determined to 20 I'D
the road along which the troops were
coming n take q look ut them. There
was a donkey on the place, the only
animal owned by the family, and Sal
ki, knowing that the little brute would
doubtless be forced into the Japanese
service, concluded that he might as
well have a last ride on his back. So
he untethered him and, mounting, pro-
ceeded up the road.
Now, Chunkee, the donkey, took very
little interest in the approaching
troops, constantly turning aside to nib
bic at a thistle Or some weed at which
another animal would TURF up his
nose. Saiki belabored him to go on and
by hard work got him to a place
where the road crossed a branch Of the
Yalu river. Seeing the water, Chunkee,
instead Of going over the bridge, in
sisted on going down to the water to
take a drink. Little Saiki was not
strong enough to control the donkey
and, making a virtue of necessity, per-
mttted him to have his way.
While Chunkee was drinking Saiki
looked up over his shoulder at the un-
derside Of the bridge. Then he looked
at the muddy soil on which the abut-
ment beside him was built. Then he
noticed patches Of light colored dust.
Wondering what it meant, he dis
mounted and, taking some of it up in
his fingers, found that it was sawdust.
The Japanese are a very bright people,
and Saiki was no fool. He naturally
looked up to see where the sawdust
had come from. This time he bent his
little black eyes on the bridge above
With moro coro than hoPoro and uotiood
thin lines running across the stringers.
It was plain that the stringers had
been sawed partly through, and a
heavy weight pressing on the bridge
would break it down. Doubtless some
Korean favoring the Russians or some
Russian scout had done the work, in
tending to let the advance Of the jap
anese army into the stream and delay
the passage.
Though Saiki had been born in Ko-
rea, he had inherited the Japanese pa
triotism. One idea alone occupied his
mind-to save the Japanese advance
from falling with the bridge. He
jerked Chunkee's bride, he dug his
heels into the beasts sides, he bella
bored him, but Chunkee would not
bulge till he had had his fill. Then
he leisurely retraced his steps up the
bank and stood a dozen yards from the
bridge celebrating whether he would
20 forward or back home.
When a Japanese army moves it is
without the usual beating Of drums,
sounding Of trumpets, shouting Of or
ders-indeed, all those noises usually
attending the passage of armies. On
the other side Of the bridge, half a
mile down the road, a column Of in
fantry was marching noiselessly, but
with a quick step, like the shadow Of a
cloud passing between the earth and
the sun.
At the head Of the foremost files rode
a general and his staff. Nearing the
bridge, he saw on the opposite side a
boy seated on a donkey, belaboring the
little beast, vainly %endeavoring to force
him across. Suddenly the boy looked
up and saw the troops he had not
heard. He at once made signs that
the advancing host did not heed. He
was about to throw himself off the
donkey and run over the bridge when
the obstinate beast took it into his
head to plunge across himself. He
stopped suddenly at the farther end
just as the Japanese general was en-
tering the structure, and Saiki called
out that it had been sawed.
Five minutes was all the delay occa-
stoned. A horseman rode down into
the stream, found that it was shallow,
and the infantry proceeded by the ford.
In crossing, the general and his staff
used the ford, but Chunkee was too
little to do this, so Saiki rode back
across the bridge, which had only bent
slightly under the diminutive donkey.
When Saiki reached the other side the
general was sitting on his horse IN
the road, somewhat a%nxiously waiting
for the safe passage Of his pr%eserver.
AS soon as the boy had crossed and
come up the general turned his horses
head and, with little Saiki riding be-
side him, listened to how he came to
make the discovery of the sawed
~h-- - -~l-~I 30 Tho hnu