The Washburn leader. [volume] (Washburn, McLean County, N.D.) 1890-1986, 1908-04-24

|IAr~ *
The Flag Under Which He Had
Fought So vaIfantly.
indignation. BY a most remarkable
display of authority they were brought
into subsection again, the commanding
general, a man at almost retiring age,
rising before them and holding up q
warning hand. Gentlemen he said,
quietly rebuking them, tour first duty
il that Of obedience
"The officers, looking at one anoth-
er, settled into their seats, and in al
most an instant the silence in tho
had grown painful. The gov
ernor, still holding his papers before
him, slowly continued:
Fearing trickery on the part of a.
prospective enemy, I doubted the au-
thenticity of my instructions. I used
a secret code which has gone
beyond the hands Of the most conf
Dental lei in my department, and to
my surprise received absolute con-
firmation. To you of the army I will
say that before this verif1cation was
received, your general and here he
turned to his white-haired confrere,
had been the recipient of a command
from the secretary of war of the
United States couched in almost the
same terms
"At the conclusion Of his speech,
this fine old man sank back into his
chair with bowed head as if the dis.
grace of his country was his own.
There was a more or less dignif1ed dis
cussion participated in by the older
officers present; but interrupted now
and then by some of the younger men,
who favored totally ignoring the or
ders and defending the islands to the
death. The cooler heads among them
prevailed, and at last it was recog-
nized that there was no alternative
save absolute and unqualified surren-
der.
Before the meeting could be official
ly dispersed the sullen boom of a gun
came heavily from the sea, reverberat-
ing through the room. The men
sprang to their feet and rushed to-
ward the exit, knowing that war was
upon them, but that their hands were
tied as hopelessly as though bound
with manacles of steel.
There, within range of their W
heavier guns, 1oated a formidable feet
from Japan. Even while their IN
ference was in progress, cruiser after
cruiser and floating forts of steel had
crept up over the horizon. The JAP
anese gunner we're testing their
range; but no damage had been done.
l saw a procession of c%restfallen men,
going as If to a funeral, enter their
fortress gates and silently gather
round the great Flagstaff, from which
floated a hitherto unsullied banner. A
grim old man grown gray in war and
SCARED with the marks of many bat
ties, walked to the halyards, gave
them a pull and brought duttering to
the ground the flag under which he
had fought SO valiantly. A colonel Of
his staff took from the hands of an
orderly a cloth of white, the emblem
the world over of defeat with or with.
out honor. fastened it into the idle
loops and pulled 1t aloft.
1.-THE general, a warrior no longer,
but a heart-broken old man, turned
away i. from his colleagues, walked
across the parade, and the door Of his
quarters closed upon him. Several
other members Of his staff did like
wise, and still others stood silent on
the ramparts, watching the outcome
Of this event. The ships ceased firing.
and, as If perplexed by this unwar-
ranted outcome, seemed to be COM
municating with each other, dexter
ously wigwagging signal after signal.
A torpedo boat destroyer slowly sepa-
rated itself from the 1otilla and came
suspiciously nosing its way toward the
land, winding in ana out as IL fearing
floating mines or sunken engines Of
destruction.
"As 1t neared the shore, 1t was seen
that on its black deck stood the ad-
miral Of the feet, together with his
stan. They were met at the landing
by a deputation Of officers, both civil
and military, who escorted them to
the fort. No one a depict the ex-
pressions. half surprise and half in
quiry, which overspread the o
tenances of this Insignificant invading
force. A party Of less than ten men
without arms was actually accom-
plishing the most remarkable con-
quest in all. history.
AT the entrance to this city Of
masonry and steel. equipped with
silent monsters Of warfare, embodyirg
all the latest and most formidable In.
struments Of offense and defense.
built to Withstand the onslaught Of the
combined navies and armies Of the
unrld stood the sullen. sbsmasaceda