Los Angeles herald., 1908-02-14
MYSTERY OF SEVEN
BROWN MEN SOL WE'D
SANTA MONICA WAR SCARE HAS
FlZZLED OUT
Peaceful Japanese Experiment with
Life Saving Apparatus, but Wild
Rumors of Coast Being At
tackled Are Circulated

Seven Japanese practicing with a
pivot gun off Point Duma."
1.-THE Japanese are securing maps Of
the coast and preparing to attack
Southern California"
1.-THE advance force of a great Japan
ese army is here
Artillery belonging to the japanese
has been landed in a lone region back
of the Malibu ranch"
1.-THE Japanese are going to attack
all the cities in this vicinity and greet
the Pacific squadron with the roar of
cannon"
Cali out the national guard, summon
the rangers, telegraph Teddy and have
him send Taft to settle the affair.
Wow.
There was rushing and chasing and
wild rumors when the report spread
through little Santa Monica by the Sea
that seven brown men from the mika-
dos kingdom were practicing with a
pivot gun a few miles north of Point
Duma.
First a lone peddler carried in the
report. Then came a Mexican sheep
herder. He was closely followed by a
agreed, the japanese were using
smokeless powder.
Soon tales of quiet appearing men
stealthily creeping along the seashore
at night and making drawings of the
foothills, of the position occupied by
the Ship hotel In the town of the doge,
of the horseshoe pier, yea-even of the
bandstand-were whispered, and for
the first time in more than twenty
years Santa Monica woke up.
Danger Feared
The quiet residents of that peaceful
little seaside city decided they were in
danger. They felt certain those seven
awful japanese would sweep down and
Port Arthur them Just think! all the
pretty little homes would be destroyed
by those seven awful Japanese. They
would carry off everything in sight
except, as one man pointed out, the
septic tank and the sewer troubleS-and
the residents felt disconsolate.
They only had one thing to console
them, namely, that Santa Monica was
at last on the inap; placed there by
seven Japanese.
Meanwhile the trusty pivot gun,
mounted by the enemy on our shores,
continued to do brave duty off Point
Duma, and the seashore was lined with
the residents of the city striving to see
the splash of the leaden shot "a mile to
Seaward."
"a trusty guard of three men sur
rounds the gun" whispered one of the
news bearers. while the other four are
In Los Angeles after ammunition"
LET us call out the volunteer flre
department. Tell Max Barretto to
summon his police force" "Hurrah!
On to victory!" cried the excited popu-
lace, when-
Rats
The secret of the whole thing leaked
out.
Poor harmless little brown men. No
war for theirs.
They come nc to take life-rather
to save 1t.
It was all told in a jffy. One of the
Japanese is an inventor, and for some
time has been experimenting with 6
contrivance whereby a specially con
structed life line can be shot from tht
shore across any vessel which may be
In distress.
~ Point Duma was selected as the best
place to carry OF the experiments, as
it was improbable operations would be
disturbed; so with his six friends the
inventor rigged up a small bore gun
and with a few charges of powder
started work.
The tale was told.
Then Santa Monica went back 10
peaceful slumber.