George Lynch, Frederick Palmer, John Maxwell Hamilton in Many Wars, By Many War Correspondents 2010

8/10/2019 George Lynch, Frederick Palmer, John Maxwell Hamilton in Many Wars, By Many War Correspondents 2010

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In Many "Wars, oy Many "War Corresponaents


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IN HAN Y

WAR5,

Updated Editio n

With a Foreword by JOHN MAXWEL L HAMILTO N

L O U I S I A N A S T A T E U N I V E R S I T Y P RE S S

B AT O N R O U G E

by

M N Y W R C O R R E S P O N D E N T S

Edited by GEORGE LYNC H and FREDERICK PALMER


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PUBLISHED W I T H T H E ASSISTANC E O F

the V . Ray Cardozier Fun d

DeeDee an d Kevi n P . Reilly, S r .

Published b y L ouisiana State Universi ty PressOriginal ly published a s In Many W ars, b y Many W ar-Correspondents, b y th e

Tokyo Print in g Co. , 190 4Appen dix i an d App endix 2 copyright 2010 by Lou isiana State Universi ty Press

Foreword copyrigh t 201 0 by John Maxwel l Hamil to n

Louisiana Pap erback E dit ion, 201 0

All r ights reservedManufac tured i n the Uni te d Sta te s of Am ericaFirst p r in t in g

Designer: Laur a Roubique Gleason

Typeface: Adobe Cas lo n P r o

Printer an d

binder: Thom son-Shore , Inc.

L I B R A R Y O F C O N G R ES S C ATA L O G I N G - I N - P U B L I C AT I O N D A T A

In ma n y wars, by many war correspondents / edi te d b y George Lync h an d Frederick Palme r ;

with a foreword by John Maxwel l Ham ilton . Updated ed .p . cm. (Fro m our own correspondent)

Originally published: Tokyo : Tokyo Print in g Co. , 1904.I S B N 978-0-8071-3709- 3

i. R usso-Japanes e War, 1904-1905Pres s coverage . 2 . R usso -Japa nese War, 1904-1905Jour -nalists. 3 . War cor respondents . I . L ynch , George , 1868-1928 . II . Pa lme r , Fred erick , 1873-1958 .I II . Ham il ton , John Maxwel l .

08517.155 2011355.o2O9'o4idc22

2010020281

The paper in this book meets the guidelines for perm anen ce and durabil ity of the Comm itte eon Production Guideline s fo r B ook Longevity o f the Counci l o n L ibrary Resources .


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CONTENTS

Page

" ANaval Engagement, " b y E. Ashmead Bartlet t I" Presiden t McKinley's Assassination/' and "From Our Special at the

Front/* by Richard Barry, Eastern Illustrate d Wa r New s 5

" Under th e Fir e o f a n Internationa l Fleet/ ' b y Joh n F . Bass ,

Chicago Daily News 1 1

" A Night at Death's Door/ ' b y Will H . B rill , Reuter's Telegra m

Company 1 7

" A Battl e with the Waves/' b y A. F. Cahusac , London Chronicle. . 2 1

" Michaels , o f Michaelma s Bay, " by Franklin Clarkin , Ne w Yor k

Evening Post 2 5

" Fiftee n Hour s Unde r Fire/ ' b y Wil l Levingto n Comfort ,

Chicago Evenin g Post , Pittsburg h Dispatch , Detroi t Journal . 3 1

" My Mos t Strenuou s Campaign, " b y Rober t Moor e Collins ,

Reuter's Telegra m Compan y 3 5" In Modoc," b y Paul Cowles , Associated Pres s " 3 9

" How Stephe n Cran e too k Juan a Dias, " b y Richar d Hardin g

Davis, Collier' s Weekly 4 3

" He That Died o ' Wednesday," b y Oscar Davis , N . Y. Herald .. . 4 7

" On e Day's Wor k i n Cuba," by William Dinwiddie, N. Y. World . . 4 9

" A Startlin g Surprise, " b y M . H . Donohoe , Londo n Dail y

Chronicle 5 5" The Penalt y of War Corresponding, " b y W. H. Donald, Sydney

Morning Telegraph 5 9" February 8th, " b y Robert L . Dunn, Collier's Weekl y 6 5

" The Cowboy and the Rattlesnake," b y Martin Egan , Associate d

Press 6 9


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CONTENTS

Page.

" How South American s Fight," b y Edw in Emerson, N. Y. W orld. 7 3" The Hat and the Ha'penny," b y John Fox , Scribner ' s Magazine . 7 9

" A Nigh t Attac k o n B oshof, " b y Reginal d Glossop , Yorksh ir ePost 8 3

Wit h Colone l Yankoff : A Balka n Episode, " b y A . G . Ha les ,London Dail y New s 8 7

" A Mang o and a Rumor," b y James H. Ha re , Collier' s Weekly... 9 1" The B reak-up," b y D. H. Jame s 9 5" A Trip to New Y ork as a Steward," b y Oliver S. Kenda ll, London

Daily Telegrap h 9 7" A Veld t Vendetta," b y Georg e H . K in gsw ell , L ond o n D ail y

Express 10 1

" Treasur e Trove," b y Walter Kirton , Central News 10 5 Ho w I Wa s Nearl y Beheade d " an d " .o " b y E. F. Kn ight ,

London M ornin g Post 10 7

" Savin g a C olum n, " b y Lancelo t F . L aw ton , Londo n Dail yChronicle 11 3

"Waiting," b y Si r B rya n Leighto n 11 7" R. T. P. s," b y Richard H. Little, Chicag o Daily New s 11 9" A Camer a and a Journey," b y Jack London , New Y ork A m erican. 12 3" Nippo n Banzai," b y George Lynch , Londo n Daily Chronicl e .. . 13 1" An Unpleasan t Choice, " b y R . J . M a cH ug h , Londo n Dail y

Telegraph 13 5" An At tempt Tha t Failed, " b y W. M axw ell, London Standard... 14 1" War' s Mercie s and War's Satires, " b y F rederick Palmer , Collier's

Weekly 14 5 Th e Wa r an d the Walker," b y Percival Phillips , Londo n Dail y

Express 14 9

" Adrif t o n an Ice-Pack," b y F. Lione l Pratt 15 5" An Adventur e i n B ulgaria, " b y Melto n Prior , Illustrated Londo n

News 15 9" Takin g I t Lyin g Down, " b y Guy H. Scull, New Y ork Glob e .. . 16 3" W ithou t Orders," b y A rther Smallwood , Lon do n Daily Express ... 16 7


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CONTENTS

Page.

" A Message fro m Andree, " b y Gordon Smith, Londo n Morning

Post 17 1

" The Canadian s a t Paardeberg, " b y Richmond Smith , Londo nStandard 17 7

" A Fij i Incident, " b y Sydney Smith, London Daily Mai l 18 3" The Devotion s o f a n Emperor, " b y W . S . Straight , Reuter' s

Telegram Compan y 18 7

" Impression Penible," b y C. Victor Thomas, Le Gauloi s 19 1" How I Selected a Campaign Outfit," b y Sam B Trissel, Associated

Press 19 3

"Sognando," b y Alberto Troise, La Tribuna 19 7

"' Saved b y a Deser t Quail, " b y Gran t Wallace , Sa n Francisc o

Evening Bulleti n 20 1

" A Boxer Charge, " b y Fred Whiting, London Daily Graphic .. . 20 7

" Four Stone Ten/ 1 b y Sheldon Williams , London Sphere 20 9

Appendix i . "Painfu l Impression" : Translatio n o f C . Victo r Thomas' s

"Impression Penible" by Carey Cupit 21 1

Appendix 2 . "Dreaming " : Translatio n o f A lberto Troise's "Sognando "by Dennis G . Martinez 21 3


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Some of the Authors


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"There are few people in the world who have more opportunity fo r getting close

to the ho t interesting thing s o f one's time tha n th e specia l correspondent o f a

great paper, " George Lynch , a veteran British correspondent , wrote i n Impres-

sions o f a W a r Correspondent, publishe d i n 1 9 03.'

War reporting. It sounded so romantic. A laissez-passermto the f ron t lines

of news And fo r a time i t had been, just as Lynch said . Home from th e field of

battle, th e corresponden t was a celebrity, his experiences worth a quick book for

the armchai r adventurer. But the London Daily C hronicles special correspondent

was to learn the year after his memoir appeared that the war correspondent's l i fewas fast becoming on e of hard-to-get press passes and short leashes.

Early i n 1904 , Lync h an d a distinguished thron g o f foreign correspon -

dents with high hopes o f a good stor y assembled in Tokyo t o cover the Russo -

Japanese War, onl y to discover that the authoritie s were determined no t to let

them "clos e to the hot interesting things." Corralle d i n the Imperial Hotel, the

journalists had nothing muc h to do except tell stories in the ba r an d scrounge

for somethin g t o write about . They called themselves "Cherr y Blosso m Corre -

spondents." 2 In an effort tha t combined socializing and make-do writing, Lync h

and Frederic k Palme r o f C ollier's propose d tha t the y an d a few o f thei r col -

leagues join in writing shor t autobiographic essay s about some exciting event in

their careers.

The result i s this "curiosit y of literature," a s Palmer calle d i t in a letter t o

his American publisher. 3 It i s not th e onl y instance o f correspondents writin g

reminiscences fo r a joint volume : other s hav e been assembled . An especiall y

large numbe r were publishe d durin g Worl d War II . Bu t thi s on e is d i ff er en t

because of the circumstance s under which i t was not only written bu t also pro-

duced. The book was printed in Tokyo i n 1904 in a limited number ; it was never

The author thanks Lindsay Newport for her research assistance.


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published for a ma ss audience in B ritain or the United States , althoug h Palme r

hoped i t would be. A s a result, th e boo k did no t find a place on m an y shelves,

which i s a pity. I t serve s up valuable stories no t foun d elsewher e an d s tand s a s

a signpost o n the roa d to increasingly sophisticated governm en t suppressio n of

information i n tim e o f war. Memoirs writ te n afte r th i s wa r would b e heavil y

laced with regrets abou t what correspond ent s could not d o or see.

The Russo-Japanese War ha d a long fuse. I t was lighted b y Great Powe r expan -

sion in the Fa r East .For th e Japanese , i t bega n whe n U .S . Commodor e M a tth e w C . P err y

forced ope n their p ort s i n 1854 , ending th e islan d nation's isolation. Th e Japa-

nese were hum iliated. Th e political upheaval that followed brought fort h a newgeneration o f Japan ese leaders who conclude d tha t they coul d no t recove r self -

respect b y restoring th e past . Unable t o expel the barb arians , they would emu -

late them . Japan successfull y challenge d China' s suzeraint y over Kore a in 1894and invade d Manchuria . I n th e resultin g Treaty o f Shimonoseki , i t acquire d

Taiwan, th e Pescadores, and the Kwantung Peninsula in South Manch uria. A l -

though Wester n power s quickly force d th e m t o relinquis h their claim s on th e

peninsula, the Jap anese were undeterred . A subsequen t comm ercial treaty gave

them th e sam e rights in C hina a s the Western power s enjoyed.

The R ussians led the diplomati c effort t o force Jap an to give up the Kw an -

tung Peninsula . That, however , wa s not th e firs t s ig n o f the comin g clash . I n

1860 the y create d th e por t c it y o f Vladivostok a s a military outpost. I t s tellin g

name m ean t "Rule th e East. " Russia n intentions were als o app arent in its rail-

road building : first th e Trans-Siberian Railway , which would m ak e i t easie r to

support their Asia n frontier; next th e Chines e Easter n Railway , which passed

through covete d Man churia . Three years after forcin g Japan to giv e up Kwan -

tung, th e Russian s claimed the much-dispute d regio n fo r themselves and builtthe South M anch uria n Railway , which would connec t i ts rail lines to th e Chi -

nese ports o f Po rt Arthur an d Dairen .

In respons e to a n A nglo-Japanese Treaty an d other diplomati c maneuver-

ing agains t it , Russi a agreed t o a phased withdrawal o f forces fro m M anchu -


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by Sherman's m ilitary court was a frank suppression of free speech : the reporte r

was banished f ro m th e "line s o f the Army. "

In the progression o f finding better way s to tame correspondents, the Japa-

nese showed the y could defeat no t only a European military force but also , w ithgracious smiles and intransigence, a large force o f the West's best war reporters .Wrote W illard Straight, representin g Reuter's an d the Associated Press :

The air of the Impe ria l Hotel was a bright blu e from earl y m orn to golde n

sunset. Famou s correspondents , veteran s o f countles s campaigns , wer e

held up , bound han d an d foot b y the dapper little Orientals. . . . The situ -ation w a s unique in th e anna l s o f journ alism. A governmen t holdin g th e

rabid pressme n at a distance, censorin g their simples t stories , ye t pattin g

them o n th e back , d inin g them , winin g them , givin g the m picnic s a n d

luncheons and theatrical perform ance s and trying in everyw ay not only to

soften thei r bond s an d to m ak e their sta y a pleasant one, but siren-lik e t o

deaden their sens e of duty an d their desir e to get into th e field.9

Realizing th a t war was in th e offing , man y newspapers sent correspondents toTokyo befor e th e Japanese attack o n Port Arthur i n February. A s a sign o f whatwas t o come , i t was not on e of these journa lists who brok e th e news . Th e first

news came from a n Associated Pres s reporte r a t Chefo o o n the Chines e coast .

He base d his dispatch o n reports f ro m passenger s on a steamship t ha t had ar -rived from th e battle scene . The Japanese had turne d th e Imperia l Hotel into a

well-provisioned priso n .

Over th e nex t week s mor e correspondent s arrive d t o tak e room s i n th e

"Imperial Tomb, " a s they calle d th e hotel.10 Fift y o r s o bedded dow n ther e i n

early M arch. Estimate s o f the total numbe r w ho covered the war from on e van-

tage poin t o r anothe r rang e a s high a s tw o hundred.11 Most were Brit is h an dA merican, bu t Germ an , French , an d Italian journalists came as well. Althoug h

foreign repor tin g w a s considere d a man's busines s i n thos e days , a t leas t on e

woman w as among them, An n e Vaughan-Lewes , wife o f a B ritish nava l officer .

She reported o n the Japanese side for the Times of London .


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A mong th e lodger s a t the Im p e r ia l Hotel , s a i d Frederic k Pa lmer , wer e

"more famous corresp onde nt s than were ever brought together under one roof."12

Richard Hardin g Davis , square-jawed , handsome, an d resplenden t in h is cus-

tom -m ade ou tfits , was the iconic foreign corre spo nde nt of his age. Jack Lo ndo n ,

sent b y Hearst , w a s enjoyin g accolades for h i s just-publishe d Ca ll o f th e W ild,

destined to becom e a classic. Others, not s o well remembere d today , were m ar -

quee name s at the tim e o r destined t o be . Pa lme r an d Am erican-born Perciva l

Phillips wit h th e B r itis h Da lly Express wer e ri sin g t o th e to p i n the i r profes -

s ion. Scotsma n B enne t Bur le ig h o f the Da ily Telegraph wa s al read y legendary

for hi s audacity and resourcefulness. An Am erica n Suprem e Court justice wh ohad bee n involve d i n B urleigh's impr isonmen t during the Civi l War (Burle ig h

fought o n th e Confedera t e s ide ) professed to b e fo llowin g event s in Asi a fo r

news o f som e "wil d adventure " f ro m th e correspondent.13 Another bo l d Da ily

Telegraph correspondent , Elli s Ashmead-Bar tle tt , ha d bee n imprisone d by th e

Greeks i n th e Greco-Turkis h Wa r o f 1897. Luigi B arzini was there fo r C orriere

della Sera; Edward F . Knight , wh o los t h is ar m cover in g the Boe r War, fo r th eLondon Da ily Post; and Thomas Millard, whom Kitchene r had expelled an d was

destined t o be one o f the mor e famou s Ch in a Hands , fo r the Ne w York Hera ld.

Another wh o would becom e a fixture i n Ch ina was W. H. Donald , a n Aust ra -

lian repo rting fo r several pa pers in his co untr y as well a s the C hina M ail, whe r e

he was an editor . H e w en t o n t o becom e a n adviso r for Sun Yat-sen, who m h e

helped write th e proclam atio n for a new government in 1911, and other Chines e

leaders. A biography o f him wa s titled Donald o f Ch ina .

Davis, Palmer , an d man y othe r correspondent s wrote nonf ic t io n o n th e

side. Som e like Jack L ondo n an d John F o x specialized in novels. Although Fox's

work ha s no t endured , h e wa s successfu l i n h i s day . O n e o f h i s m o r e fa m ou s

novels, The Trail o f th e Lonesome Pine, w as adapte d for th e stag e and film . Wil l

Levington Com for t , represent in g severa l Am erican papers , als o wrote novel s

and is remem bered fo r his interest in th e occult .Others were know n ch iefl y fo r the i r wor k i n v isua l repor ting . Sinc e th e

Ashanti War i n 1873, artist Melton Prior h a d bee n coverin g battles fo r the Illu s-

trated London News. H e i s mem orialized in the c ryp t o f Saint Paul's Cathedral .

James H . Har e was the firs t grea t dar in g comba t photographer . Hi s m a id e n


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overseas assignmen t was for Colliers dur ing th e Spanish-America n War . Man y

more w ars followed. Richar d H ardin g Davi s was to say , "No war is official unti l

covered b y Jim my H are."14

Fewer correspondent s wer e s ta tione d o n th e Russia n side , whos e fron t

was muc h farthe r f ro m i t s na tiona l capita l than th e Japanese force s wer e fro m

theirs. Th e correspondent s i n tha t grou p include d novelis t an d p oe t M a uric e

Baring, w h o represented th e Morning Post; Richard Henry Little, who jumped

temporarily f ro m th e Chicago Tribune t o the r iva l Dally News; a n d Franci s M c -

Cullagh, who repor te d fo r th e Ne w York Herald and th e Manchester Gua rdian.

W ar correspondent s representin g th e Associate d Press , a s it s corporate bulle -

tin noted , include d Lord B rooke , "th e talente d so n of the Ear l of Warwick, and

several well-known Russians . Mr. Kravschenko , the eminen t painte r an d liter-

atteur [ s ic ] , w h o serve d th e Novoe Vremya dur in g th e Boxe r trouble s i n C hina ,

was engaged b y the Genera l Manager o f The A ssociated Pres s in St . Petersbur g

in February a n d took h is depar ture for the Fa r Eas t earl y in M arch."15

The correspondents with th e Russ ia n force s h ad a little somethin g o f th eold-time freedo m with wh ich t o operate. "Onc e a correspondent d id obtain per -

mission f ro m th e Russian s to go to th e front ," Lord Brook e remarked , "he had

practically carte blanche, h e could g o to the f i rin g l in e and get himsel f kille d i f

he chose."16 AP Genera l Manager Melvill e Stone, seekin g to expand the reac h

of this service , secure d perm ission f ro m th e cza r to sen d new s freel y fro m an y

place in the country, excep t th e front . "They turne d ove r to us in St. Petersburg ,

daily, without mutilation , th e officia l r epor t s mad e t o th e Empero r an d t o th e

War Departm ent."17 Of course correspondents had com plaints. Brooke and o th -

ers were loudly unhapp y with censorshi p i n th e w a r zon e a n d weary o f be in g

under suspicion . Douglas Story , a Scotsman w ho represente d th e Da ily Express,

lamented th e r is e o f censorship in Russia and elsewher e a s "a crisis in th e affa ir s

of correspondents whic h m us t lea d t o change."18 Bu t i n hi s memoir , The C a m -

paign with Kuropatkin, h e had kin d word s as well a s complaints fo r the Russia ncensors and remembere d on e with whom h e socialize d a s "a friend."19

The correspondent s o n th e Japan sid e o f th e w a r d i d s tor e u p suc h fon d

mem ories o f their pres s handlers . Burleig h spok e o f " th e leashe d li f e o f a w a r

correspondent with the Japanese,"20 and s o did m ost everyone else. T he Jap ane se


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kept the m f ro m th e fron t o n the pretense of protecting them . Th e only time th e

Japanese told th e t ru th , said Richard Hardin g Davis , w a s "when the y said we

would no t be allowe d to do something w e wan ted t o do."21 "We are treated lik e

children, nuisance s and possibl e spies, " John Fo x wrote hom e i n Ma y 1904.22

Douglas Story , who ha d been with th e Japanese before becomin g the first for-eign correspo nden t accredited with the Russia n M anchurian Army , said that a

"free pres s was a s much a marvel in Japan a s a mastodon i n Hyde Park."23

Melton P rio r r anke d a s th e dea n o f th e correspondent s b y d in t o f hi slong caree r on battlefields. A frien d commente d t ha t the wa r "nearl y broke his

heart."24 It wa s to b e his last. Prior 's com munication s shortly afte r arrivin g in1904 cap ture the agg ravation:25

F E B R U A R Y 17 . "Thi s i s an excellen t hotel, w it h suc h a nice manager. . . .

A meetin g ha s just been hel d b y the correspondents at the reques t o f the

Government t o settle abou t ou r t ransport in th e field ."

F E B R U A R Y 23 . The Jap anese "are awfully secretive about everythin g an dfrightened t o death a t our giving awa y the movement s o f troops. . . . TheRothschild o f Jap an, a Mr. Mi tsui , hea d o f the hous e o f Mitsui, gav e u s

correspondents a great dinne r at the Mitsui Clu b o n Sund ay last, th e 2ist ,

followed b y a m agnificent entertainm ent, with conjuring, dancing (Geishagirls), and a sho rt Japanese play."

M A R C H 15 . "Ther e i s absolutel y n o excitemen t here , an d no th in g o f in -

terest t o sketch ; i t is maddening. . . . Y ou can never get a direct Y es or N o

out o f a Jap; h e say s i t would no t b e polite , s o h e equivocates , an d hum -

bugs you."

MARCH 20 . "Th e Empero r opene d the Parliamen t here in person to-day ,

and w e Pressme n were allowed t o be present . I t ha d been fo r som e tim e

very doub tful whether w e should, bu t this morning , abou t tw o hours be -

fore th e ceremony , w e receive d ou r passes . We al l had t o go in evenin gdress. . . . Really it is a disg race the way we are being treated . They will no t

tell us anything truthfully , but keep o n humbugging us. "

APRIL 15 . "Most o f the peopl e in the hote l hav e been o r are ill. I was well


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enough yesterda y to go to a reception a t the Shib a Palac e ordere d b y th e

Emperor a s a compliment t o the correspondents . . . . We had a gorgeous

luncheon with every k ind o f w ine, and the royal footm en to serve us. ... I

am afrai d th e offic e m us t be very upset a t not receiving sketches, but tha t

cannot b e helped, an d we are al l in the sa m e fix."

MAY 5. "Yo u must nearly be a s sick o f seeing , by the abov e address , that

I am still her e as I am. Is it not shockin g to think tha t I have been a com-

parative prisoner in this tow n fo r over three months "

Maybe becaus e the Japa nese worried tha t their restr iction s o n correspondentswere beginnin g t o damag e re la tion s with th e Br it is h an d th e Un ite d Sta te s ,

whose suppor t they wanted , the y allowe d sixtee n correspondent s to join Japa -

nese force s i n April .26 Tw o s imi larl y smal l groups wen t la ter . Seein g an y rea l

f ighting nevertheles s remaine d a problem. Battle s too k plac e on vast Manch u -

rian field s, som etimes obscured by tall mille t an d kowliang. Worse, th e Jap ane se

still weren' t intereste d i n coverage . Onl y a fte r muc h pleadin g were correspon -dents eve n receive d a t mi l ita r y headquarters . "Th e Grea t System, " der is ive l y

wrote Palmer , who was with the first group , "decide d tha t on e correspondent

m ight com e fro m th ei r ' co m p ou nd ' eac h da y an d ge t th e new s fo r a ll . T hi s

was like s tanding outsid e th e inclosur e and havin g a m an o n th e fenc e tel l y ou

who has th e bal l o n whose f ifteen-yar d line."27 "Your prophecy concerning th e

dearth o f telegraphic new s h a s been verifie d beyon d you r fondest hopes," Wil-

lard Straigh t wrot e t o hi s AP b oss , M a rt i n E ga n , "ther e ha s b een noth in g

worth a message."28

Not until the end of July was Prior "of f to the front" with the second group.

"It is true w e are at the f ront , with the enem y within fo u r mi le s o f us," h e wrote

at the en d of Au gust, "bu tan d this i s a very b ig 'but' we a re simply prison-

ers w ithin thes e city walls, an d if we very par ticu larly wish to go outside we have

to mak e special application, and an officer i s sent to acc om pan y us; but o f coursewe are not a llowe d t o g o n ea r th e troop s o r outposts , o r se e anything t o wr it e

about o r sketch."29 Fou r correspondent s in th e secon d g roupR ichar d Hard-

ing Davis , John Fox , Georg e Lynch , a n d Priorm isse d a major bat tl e because


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their Japan es e liaiso n office r tol d th e m i t would n o t t ak e place . F ro m t im e t o

t ime Censo r T. O k ad a c am e to inform corresponden ts , "All is going accordin g

to plan." "Don't forget to tell us if it 's not," sai d Jack L ond on.30

Reports f ro m th e field went thoug h maddenin g censorship , no t onc e bu t

multiple times . Telegram s wer e censore d a t the headquar ter s a n d then a t o the r

stations. Prior com plaine d that s ix officers ha d an opp ortunity to m ake deletions

before dispatche s arrived a t Nagasaki o r Tokyo. B y the t im e th e storie s reached

England, h e lam ented, "they w ere quite unreadab le."31 B esides this, th e Jap ane se

were n ot dependabl e about promptly sending repo rts onward. Som e stories took

five or s ix weeks to reach home . Som e never m ade i t a t all .Th e Jap ane se were far from contri te . When h e was stil l in waiting aroun d

in Tokyo , P rio r spok e to Genera l Fukushima , "ou r onl y mouthpiec e wit h th e

Government." Th e genera l sai d tha t th e firs t g ro u p o f co r respondent s "ha d

given s o m uch trouble and had complaine d s o much that he did not know wha t

to do."32

Many wh o rendezvoused a t the Imperia l Hotel had know n eac h othe r fo r de-

cades. " I h av e no t com e acros s Bur le ig h ye t a s he i s a t Nagasaki , bu t sha l l d o

so, I hope , ver y soon," wrot e hi s ol d campaig n par tne r Melton P rio r shortl y

after settl in g in.33 M any rema ined thick with each other ou t of affection an d for

practical reaso ns of m utual aid once they were in the field. But a s t ime wore on ,

clouds swep t ove r the festiv e m oo d o f reunion. Afte r th e war , W. H. D onal d

liked t o tell a story abou t tw o drun k correspondents w ho decide d t o due l each

other, a n ide a that w as prevented b y a timely earthquak e tha t gave t hem tim e

to sobe r up.34 O n e reaso n to hang aroun d with other correspondents , Frederic k

Villiers o f th e London Graphic noted , wa s "t o kee p watc h upo n on e another."35

No ne wanted a r ival to get an advantage .

O ne o f t hes e p r isoner s o f w a r m o s t p ro n e t o e scap e w a s Ja ck London .Palmer considered h im "th e mos t inherently individualistic and un -Socialist of

all Socialists I have ever me t and really , I thought, a philosophical an archist."36

He "preferre d t o walk a lon e i n ar is tocrat i c aloofness, a n d a lway s in th e d ire c -


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F O R E W O R D

tion h e chose n o m atter where anybod y else was going." Just fou r day s after a r -

riving i n Japan, Londo n brok e ou t o f the Imper ia l Hotel, takin g th e t ra i n t o

Moji, where Japanese police arreste d him fo r taking picture s in a n unauthor -

ized place . After th e America n ambassado r intervened, Londo n hire d a junk

that too k h im to Korea . With anothe r renegad e correspondent, Robert Dunn ,

who wa s reportin g fo r the Ne w Yo r k Sun, h e manage d fo r severa l weeks to ge t

color storie s o f life i n th e fie ld , althoug h nothin g close-u p o f the f ighting . I n

early March 190 4 the Japanese put hi m i n a military prison an d subsequentl y

attached h im t o a group o f correspondents in Seoul . Hi s fina l run-i n wi th au -

thorit ies occurre d when h e punched a Japanese groom who m h e suspecte d ofstealing fodde r for his horse. H e wa s arrested awaiting courts-m artial. Honor-ing the cod e that co rresponden ts help eac h other, even if the reporte r in need isnot al l that comradely, Richard H ardin g Davi s contacted President Roosevelt,who arranged to have London free d upo n th e conditio n that he go home. Lon -

don was happy to give up writing abou t "the woes o f correspond ents, swimm ing

pools and peaceful templ e scenes."37

If Lo ndon's freelancing irritated them , correspondent s d id what they could

to escape , too. Jimm y Hare slippe d away to ge t stunnin g pictures of the Battl e

of Yalu in May. Palme r was on his ow n for a couple of days when h i s conducting

officer di d not mee t him a s planned during the Battl e o f Liaoyang. The Italia n

reporter Luigi Barzin i manage d to get a good loo k a t the Battl e o f M ukden a t

the en d of the war.

There was freelancing at se a as well. Befor e th e war started , th e Times o f

London m ad e arran gem ents to deploy a new technology to get a j ump on news.38

Lionel Jam es hired a streamer, the Haimun, equipping it with a wireless trans -mitter, an d erected a i8o-foot-high m as t on the C hin a coas t to receiv e its mes-

sages. Th e New York Times shared in th e cos t an d benefited from result in g sto -

ries. News h e sent of the Japanese blockade o f Po rt A rthur an d their landin g a t

D arien was sig nificant. So was a story that the competitiv e Jam es euchred f ro ma London Daily M ail correspo ndent . The correspon dent had been eyewitness to

a battle scen e on the Manchuria-Korean border that the Japanese would no t lethim report . James too k h i m aboar d th e Haimun an d offere d t o hel p h i m fin d


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a cable s tation, the n transmit te d th e s torie s himself b y w ireless. T o ensure th e

Daily Ma il co r responden t w a s full y ou t o f action , James liquore d hi m u p an d

locked h im i n hi s cabin.

Correspondents i n Toky o wer e m i ff e d tha t James enjoye d a competitiv e

advantage an d sough t t o leve l th e p layin g f ield b y urging Wester n official s t o

lodge protests to the Japanese. Although Jam es d id not admi t i t for some ye ars,

h e h a d m ad e a d ea l with th e J apanes e t o p lac e a putat iv e interprete r o n th e

Haimun whos e rea l job wa s to ac t as a censor and a spy for th e navy . B ut eve n

that a r rangemen t was not enough . Eventual l y th e ever-war y Japane se scuttle d

James's scheme, and he was back on land trying t o cover the war. D isgusted with

censorship restrictions , h e eventually w ent home.39

B oats without wireles s capability plied th e water , too . The Fawan, c ha r -

tered b y the Ch icago Da lly News, r emaine d afloa t longe r tha n th e Haimun, b u t

not without tribulations.40 John Bass , the Dai ly New s chie f correspondent , too k

the boa t to the mou th o f the Yalu Rive r and t ransferred to a Chinese junk that

was to t ransport him upriver to the Jap anese forces. T he Chinese skipper, think -ing he would ge t a rew ard for tur ning Bass over to the Ru ssian s instead, heade d

in anothe r d irect ion . Onc e h e figured th is out , Bass mut in ied , s teerin g hom e

with one ha nd and ho lding his revolver in the other. At one po int the vessel took

fire from th e Russians. On tw o other oc casion s R ussians seized the Fawan, once

arresting corresp ondent Stanley W ashburn. Finally , the Japa nese purch ased the

boat f ro m i t s owner in orde r to en d its activities .

Correspondents were no t fa r removed fro m th e Spani sh-Amer ica n War,

where sensationa l repo rting led to outright fabrication . And a s ha ppened in that

earlier conflict , competi tor s like d t o unm as k colleague s wh o concocte d news .

Noted the English-language/^^^ Da ily Mail 'in Yokohama : "It appears , there-

fore, tha t th e Br i ti s h Da ily Telegraph employ s a s special correspondents spooks

or spirits, om nipre sent, since they ca n be simultaneousl y writing messag e s from

Moji i n Japan an d takin g observation s on th e coas t o f Korea , and omnisc ien tsince the y ca n wi tnes s imaginar y ba ttl e s fro m a d is ta nc e o f ove r 10 0 m ile s .

Stranger still i s it to find that this wonderfu l correspondent saw a ba ttle fu nd a -

mentally differen t fro m tha t which reall y took place."41

The very best long-distanc e job o f fak ing news ma y have been a story con-


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F O R E W O R D

cocted i n Bal t imore . New s o f the las t great engagemen t o f the wa r, the Ba ttl e

of Tsushima i n M a y 1905 , trickle d t o Am erican papers , and m u c h o f the in fo r -

mation that did arriv e fell into th e categor y o f rum or. After severa l days of this,

H. L . M encken , manag in g ed ito r o f the Evening Herald, m ad e up an accoun t

rich i n detail . Th e s tor y in th e paper ' s Tuesday edition , M a y 30 , began, "Fro m

C hines e bo a tme n la n d in g u po n th e K o rea n coas t co me s t h e fir s t connec te d

story o f the grea t nava l battle i n the s trait s o f Korea o n Sa turda y and Sunday. "

M encken considere d the s tor y his "m asterpiece of all t ime, with the sol e excep-

tion o f my bogus histor y of the bathtub."42 (Mencken's subsequen t account of h is

escapade is wrong i n severa l respects . Th e datel in e o f the s tor y was Shanghai ,not Seoul , a s he said . Furthermore, contrar y to anothe r on e of his assertions, it

was known b y the tim e h e wrote h i s story in the Herald that th e Japanese defi -

nitely had won. But why would on e expect any m ore fidelity to truth i n Menck -

en's latter accoun t tha n i n the first?)

B y th e en d o f 1904 , th e nu m be r o f correspondent s coverin g th e w a r h a d

dwindled. Palmer , wh o went hom e fo r a while , cam e back the nex t year to seethe final Battle o f M ukden. O f cours e he could no t take in much . While wait -

ing around f or som ething t o happen, he and Robert Collins , a n A P m an , asked

each other f ro m tim e t o t ime, "Hav e I eve r told you" som e pe rson al story or an-

other? The resp onse , said Palme r, wa s "'Yes , you have, you babb ling fountain o f

prolix repetition,' o r somethin g lik e that."43 Tale spinning , l ik e th e r eport ing ,

wore thin.

In Many W ars, b y M a ny W a r Correspondents w a s b or n i n th e I m pe ria l Hote l

at a t im e whe n th e correspondent s were , i f stymied , s til l hopeful . I t i s full o f

the s ort s o f storie s tha t correspondent s were regalin g eac h othe r wit h i n th e

hotel bar .

De ta ils abou t th e boo k ar e a s hazy a s the m orn ing-af te r memor ie s o f aboozy night.44 In h i s memoi r, Melton Pr io r spok e o f plans t o hav e a local Jap -

anese pr inte r produc e a n edition de luxe t o se l l fo r a guinea ( twenty-on e schil -

lings) an d a n ordinar y one cost in g five schil lings . Ther e seem s to hav e bee n

discussion o f th e on e vers io n appear in g i n bot h Englis h a n d Japanese . Als o


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Palmer wrot e hi s publisher, Scribner 's , proposing that it br ing ou t the boo k i n

the Uni te d Sta tes , but i t apparently was not interested . A cop y of the English-

langua ge version printed i n Jap an is near im possible to find today. The o ne that

forms th e basis for this boo k w as purchased from a Lo ndon book seller and may

be th e m or e elegant edit ion , i f indeed tw o versions were printed . The book h a s

a cove r o f very fine cloth. T he gilt title o n the cove r seems to be hand pa inted .

A silk cord bind s the book. I have left the text untouched, includin g the t ypos .

The reader wil l not e authors ' signature s a t the en d o f som e o f the s tories . T he

correspon dents signed sm al l slips of p aper that were pasted into eac h book .

The correspo ndents hoped th e book would mak e money, but not for them.

"It i s said w e ought t o c lea r a t least 2,000, " Prio r speculate d i n earl y March,

"but I believe w e shal l ma ke muc h mo re."45 T he ban king firm that had put o n a

par ty for the correspondents , Mitsui 5c Co., acte d a s treasurer and took u p sub -

scriptions. The procee ds were to go to a relief organization , the "Teikoku G un -

jin Y engokwai," for the benefit o f those who were orph aned an d widowed by the

war. While th e hum ani tar ia n ges ture h a d a nice r in g t o it , one expects i t wascynical. It coul d no t hur t t o curry favor with the authorit ies .

The correspo nden ts' perso nalities a nd hum or com e through i n these pages.

They tel l t hei r s to rie s in d i fferen t waysprose , poems , p ic tu res , an d eve n a

short play . "Ho w shal l I eve r write it? " ask s ar t is t G ran t Wallace ' s wa r co rre -

spondent, facin g a b lank page heade d "M y Most Interesting E xperience. " A n

Italian correspo nden t writes a dream y rom antic story in his nativ e language. A

Frenchman, i n a s imi larly f lowery account in h i s tongue , te ll s o f h is hope s o f

reach ing Korea, where the actio n was. Translations o f both a re found in appen-

dices.

Despite th e title , no t a l l of it s storie s a r e abou t war s o r eve n journal ism.

Martin Ega n tell s a boyhood tal e about a narrow escape from a rattlesnake bite.

One o f the authors , Sir B ryan Leighton, m ay not hav e been a journ alist at all.46

"He i s a n in terest in g man, " th e w if e o f th e Belgia n ambassado r wrote i n he rdiary in March 1904 , "fon d o f adventure , an d I f anc y ha s com e ou t her e a s an

am ateur war-correspondent."47 S i r B ryan is the lon e autho r no t to have a news

organization attache d t o h is n ame in the table o f conten ts. Y et most o f the boo k

is devote d t o correspondents ' routines , failures , a n d t r iumphs . A P cor respon -


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dent Sa m B . Trisse l describe s h i s kit : " I fin d I hav e procured everythin g ex -

cept a pianola, alarm clock , ice-crea m freezer, lace c urtains for the tent , chest -

nut roaster, easy chair, umbrella, an d a safe deposi t vault for the dog. " Frankli n

Clarkin o f the Ne w York Evening Post captures the roilin g emotions o f reaching

"the l ittl e corrugate d zin c cable-hous e solitar y o n a knoll[,]" where h e an d his

colleagues could file their stories , only to be let down when they were inform ed

that the way station i n H alifax could n o t handle them . Th e biggest triump h fo r

a w ar correspondent , o f course, is to sta y in th e saddl e an d alive , a point mad e

more than once . " I had los t m y spurs," writes Wil l Levingto n Comfort , "an d

it is a harsh th ing to think now , but I kep t th e pon y on his feet b y stabbing h i sflanks with a leadpencil [s ic] . I n respons e to th e reques t b y Lynch an d Palme rto "Giv e u s your mos t excitin g w a r experience, " Georg e H . Kingswel l o f th e

London Da ily Express begins , "Here's mine , I nearly died with the Irish B rigad ein Natal. "

And, yes , there a r e stories abou t wha t Perciva l Phillip s call s th e "Cam -

paign o f the Imperia l Hotel. " London recount s hi s first arrest i n Japan. I n th echapter writ te n a s a play, which take s plac e o n th e "Verand a of the Imperia l

Hotel, Tokyo," bewhiskere d correspondent s learn th a t th e wa r "ende d th ir ty -

nine y ears agoAnd th e War Offic e neve r told us "

One reaso n for Japan's victory was, a s Thom as M illard reported , " a carefully m a -

tured plan , carried ou t thoroughly an d with remarkabl e attention t o details."48

As effectiv e a s Japan was a t planning an d executin g th e war , there wasn' t an y

evidence that restrictions on the pres s m ade any great difference i n the outcome .Correspondents wer e adaman t t ha t the y woul d neve r report informatio n tha t

would giv e awa y vital informa tio n to th e enem y o f the force s the y were wi th .In hi s memoir abou t th e war, even th e "wild" B enne t Burleig h insisted , "What

a creatur e that corresponden t would b e who would betra y th e hos t wi th who mhe remaine d a s a n honoure d guest "49 Ye t nothing wa s los t a s a result o f con -

straining correspondents either. Russian General Alexi K uropatk in, looking for

scapegoats, pointed t o the press in his mem oir. "Many o f the correspondent s a t

the f ront , i ll-informe d a s to ou r own operations, an d worse informe d as to th e


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F O R E W O R D

enemy's, d id no t scrupl e t o d ispatch reports founded o n entirely unreliabl e in -

formation, an d so , by exaggerating th e im portan c e of every reverse, shook pub -

lic confidence still m ore."50

Another lesso n of the wa r lay in Jap an's pub lic rela tions activities. Well b e-

fore th e confl ict , the Jap ane se realized that to be a mem ber o f the Great Power s

they had to convince the world they we re a civilized nation . M anage m ent o f in-

ternational opinio n als o was central to allayin g concern abou t a "Yellow Peril"

and stavin g off efforts t o take awa y Japan's spoils af terward. The Fore ign Min -

istry carried out a study of Western public opinion in the foreig n press in 1898.

Two years later Japan took m or e direct step s no t only to m onitor new s coveragein Europ e an d th e Unite d S ta te s b u t a ls o t o promote Japanese v iews. Am on g

other things , they distributed release s to news bure aus under false names . When

war loomed , they sent tw o specia l envoys abroad , one to Europe an d one to th e

United States , t o coordinate what toda y would b e calle d public diplomacy . "By

manipulat ing th e B rit is h press," instructed Japanese Foreign M iniste r Kom ur a

Jutaro i n Fe bruar y 1904 , "w e m ust persuasively explain the r ighteousnes s o f ourcause an d h el p t o d e fen d ou r interest s b y showin g tha t th e Japanese govern -

ment w a s oblige d t o tak e u p a rm s i n self-defens e a n d tha t Yello w Peri l pr in -

ciples are unreasonable, etc."51 The Japa nese took othe r me asure s to aff ir m th ei r

modernity. The Japanese Red Cros s had th e larges t membershi p i n the world .

It impresse d foreigner s who had the oppor tun it y t o observ e the car e given t o

wounded Russian s during th e war. Ashmead-Bar tle tt mad e note o f the "desir e

on th e p a r t o f the Japanese Headquarters S ta f f t o avoid any thing i n the na tu r e

of an appearanc e of t riumph ove r th e fa lle n foe."52

This worked . Jac k Londo n lef t wit h il l wil l towar d hi s hosts , who m h e

considered "childish " an d "savages."53 John Fox, who c arrie d away "in hea rt an d

mind the nameles s charm of the land and of the people," hate d thei r "polite du -

plicity."54 B u t sentimen t i n th e Unite d S ta te s a n d Grea t Br i ta i n r a n heavil y in

favor o f the is lan d nat ion . "Th e opinio n prevail s here that Japa nese diplomacyis comparatively open an d trus tworthym ore 'Christian' t han Chr is ti a n Rus -

sia's," editorialized Century m agazine.55 Rev. J. H. D e Forres t was well awar e of

the plight o f the c orrespondents "cooped up in the Imperia l Hotel." 56 But that


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did no t overshado w his goo d feeling s abou t Japanese intentions. "Ther e were

no d runken feasts , n o geisha girls , n o gambling, n o dem oralizin g loafing a fte r

the victories, but ceaseless preparation for the nex t battle," D e Forres t wrote i n

the T h e Missionary Review o f th e World. "Th e Japan ese are a w onderfully open -

m inded people, seeking for truth an d light in all the world."57

These lessons were no t lost o n political an d m ilitary leaders in W orld W a r

I. Thi s wa s the f irst tota l war . Entir e societie s were mobilize d int o enormou s

war m achines . This m achin ery included gears and levers to control what people

knew and what the y thought, a n effort th a t na turally involved correspond ents.

Governments organized them , censore d them, an d fed them inform atio n on anunpreced ented scale. "Propaga nda date s back 2,400 years, to Sun-tzu' s T h e Ar t

o f War, but th e Firs t World War sa w its first use in an organized, scientific m a n -ner," writes Phillip K nightle y in his history o f war reporting. "Wa r correspon -

dents were amo n g its first victims."58

Many o f th e au thor s i n thi s boo k were par t o f that conflict . John Bass ,

Jimmy Hare, a n d Richard H arding Davi s covered the war, the latter, just fifty-one years old, dyin g in 191 6 o f a heart attack . Perciva l Phillips , wh o acquire d

B ritish citizenship , wa s on e o f the f irst five correspondent s accredited t o th e

B ritish Arm y on the W estern Front . After the wa r he was knighted, a s Knight-ley snidely puts it, "fo r his service s to hi s country , if not t o journalism."59 Ell is

Ashmead-Bartlet t brough t for t h a s tory worthy o f W illiam Howar d Russell ,telling o f a n eyewitnes s accoun t o f th e botche d Brit is h landin g a t Gall ipoli .

Command ing Genera l I a n Hamilton , wh o sai d th e repor te r "coul d no t b e

trusted," lifted h is credentials, but it was the general's career that came to an end

when a n inq uiry into th e campaig n was completed.60 After th e war, Ashmead -

Bartlett w a s elected t o Parliament. Rober t MacHugh , a n Ir ishman w ho repre -

sented th e London Daily Telegraph , co m m an de d a n artiller y brigad e i n Worl dWar I an d later worked a s a spy, entering Germ an y dressed as a Span iard. Wil -

liam Maxwell, knighte d i n 1919, becam e head o f a section o f the B ritis h Secre tService. Martin Ega n lef t journalism before th e war to d o promotion work for

J. P. M organ 5cCo . During th e war he served as an aide to General John Persh -

ing, w ho comm anded the A merican E xpeditionary Force (AEF ) i n France. (H e


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was a military observer during the Russo-Japanes e War.) Ega n also kept up his

old friendships from th e war. Egan ha d a telephone conversation with Richar d

Harding Davi s minutes before his old comrade died.

What of the editors o f this book? George Lync h started ou t covering the

war for the W estminster Gazette. B efore i t was over he founded the Barbe d Wire

Traverser Compan y Ltd. Hi s invention s for overcoming barbed wire included

special gloves an d a quilt tha t coul d be used t o bridge th e shar p obstruction .

Frederick Palmer spen t a number o f frustrating months tryin g t o go into th e

field with Britis h force s durin g th e war . When th e United State s entered th e

fray, patriotis m led him to turn his press pass in fo r an AEF unifo rm . His job

was to manag e the pres s for Pershing, wit h who m h e had struc k up a friend-

ship durin g th e Russo-Japanes e War. Thi s was not a happy experience , what

with correspondents ' complaints about no t being able to see the first American

troops go into the trenches or the first of them buried . United Pres s correspon-

dent Lowel l Mellet t sai d that Palmer, th e "censor-in-chief, " wa s "the saddes t

Major i n the U.S. Army."61

"I used t o hav e som e f ri end s i n th e arm y an d amon g newspaper men,"

Palmer said , "Now I' m suspec t to both sides . The arm y suspects me because I

try to convince them ther e i s a lot o f s tuff tha t really ought t o be printed; th e

newspapermen because there is a lot of s tuff that really ought not." 62

John Maxwel l Hamilto n

March 2010

N O T E S

1. Georg e Lynch , Im p re ssio ns o f a W a r Correspondent, reprinte d e d . (London : Georg e

Newnes, 1903 ; repr., Gloucestershire, UK: Dod o Press, n o date), xi.

2. Earle Albert Selle , Donald o f China (New York: Harper, 1948) , 22.

3. Frederick Palme r t o Arthu r Scribner , March 25 , 1904, Archives o f Charles Scribner' s

Sons, Specia l Collections, Princeto n Universit y Library.

4. Rober t W. Desmond , The Information Process: W orld News Reporting to the Twentieth

Century (Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 1978), 417-29, identifies many of the correspon -

dents sen t to cover the war.


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5. Thoma s F . Millard, "Th e Wa r Corresponden t an d Hi s Future, " Scribners, Februar y

1905, 243 -

6. Archibal d Forbes , "Wa r Correspondenc e a s a Fin e Art, " Century, Decembe r

1892, 294.

7. Melton Prior, "I s th e Wa r Corresponden t a Necessity of Civilization?" The Idler, Sep -

tember 1897, 2^4-

8. James M. Perry , A Bohemian Brigade: The Civil Wa r Correspondents (Ne w York: John

Wiley 8c Sons, 2000), 144.

9. Herbert Croly , W illard Straight (New York: Macmillan, 1925) , 125-26.

10. Nathan A . Haverstock , Fifty Years a t th e Front: The Life o f W a r Correspondent Frederick

Palmer (Washington, D.C. : Brassey's , 1996), 121 .11. Desmond, The Information Process, 419.

12. Haverstock, Fifty Years a t th e Front, 122 .

13. F. Lauriston Bullard, Famous War Correspondents (Boston : Little, Brown, 1914) , 194.

14. Cecil Caxnes, Jimmy Hare: News Photographer (Ne w York: Macmil lan, 1940) , 131.

15. "The War S ta ff, " Service Bulletin o f th e Associated Press, October 15 , 1904, 7.

16. Phili p Towle , "Britis h War Correspondent s an d th e War, " i n Rethinking th e Russo-

Japanese War, 19041905, ed . Rote m Kowne r (Folkestone , Kent , CT : Globa l Oriental ,2007), 321.

17. Melville E . Stone , Fifty Years a Journalist (Garden City, NY: Doubleday , Page, 1921) ,

277-78.

18. Douglas Story , The Campaign with Kuropatkin (London: T. Werner Laurie , 1904), 64.

19. Ibid., 106

20. Bullard, Famous W ar Correspondents, 228.

21. Richar d Hardin g Davis , Notes o f a Wa r Correspondent (Ne w York : Scribner's ,

1914), 220.

22. John Fox, Jr., Personal and Family Letters and Pap ers, comp . Elizabeth Fo x Moore (Lex-

ington: University of Kentucky Library Associates, 1955), 60.

23. Story, The Campaign with Kuropatkin, 43.

24. S. L. Bensusan , preface to , C ampa igns o f a War Correspondent^ Melto n Prior (Lon -

don: Edward Arnold, 1912) , v.

25. Prior, Campaigns o f a W a r Correspondent, 320-35 .

26 . Frederic k Palmer , With My Ow n Eyes: A Personal Story o f Battle Years (Indianapolis:

Bobbs Merrill, 1932) , 237. Foreign Ministry officials responsibl e for following publ ic opinion

in Europ e and the United States urged a relaxation of press restitutions, which they viewed

as counterproductive. See Robert G. Valliant, "The Sellin g of Japan: Japanese Manipulation

of Western Opinion , 1900-1905, " Monumenta Nipponica 2 9 (Winter 1974) , 431-32.


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27. Frederick Palmer, With Kuroki in Manchuria (Ne w York: Scribner's, 1904), 223.

28. Willard Straigh t t o Martin Egan , July 14, 1905 , Willard Dickerma n Straigh t Papers ,

Cornel University Library.

29. Prior, Campaigns of a W a r C orrespondent, 332 , 335.

30. Palmer, With My Ow n Eyes, 239 .

31. Prior, Campaigns of a War C orrespondent, 329-30. Also see Michael S . Sweeny, '"Delays

and Vexation' : Jack Londo n an d the Russo-Japanes e War," Journalism & Mass Communica-

tion Quarterly 75 (Autumn 1998) , 554.

32. Prior, Campaigns of a W a r C orrespondent, 329.

33. Prior, Campaigns of a W a r C orrespondent, 323.

34. Selle, Donald o f China, 22-23.

35. Desmond, The Information Process, 420.

36. Palmer, With My Ow n Eyes, 242 . Details o f London' s wartim e experienc e are found

in Alex Kershaw , Jack London: A Life (Ne w York: St. Martin' s Press , 1997) , chapte r 9, and

Sweeny, '"Delays and Vexation'" 548-59.

37. Sweeny, "'Delays an d Vexation,' " 555. See also Rober t Dunn , W orld Alive: A Personal

Story (Ne w York: Crown, 1956) , chapter 8.

38. Peter Slattery , Reporting the Russo-Japa nese War, 19045 (Folkestone, Kent , CT: Globa lOriental, 2004) , 37-38, an d passim; Gavin Weightman , Signor Marconi 's Magic Box (Cam -

bridge, MA: DaCapo , 2003) , chapter 24 ; Desmond, The Information P rocess, 421-24. A firs t

person accoun t i s David Fraser , A Modern Campaign: Or Wa r and W ireless Telegraphy i n the

Far East (London: Methuen , 1905) .

39. Valliant, "The Sellin g o f Japan," 437.

40. The Fawans adventures are described in Charles H . Dennis , Victor Lawson: His Time

and His W orld (Chicago : University of Chicago Press , 1935) , 268-71.

41. "Feats o f Reporting," Service Bulletin o f th e Associated Press, September i , 1905 , 4.

42. Baltimore Evening Herald, May 29, 1905; H. L . Mencken, Newspaper Days: 1899-1906

(New York: Alfred A. Knopf , 1941), 272.

43. Palmer, With My Ow n Eyes, 259.

44. Prior , Campaigns o f a W a r Correspondent, 324 ; Haverstock , F ifty Yea rs a t th e

Front, 122 .

45. Prior, Campaigns of a W a r Correspondent, 324.

46. Sir Bryan, ninth baronet, wa s a military ma n with a passion for horses and wars. O n

his own initiative, h e went t o Cuba i n hopes of jo ining th e American force s i n the Spanish -

American War. H e di d not find a place in the military , bu t rode aroun d a good bit, thank s

to the foresight of having brought hi s own horse. He was in the compan y of correspondents


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F O R E W O R D

from tim e to time, and one history mentions in passing that h e wrote for the New York Jour-

nal. He late r was on han d fo r the Boe r War and , a ft e r th e Russo-Japanes e War, wit h th e

Turks in the Balka n War. H e commande d a regiment durin g World War I and was an early

proponent of mili tary aviation. Although hi s jou rnalism status is in doubt, hi s poem ("Wait-

ing an d l oa fin g an d drinking an d smoking/Honestl y (? ) earning ou r pay ") i s very much i n

the spri t of bona fide correspondents in Tokyo. Si r Bryan's Cuba adventur e is described in

E. Ransom , "Baronet o n the Battlefield : Sir Bryan Leighton i n Cuba, " Journal o f American

Studies 9 (April 1975), 13-20. The passing reference to him a s a correspondent is in Charles H .

Brown, T he Correspondents' W ar: Journalists i n th e Spanish-American W a r (New York: Scrib -

ner's, 1967), 361.

47. Baroness Albert dAnethan , Fourteen Years o f Diplomatic Life i n Japan (London : Stan -ley Paul, 1912) , 366.

48. Thomas F. Millard, "Th e Fightin g i n Manchuria," Scribners, October 1904 , 412.

49. Benne t Burleigh , Empire o f the East: O r Japan an d Russia a t War, 1904-5 (London :

Chapman ScHall , 1905) , 446.

50. Alexi Kuropatkin , The Russian Army an d the Japanese Wa r (New York: E. P . Button,

1909), xviii. The Japanese were just a s hard o n foreign military observers. As Palme r notes ,

"The tactic s o f the Worl d Wa r wer e predicate d i n th e Russo-Japanes e War. Th e attache swanted t o see the operation s of the infan tr y from th e contac t t o the takin g o f a position i n

order t o know th e e ff ec t o f quick-firing, long-range weapons . This th e Japanese would no t

permit. Their public reason was that foreigners might b e mistaken fo r Russians by Japanese

soldiers in the heart of combat. But [Major-General] Fuji i gave me the basic reason when he

said: 'We are paying for this information with ou r blood.'" Palmer, With My Ow n Eyes, 248.

The restrictions on foreign military observers are discussed in J. N. Westwood, Russia Against

Japan, 190405: A New Look at the Russo-Japanese Wa r (Albany: State University of New York

Press, 1986) .

51. Valliant, "The Sellin g of Japan," 423.

52 . Rotem Kowner, "Becoming an Honorary Civilized Nation: Remaking Japan's Military

Image durin g the Russo-Japanes e War, 1904-1905, " The Historian 64 (Fall 2001) , 30.

53. Sweeny, '"Delays and Vexation,' " 554.

54. John Fox , Jr., Following the Sun-Flag: A Vain Pursuit through Manchuria (Ne w York:

Scribner's, 1905) , 187 , 189 .

55. "America n Sentimen t Concernin g Russi a an d Japan, " T he Century, Septembe r

1904, 816 .

56. J . H. DeForest , "Wa r New s f rom Japan," Independent, April 7, 1904.

57. J. H. D e Forrest , "Wha t I Found i n Manchuria," The Missionary Review o f the W orld,


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PREFACE

HILE m an y wa r c orrespond ent s w er e w aitin g i n Toki oto g o t o th e f ron t w it h the J apanes e a rm y , th e ide a w a s

suggested an d readil y taken up , tha t eac h shoul d w rit e a shor tstory o f on e o f hi s mos t in te re stin g experiences . T h e entir eproceeds o f the sale, th e author s decided , should b e devote d t o th e"Teikoku Gunji n Yengokwai, " associatio n fo r th e relie f o f thos eserving i n the A rm y an d N av y . Th e object s o f this societ y a r e :

To giv e assistanc e t o thos e w h o com e un d e r the fol lowin gclassification, alw ay s how ever , wit h du e consideratio n fo r th erelief give n b y othe r simila r public and privat e institutions.

Distressed familie s o f me n s ervin g i n th e Arm y an d N av ywho a re k ille d or d i e whi le o n service .

M en servin g i n th e A rm y an d N av y wh o becom e cripple swhile o n service , a s wel l a s th e f amilie s o f such men , i n cas e o f

distress.Distressed fam ilie s o f me n serv in g i n the A rm y an d N av y

whether a t th e sea t o f war, o r i n fortresses , garrisons , etc . a thome.

The author s appea l to , an d re l y on , th e cha rit y an d goo dfeeling o f publishers no t t o publis h an y cop y o f this editio n which

the editor s hav e no t th e opportunit y o f copyrightin g i n English-speaking countries .

G E O R G E L Y N C H .EDITORS.

F R E D E R IC K P A L M E R .

Imperial Hotel .Tokio, M a y 8th , 1904 .

W'.


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his page intentionally left blank


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In Many "Wars, oy Many "War Corresponaents


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A Nava l Engagemen t

In f orm e r day s one-o f the most Fascinating features of / and als o on e o f

the greates t incentive s t o warfare , wa s the prospec t o f loot i t hel d ou t t othe contendin g armies . No w all that i s changed ; th e soldier , hi s office r ,and hi s genera l ar e pai d a n equivalen t i n money , fo r w ha t a g ratefu lgovernment considers h e woul d formerl y hav e mad e b y lootin g fro m th eenemy.

This syste m i s w orke d ou t o n a calculationa t leas t i t wa s afte rth e S out h Africa n Wartha t th e lootin g capac it y o f a fie ld marsha l wasformerly fou r h und re d tim e s a s grea t as that of a privat e soldier . Ho wfar thi s wa s true i t is impossible to say ; on e thing i s quite cer ta in , n o fiel dmarsha l has eve r refuse d h i s sh ar e o f ba ttu m one y o n th e g ro un d t ha t it sproportions constituted a l ibe l o n h i s predecessor s i n that off ice .

When th e Turkis h arm y take s th e field , i t is a noticeabl e fact, thatthe mora l tone o f everyone connecte d with i t is considerably lowered . A n

idea seem s t o be prevalen t tha t yo u might just a s well tak e a ny th in g thatcom es yo u r way , fo r th e sim pl e reaso n tha t i f yo u d o not , th e nex t

person wh o come s alon g will .Thus I have see n the mos t respectabl e member s of societ y and others

busily engage d i n strip pin g th e interio r o f a G ree k C hu rc h , i n ord e r t osave the Icon s fro m sacrileg e a t the hand s o f the infidel .

The Turkis h soldie r i n realit y care s littl e fo r loot ing; there ar e fewthings h e covets , thes e h e takes , al l els e h e passe s by . No t s o th eirregulars who accompany him on his campaigns. Th e Albania n i s a bo rnplunderer, i t i s hi s vacatio n durin g peace an d war . B ot h the Turk s an d

th e Albanian s are perfectl y jus tified i n their behaviour .Even i f th e prospec t o f "battu m one y wer e hel d ou t t o them , th e

chances o f getting i t would b e s o small, tha t eac h m a n m igh t wel l fee l


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( 2 )

incumbent o n hi m t o hol d a few art icles as security , unti l his governmen tsettled hi s claim . Also , whether the Tur k loote d o r not , h e would alway s

be a cc use d o f i t b y th e res t o f Europe. Th e ol d belie f that a C hrist ian ,however bad , mus t o f necessity be bet te r tha n a goo d Turk , die s hard .

After th e captur e o f th e M alun a Pass b y the T urkis h arm y unde rEdhem Pasha , the Greek s took u p a positio n in the p la i n o f Thessaly, som e18 m ile s fro m L arissa . T h e m ornin g fixe d fo r th e a ssault , whil e th etroops wer e takin g u p their al lotted posit ions , i t wa s sudden l y d iscovere dthat n o enem y existe d t o attack . Th e evenin g b efo r e som e i rr egula r -Cavalry a ttache d t o th e Turkis h arm y ha d w andere d clos e t o th eG reek lines . T hei r appearanc e ha d cause d a p an ic ; th e whol e arm yfled p rec ip ita te l y i n th e d ire ctio n o f Larissa , th e rea r pro tec te d b y som ewar correspondents , who could no t realis e th e necessit y fo r such a suddendeparture . Th e pani c d id no t sto p a t Larissa ; th e m o b o f soldiers , cam pfollowers, spectators , w a r correspondents , and inhabitant s o f Lariss a itself ,

passed r igh t throug h th e-to w n and " fina lly cam e t o a hal t a t Valestino s an dVolo.

When th e Turk s en tere d th e t ow n Lariss a wa s p racticall y deserted ,except f o r th e sc u m o f the gaols , who had bee n released an d wer e engage din lootin g th e houses , th e credi t fo r th i s achievemen t being subsequentl ybestowed o n the Turk s .

The European s a ttache d to th e a rm y wer e a llo tted empty house s bythe Provos t M arshal . Th e o ccu pan t s o f th e hous e i n w hic h I ha dquarters h a d evidentl y lef t i n a hu r ry . T h e flo o r an d be d wer e strew n witharticles o f clo th ing , scen t bottles , h ai r pin s an d h an d ke rc hie fs . O n th efollowing da y I foun d ou t tha t thi s hous e had bee n the residenc e o f theCrown Princ e an d Crow n Princess o f Greece. Princ e Constantin e a t tha ttime com m ande d th e army ; th e pani c ha d 'overtake n th e Princ e an d

Princess s o s u dd en l y th a t the y w er e onl y jus t abl e t o ge t aw a y i n t ime ,leaving hal f their baggag e behind .

Under these circumstance s I though t i t would b e justifiabl e t o carr y

away a fe w a rtic le s a s souven ir s an d mad e i a selec tion , wh ic h include dan iong o the r th ing s a dress . Thes e I ann ex ed , tha t I b eliev e i s th e


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3 )

polite wor d use d i n war fo r wha t consti tutes robbery i n t ime s o f peace,Some m onth s later, the w ri ter, in com pany with the late Sir E. Ashniead

Bartlett, M . P. , re tu rn e d fro m th e front . Th e bridge s ove r th e Rive rPeneaus havin g bee n des troyed , i t wa s necessar y t o s kir t along the coastin a sm al l sai lin g sh ip , lade n wit h corn , an d m anne d b y Greeks . W erather suspecte d th e sailor s o f treachery so kep t a carefu l watc h o n the mduring th e n igh t t o se e tha t the y saile d i n th e righ t directio n . On e

morning, wh en s ix miles from o u r destinatio n Platamona, w e found ourselves,becalmed. Thre e littl e c louds o f smoke righ t dow n in the hor izo n marke dthe trac k o f so m e steam er . Thi s seem e d greatl y t o in teres t ou r crew .They talked amon g themselve s ; w e asked wha t i t all m eant . " Nothing.Italian me n o f w ar," wa s th e answ e r give n us . Wa rs hip s th e y certainl ywere, and comin g up fast . W e u rg e d the sailor s to get ou t the sweep s androw u s ashore ; th i s the y refuse d t o do . A clo se r a cq ua in ta nc e sh ow e dthe s trang e vesse l s t o co nsis t of a gunboa t an d two to rped o boats , but o f

what nationalit y it was imp ossible to say. N o fla g wa s displayed . The ycircled roun d ou r devote d littl e craf t train in g th ei r g un s o n her . Th egunboat ra n up the Gree k flag and an office r i n excellen t Englis h invite dus t o s urre nd e r a s p risoner s o f war , w ith ou t fu rth e r resistance , a s th e

consequences would onl y be disastrous . Thi s lat ter remar k seeme d to m ea quit e unnecessar y sarcasism.

We politel y but firmly declined to surrende r a nd go on board the gun -boat. Thi s upse t all their calculations ; the y had not reckoned o n a refusal .The senio r officers hel d a conference ; th is las te d som e tim e but n o decisionwas reached ; finall y a boo k o f ru le s wa s produced, i n it a passage wasfound evidentl y meetin g the requirement s o f the situation .

The g un bo a t su pp orte d b y th e to rp ed o boats , m ove d toward s ou rlittle ship ; fo r a m om en t I though t i t wa s he r intentio n to ra m us, so

close di d sh e co me . Bu t no ; the y p re fe rre d t o tak e u s b y boarding .Twenty-five sailors , arm e d w it h rifle s an d fixed bayonets , an d led by anofficer, dash e d u po n the dec k cheerin g loudly . The y seize d ou r baggag eand commence d to searc h th e vessel , prodin g the cor n with their bayonets,

under thi s all my loo t was concealed. Rifles , swords , helmets, pictures and


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4

ornaments were all brought to ligh t and handed u p into the gunboat , finally

tthe preciou s parcel , containin g th e propert y o f th e C row n Princ e an d

Princess was produced. A Gree k sailo r untied it, glanced a t the contents ,then flun g i t down o n th e dec k with a gesture o f contempt, at the same

time makin g some remar k which caused his comrades to laugh .

I suppose It was " Chercher la temme'" o r its equivalent. " Ah, youvillain," I thought, " if you only leave tha t parcel an d dress alone you may

have everythin g els e wit h p leasure . " Leav e i t h e di d and I seized thefirst opportunity t o conceal it.

They nex t trie d t o induc e u s to follow ou r baggage o n to the gun -

boat. W e refuse d absolutel y t o leav e th e sailin g ship . Th e Captai n

begged u s t o yiel d t o the inevitabl e a s he ha d n o desire to us e force , h e

pleaded i n vain; and in despair returned to his own ship. Wha t was the poor

man to d o ? Hi s first act was to summo n the senio r officers o f the torpedo

boats to another conference . A t length a decision was reached . A rop e

was fastened ' t o th e mas t o f our vessel , a sailo r placed over i t as sentry rsteam was got u p , th e torped o boat s too k u p a strategica l positio n o neither flank, the whole flotilla steering for Volo. Th e se a ha d meanwhil e

risen, what forc e could no t accomplish the motion o f the boa t could. I fel tmy resolution ^gradually deserting me, the big , comfortable gunboat lookedso very temptin g f ro m ou r smal l boat catching th e ful l benefi t o f th e wav ethrown u p by her screw . Knowin g that m y father woul d never give way ,

I thought it best to surrender unconditionall y without consultin g h im , _ so

waved a whit e handkerchief . Thi s signa l wa s understoo d ; th e scre w

stopped, willin g .hand s hoiste d u s o n board , ou r captivit y ha d

commenced.


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tic mom ent I hav e lived , fo r I sa w th e assassinatio n o f a P residen t o f th eUnited States .

Through th e followin g tw o weeks o f gloom , a g loo m tha t la y ove r th ecivilized worl d like a pall, I followe d the body of the m urdered man. Ther e

were eigh t day s o f weary waiting , in alternate hop e an d despair, for the end .When th e wa n pulse had ceased , Theodor e Roosevelt, th e President-to-be ,made h i s fervid , s ta rtlin g declaratio n t o stan d b y th e po licie s o f th e m ar -ty red statesm an . T he n th e worl d stoo d sti l l while a natio n buried its dead.

What a bu rial it was A s we passed o n the funera l t rai n from Buffal o t o

Washington, fro m W a.shingto n to Canton , the States stood by as silen t sister sdraped i n black t o h on o r him whose memor y alone coul d be honored . A tthe W h it e H o use , th e ad miral s an d general s o f th e U nite d State s accom -panied the caske t t o the Eas t room , where the body la y in state.

Pennsylvania Avenue wa s in a drizzlin g rain . T h e skie s seeme d weep -

ing. I rod e i n a carriage wi t h Genera l Otis . Fro m th e w indo w s peopl e

could b e see n linin g the broa d way , canopied by umbrellas. A do g ye lped .A ma n jerked of f h is coat, thre w i t ove r th e dog , seize d th e hairy , discor -dant throa t i n a g ri p a s o f steel fang s an d choke d o u t a m ong re l life . Then ,

with h a t o ff , h i s eye s f ilm y , th e rai n b ath in g h i m m istil y as i n tears, th eman watche d the procession, , the do g d ea d at his feet. So , six weeks late r ,

in a n electri c chair , th e assassi n w a s hustle d fro m ex is tence .The pac e o f that re tur n of death t o th e hom e o f tr iumph was slow , th e

silence m or e intens e than absence o f sound ; i t wa s the d irg e p raye r o f mil-lions, unvoiced . Fro m ahea d cam e th e m uffle d bea t o f drum s, indistinctthrough th e ra in , like a d ream . T hi s sub lim atio n of a national sorrow, per -vasive as d eath , eterna l as m ystery , melanchol y as the m ino r chord o f musicunderlying th e jo y o f all peoples, ca n never be forgot ten . I t wa s a momen tin w h ic h , lo ok in g b ack , a m a n find s tha t h i s s ou l leape d fort h t o th e

unknown.N or ca n b e f org otte n the entr y t o C anto n , w h e n b eh in d th e caske t

marched th e President , th e lead in g senator s a n d f ore ig n m inisters , and, i n

full uni form , the i r breast s g li tter in g wi t h decora tions , th e general s heade d

by M ile s an d th e adm iral s by D ewey . I n fron t cam e th e v etera n s o f th e

6 )


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7 )

23d Ohio , C ivi l Wa r heroe s o f whom William M c Kin le y ha d bee n one .The crow d was packed o n each sid e o f th e stree t unti l fro m a height i t

seemed a caipet wove n o f humanity . Th e town' s populatio n ha d bee nthree time s doubled . Agai n th e pac e wa s slow , th e silenc e absolute .

The su n shone mellow, the ai r wa s cynicall y cleat " and cool . Th e stillnes s

was pierced by on e note onlythe mournfu l plain t of a flut e a s i t caroled," Flee As a Bird. "

The next day, under the upshoo t of a shaft o f granite where it assembled

the mis t of a sulle n afternoon , I saw the body laid away forever, whil e a new

President stoo d near , with tha t prescien t di e across hi s past an d in his fac e

the raptur e of a high resolve .


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C 9 )

From Ou r Specia l a t th e Fron t

Roving knight s of the pencil ,Jolly smooth blades are we,

In ruck and l uc k o f camp and march ,On intravenal sea.

Ping o f wire in ou r r if les ,Boom o f mail f ro m ou r mounts ,

We fir e a t sight, an d sight t o fire

World echoe s f ro m ou r ' founts/

Old World's a monstrous gossip,A babbling dame o' the town ;

O say " " D'ye hea r ? " " What's that ? " It's fro m

Our labia l godown.

Blest an d curst o f the nations ,

Strife sentinels are we,

Of royal tilts as Moltkc bredTo slin k o f Soudanee.

At the far-flung drama' s crux ,

We hardily hold stalls ,

Critical, erudite, eager ,

As a nation rises o r falls .

Grim in the clas h of epochs ,

We mask all cringe at fight ;

Nor check nor laud ; tell and let tell

Of Nihon an d Muscovite.


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r 1 0 )

Wait in capital eddy

The strid e o f epaulette ;

O, rasp and gash, ye censor blade;Earn the silence ye get

Up, away in the morning ;

Pick o f peoples at eve ;

Under the stars , with sal t o f blood,We snif f th e grub they leave .

What gru b for hollow hillsides,

Ghastly, commo n and sore ;

What purge o f the rank earth's sourness

In sacramental gore

Soldierly dash an d danger,

None o f a soldier's pay:

We dare and risk, we flare and flout,

All we can do issay


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( 1 3 )

The p la n was made o n th e n igh t befor e a t a ba rbecu e given to th e

Cretan chief s b y C o nsta ntin e M ano , th e leade r o f th e Sacre d Legion .

Mano w a s a n A th en ia n , a g rad uat e o f O x fo rd , rea de r t o th e E m pres s o fAustria, a di l letant e in l iterature and a dabble r i n sports . H e ha d com e t o

Crete t o join in the insurrectio n against th e hate d Turks , jus t as hi s f a the r

had don e befor e h i m an d a s m an y y o u n g G ree k blo od s use d t o d o . M a n ohad gathere d ab ou t h i m th e bes t fig htin g m e n o f the mounta ins . The y

were tal l m en , straight o f limb and li th e o f bo dy. The y w en t ove r th e h ill swith th e eas e of mo untain goats. M y natio nalit y bro ug h t m e th e plac e o f

scribe t o th e band . Oh , th e freedo m o f lif e o f th e Sacre d Legion ^fighting i n th e earl y m orning, , feastin g a t n ight , p lung in g i n th e col dmountain s tream s , sleepin g und e r th e s tar s o n th e m oon-floode dhills

A t th e feas t a c ou nc i l o f w ar w a s held . T h e questio n w a s settle d i nshort order . Th e admira l s wer e usu rp in g power. Th e Chris tia n nat ion s

of the ear t h woul d no t preven t th e C reta n C h ris tia n s fro m d riv in g th eheathen Tur k into the sea . M alax a shoul d b e at tacke d o n the followin gm o rning . T hen , u nd e r the flare of the torche s they place d a sheep roasted

whole o n the table . I n red w in e we toaste d th e G rea t R ep ub li c an d th e

l it tle island ; l iberty , equality, fraterni t y o r death . W e lef t th e boar d t otake o u r posit ion s for the f igh t o n th e m o r ro w .

For h our s the spasmodi c fusillad e fro m th e for t w a s answered b y th eregula r d ischarg e o f the moun ta i n guns , which a t las t b ore d th ro ug h th e

wall o f th e block-house . Shell s coul d b e see n b urs tin g o n th e inside .The insurgents , the S acre d Legio n alw ay s i n th e front , d re w close r an d

c loser the i r hal f c irc le . O n on e s ide , where th e hi l l p itched sharpl y dow ntowards Sud a B ay , th e fo r t h a d bee n lef t un investe d by th e insurgent s wh o

wished t o k ee p ou t o f sight o f the foreig n fleet . S uddenl y the fire from th e

loopholes redoubled . Th e d oo r o f the for t sw un g open . A great shou t

went u p f ro m a l l the Cretans . Ou t o f the openin g a doze n soldier s i n blue

uniforms a n d re d feze s plung e d fo rward . B en t doubl e the y ra n fo r th e

edge o f the hil l only fift y fee t away . W oul d the y reac h it ? Th e Creta nrifles popped lik e cor n ove r a ho t fire . Th e T urk s fell , on e afte r another,


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( 1 3 )

until on l y three remaine d t o th ro w them selve s ove r th e b rin k a n d f in dsafety i n th e valle y below.

Two h ou r s passed . I looke d fro m th e m o un d wh ere I s at , d ow n o nthe valle y wit h i t s coo l verdure of oliv e and o rang e trees , ove r th e sm oot hquiet o f Suda B a y an d ou t t o th e ocea n b lu e tha t fade d int o th e golde nmist o f th e ^Egean . H er e wa s a p ic tu r e o f und is tu rbe d peace. N o re dline o f Tu rkish feze s cam e windin g am on g th e oliv e groves , n o u nu su a lmovement wa s pe rcep tib le aboard th e me n o f war . Wit h sh ell s bu rs tin gwithin a n d a m m u n it io n d w in dlin g th e blo ck -h ou s e w a s fas t becom in g

untenable. I n vai n th e bugle r o f th e garriso n trum pete d fo r help .

Quarter w a s neve r aske d o r give n betw ee n C hristia n a n d M osle m i n

Crete. Wa s th e garriso n t o fal l v ic ti m t o Tu rk is h slo t h an d E uro pe a nindifference ?

A secon d sh o u t fro m th e C retan s dre w m y a t ten tio n t o the b lo ck -house. Ther e floatin g besid e th e Turkis h fla g I -sa w a w hit e cloth .

M alaxa ha d s urre nd ere d I n a n instan t ever y Creta n w a s o n hi s fee t a n drunning toward s the b lock-house . M y "striker," o r rathe r m a n a t a rm s ,

dropped m y belonging s an d disappeared . I p icke d .u p m y overcoat ,cameras, field glasses, wate r bottle an d sabertash , and hang in g the m abou t

me, like present s o n a Chris tma s tree, followed .The c row d packed abou t th e for t wer e n o w v is ib l e from S ud a . O n

this howling mas s the thre e Turkis h gunboat s in the ba y opene d fi re ; bu t ,owing t o the i r f ea r o f h ittin g th e b lock-house , the y sho t h igh . Alread y

some o f the insurgent s h a d climbe d th e w all s o f the fo r t an d were thrustin gtheir rifle s t h ro u g h th e lo op -h oles . I t seem s tha t w he n t h e Tu rk is h m ajo r

saw the exc ite d insurgent s coming h e mad e up h is mind to kee p the m out .On th ei r side , th e C retans , m ad den e d a t th e refusa l t o a dm i t th e m afte r

the whit e flag had been ra ised , wante d t o b rea k i n the door . M ano , wit hthe Sacre d Legion , wishin g to sav e th e live s o f the g arris on , stood at th e

still close d doo r be twee n th e C retan s an d th e panic-stricke n Tu rk is h com -mander, t ryin g to a rgu e wit h both . Th e shell s from th e Turk ish gunboat s

came abou t two to th e minute ; and as they passe d wi t h the wh i rr in g soun dof a great sa w c uttin g th e leng t h o f a log , th e s h ou tin g m o b wer e d u m b

8/10/2019 George Lynch,

George Lynch, Frederick Palmer, John Maxwell Hamilton in Many Wars, By Many War Correspondents 2010

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Transcript of George Lynch, Frederick Palmer, John Maxwell Hamilton in Many Wars, By Many War Correspondents 2010