OCR Text |
Show TIIE HULLETIX ORIENTAL THUNDER: This month Japan's conquest oj China Men of the enters its second year . In retrospect , we examine the past twelve months . . . by Captain G. Elliott -- Nightingale Copyright, WNU REDCOATS GUARDED TRAIL OF 98 VTOLUMES have been written on what happened here and there during the Klondyke gold stampede, but very little has been said about the handful of Men of the Mounted who brought law and order and decency to many an outlaw camp. The first steps along the historically famous "Trail of 98 were taken two years before, in 1896, when Carmacks discovery just about electrified the whole world, and when thousands of men, and a few hundred w'omen began converging upon Earlier, on July 7, Jap troops killed and wounded 200 Chinese the Yukon from all corners of the near Feiping in the "Marco Polo bridge incident, the outgrowth earth. Eighteen months after the of another search for a "missing Jap soldier. In succeeding days, Carmack discovery the population which brought repeated conflicts, crowds of harassed civilians of Skagway had been increased by milled through Peiping. This was war! more than 30,000 newcomers, taking a breathing spell there before heading north into the Yukon goldfields. The majority of the newcomers were Americans, and whatever they might have been before they hit Skagway, they cast off all desire for law and order. The decent element, being in the milaid low, outfitted their two nority, or four - man expeditions, and mushed silently away toward the Yukon, while the outlaw element hung around Skagway, living on ' This mans mother never thought her son would start a war. lie Is Sadao Mlyajakl, a marine whose "abduction eaused the Japs to send out landing parlies at Shanghai, followed by clashes with the Chinese. On August 12 Japanese armored cars rumbled from their Shanghai headquarters after Lieut. Isao Ojrama and Seaman Yozo Salto, members of an inquisitive landing party, were killed by Chinese troops of the peace preservation corps on August 9. On August 14. Shanghais fall began. gold-seek- ers law-abidi- their United States indignation over the war came August 30 when Japan invited international complications August 26 Shanghai civilians were to die by the hundreds before when Sir Hughe Knatchbull-IIugessoBritish ambassa- - the S. S. President Hoover was bombed by Chinese planes. A few Japan forced the city into submission. Bombs were no to China, was seriously wounded by Jap aviators days earlier Jap planes bombed Shanghais business area, caused specters of age. On August 22, hundreds of civilian casualties 600 casualties when two department stores collapsed. Bear Nanking. Result: An apology from Tokyo. resulted when Shanghais south railway station was struck. n, re-d- or ng writs. From Skagway, the rallying point, the stampeders, tugging and carrying their outfits, headed for Lake Bennet where they built their boats and pushed off to the north and into the Lewes river that flowed north through the rugged but rich Yukon That is, they pushed goldfields. north provided the two or three Men of the Mounted stationed on the sixtieth line of latitude were satisfied that the stampeders were properly outfitted,, had sufficient food, and were not criminals or outlaws or bad characters. During the early days of the rush, the American stampeders kicked up quite a row because they were asked to pay customs and duties at Line GO and they demanded to know what the Mounted were doing there, on American territory. Although the one hundred and forty-firparallel had not yet been decided upon as the dividing line between American Alaska, and British Canada, the Yukon territory, nevertheless, had been under the British or Canadian flag and government for some time. Most of the stampeders really thought they wrere heading for their own American Alaska, and it was quite a startling discovery for them to find the Northwest Mounted Police on guard on what the stampeders thought was American territory. When the vanguard of the 98 hegira were stopped by the Redcoats, there was, of course, considerable' argument, a bit of nose punching, and a few shots exchanged. As the crowd grew larger, indignation meetings were inaugurated at which it was voted that the only way out was to tie the Northwest Mounted Police into a bundle and throw it into the lake or some roaring river. One group of foreign - speaking Americans (?) staged a bloody riot, then voted to gather the redcoats, place them aboard a barge or raft, and anchor said barge or raft in the middle of the lake. One Yank climbed to the top of his outfit and called for a thousand men to help him wipe the Mounted off the face of the earth forever. But, he shouted in vain, for in that mob were scalawags and cutthroats and criminals who, while they did as they pleased in Skagway, were now willing to impress the Redcoats that minthey were decent, ers eminently qualified to take their Canadiplaces beside ans. Reason was again enthroned as these wily lawbreakers did everything possible to appear to the best advantage to the half dozen men of the Northwest Mounted Police who, during all the rumpus and riot, had stuck to their post on the sixtieth line just a few yards away, watching and listening, and realizing, no doubt, that the several thousand stampeders could soon eliminate half a dozen redccats if they ever set out to do it. But, they never set out to do it. Those who came to destroy remained to childishly beg the Men of the Mounted to pass them through d into the Yukon territory. The human jackals and rascals that had terrorized Skagway, now turned into well - mannered, sensible and very obedient children as they stood by to be examined by the Mounted. Thus it happens that thousands of bad characters who claim that they were in the Klondyke gold rush really never took .one step past the half dozen redcoats that held the Chilcoot and White passes. Half a dozen against thousands. Truly the Redcoats were the Daniels in the lions' den in the Klondyke gold rush of 1893. st on November 9, Shanghai fell after one of the war's f fiercest battles. It was also on this day that Taiyan capitulated. By this time world Indignation was aroused at ruthless Japanese slaughter. But tersely worded messages to Tokyo br.iugm oi.y official shoulder shrugs. United States wrath flared again December 12 when the U. S. S. Panay was bombed and sunk on the Yangtze river. Also bombed was a United States oil tanker. Thir- teen were wounded and four died, including Sandro Sandri (above). Italian newspaper correspondent. Now the battle turned to Nanking, but meanwhile peaceful Shantung province saw war as China struck back unexpectedly. Two United States warships rushed to Tsingtao to protect' 300 Americans. Several Jap- owned silk mills were destroyed. law-abidi- law-abidi- Nanking fell amid fierce slaughter of Chinese. Little wonder that Jap soldiers found small welcome when they tried to make friends with Nankings shuddering populace. China's future looked dull as 1938 hove into view and Gen. Chiang k took his troops to the interior. Kai-she- Temporarily, the tide turned. Chinese in- Aided 2,000 casualties at Taierchwang and on April 19 (above) led Chinese planes on a raid over Japan, dropping pamphlets instead of bombs, Japan's troops rumbled onward. Suchow fell May 19 and Nipponese army officials announced that Hankow, temporary headquarters for the Chinese government, was next on their list. By this time China had made good her threat to offer stiff resistance. The march to Suchow had been marked by several disarming counter-attack- s that stunned the Japs. 'y s. v ? A V, 'r ng gold-fille- soft-spoke- n, Peaceful Canton to the south, only a frw miles from Great Britain's Hongkong, was bombed May 28 when blood-maJapanese aviators killed 500 and wounded 1,000. But this was only a start. For successive days the rain of death continued until parts of Canton were stench-fille- d shambles. On June 5 an estimated 50 Jap planes bombed the city for an hour. Protests were ignored. d Japan's drive on Hankow has not been easy. Her troops pushed up the Yellow river, traditionally "Chinas sorrow because its periodic floods cause hunger and death. But now it became Japan's sorrow when June rains sent the stream over its banks and trapped Nipponese warriors. Meanwhile, Japanese back home are tired of war. But the militarists vow they will pound China Into submission if it takes ten years. ul Long Run for Fire Department One of the longest runs of fire apparatus on record occurred in February, 1904, when the New York fire department rushed nine engine companies and one company, on flatcars, to the great lire in Baltimore, a dislance of 180 miles. hook-and-ladd- er |