THE BATTLE OF MUKDEN—AND CALL OF MR. DEVOAU AS ASSOCIATE MINISTER.
After the recital of the fall of the key to Port Arthur, the speaker of the evening gave his experiences in the world's greatest battle as follows: "I arrived at Mukden long before the fight, and after the famous victorious charge of Poutiloff up the slopes of Lone Tree Hill, by which the Japanese were driven out with fearful loss, I wanted to be one of its defenders, but General Kuropatkin seemed to know all about me, and insisted that I connect myself with the force holding Yuhungtun. I was angry and thought I was going to miss the liveliest part of it, but the general knew better.
"There was a good chance to become acquainted with the men before the conflict, and I found them really fine fellows. Some were capital marksmen, and as the enemy's outposts drew nearer amused themselves by sniping the men in the advanced pits, and many a Jap whose head only was visible did we see lifted out of his hole with his brains oozing out of a bullet perforation in his upper story. The time came at last, however, when 1,000,000 men confronted each other in the lines of battle, who were destined to suffer a loss in killed, wounded and prisoners within three weeks of 250,000 men, or just one-fourth of the entire number. Although the battle proper lasted about nine days, what with preliminaries and the rear-guard action which followed, it might be safe to add ten more. The struggle was fearful, and nobody was so much master of the situation as our commander-in-chief, who knew from the beginning where the blow would fall.
"General Rennenkampf, the Cossack chief, had with his staff traversed the entire one hundred miles of front and had handed in his report to his superior. The plan of Marshal Oyama was to outflank our army and cut off its retreat, and after surrounding it pound it, until it capitulated, but in Kuropatkin he had met a man so able in strategy that he could easily outgeneral him and bring his plans to naught. When the eleven-inch shells which had wrought such destruction at the port began to fall it soon became evident that the works on which had been expended the labor of months and the skill of the best engineers were going to dust. In spite of the fact, however, that we were outclassed in numbers and heavy artillery our men put up a terrible fight. After a fearful pounding with all kinds of guns, one day the enemy in overwhelming force came upon us with the bayonet, and after a hand-to-hand struggle, without parallel we believe, in which the ground was piled with the slain, we were forced out and our works taken. During the awful struggle which cost us our position, I was struck in the side by the steel of a Jap, which cut a groove between two of my ribs, but although I was not seriously hurt I recognized the fact that one inch more, or possibly half of that, and to-night instead of talking to you I would have been in a nameless grave on Manchuria's plains, with my warrior shroud for a winding sheet, until the earth would give up its dead.
"It is a remarkable fact that although people said, with the advent of modern repeating arms and machine guns, that bayonet charges were no longer possible, as such rushes in force would spell annihilation, yet there never was a battle in all history where so many charges were made and in which cold steel crossed so often as at Mukden.
"Word now came to us that our army had taken the offensive in the centre, and was forcing the enemy back, and encouraged by this we determined to retake our lost position. As we were forming for the attack the divisional commander came along, and noticing the shortage of officers, said to the colonel of our regiment: 'Take the most experienced men from the ranks and put them in charge of sections and companies.' Although this was said in Russian, I had now picked up enough of the language to understand it. The colonel did not like the advice and said: 'General, this is contrary to custom; you know we need to safeguard these positions by the use of a little red tape.' The general became furious and said: 'Red tape to ——! It has been the curse of the army in the past, and it will curse any army, and at, best bring nothing but humiliation. What we want is merit, which practically means experience and courage with a large amount of intelligence thrown in.' It was now evident to the colonel that he must obey his superior officer, and he came over to me and said: 'Devoau, I want you to take No. 5 Company, as its officers are all dead or wounded.' I set my teeth and obeyed, believing that I myself would soon be as they. All was soon ready and the order was given, 'Forward, steady under cover.' When we reached the open or fire zone two whistles pierced the air—one to deploy in loose order and the other to double. We now swept forward, the enemy's batteries opening upon us. The men of my company went down, sometimes one and sometimes three or four in a heap at a time. As we reached our old position I was perfectly furious because of our losses, and though I had never sworn in my life before I yelled between my clenched teeth, 'Give them hell, boys!' Just as we were tumbling in upon them our colonel, who was braver and better than any of us, was shot through the brain and instantly killed. Even though the colonel was killed and whole companies had gone down in that awful rush, the Japanese might as well have tried to stem Niagara's torrent as to beat back our infuriated men, and all that was left of them got out faster than they had charged in. The night within the village was one that would never fade from memory. The streets were strewn with broken rifles, twisted sabres and bayonets, dismounted guns, broken gun carriages and dead men, some of whom still clutched each other in the grip of death. I was now ordered, though I felt unequal to the task or honor, to take temporary command of our decimated regiment.
"In trying to hold on to our old position we had to withstand some terrible bayonet rushes on the part of the enemy in efforts to retake it, and our regiment, which entered the battle with 2,450 men, had just 585 left to respond to the order to retire. Another regiment lost 1,100 men. The place assigned us in this most, orderly retreat was in the rear-guard, and just as we took our places our brigade commander was decapitated by the explosion of a pom-pom shell, and I was ordered to hand over my regiment to a major and take charge of the brigade.
"We had an awful time during the retreat, but every onrush was stemmed, and at each repulse of the foe our men, with bayonets dripping red, cheered to the echo.
"The war was now practically over, and although every man of ours had two foemen opposed to him, the Japs had a narrow escape from defeat; nothing but the accident of a duststorm averting it, by enabling them in the darkness thereof to break the lines of General Linevitch when his men could not see a yard ahead of them.
"When we reached headquarters I, having nothing but a temporary connection with the Russian army, went to my chief and tendered him my uniform and arms, telling him, as there was not likely to be any more fighting, I would return to Canada. He, however, refused to take anything, saying that as a mark of honor and appreciation I must retain them, and after saying 'Good-bye' to my battle-scarred comrades I went to the station to entrain for the coast, and as it steamed out a crowd of officers and men waved their caps and handkerchiefs, shouting, 'Canada for ever; long live Canada and the Canadians!' I felt I did not do much for them—any one, perhaps, would have done better—but I had done my little best, and they had trusted and honored me. I like the Russians; they are good fellows, and are greatly slandered in the West. They have a moral code, and with some exceptions, they live up to it, and any nation that crosses arms with them will pay a heavy toll.
"In closing, I presume you would like to know more fully my opinion of war, and in giving it I will say that if you murder a man by shooting or stabbing him you are merciful, but if you kill him by exploding an eleven-inch shell, in many cases he will be torn to fragments and his dismembered body scattered over an acre of ground. In other instances that I have seen at Mukden and 203 Metre Hill, men have been mortally wounded and left an unrecognizable mass of flesh and blood, which for days heaved with anguish and life, while others, after hours and sometimes days of agony, died with broken bayonets protruding from their backs, having entered as gallant breasts as ever swelled with breath and life.
"I have forsworn war for ever, after the dreadful scenes which I have witnessed, and there were scenes which I did not witness, in far-off Russia and Japan, which were infinitely more appalling, where was seen the dreary sobbing of broken-hearted widowhood and the piteous wailing of hungry, fatherless children. Added to this was the pale-faced sorrow of sisters bereft of brothers and sweethearts, who had lost those who would have been nearer than brothers, and who now with broken hearts ceased to live and began only to exist in hopeless despair. The Russians met in their foes armies trained after the pattern of the German military system, and none of us ever again desire to cross weapons with men trained as those are, who have learned from that land of advanced scholarship and military superiority. The Japanese were foemen worthy of their steel, but instead of their arms being dishonored fresh lustre was shed upon them."
At the close of his address Mr. Devoau was applauded to the echo, after adding as a rider that in his denunciation of war he would, of course, make an exception of defensive operations.
The next Sabbath in the morning service Mr. Melvin started the tabernacle congregation by announcing that as he would soon reach the retiring line, and as the immense congregation, with its many needs, overtaxed his strength, he had long thought of an associate who, when he retired, would take full charge. Continuing, he said: "I have spoken to Mr. Devoau and asked him if he would not abandon the thought of a life so selfish as that of making himself one of the foremost iron founders in Canada and join me in the work of preaching and teaching. His answer has been favorable, if it is the will of the people, and he has further said that if it is their will he will accept it as the Master's will."
A meeting of the officers of the church was called for Tuesday evening, when the matter was discussed, and Mr. Devoau's profession of faith heard, when he told them that he was of French-Canadian parentage and could not subscribe to every technicality. His frankness and fearlessness won every heart, a vote was taken, and he was unanimously called to be associate pastor of Mount Zion.