Reclining in my deck chair on the N. D. L. liner _Bayern_, bound for
Singapore, I was smoking a pipe and idly speculating. I had
cultivated the acquaintance of my table neighbor, a Japanese, Baron
Huraki, and was at the moment, expecting him to come up the
companionway and take his place in his deck chair beside me. Instead
came two officers of the Second Siberian Rifles, strolling along the
deck. It was obvious that, although it still lacked three hours of
noon, these gentlemen had been quite frequently to the shrine of
Bacchus. I had no fault to find with that, as long as they did not
interfere with my own personal comfort. When they began tacking
along, talking at the top of their voices on that part of the deck
known by experienced travelers to be reserved for repose and reading,
however, they began to irritate me. When one of them threw himself
into the Baron's chair and displayed that beastly annoying habit of
continually wriggling and creaking the chair, meanwhile shouting to
his companion at the top of his lungs, I lost all patience. It only
needed Baron Huraki's appearance and quiet request for the evacuation
of his deck chair, and the insolent stare and non-compliance of the
Russian, to make me chip in with:
"Damn it, sir! You don't own the whole world yet."
I went on in terse military German which eighty per cent. of all
Russian officers know and the trend of which is never misunderstood.
I pointed out that any further encroaching would be resented in a most
drastic and sudden manner. The usual farcical exchange of cards,
permitting all sorts of bluffs, does not impress a Russian, but the
imminent chance of blows from fists does. A pair of astonished
bulging eyes, a muttered apology and quietness reigned.
With a mild smile Baron Huraki dropped into his chair, but I did not
like the expression in his eyes. Knowing the prowess of the Baron as
an exponent of his national system of self-defense (I had seen him
harmlessly toss about the biggest sailor on the _Bayern_, the chief
butcher, who was as strong as an ox), I said:
"It's a wonder to me, Baron, that you didn't throw that boor half way
across the deck."
I shall never forget his answer.
"We of the Samurai never fight when there is nothing behind it. It is
not the time."
I did not like the expression in his eyes.
All this transpired because I was on the road to Singapore, away from
Berlin, on my first important mission in the German Secret Service.
The Intelligence Department had instructed me to ascertain the extent
of the new docks and fortifications in course of completion in the
Straits Settlements--an assignment calling for exact topographical
data, photographs and plans.
Leaving port, I had found the _Bayern_ comfortably crowded. In the
East war clouds were gathering and among the passengers were a number
of Japanese called home, as I afterwards learned, for the impending
struggle. At Port Said we had taken on a Russian contingent, quite a
few of whom were officers bound for Port Arthur, Dalny and
Vladivostock, and in view of the gathering conflict I found the
relative conduct and bearing of representatives of these races that
were soon to clash, vastly interesting.
And after my experience with the Russians, I was to know more. From
that time on, I began to notice a subtle change in Baron Huraki's
attitude toward me. Quite of his own accord he discussed with me the
customs, ideals and aspirations of his caste and country. Wrapped in
a Shuai kimono, his gift to me, we spent many hot and otherwise
tedious nights, sprawled in our deck chairs, discussing unreservedly
the questions of the East. What I learned then and the insight I got
into the aims and character of Nippon, were invaluable to me. Baron
Huraki, now high in the services of the Mikado, is my friend still.
Once a year he sends me _Shuraino-Ariki_, a wonderful spray of cherry
blossoms, the Japanese symbol of rejuvenating friendship.
A Secret Service agent, although making no friends or acquaintances,
always makes it his business to converse with and study his fellow
travelers. Following my usual habit, I went out of my way to
cultivate the acquaintance of the Japanese, particularly Huraki. A
scholar of no mean attainments was the Baron.
Quietly, without being didactic, he upheld his end in most discussions
on applied sciences or philosophic arguments, putting forth his deep
knowledge in an unobtrusive way. I found this trait to be an
invariable rule with most of the Japanese with whom I came in contact.
Once or twice during our lengthy and pleasant chats I tried to veer
the subject round to the all-engrossing Eastern question, only to be
met with the maddening bland smile of the East. I was rather
inexperienced in the fathomless, undefinable ways of the Orient, but
on the _Bayern_ I learned rapidly the truths that Western methods and
strategy are absolutely useless against the impenetrable stoicism of
an Asiatic and that only personal regard and obligation on their part
will produce results. In striking contrast to the Japanese, small and
sinewy, any two of them weighing no more than one Russian, quiet,
taciturn, genial and abstemious, were the children of the "Little
White Father." The Russians were an aggressive, big, well set up,
heavy type of men, by no means teetotalers, talkative, with
overbearing swagger, always posing, talking contemptuously about the
possible struggle in the East, invariably referring to the Japanese as
"little monkey men." Fortunate for me was it that the _Bayern_ was
carrying both Russians and Japanese; the knowledge I acquired from
Baron Huraki of the Asiatics was invaluable in Singapore; what I
learned of Russians, I needed at Port Arthur. But I am anticipating
my narrative.
Arriving in Singapore, I put up at the Hotel de la Paix on the Marine
Parade. I posed as an ordinary tourist with a leaning toward hunting
and a fad of doing research work in tropical botany. I gradually
became acquainted with a number of English officers and was introduced
at their clubs. The information obtained through these channels about
the new naval base was merely theoretical and I soon found that to
obtain practical results I would have to get in touch with the native
clerks. In the English Eastern possessions, you see, most clerical
and minor mechanical positions are held by natives. It soon was
brought home to me, though, that this cultivating natives was by no
means easy and a rather dangerous thing to do. To be in any way
successful, I had to find a native of a higher caste, one with
sufficient influence to command the clerks. If I could get hold of
one of the numerable discontented petty rajahs, for instance, there
might be a chance of obtaining what I sought.
In one of the clubs, I found a clue. A young Rajah, one of the
numerous coterie of petty princes--fair play compels me to withhold
his name--had got himself into some trouble and the paternal
government had promptly suspended his income. Here was my chance. I
soon ascertained young Rajah's haunts and made it my business to
frequent them. One day I found him on the veranda of the Marine Hotel
and asked him for a match, making a return compliment of a cigarette.
This was a procedure against established British social usage in the
East, where it is considered _infra dig_ to meet a native on a social
footing. Herein lies a grave danger to English colonial policy. Your
semi-European educated native, having partly absorbed European
manners, resents this subordination and ostracism. So, with this
high-spirited, rather clever young rajah. I accepted his invitation
to whiskey "pegs" and subsequent dinner at his bungalow. One visit
led to another and we were soon rather intimate. The young Rajah,
having the usual native taste for luxury well developed and his income
stopped, I became of some monetary assistance to him. Also,
judiciously fostering his discontent against the government, I soon
had him in a desired frame of mind. Through his influence on the
native clerks, I was able to gain all the plans, data and photographs
of England's new naval base in the Straits Settlement.
By this time my close association with this notorious young Rajah was
marked and I found it advisable to pull up stakes, which I did in
short order, arranging passage on the N. D. L. liner _Sachsen_,
homeward bound. Having a week to spare and finding that by leaving
the _Sachsen_ at Colombo, I could catch the _Prinz Regent Leopold_ of
the same line, coming up from Australia en route for Europe, I had my
ticket transferred. This would give me a ten-day vacation in Ceylon,
where I had a number of acquaintances, having hunted there during my
early travels. Accordingly, at Colombo I put up at the Galle Face
Hotel, and the first man I met was Allan MacGregor, one of Lipton's
tea estate managers, in Kandy and Newara Elya. MacGregor and I were
old pals, having done much hunting and bridge playing in days gone by.
I planned to spend a week with him and go after some leopards. By the
by, I'd like to see the MacGregor's face when he learns that his
quondam friend and boon companion was an international spy!
"Dinna get sair, Mac. You're no the only chiel what'll tak a wee
surprise."
I was just arranging a hunting trip with MacGregor when Bill Peters,
manager of the hotel, another old acquaintance, handed me a cable
knocking all my plans to bits. It was a cipher message from Captain
von Tappken, and shortly I was again on the high sea, bound not for
home, but for Port Arthur. My orders were to ascertain how far the
Port Arthur fortifications were completed and to report on the general
conditions as I found them. I wondered not a little at this mission,
as I could not then see what close interest Germany could have in a
possible war between Russia and Japan. Also, I by no means relished
the assignment, for it was a perilous business and I judged the
Russians to be extremely suspicious--which I afterwards learned they
were not.
I decided to travel under the cloak of a doctor of natural history and
botany, my medical training giving me the necessary knowledge to
impersonate the character. The reader will understand that if Doctor
Franz von Cannitz is subsequently mentioned, it refers to me. Almost
everybody, especially my government, knew that war between Russia and
Japan was inevitable. I say, all, except Russia.
To make this situation clear, let me hark back a little. Japan,
beating China in the war of 1895, took and occupied Port Arthur.
Japan later, compelled by hostile demonstrations on the part of Russia
backed up by France and Germany, restored Port Arthur to China. Note
the holding aloof of England here. The actual text of the ultimatum
delivered was that the possession of ceded territory by Japan would be
detrimental to the lasting peace of the Orient. Japan was bitterly
humiliated and an Asiatic never forgets or forgives. Japan bided her
time. Russia's duplicity in the Boxer Campaign, and her seizure of
Port Arthur, gave Japan the needed _casus belli_. Result, the
Russian-Japanese War.
Arriving in Port Arthur, I established myself at the Hotel l'Europe
and with prospecting spade, botanical trowel and butterfly net, I
sallied forth around the hills of Port Arthur. The first thing which
struck me was the enormous number of Chinese and Chunshuses (bad
Coolies) employed everywhere. I came to know that they were not all
Chinese Coolies and that almost every tenth man was a disguised
Japanese. To an observer, trained in the facial characteristics of
the Oriental, it was not difficult to pick out the Japanese from the
mass of Coolies. They fairly swarmed in Port Arthur right under the
very noses of the Russians. As Baron Huraki had told me during our
passage on the _Bayern_, his countrymen were actually employed in the
building of the Port Arthur defenses! These Japanese w ere later able
to give invaluable information in directing the Japanese batteries.
Numerous other alleged Coolies were acting as servants to Russian
officers. I also found that on the Lioa Teah Shan Railway and at
Pidgeon Bay the very porters were Japanese. In fact, the entire
Russian stronghold was infested with them.
This carelessness, lack of knowledge or suspicion, with a total lack
of belief on the part of the Russian officers, that the "little monkey
men" would ever dare attack, is in my opinion the chief cause of the
comparatively quick fall of Port Arthur. For even with the
incompleted defenses the place was tremendously strong. Everywhere I
could see the most elaborate plans incomplete. For instance, as I
wandered through the hills seeking my botanical specimens, I found
that the chain of forts on the hills of the Quang Tong peninsula south
and west of Dalny, were totally unfinished and that the Kuan Ling
section of the Port Arthur and Dalny railway was not even adequately
protected from capture by a hostile force. The lack of adequate
supervision and the general slovenliness prevailing made it easy for
me to go about unchallenged. I mixed freely with officers and men.
The expenditure of a few rubles on _vodka_, in the case of the men,
and the never-rejected invitation on the part of most officers to join
in a jamboree, made me a very popular figure indeed. Through them I
learned that the provisions of Port Arthur were in a most deplorable
state. To use but one instance: Out of 1,420,000 pounds of flour,
nearly one-half was bad with sour cords, which caused part of the
enormous amount of sickness even then prevailing in the Port Arthur
garrison. During the war forty-five per cent. of the troops were
incapacitated because of unsanitary food. I found 600,000 pounds of
maize were wormy and over 700,000 pounds of corned beef were putrid.
Women and wine, however, abounded.
Never in any place--and I know all the gayest and fastest places on
earth--have I seen, comparatively speaking, such an enormous amount of
wine in stock, or such a number of demi-mondaines assembled. Most of
the officers had private harems. I often sat in the Casino and
watched the officers of the First Tomsk Regiment, the Twenty-fifth and
Twenty-sixth Siberian Rides practicing with their newly supplied
Mauser-pistols on tables loaded with bottles containing the most
costly vintage wines and cognacs. At such times the place literally
ran ankle deep in wine. There were over sixty gambling houses and
dancing halls supporting more than a thousand _filles de joie_. In
fact, the general intemperance was such that on the night of Admiral
Togo's attack more than half the complement of the Russian fleet was
ashore, dead drunk, in honor of one of the tutelary Russian saints.
The harbor defenses comprising submarine mines and searchlight
stations, etc., I found to be in the worst condition. In pottering
around, I visited many of the switchboard stations controlling the
submarine mine fields. Everywhere the eye met evidences of defective
work--rusty contacts, open insulations and exposed connections. There
were carelessly exposed buoys betraying to the naked eye supposedly
invisible submarine mines. The whole mine field was so badly laid
that the Japanese were subsequently able to drag and explode three out
of every five mines. This explains the astounding fact that during
Admiral Togo's five dashes, some of them lasting thirty-six hours, all
that he lost from torpedoes and mines was one ship, the _Hatsuse_,
which struck a floating mine.
I did a great deal of investigating the composition and geological
formation of the ground surrounding Port Arthur. I found most of the
ground consisting of loose layers of lava scoriæ. The comparative
easy capture of the otherwise immensely strong 203 Metre Hill did not
surprise me. The texture of the ground, besides having a deadening
effect on shell fire, made the approach to the forts by means of
parallels surprisingly easy. The Japanese, by the way, also knew this
peculiarity of the ground and used it to great advantage in their
advances. I also found the forts on 174 and 131 Metre Hills as well
as the north fort of East Rekwan in an incompleted state. The
commander of the forts, General Smyrnoff, was using strenuous efforts
to complete the work, but the personal animosity of General
Krondrachinko, the commander of the general defenses, vetoed most of
his suggestions. The vast sums of money which the Russian central
government appropriated for the fortification of Port Arthur, honestly
used, would have made the place completely impregnable. It is not too
much to say--and this will be borne out by any trained observer and
student of the conditions then existing in and around Port
Arthur--that sixty per cent. of the money for defense purposes
disappeared mysteriously.
All the Russian officers, however, were not grafters and drunken
libertines. Among them I did find men of alert and earnest character
who were quite aware of the frightful conditions existing, but who
were so used to them right through Russia that they viewed things with
true Slavonic composure. I even found the searchlight stations back
on the hills to be in a deplorable state. Indeed, on the night of
Togo's second attack on Port Arthur the power plant was out of order
and the searchlights which should have flooded the harbor with light
were dark. The plant was subsequently repaired under enormous
difficulties and cost, but of no avail. Coolie spies had procured the
exact location of the power house and searchlight stations and thus
aided, the Japanese gunners riddled them with shell. A great deal has
been said about the wonderful marksmanship of the Japanese, but for
the most part it was due to data on exact distances and locations,
furnished by their spies.
Although the officers were a careless, thoughtless lot, I found that
the personnel of the garrison contained, on the whole, a good type of
Russian soldier. They were not brilliant but faithful and obedient.
A Russian regiment is never routed. They stand and are killed, being
too stolid to run. I found most of the officers of Port Arthur to be
brilliant dashing men of the world, personally of high animal courage,
but self-indulgence, neglect, disbelief in hostilities and
underestimation of their foe, undermined them.
Among the high officials at Port Arthur, Colonel Reiss, Commander of
the Ordnance Service, stood out alone. He was the only officer, not
excepting General Stoessel himself, who seemed to realize the gravity
of the whole situation. In long chats which I had with him, he more
than hinted at the lamentable state of his ammunition. Once I asked
him why these conditions were not changed and he said:
"The Little Father (the Czar) is far away,"--he shrugged expressively.
Officers told me that tons and tons of ammunition bags did not contain
full weight. Whole ammunition trucks had only a double layer of
powder bags on top, the rest containing sand bags to be used only for
bastions and escarpions, the money flowing into the pockets of the
army contractors. I met General Stoessel at the Casino twice, and
neither time did he impress me as a military genius. A soldier of the
Buller type, he was bluff, hearty, courageous and stupid. His florid
bearded face, thick-set figure and his deep guttural growls reminded
me of a Boer _Dopper_.
Among all the Russians I met at Port Arthur, the most interesting
figure was to me the great battle painter Verestshagin. I am proud to
be able to say that he called me "friend." I happened to be of some
assistance to him in alleviating an attack of malaria. This, with a
similar taste in the arts and literature, soon put us on a friendly
and intimate footing. I have met many men of letters, artists and
statesmen, but never one who impressed me so much with the profundity
of his learning and thought as did Verestshagin, and I am not easily
impressed.
One night we were sitting on the Casino veranda overlooking the
wonderful Harbor of Port Arthur. It was one of those quiet, balmy,
semi-tropical nights for which this part of the world is famous, one
of those crystal, clear, soundless nights, and the silhouettes of
Russia's grim silent battle monsters riding at anchor were sharply
outlined on the moonlit waters of the bay. We were smoking our pipes,
having just finished a long chat about the history of these
regions--the old Manchu and Tartar dynasties, how far they had
influenced and still influence the history of the world, the
_Volker-Wanderung_--of the Huns, the Goths, and Vandals--a subject on
which Verestshagin disclosed a deep store of knowledge.
As the night was far advanced, I suggested that I had probably
trespassed long enough on his kindness and hospitality. He turned
around in his chair and placing his hand on my shoulder said in his
soft deep voice:
"No, Doctor Cannitz, you are doing me a service instead. I am
restless to-night. I have a curious presentiment that before long
these lovely hills will hear the roar of guns in earnest." Dreamily
speaking as if to himself he continued, "And Russia will lose . . .
but I shall not see it." Abruptly he looked up, sat erect in his
chair and shook himself as if throwing off something that oppressed
him.
"Do you believe in premonition. Doctor? I know I shall find my death
here soon."
An indescribable shuddery sensation seemed to pass over me. I am by
no means sentimental or easily moved, nor am I overly superstitious;
but I have encountered one or two things in the course of my life
which cannot be explained by rule and line. Throwing off my sudden
strange mood, I told Verestshagin that his morbid fancies were due to
his still feverish condition, and the depressing effect of over-doses
of sulphate of quinine. He rose and smiled, and said:
"Of course you are right, Doctor."
Before parting, he gave me a little sketch of Port Arthur which I have
still. I keep it as a treasured memento of one of the few really good
men I have met, and one of the few from whom I had been able to part
without harming.
Verestshagin's premonition was fulfilled. He died--a hero's death,
going down with Admiral Marakoff on the flagship of the Russian
squadron six weeks later.
I remained at Port Arthur for another five weeks, and exactly seven
days before Togo's first night attack I received a cable from my
government. It was in cipher, of course, and I was ordered to leave
Port Arthur immediately and make my way home as there was danger of my
being bottled up at any minute. It is significant that in the
Intelligence Department at Berlin they knew an attack was imminent,
although they did not know it at Port Arthur. Furthermore, Russian
securities dropped eighteen points on the New York Stock Exchange,
hours before the official knowledge of the attack came through. This
information leaked out through the German Embassy in Washington.
Seven days after I left, Togo made the torpedo attack in which he sank
the _Czarevitch_, _Retvitsan_ and _Palada_.
Before I took the steamer back to Europe, I went to Kiou-Chau, the
German colony in China, and filed a long report by cipher cable. Six
months later I had the satisfaction of having a talk with numerous
officers of the German General Staff and of receiving compliments on
the correctness of my observations, reports and predictions.
Later I learned the reasons why I had been sent to Port Arthur.
Germany desired to ascertain the exact relative strength of the Port
Arthur defenses and Russian positions in the Far East for the
following reasons:
Since the time of Frederick the Great, the only power on the Continent
which Germany has feared and has always been loath openly to quarrel
with, is Russia. Through the setback she received in the Far East in
1905, her influence steadily decreased in the Balkans and the recent
fiasco of Russian machinations during the Balkan war, has made her
become a secondary factor for decades to come. Germany, through her
keen Intelligence Department, foresaw the result of the Russo-Japanese
conflict and immediately set about to undermine and destroy Russian
influence south of the Austrian border.
By Russia's defeat in the East, the balance of the power was
completely shifted. It gave Germany and Austria the desired
opportunities and a free hand in the Balkans and Turkey. Had Germany
through her Intelligence Department found Russia invulnerable in the
East, the map of the Balkans would have to be painted in different
colors--as you will see.