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That afternoon we rode into Ichon itself. This is quite a large town. I found it practically deserted. Most of the people had fled to the hills, to escape from the Japanese. I slept that night in a schoolhouse, now deserted and unused. There were the cartoons and animal pictures and pious mottoes around, but the children were far away. I passed through the market-place, usually a very busy spot.
There were no signs of poverty. The uprising had not touched this district, save in the most incidental fashion. My inquiries as to where I should find any signs of the fighting always met with the same reply "The Japanese have been to Ichon, and have burned many villages there." So we pushed on for Ichon as hard as we could.
The rebels were mostly townsmen from Seoul, and not villagers from that district. Between 10,000 and 20,000 people had been driven to the hills in this small district alone, either by the destruction of their homes or because of fear excited by the acts of the soldiers. Soon after leaving Ichon I came on a village where the Red Cross was flying over one of the houses.
"The people of the eastern mountain districts have seen few or no Japanese soldiers, and they have no idea of our strength. We must convince them how strong we are." As I stood on a mountain-pass, looking down on the valley leading to Ichon, I recalled these words of my friend. The "strong hand of Japan" was certainly being shown here.
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