rifles upon the women as well as the men, just as though they were dealing with a tribe of conquered Hottentots.  I did not understand this behaviour on the part of our Eastern Ally, and felt it could only be the irresponsible bullying of a few individual men and officers.  Later on I found it to be the general policy of the Japanese Army to treat everybody as inferior to themselves; they had learnt this Hun lesson to a nicety.

I give two instances which are neither glaring nor isolated, but of which no doubt official record remains.  I was standing on Nikolsk platform waiting for a train; there was a crowd of Russian people, and a Japanese sentry was standing near.  This man quite suddenly darted forward and jammed the butt of his rifle in the centre of a Russian officer’s back; the force of the blow knocked him flat on the floor in such pain that he rolled about for a few minutes, while the Jap, grinning, held his bayonet at the “On guard!” Though there were many standing near, not one Russian had the pluck to shoot him, and not wishing to mix myself up in the affair, I took no action, but watched further developments.  Ten minutes later another Jap sentry repeated the performance, but this time the victim was a well-dressed Russian lady.  So cowed were the Russian people that even her friends were afraid to help her.  I stepped forward to offer assistance, with the Jap standing over me; when, however, he saw my revolver he put up his bayonet, but continued to laugh as though it was a huge joke.  A few Tommies were attracted to the spot, and the Jap saw that things were beginning to take a serious turn.  I proceeded to the Japanese Headquarters, situated in a carriage near by, and reported the occurrence.  The officer seemed astonished that I should interfere on behalf of mere Russians, who he said may have been Bolsheviks for all he knew, and inquired whether the sentry had ever treated me so.  I answered that “the first Japanese that touches an English officer or soldier in my presence will be a dead man.”  This seemed to surprise the Japanese officer, who pointed out that the Japanese were in occupation of Siberia, and were entitled to do what they liked.  I had to inform him that the Japanese were acting in alliance with the other Powers, including Russia; that we were here as the friends of the Russian people, and not as their conquerors.  This he would or could not understand.  I ended the interview by warning him that if his sentries were not instructed to behave a little less like savages, there would be an end to those sentries’ careers.  I later heard that the interview did good, but could not in the case of Japanese troops do more than slightly mitigate their behaviour to the defenceless Russian inhabitants.