General Giant Horse

One of the Chinese heroes whose exploits long ago became legend was General Ma Chan-shan ("Giant Horse"). General Ma was no giant (5 ft. 8 in.), but he was an expert horseman. Thin, nervous, explosive, scratching his chin or mustache as he talked, General Ma smoked a little opium for pleasant dreams, woke from them fresh for action at 5:30 every morn ing. Operating in the far north, he organized a fantastic-appearing but formidable cavalry force made up mostly of Mongols and Manchurians, whose feet almost dragged on the ground astride their tiny Mongolian ponies. They wore badges on their arms marked with the English letters K. D., which they proudly said stood for Cavalry Division.

During Japan's first invasion of Manchuria, the Japanese killed someone they thought was General Ma. They were so sure of themselves that they sent home to Emperor Hirohito what they believed to be General Ma's uniform and medals.

When something is told to the Emperor, it automatically becomes irrevocable fact; it has happened. Unfortunately General Ma was still very much alive. Recently, the Japanese discovered this, and last week a confused force of little men surged out across the snow-swept, desolate plains of Ordos with orders to accomplish what every one of them knew -- as a most Im perial fact -- to have been accomplished long ago: kill Giant Horse.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.