Waterbury evening Democrat., 1904-09-19
LAPS ATTACK AGAIN
Assault on Port Arthur Now
 In Progress.
HORRIBLE SCENES OF CARNAGE.
Prince RadxiviII's Stay of Siege Awful FerOcity of Both Armies. Fields Filled With Decay
 ing Bodies:

Fields Filled With Decay
 ing Bodies: .:a- CHEFU, Sept. 19. Local students of the military situation at Port Ar thur, passing their deductions upon re- cent developments there, are of the opinion that another grand assault is either occurring at the present time or is imminent. This opinion is based on the very heavy bombardment of the Russian stronghold that occurred on Sept. 16, for such. q bombardment forms the usual prelude to an assault; on the arryal here of important mes sengers from Port Arthur at a time when the running of the blockade is extremely perilous, on recent author itat1ve statement that the Japanese siege works are completed and on reports from Japanese sources that at Port Dalny an assault was expected to take place in a few days. These re. ports were received last week.
 In addition to the foregoing, there is the common knowledege that the Japa1fese realize that their continued inactivity increases the resisting pow CT of the Russian garrison and their consequent desire to make such period of inactivity as brief as possible, According to Lieutenant Prince Rad Zivil of the Russian army, who has reached here from Port Arthur bear ing dispatches from Lieutenant Gen. eral Stoessel, the commander in chief of the forces of the Russian strong hold, to General Kuropatkin, the tenn per of the belligerents at Port Arthur has reached an absolutely merciless stage
 Prince Radzivil served with the Brit ish inl the Boer war, and he says that 1 until Inc became aware of the state of affairs at Port Arthur he had no idea that war could be so horrible.
 It was set forth in these dispatches some weeks ago that serious suspi- cions were entertained by both belliger- ents that the other was misusing the l Red Cross flag. The suspicious have been increased by the commission of various acts by the soldiers of both armies, until now even flags of truce or surrender are not respected by ei- ther side.
 l men of both armies are absolutely ven omous in their antagonism. Lieuten- ant General StoesseI has addressed l his garrison, saying that the present mood of the Japanese indicates clearly ] the necessity of resisting them to the l last drop of Russian blood because if the Japanese soldiers entered the for l tress it undoubtedly would be impos- I sible for their officers to control them 1 and prevent massacre. For this req son Lieutenant General Stoessel is making no objection to civilians leav- ing Port Arthur.
 When the 300 women who are in Port Arthur engaged in hospital work 1 were advised to leave, they replied that they would rather face the pos sibility of massacre than desert their posts.
 i Tn consequence of the fact that flags ] of truce are ignored numbers of Japa- nese dead who have been lying on the slopes of the hills of the northeast l defenses for weeks past are still un- i buried, and the stench ill Port Arthur from decomposing bodies when the wind is in the right direction is al- most unbearable The Russian sol diers, who are in some cases posted only fifty paces from heaps of decay i ing dead, have constantly to wear over their noses handkerchiefs soaked in camphor, as otherwise they would be unable to remain at their posts.
 Tn the course of the assaults which took place in the four last days of I A soldiers, according to Prince Radzivil, found themselves at the mercy of the Russians and hoisted a white flag. To this, however, the Russians paid no attention and continued to volley rap idly into the helpless ranks of the ene- my In the meantime Japanese troops in the rear of the companies that had raised the white flag saw what their comrades had done and expressed their l disapproval of the surrender by firing ] into their rear. As a result of this fire l from friend and foe 600 men were an l initiated. The dead fell among the decomposing bodies of previous as- saults. For days afterward the wound ed men in this area raised futtering ] handkerchiefs in their hands in pleas M 1OIs uOlp, UuI lA6 NURSERIES were aITalC to venture out to give succor. Within a week the army had made it's last un- regarded prayer for help, and the shambles was a quiet but ghastly field of horror. Among the heaps of dead the prince saw two soldiers, one a Rus. sian and the other Japanese, lying locked in a death embrace. The teeth of the Japanese were sunk in the Rus sian's throat, while the Russian had forced two of his fingers into the eye I sockets of his antagonist.
 The prince cited this as merely an incident denoting the ferocity of the conflict at Port Arthur The prince J will leave today to rejoin General Ku- ropatkin.
 Prince RadziYill says further: l Individual acts of heroism during the fighting have been numerous, and the tragic death of Lieutenant Petroff was for long an absorbing topic o1 conversation. Petroff became surround,