The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1904-10-21
ADVANCE is TURNED
INTO A RETREAT
Desperate Fighting Still Continues
Oyama Estimates Russian Casual
ties at ,OOO-Czar's Forces Cap
ture Tumin Pass.

disaster with such frightful losses that
yang. Oyama, reporting to Toxic, says
that the fighting continues, but that the
Russians are retiring, and the CORE
spondent adds: "Kuropatkin evident
ly is crushingly defeated" The jap
anese commander estimates the Rus
sian losses at 10000.
Heavy Russian Losses.
Toxic, Oct. 17.-Field Marshal Oyama
estimates the Russian casualties at 3d.
0O0 The fighting continues, burt the
Russians are retiring. Gen. Kuropat-
kin evidently is !crushingly defeated.
The reports from the field Friday
night indicate that all three Japanese
armies made distinct gains. Gen. Oku
captured ten guns, making his record
for the battle 35. The fighting in the
vicinity of Bensihu continues. The re-
port does not mention the situation at
fecting the isolated Russian column.
japanese Advance Checked.
st. Petersburg, Oct. 17.-Unofficial re-
ports from the battlefield were more en-
couraging Saturday morning. There
has been no rout, but there is no ques-
ton that the Russians have fallen back
20 miles According to private advices,
dated Mukden at $50 Friday night, Gen.
Kuropatkin checked the japanese ad-
vance at the Shakhe river. He
crossed the river and is holding line
along the north bank, extending from
west of the railroad eastward to Bensi-
aputze.
Decisive Moment at Hand.
Mukden, Oct. 17.-News has been re-
ceived here to the effect that one of
the Russian eastern columns has over
come the desperate resistance of the
japanese and captured Tumin pass.
which opens a direct road to the right
flank of the japanese main positions at
Yentai mines. If the report is true
Gen. Kuropatkin's plans have succeeded
and the Russians have taken the Jap
anese in flank and rear. One more eff
fort, it is asserted, and the Japanese
must retreat with heavy loss from the
Shakhe river or run the risk of being
cut off from the army between the
Shakhe and Schili rivers and be an
initiated But, it is added, it must
be remembered that flanking move
ments are double edged and cut both
ways In any case the decisive moment
appears to have arrived.
Authorities Are Silent.
st. Petersburg, Oct. 1.-THE silence
of the Russian authorities at this crit
ical hour is heartbreaking for the pub
lic Not a single official word has been
given out to relieve the suspense for
over "a hours, and the public is con-
WINGED that it can only mean that Gen.
Kuropatkin's world-proclaimed advance
has ended in complete disaster, with
such frightful losses that they will stag
ger Russia even after Liaoyang. Most
circumstantial stories, attributed to
court circles, are told of the failure
of the Russian left, from where
Kuropatkin aimed his chief blow. The
Russian commander is stated to have
had two and half army corps there
with one and half corps in reserve, and
they are said to have been beaten and
thrown into state of confusion border
ing on a rout, it being now only ques-
ton of the magnitude of the defeat. Ac
cording to these stories Kuropatkin was
really feinting on his front having only
three corps, with one general, in reserve
along the whole center and right.
The Japanese turning movement west
ward, which the general staff had re-
peatedly declined to consider danger
and strength enough to be real threat
against the Russian communications in
the rear. 1t is impossible to trace these
stories to responsible source. The
general staff pronounces them to be wild,
attributing them to the general feeling
of panic. Yet the members of the staff
reluctantly admit that they can offer
no official news to contradict them.
Officials Share Pessimism.
The officials of the war office them
selves seem to share in the general pes
simism. The emperor, they say, has
Kuropatkin's reports, but has not yet
transmitted them. The only thing the
general staff is able to offer is the in
formation announcing that unofficial
reports from the battlefield were more
encouraging, and that there had been
no rout, but that there was no ques-
ton that the Russians had fallen back
20 miles The public, however, taught
by long experience the meaning of Off
cial silence, refuses to interpret it now
as being anything but disaster. The
failure of the Russian newspaper CORE
spondents at the front to send the re-
suits of Fridays fighting is also taken
to be confirmatory of the worst, as it
was noticed invariably in the past that
when a reverse overtakes the army the
censor Immediately shuts down, limit
ing the correspondents to incidents
from which no idea is obtainable of the
large scale of the results.