Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1904-04-02
PORT ARTHUR'S
HARB0R CLOSED
fhe Japanese Effectively Slnk
Seven Old Merchant Vessels
at the Entrance.
WAS A DIFFICULT FEAT
Had to BE Accomplished Under Cover
of a Terrific Bombardment OF
Russian Forts-Vice Admiral
Toso's Report.

kio correspondent unuer yesterday .
| date which says:
"On the night of March 22 the Japan
csc fleet renewed the attempt TO DottIe
IN Port Arthur. sixteen warships es-
corted seven merchant steamers 10 the
mouth OF the harbor, and under cover
of the bombardment the steamers ran
I'm and were sunk i'm desired POSITIONS.
! Three thousand japanese officers
| hlueiackets volunteered for this duty.
An official report is expected this after
noon"
The Daily Teiegraph's cIrcumstantial
report from it's Toxic correspondent
that the Japanese succeeded In pottLlS
I'D Port Arthur on the night OF MaIch
p Is not confirmed from any other
~uuarter. The special dispatches 10 inc
other morning pap|s no new
~developments in the situation, put
throw q few sidelights on the opera
tons.
The Standards Tientsin correspond,
ent says that Viceroy AleXieff renewed
his demand for the withdrawal or all
chinese officials and soldiers from Man
| churia on the ground that otherwise IL
would be impossible to conduct the war
properly.
The Daily Nails correspondents give
from Japanese sources some detalis Oh
the condition of Port Arthur which were
gathered during a recent visit OF u en-
nesa Junk there. Ii is asserted that d
boom had been placed across the en-
trance to the roadstead which was awe
with mines so defective and carelessly
laid as to equally endanger Russian
and Japanese vessels. The damaged
Russian warships, these reports say,
were repaired with such haste that IL
Is dangerous for them TO leave thelr
anchorages. Eight battleships ana
cruisers and ten torpedoboat destroy
ers are-now uninjured n often leave
the harbor. but never go far from the
forts.
naval officers praise the
quality of the Russian to"rpedoboat ue-
~stroyers, which, they confess, have done
excellent work, but they declare that
the Russian shells are badly tuSed anu
fail to explode except when they strike
direct upon armor, and that tnelI
charges OF gun cotton are lhsurllclelt
to cause serious damage.
The Daily Mails Shan Kwan Corre-
spondent says that h Japanese are
secretely engaging Chinese to act as
irregular corps.
Vice Admiral Togo's Export.
Toxic, March 26.--Vice Admiral To-
go's report CT the fifth attack on Port
Arthur, made March %, reached TOXIC
tonight, as follows;
'Ine CO0lDlleu IltCl dSlCu
to the plans arranged. Two flotillaS or
d~estroyers were outside Port Arthur
from the night OF the 2lst until the
morning of the 22d.
although during this time our de-
stroyers were under fire they sustained
no damage. The main fleet arrived Off
Port Arthur at s o'clock in the morn
ing Of the 22d l dispatched part or the
leet In the direction of Pigeon bay,
- ,,lara1 tho hnttlnGhinG Fiji ana
Yashima to make an indirect lombard
ment against the inner side of the fort.
During the bombardlnCnt the enemy y
ships gradually anne out of the harDor,
and when the indirect movement was
stopped about 2 O'Clock the NUMBER Oh
Russian ships was five battleships, tour
cruisers and several dcstroyers. We be-
lieyed the enemy were trying, by MAX
ing a movement Of their fleet, to draw
MS near the forts. The enemy's ships
shelled us indirectly and many OF their
shots fell near the battleship FIJI, put
our ships sustained no damage. About
three OF our vessels withdrew Off the
Tort
st. Petersburg, March 2~l.-Captain
Lcontier of st. Petersburg artillery
has been arrested on charge Of selling
military secrets to Japan.
St. Petersburg, March 25.-Ma1or
General Plug telegraphs from Mukden
under today's late as follows: There
IS absolutely no truth in the report
published in England 10 the effect that
me nave crossed the Ia Tung
pass, or tina they have had engage
ncEts with the Russians, while the
statement that they are on the way TO
NotieCf pass, where a strong Russian
detachment is alleged to be stationed,
and is open to the Japanese, is also
pure invention. To the same category
belong the reports published in Lon
don from Japanese sources OF the en-
gagement alleged TO have place
at Port Arthur March 10 March 49,,
and Of the encounter at Chyongsyolm,
on the Yalu river, in which the Rus
slams were reported to have lost QUO
men killed or wounded.
VIadivostok Is O~epopuIated.
Secttle, Wash, March 26.-Vladivo'
stok is all but depopulated in conse
uuence of the war, the bulk of her pop"
ulation having taken flight, fearing the
Commandment of the city by the Jap
anese naval forces. W.. j. Lippy, a well
known fur trader. has just arrived di-
rect from Vladivostok, which port he
left February 20.
on a single vessel $500 Japanese left
Vladivostok the day prior to he first
attack on Port Arthur.
All Chinese residents, numbering
about 5000, sought to leave, but the
military forces would not allow them to
depart. Just before Lippy left the I'm
perial Bank of V~ladivostok moved it's
treasure and all banking equipment to
a little own 600 miles in the interior.
Question Of C~ontraband.
Pekin. March 26.-The Russo-Japan-
csc notifications regarding contraband
of wal are different somewhat, and the
Hl;,acn rp,var,rnonf hoe onnlin1 IN Sir
Robert Hart, Inspector of general GUS
toms in China for advice in the matter.
He advised the government to prohibit
the giving of any assistance TO Japan
according to Russian notifications or TO
Russia according to japanese notilca-
tons. Pekin is placarded with notices
prohibiting the natives from assisting
either belligerent.
Doings OF the Chinese.
Lao Yang, Manchuria, March "a
General Ma has transferred his head
quarters to Tung Chou and his troops
have been Withdrawn westward of the
Sin-Min-Tun railroad. Viceroy Tuan-
Shi-Kai is now at Tien Tsin. His
troops are returning TO Pao T1ng-Fu,
1t is persistently reported that the
Japanese propose to land troops at
Gatsia, north of Shan-Wai-KWan, and
elsewhere on the railroad to Yin-Kow,
Advices from South Manchuria and
north Korea say all Is quiet there.
Chinese Dislike Interference.
Pekin, March 26.-The Russian mill,
tary attache here has applied for q
passport and permission to visit
Changwan Tsu, where General Mas
troops are stationed, and also for a
| special letter Of introduction to the
, general. The Chinese foreign office was
not inclined to comply with the at
tache's request.
SURPRISING a Newspaper.
Tien Tsin, March 26.-Viceroy Yush
has prohibited the Chinese from pur-
chasing Chinese newspapers at Chip
pao, on the ground that 1t had pub
lished an untrue article referring to the