Columbia courier. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1902-1905, 1904-09-23
SOLDIERS ARE MERC|LESS
eeIl,GERENTS AT PORT ARTHUR
IN TERRIBLE STATE.
Lieutenant RadziviI Carries Dis
patches From Russian Commander
at Port Arthur to General kuropat-
kin-He Says Red Cross Flag Is
Ignored Entirely.


Chefoo, Sept. 2O.-According to Lieu
tenant Prince Radzivil of the Russian
army, who has reached here from
Port Arthur bearing dispatches from
Lieutenant General Stoessel, the com
mander in chief of the forces of the
Russian stronghold, to General Kuro-
patkin, the temper Of the belligerents
at Port Arthur has reached an abso-
lutely merciless stage.
1t was set forth in dispatches some
weeks ago that serious suspicious were
entertained by both belligerents that
the other was misusing the Red Cross
flag. The suspicious have been in
creased by the commission of various
acts by the soldiers of both armies I'M
til now even flags of truce or surren-
der are not respected by either side.
Prince Radzvil declares that the
men of both armies are absolutely We
nomous in their antagonism. Lieu
tenant General Stoessel has addressed
his garrison. saying that the present
mood of the Japanese indicates clearly
the necessity of resisting them to the
last drop of Russian blood. because
If the Japanese soldiers entered the
fortress it undoubtedly would be i'm
possible for their officers to control
them and prevent a massacre. For
this reason Lieutenant General Stoes-
sci is making no objections to civil
ians leaving Port Arthur. When the
800 women who are in Port Arthur en-
gagged in hospital work were advised
to leave they replied that they would
rather face the possibility of massacre
than desert their posts.
In consequence of the fact that flags
Of truce are ignored, numbers of jap
anese dead which have been lying on
the slopes of the hills for weeks past
are still unburied. The stencil from
decomposing bodies when the wind is
in the right direction is almost unen-
durable. The Russian soldiers, who
are in some cases posted only so PAGES
from The heaps of decaying dead, have
constantly to wear over their noses
handkerchiefs soaked in camphor. as
otherwise they would be unable to re-
main at their posts.
In the course Of the assaults which
took place In the four last days of Au.
gust, two companies Of Japanese SOL
diers, according to Prince Radzivil,
found themselves at the mercy Of the
Russians and hoisted white flag. To
this, however, the Russians paid no at
tention and continued to fire volleys
rapidly right into the helpless ranks
Of the enemy, while the Japanese
troops were in the rear of the compa-
mics that had raised the white flag
saw what their comrades had done and
expressed their disapproval Of the sur
render by firing into their rear. AS a
result OF the fire from friend and foe,
600 men were annihilated. The dead
fell among the decomposing bodies of
previous assaults. For days after
wards the wounded men in this area
raised futtering handkerchiefs in their
hands in plea for help, but the Rus
slams were afraid to venture out to
give succor. Within week the last
arm had made its last unregarded
prayer for help and the shambles was
a quie. but CHASTITY field of horror.
Among the heaps of dead the prince
saw two soldiers, one Russian and
the other Japanese, lying locked in
a death embrace. The teeth of the
Japanese were sunk In the Russians
throat, while the Russian had forced
two IF his fingers into the eye sockets
of his antagonist. The prince cited
this as merely an incident denoting the
feroci.y of the conflict before Port Ar
thur.
How RadziviI Got Away.
Prince Radzivil, another Russian Of
ficer. two civilians and one woman, the
wife OF a Russian staff officer, left
Port Arthur the night of September
&c. OH junk and have arrived here.
Prince Radzivil got into Port Ar
thur a fortnight ago.
Plenty Of Food and Ammunition.
In his interview with the correspon-
dent. the prince said
The stories in circulation concern
ing the shortage of ammunition and
provisions at Port Arthur are not true.
There Is an abundance of ammunition
for both large and small arms, and
plenty cl preserved food. The use of
Chinese shells was merely saving
measure,