The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1904-11-09
General Nogi Ignores Brave
StOessel and Tries to Per-
suade Defenders of Port
Arthur to Give Up Fight
SENDS A MESSAGE
TO CARS TROOPS
Japanese Commander Gets a
Reply That Shows Men
Serving Nicholas Will Be
Faithful Despite Sufferings

CHEFU, Nov. S.-The Japanese are
ignoring General Stoessel and have
offered terms of surrender to the Rus
sian soldiers at Port Arthur. accord
ing to advices which left Dalny yester-
day and reached Chefu to-day. Mean
while. the ceaseless activity of the Jap
anese with picks and spades and the
gradual advancement of the japanese
intrenchments spell memorable fate to
the watching Russians.
Russian prisoner, who was cap
tured on October 26, said that the Rus
sian soldiers were in want and had be-
come dispirited, as they saw the hope
lessness of the struggle. They had, he
said, given up all hope of relief either
from General Kuropatkin or the sec
ond Pacific squadron. Food was scarce,
hospital supplies were insufficient, a
japanese victory seemed inevitaofe and
the Russian soldiers, according to the
prisoner, could see no reason why they
should prolong resistance which
would bring glory to their officers, but
chiefly hardship and death to them
WRITES TO SOLDIERS.
Upon hearing this prisoners story,
General Nogi called the members Of his
staff together and briefly discussed the
situation with them. Then, under the
light of bicycle lantern, General Nogi
drafted a letter to be circulated among
the soldiers themselves. the prisoner
having promised to deliver 1t in mercy
to his comrades.
This letter related the details of Cen
eral KurOpatkin's retreats and his in
ability to make any impression on the
forces of Field Marshal Oyama, to say
nothing of his inability to break
through the Japanese lines for the pur-
Of RI If fold
how the Russian second Pacific squad
ron had only just started on a slow
voyage to the Orient.
Continuing, General Nogfs letter
called attention to the resistless ad-
vance Of the Japanese trenches toward
the fortress, thus making 1t only a
matter of weeks when the japanese
would be able to walk into the main
Russian strongholds. In conclusion
the letter offered humane treatment to
all who would surrender, saying 1t
would be in the interests of humanity
to prevent further useless slaughter.
DELIVERS NOGFS LETTER.
Early on the morning of November
4, while darkness prevailed, several
copies of General Nogi's letter, written
in Russian, were given 10 the prisoner
who gained the Russian lines without
being observed by his officers. On the
night of the fourth the Russian re-
turned to the japanese lines and said
his comrades would answer the letter
within a few days. He said that the
temper of the soldiers with whom he
had communicated seemed to show
that while they felt mutinous when
considering their prospective fate, they
did not like the idea of an unofficial
surrender
The letter, however, did much TO dis
pei the impression fostered by the Rus
sian officers that a massacre would fol-
low a Japanese victory.
The company to which the prisoner
belonged originally numbered 1900, but
it is now composed of only thirty men,
according to the prisoner.
AS the Japanese are sufficiently near
the SUBMITS to render tunneling highly
practicable, much of this work is now
being done The Russians are build
ing counter tunnels. Whichever side
finds its tunnel under that of the
other, blows up the latter's.
For the purpose of preventing ex-
plosives being rolled down into their
trenches, the Japanese have made
ranges out of hillocks of earth above
the trenches.
Five Russian mine-sweeping steam
ers have been sunk by Japanese shells.