Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1904-11-28
AUTUMN IN MANcHuR,A.
Severe Cold Will Soon Overtake the
Contending Armies.

| >'StoOcE dPpIOAlIlLlc very cIOSoIv Il
those which prevail round London a,
the same season. There is. however
but little fog during the nights. which
are chilly. with heavy dews. The day.
are bright and warm, and the air f.
generally fresh and bracing. Their.
| may be days rain now and again
but usually October is fine and dry
The harvest will all have been gathered
| in where nor trampled down and de.
stroyed, and the country people will b.
threshing on stheir open. rolled earth
threshing floors. treading out the corr
| with oxen. If any remain. or ponies
mules and donkeys, who also drag
round small stone or wooden rollers
The few small proprietors who own nc
| animals beat out their corn with rough
fail. All winnowing and cleaning is
done by throwing the grain up into the
air. Northward, in the direction of
Telling. the conditions are practically
the same as at Muk ien. but the flights
are colder. Nearer Port Arthur the
climat tie is equally dry. but milder. and
there are often dense fogs in the early
morning from the sea.
tn" land, excepting in the southern
rart of the Kwan-Tung peninsula. re-
mains exactly as it was left when the
I harvest was carried. no blowing what
ever being done, as it is desirable to re-
tain all possible moisture for the spring
sowing. Only in the neighborhod of
Port Arthur is there any attempt to
SOW autumn wheat. Elsewhere moth
ing is snwn until April. 1t is thus COM
parativcly easy 10 travel in any direc-
ton on the plains. independently of the
roads or cart tracks, so long as no river
or gullieS are encountered. Almost all
the rivers, excepting the Liau, are now
daily growing smaller, and the water
as clear DIS crystal, so that fords are
everywhere increasing in number.
This is particularly the case with the
Tai-TZe. Hum and Tai rivers.
The thick, coarse grass on the hills
has not died down as grass does in
England. but has hayed as it stands,
retaining its nutritive qualities. The
finer grasses afford splendid pasture for
the rough native ponies. The taller
grass and scrub is in many places
burned, either purpOseiv or by accident.
A small spark and gentle breeze will
at this season often cause many miles
to be cleared in n short space of time
There are no woods on any of the hills
within the sphere of the present oper-
ations. though there may be a small
copse here and there. This does not
apply to the region in which the Inn
perial to,rbs are situated.
With November a decided change
may come. The weather may con-
tinue fine until the middle of the month
or it may break earlier, with odd days
of rainy sleet or snow. The roads be-
come slippery with stiff. half-frozen
mud, but the river crossings are not
affected, except that the water is icy
cold for those who ford them. Toward
the end of November the ice forms
into floating masses and causes much
trouble on the larger rivers. where al
the main crossings wooden, temporary
bridges are often erected. Early Win
ter ice, which will not bear the traffic
sometimes stops all local communica-
ton, if there is no bridge. as the sharp
ice cuts the animals legs and often
lanes them. Toward the end OF No
vember the ground is frozen on the
surface, through which, wherever
there has been mud or soft, wet soil,
the wheels cut and are damned. This
causes serious delay, but does not al
together stop traffic. From December
l onward it will become daily more and
more difficult to do any trenching, and
by Christina time the ground from
Hai-Cherg northward will be very
solidly frozen to a depth of three feet.
increasing to five feet as one goes
north. The maximum depth of hard
frozen earth at Mukden is four feet in
January. During the Chino-Japanese
war the Japanese found 1t impossible
to intrench on the plains. but on the
stony hillsides they were able, with
much labor. to blast out certain posi-
tons. 1t is. therefore. not surprising
to learn that they are preparing for all
contingencies by hiring thousands of
Chinese coolies to fOrtify the Lao
Yang positions against an attack
from the north. The Russian de-
lenses faced in the opposite direction.
Around Port Arthur the winter is
less severe, the ground, at Christmas.
being frozen only to depth Of some
twelve or fifteen inches, whilst the
stony. loose soil can be more easily
worked with a rickax. In southern
Manchuria-that is. from kaiyuan
southward-little or no snow falls be-
fore Christmas, and should any come
it usually n"lts very quickly. The
winter Of 1S94-'95 was an exception,
when the heavy firing was apparently
responsible tor immense falls Of snow,
and the Japanese constructed defenses
with snow beaten with the spade and
then cut into soft blocks which We're
piled w into low bullet-proof shelters.
That winter with its heavy snow and
the consequently damper cold. was the
worst within the memory of any ma
tives. II heavy firing really has any
thing to do with 1t. it is quite posi-
BILE that there may be much snow
again this winter. Otherwise. terri
Bile dust storms will sweep over the
country, which are often binding and
make it impossible to see farther than
few yards.
The fuel supply of both armies will
be a serious problem. The coal mines
at Wafang-tien and Yen-tai are both
in Japanese hands, They are none Of
them as vet very productive. and we
have not heard to what extent the
Russians destroyed the workings. The
Fu-shun mines are much more valu-
ki., f1,oro ia q largo Snnp1v pOOd