Perth Amboy evening news., 1904-11-18
STOESSEL WAS Eli.
st. Petersburg Dispatch Con
firms Reported Wound.
HIT IN HEAD BY SHELL SPLINTER
American Consul MT Chefu Cables
Washington That Port Arthur
Is In an Extremely Critical
Position.

Is In an Extremely Critical
Position.
LONDON, Nov. 1S.-A special dis
patch from st. Petersburg this morn
ing says that rejoicing over the un-
daunted spirit displayed by General
Stoessel in his telegram of %congratula-
ton to Emperor Nicholas on the ami
versary of his accession to the throne
and officially announcing the failure of
General Nogi's nine day attempt to
present Port Arthur to the mikado as
a birthday gift is tempered by private
information that the gallant command
err of the garrison has been wounded.
General Stoessel was struck in the
head by a splinter from q shell while
he was personally directing the repulse
of a particularly desperate assault, but
fortunately the wound is not serious,
and General Stoessel has not been
obliged to %relinquish command. Gen
eral StoesseI is regarded as the heart
and soul of the defense, and his death,
or disability, which would cause him
to relinquish command, would be re-
garded as an irremediable misfortune.
General Grippenberg and staff left
Wilma last night for the front.
Vice Admiral Bezobrazoff, who has
just returned from ~Vladivostok, has
been interviewed at Moscow. He said
the recently constructed Notifications
at V~ladivostok make the position there
stronger than ever. The entrance to
the harbor has been thoroughly mined.
General Stoessel's report is by no
means unfavorable. While the garri-
son is now hemmed in in the citadel
itself, not one of the main forts has
been taken. The garrison has been
provisioned, fresh ammunition has ar
rived, and General Stoessel expresses
confidence that the defense can be
successfully maintained until the ar
rival of Admiral Rojestvensky's second
Pacific squadron.
Everything has continued quiet at
Mukden up to the present time, but it
is believed that fighting will be re-
newed today.
The report of General Kuroki's death
persists, but Chinese deny it.
1t is reported that the American con- |
sui general at Chefu has cabled the
state department at W Washington that
the situation at Port Arthur is extreme
ly critical. The outer forts have fallen
into the possession of the Japanese.
Advices from Chefu say that fighting |
at Port Arthur has taken place nightly
since the Japanese began their general
assault on Oct. 26, according to Cap |
tain Renberg, a pilot, who was a pas |
senger on the Russian torpedo boat de-
stroyer Rastoropny.
The Japanese trenches. the captain |
says, are closest to the forts on Rib
lung and Keekwan mountains and to
other forts on the northeastern group.
The three Japanese torpedo boat de-
s%troyers which entered the harbor to
ascertain if the Russian torpedo boat
destroyer R%astoropny was here disap-
peared for a time, but have reappenred
again.
The japanese consul sent a cutter to
meet them and informed the nearest
destroyer, the Kasumi, that the Ras-
toropny had been sunk. The consul
says this was the first the ships knew
of the sinking of the Rastoropny. The
Kasumi transmitted the information
by wireless telegraphy to the Japa-
nese flagship, %whereupon the destroy
ers disappeared in the direction of Port
Arthur.
The sinking of the Rastoropny by the
Russians relieved the Japanese of an
embarrassing position. A repetition of
the TORPEDO boat destroyer Ryeshiteini
incident would have aroused indigna-
ton, while a failure to destroy or cut
the Rastoropny out would have appear
ed like admitting previous wrongdoing.
A Hardin report says that orders
have been given to the Japanese troops
to shoot any one in Chinese garb OBJ
served approaching the line, for fear
they may be Russians in disguise.
The Japanese army south of Mukden
is reported to be concentrating on their
left and center, presumably with the
intention of attacking the town at