Waterbury evening Democrat., 1904-09-26

nave beCN AG WOO AAU1nSS 1M E1OSpAS
tails and Making Clothes For Troops.
Band Played Daily to Cheer wound
ed-Ruasian Garrison, Cheerful, Re-
turned From Trenches Singing.
Mrs. Anna Kravtchenko, the English
wife Of a Russian army officer, who ar
rived at Chefu few nights ago with
Lieutenant Prince Radziwill from Port
Arthur, is the first woman to run the
blockade from the Russian stronghold
since the japanese increased their vigi-
lance to prevent egress from the port,
says Chefu dispatch. Her trip was
rendered extremely perilous because
she came out with the prince and his
companion, Lieutenant Christoforoff,
who carried messages from Lieutenant
General Stoessel, the commander at
Port Arthur, to General Kuropatkin.
Mrs. Kravtchenko in an interview
said:
eve left Port Arthur at 8 o'clock on
the night Of Sept. Is. There was
good wind and the moon was bright.
We were successful in avoiding the
danger of the first Japanese blockading
line We came up to the second line
when the moon was under a cloud.
Searchlights were flashing on all sides,
but our junk was not discovered. We
suddenly discovered ourselves close to
another junk with Japanese crew on
board. They presumably were pirates,
but we outsailed them and drew away.
"At 9 o'clock the next morning we
saw assteamship coming In our direc-
ton. She had the appearance Of
cruiser, and I was terribly frightened
When we saw the cruiser Prince Rad
twill and Lieutenant Christoforoff
went below. stretched myself out
on deck and covered myself with dirty
blankets. Chinese were lying at my
feet and at my sides, and for nearly an
hour, although nearly smothered, I
kept my position. never uttered
more thankful prayer than when was
informed that the ship we had seen
was Red Gross vessel and that her
captain had no intention OF overhaul
ing us. a
Wonderful things are being done by
the STATS of the different hospitals at
dies. There are thirty nurses for each
thousand patients. The ladies' devote
most Of their time to the making Of
clothes for the soldiers. The laundry
work is done by the poor women and
the wives OF the enlisted men. The i'll
and wounded are thus kept supplied
with clean clothing. The laundry work
has to be done in dreadful heat.
There are no contagious diseases at
Port Arthur, but many deaths are re-
sultfng from the bite of large red
headed fly which feeds on the decom-
posing corpses scattered over the bat
tIefelds. A doctor who was bitten on
the thumb by one OF these flies instant
~ severed that member. He then had
his arm amputated, but not before the
poison had reached his heart The re-
suit of the bite was fatal.
Every day in the week the band
plays at one of the hospitals. The
wounded men recover quickly from
the wounds inflicted by Maxim projec-
tiles and by the bullet OF the Osaka
rifle, but the wounds resulting from
explosive bullets are awful, and re-
covery is impossible.
''The old town of Port Arthur is al
most entirely wrecked. The streets
are filed with holes made by explod-
ing shells. The loss OF life in Port Ar
thur from the bombardment has been
remarkably small. Once counted
f1fty-seven Japanese shells fired at
Russian battery, not one of which
reached it's mark.
The Russian garrison is cheerful.
1t would be impossible to imagine a
Drawer or finer set of men. They re-
turn from their days duty in the
trenches with songs on their lips. Al
though many places in the ranks are
vacant, all the men have unlimited
confidence in their power to hold the
fortress against the enemy"