The Kootenai herald. [volume] (Kootenai, Idaho) 1891-1904, 1904-07-01
RUSSIANS AGAIN DEFEATED
COMPELLED TO RETREAT NORTH
WARD FROM TATcHEkIAo.
There Were $4,000 Russians There
Few Days Ago-Japanese Under
General kuroki Attack Them-Other
Jap General, Oku Will Not Join
Attack Now.


st. Petersburg, June 2S.-A rumor
is in circulation here to the effect that
the Russian forces have been defeat
ed at Tatchekiao and compelled to re-
treat northward. At the war office it
is stated that no report of such action
has been received, but none of the of
ficials in charge would deny that such
battle might have been fought.
1t is known that there. were fully
$4,000 Russians at Tatchekiao last
Thursday. and that the entire Japanese
army under General Kuroki was NOV
ing northward to attack them.
Liaoyang, June 27.-1ne second Jap
anese army, under General Oku, is
withdrawing all along the line, having
apparently abandoned the intention of
effecting juncture with General Kuro-
k's army.
The Japanese report of the loss of
three Russian ships at Port Arthur
has not been made public here, though
the authorities have allowed to be
printed a statement that the squad
ron had made a sortie, and also the
news of the loss of the Japanese tor
pedo boat destroyers. Some of the pa
pers have even commented with salts
faction on the prospect of the fight in
the open sea, where the merits of the
two fleets will be fairly tested.
An official explanation of the sup
preston of the Japanese report is that
the admiralty is unwilling to unneces-
sarily alarm the public by the circula-
ton of such statements, entirely on the
authority of the enemy and in the alb
sence of definite advices from the
commander at Port Arthur. 1t is also
suggested that there has been a fight
and that the Japanese have minimizeu
their own losses and magnified those
of the Russians with a view of effect
ing the new loan which it is understood
Japan is negotiating.
Mine Version Advanced.
On the other hand, according to a
foreign naval attache, the admiralty
admitted that Rear Admiral Witsoeft
(the naval commander at Port Arthur
lost one battleship and two cruisers,
but in the absence of details there was
an inclination to believe that the ships
struck mines, the admiralty not be-
lieving, in the face of the lessons
taught by the injuries to the Retvizan
and to the Czarevitch, that Admiral
Witsoeft would have remained in the
outer roads at night, thus inviting the
dash by the Japanese destroyers.
In high court and army and naval
circles, where the report of the Port
Arthur affair has been freely circu-
lated, the Japanese version is received
with considerable reserve.
The officials do not attempt to dis
guise the seriousness of and the far
reaching consequences which might re
suit from the loss of three of the Port
Arthur warships, but they profess to
be more inclined to believe that the
vessels were lost in open fighting rath-
er than as the result of a torpedo at
tack. Should this be the case, they
say, the Japanese could not have es-
capped without material loss and the
Gripping of one or two of their battle
ships, enough to assure command of
the sea to the Baltic squadron.
Fleets May BE United.
There is much speculation tonight
as to whether the Vladivostok squad
ron might not have gone out and per-
haps be on the eve of joining the Port
Arthur fleet A telegram from Vladi-
vostok, dated June %, which has been
received here, does not mention the
squadron, but it is easily conceivable
that such mention might be suppressed
/ for strategic reasons.
A general tension is evident in the
= city tonight. There are many rumors
afioat, and every one is realizing that
most important news may be expected
at any moment.
1t is reported that a serious land
fight has taken place near Tatchekiao,
in which the Russians were defeated
, No confirmation of this report is OBJ
tainable.