Oakes Republican. (Oakes, N.D.) 1898-1906, 1904-03-04

close our fleet concentrated within ,
Under convoy of torpedo boats ane
transports the enemy advanced foul
freighters. in ballast at full speed, te
the gateway, where it was intended tc
sink the latter vessels, but. the ma
neuver was Immediately observed or
the battleship Retzivan, which was
standing in the bay at the entrance
The Ret2ivan at once opened fire, anG
after it the batteries on the peak and
those on the promontory took part
AS result the ships with which II
was designed to blockade the por
we're destroyed and their mission
rendered unsuccessful. According to
wholly unsupported report one Jap
anese torpedo boat was sunk.
"The cannonade began before q
o'clock il the morning and continued
until Z o'clock. From 5 q. M, how
ever, there were merely single dis
charges. The Japanese fleet at long
distance answered our fire ineffective
ly. This evidently was done merely
to cover the retreat of their torpedo
fotilla.
'..The enemy's squadron. consisting
of ten large vessels and seventeeJ
torpedo voat destroyers, which ap
peared yesterday. about s o'clock IL
the morning, maneuvered in sight o.
Port Arthur until noon and then be
gan to withdraw and disappeared
from the horizon in the morning. The
cruisers Novik, Askold and Bayen pu
to sea, and after an inconsiderabls
cross-fire returned unharmed."
As the Japanese Tell II.
Washington, Feb. 27.-The Japan
ese minister has received the follow
ing cablegram from the Japanese min
lister of foreign affairs:
Before dawn on the Gath inst. -four
old ships. under escort Of torpedo
boats, proceeded to the mouth of thu
harbor Of Port Arthur, where thel
were cung with success in order t.
close it. The officers and crews of tn,
vessels returned safely. No ohicia;
report has yet been received from The
odnHal commanding the sQusdroo
but there is no doubt that the squad
ron itself is safe.
Toxic, Feb. 81. - Vive Admiral
Togo's attempt to bottle up the Rus
sian fleet at Port Arthur by sinking a
feet of merchant steamers at the
mouth of the harbor evidently failed,
though the venture caused no loss of
life and the vessels lost were. not of
great value.
Five ships were prepared by Vice
Admiral Togo for the attempted
blockade. Four are reported to have
been sunk, but the fate of the fifth is
unknown here. 1t is presumed that it
withdrew with the other Japanese
vessels. The five vessels were filled
with stones SO Us to make the obstruc-
tion permanent and they were
manned Ey volunteer merchant crews.
1t was impossible to select naval Of
ficers and sailors on account of their
great rivalry to participate in the
daring venture. Accompanied by four
battleships. nine cruisers and numer-
Gus vessels of the torpedo fiotilla,
the stone-la5cn steamers reached Port
Arthur on Wednesday. While the
fleet engaged the shore batteries the
steamers made dash for the mouth
of the harbor directly under the Rus
sian guns.
Details of the attack have not been
received, but it is evident that the
Russian fire sank the steamers before
they reached the point planned for
their foundering by the Japanese.
It is said that all of the crews of
the vessels escaped in sboats and were
picked up by the Japanese torpedo
boat dcstroyers. The reports that
two of the torpedo boat destroycrs
were sunk by the Russians is de-
MED. The naval department has re-
ceivcd brief dispatch from the COM
mander of one of the torpedo boat de-
stroyers, saying that 70 lives were
lost and no ships were destroyed,
and that no damage was done by the
fire of the Russians.
Pending the official report OF Ad-
miral Togo the navy department de-
clines to make any statement of the
affair.
Japan's Arrangements Perfect.
Koyang, Feb. 27.-The foreign mill
tary experts are loud in their praise
of the excellence Of the details which
characterize the Japanese arrange
ments for the commissariat and trans
port departments. Gen. Allen of the
United States army told your cores