Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-01-11

X
PORT ARTHUR. Manchuria.
November TO- 1903.
We left Dalny at sunset. threading our
way slowly out past its sea wall, where
coolies chung In working clusters like honey
bees within a hive. and running past tho
grim pnen-of-war headed southwark to Port
Arthur. A twinkling of lights and fash OF
lighthouse beams, great glow in the sky
beyond the hill, and a distant chorus or
hammers were all that we could know of
the hidden fortress, the stronghold Of Rus
STA in the far east, when we arrived Off the
harbor's mouth at 10 O'clock that night.
We burned signals. declared the ships
name, nationality and number. and then
swung at the anchor chains in a rising
north wind until morning.
Signaling was resumed at sunrise and
toward o'clock the booted and uniformed
health officer came out to the ship. The
crew WAS summoned to the deck and fell
into long lines for inspection. The belted
Cossack orderly did not fancy single line
of stokers and engineers facing n single
row of sailors and stewards, and pulled
and hauled, pushed and showed. until he
had them aligned in double rows. the big,
meditative doctor watching the while.
Pride Of Japanese.
The lowest of Japanese coolies has a
personal pride and self-respect that does
not permit of his being roughly or unduly
handled by any one. and 1t was interesting
for the passengers to see how much longer
the crew would stand the rough handling
and hustling of the booted Cossack But
the little sailors and stokers took II patient
ly, returned the anxious looks of their Of
ficers with shrugs and reassuring smiles.
and made no difficulties because of barbar-
Gus manners. The gloomy quarantine doctor
rl.afa milf loft
swung al anchor another two hours before
permission came for us TO enter the harbor
at Port Arthur
The narrow entrance to the stronghold
was further closed with log booms until
there barely remained room for the ship
to creep in to the oval amphitheater Of
Port Arthur. From the outer anchorage
we had seen forts, embrasures, earthworlls
and signal STATS on every height and from
within we got better idea OF their number
and scale. Zigzag tracks ran up to every
fortified hill crest; barracks and powder
magazines were at the foot of the slopes
Residence of the Governor.
The residence of the military governor
capped the hill directly ahead of u.s. with
the town spread below and around II. The
east basin resounded with the noise from
shipyards and workshops. and tents spread
away to the foothills beyond more barracks
To the left lay large transports and ships
of the volunteer fleet. just in from Odessa
with men and munitions. and in the west
ern basin dredges were finishing the work
of harbor-making for the commercial city
which Viceroy Alexieff has now decreed.
stone barracks dozen of them-lay be-
yond the ground plan of the new city
across the railroad tracks. and from ship
yards on the inner side OF the entrance
island came the din of forced work Ten
torpedo boats lay there. all in worknen's
hands at once. and all day and all that
night the hammer hammer hammer went
on.
Fourteen hours after signaling our arrival
at the harbors mouth the regular mail
steamer from japanese ports was at an
Choir: and this was an unusually swift pro-
ceedins, for L have known travellers who
have lain at anchor twenty-four and thirty
six hours outside waiting on the caprice the
pleasures or the daytime sleep OF the Rus
sian arbiter
Sale of Stolen Goods.
There was a heavy cargo to discharge
thousands of boxes of bottled Osaka beer.
cases and cases of japanese mineral water.
bags of rice. cornmeal. flour and other food
stuffs In proportion, and the donkey engine
chartered until sunset. resumed at daylight,
and spluttered until the next noon. A CO.
rean quartermaster speaking Chinese lam
anese, Russian and English presided over
the mines and was go-between for every
sort of proceeding, maintaining his imper-
turbable Corean calm. while all sorts of
heathenS and barbaIianS ragged around him.
First some booted Cossacks I'm beited white
blouses clambered up the gangway one
with boxes of cigarettes to sell, which he
produced from grimy pillow case. He
disposed of them at less than cost price
while colleague sold a silver watch an
other pair of boots, and the three depart
ed.
"They are stolen of course you know
said ships officer.
How dare they come in uniform I'm broad
daylight and sell them? Why don't you in
form the police?''
All. we cannot assist in conducting the
Russian government you know. They must
watch and punish their own people. There
are tide walters of the custom house on
board, every package and person on the
ship is under surveillance; so why do they
not stop this thing if they wish to? Every
time we come here, every time any foreign
ship comes here. there are soldiers on board
bedding things in this same way. Let the
Cossacks catch the Cossacks."
Quantity of Vodka.
The lighters, as they were loaded, were
drawn to the stone sea wall, and the boxes
and barrels made mountains beside other
mountains of freight strung along the
ter front. A particular mountain range OF
square boxes formed a rampant of defense
below the military governors house, and
from shipboard there was much specula-
ton as to what commodity had been
brought on such a wholesale scale to Port
Arthur-sulphuric acid? Russian petro-
leum? Mineral water? But 1t was only a
part of the winter supply of vodka waiting
there until warehouses could be built.
Port Arthur is, indeed. dirty and ILL
smelling To the native Chinese smells are
added the smells of moujiks. horses ana
leather; and while now planning white
Moorish hotels and macadamzed avenues
of acacias across the harbor, the Russians
have been contented for these five years
with unpaved streets-mud slOughs. equal
ing those of Picking in places. Since 1895
gold-laced uniforms have been bounced
about in mud-bespattered droshkies. and
they will be jolted and spattered for an
other year before the model city is built up
and occupied and the present commercial
quarter RACED and cnnyartad intn