Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1904-03-18
BATTLE AT SEA
and Russians Each Lose a
! Vessel.
Tint NEAR PORT ARTHUR.
an Torpedo Boats 10 the Engage
They Were Probably Making an At.
to Give the Japs the Slip-Plve Rus.
Torpedo Boats Return to Port Arthur

Idon, (By Cable).-The advices
Port Arthur through Russian
les of the engagement outside the
or between Russian torpedo
IS and Japanese warships, sup
Idly torpedo boats or destroyers,
which a Russian torpedo-boat de-
Dyer and Japanese torpedo boat
re sunk, seem to bear out the
inion of experts here that the Rus
an situation at Port Arthur is
Booming desperate.
The continued Japanese attacks are
|aving the intended effect upon the
own and the Notifications. Viceroy
Alexieff, in his report to the Gar,
. while stating that "the results of the
5bombar dment were insignificant adj
mits that people in the town were
killed and wounded by the exploding
shells.
Admiral Markaroff, who has just
assumed command of the Russian fleet
at Port Arthur, is apparently making
bold attempts to enable some OF his
vessels, including torpedo boats, to
escape.
Cabling from Yinkow correspon-
dent says the British and American
eunboats at Niuechwang have receiv-
ed orders to leave Immediately the
river opens. At Lao Yang there are
now 1000 troops working night and
day on the Notifications. A great
fortified camp is being formed south
Of the town; it extends three miles IN
every direction.
The Russian force on the faiu
River now amounts to 10000 men,
AS an example of the terrible power
of the Japanese "ShimoSe" powder
correspondent of the Standard, at To-
kio. relates that a Russian sailor who
was hurt in the naval fight OFT Che
mulpo, and who has been brought to
Matsuyama, Japan, has 100 wounds.
London, (By Cable The Daily Tele'
graph publishes dispatch from TOXIC
dated March ana saying:
'It is reported that the Japanese fleet
engaged the Russian Vladivostok squad
ron at sea. The result of the engage
ment is not announced, but it is believed
the Russian ships were destroyed or
captured. :"
st. Petersburg. whereabouts of
Captain Reitzenstein's Nladivostok
squadron is carefully guarded by the
military authorities, but there is strong
impression here that when the seven
japanese warships appeared Off the mar
Dor Sunday and Monday the Russian
squadron was outside perhaps down the
coast, cooperating with the Russian land
force near the mouth of the Iumen
river.
If the Russians were outside and the
japanese definitely ascertained that TACT,
a big sea fight is probably imminent ana
it is considered certain that the Japanese
in that case will lie on and off Vladivos-
tok to prevent the return Of the Russians,
giving battle if they are caught in the
open sea. All the harbors along the
coast in which the Russians might seek
refuge are frozen and the squadron must
eventually be forced to return to Vladl-
vOstok for coal.
Although the japanese squadron is
superior in numbers and guns, consisting
of battleship and four armored cruisers,
two of which are believed to be the Id
zumo and the YakumO, and two unar-
mored cruisers, the four armored cruisers
under Captain Reitzenstein, the Rossla,
Gromboi, Rurik and Bogatyr, are among
the finest vessels in the Russian Navy,
constituting as sister ships homogene-
Gus fighting unit, and experts here are
not certain that they could not take the
measure of Rear Admiral Uriu's ships.
A naval service organ here argues
lengthily that the present japanese naval
disposition presages movement on
large scale in the Sea of Japan and the
paper accounts for all the japanese ships
except the battleship Yashima and the
Armored cruiser Tokiwa, one first-class
protected cruiser and five second class,
reckoning the battleships Full and Shik-
ishima, the armored cruisers Iwate and
Asama and the protected cruiser Taxa
shihO as being injured.