The St. Louis Republic., 1904-07-31
ISOLATION OF PORT ARTHUR MOST DEPRESSING TO RUSSIANS

hospital train l could not help think
| ing that these smiling invalids. in their
| neat carriages, were enjoying the happi-
| est period in their lives.
They were heroes. they had done their
duty manfuliy to Russia and the Car,
Georges Cross and other decorations. and
| all looked as If they were already in the
| Elysian fields.
| The private soldiers had clean faces and
| wore clean linen. so that they seemed
| quite different men from the unshaVen,
grimy warriors whom I have been accus-
TONED To meet al Port Arthur. lnkuW,
Lao Yang and Mukden.
The highest degree of human felicity
consists in getting slightly wounded and
| being sent To the rear. 10 be regarded
with moist eyes and waited on with ais
terry solicitude by the handsome girls of
| the Russian Red Cross.
For several weeks after | came TO Muk-
! den the trains ran daily north and south
with such regularity that one got TO ex-
pect their passage AS matter OF course
ICst as one expects the rising and setting
OF the sun. One day this comfortable con-
Viction was rudely upset.
LAST TRAIN FROM PORT ARTHUR.
A train steamed into Mukden Station
| with bullet marks all over it. [ went
on the platform 10 see it as il stood sur
rounded by crowd of curious spectators
ike steed that had escaped from a dis
tapt battle
The marks of the Japanese bullets were
very numerous on the armored portion of
the carriages, but these bullets must
most OF them must have been ''ricoches."
as they generally did nothing more than
knock of little rings of paint.
some, however penetrated the roofs
ana windows of the carriages. wounding
several passengers. 1t was a silent anN-
ious group of men that stood around that
train, examining it. 1t was evidently the
last train that would come through from
Port Arthur for some time.
The great Manchurian Railway. which
mad cost Russia 80 much money. and
which had been one of tho greatest tri-
umphs of Muscovite diplomacy was about
10 be cut by the Japanese.
II seemed as II the sun had suddenly
ceased to shine in the heavens. or that
some other natural law had suddenly
failed to operate. The fact seemed to
smite every one present suddenly, rudely,
like falling stone.
The passengers on the train had not
much to say. They related that the Jap
anese had fired on them from distance
of three or four versts.
A "NO-MAN'S LAND"
From that time to the present veil
has been interposed between Port Arthur
and Mukden. Trains only go as far south
as Tah-Shil-Chiao. near Niuchwang. Be
low Tah- -Shil-Chiao lies "no-man's
land" neither Chinese nor Russian.
swarmng with japanese soldiers and with
Chinese bandits: a land in which light
by night or the sound of horses hoofs
eXcites the attention OF sentries and pa
trolls, and in which a man is given a
very short time wherein to max. up his
mind 10 stop or To be fired on: land
which Russians will nevertheless continue
to cross at the risk of their lives, in or
der to convey information backward and
forward between Port Arthur and. the
Niceroy's headquarters.
l am writing this letter near the north
ern limit OF the "uo-man's land" | have
just spoken of. At the southern extrem-
ity of 1t lies the beleaguered fortress of
Port Arthur, which will never. If the Jap
anese have their way. hear the whistle
Of Russian railway engine again.
The Captain of battleshlp naturally
flee is IA railway carriage in siding at
Mukden. and when people meet one an
other in the streets they do not speak
about the weather or say. "Bonjour! COM
! ment alez-vous?" They ask. Have you
| been to the station this morning" or
"Did you see any trains come in to-day
just as people living in seaport speak
of ships arriving.
THE: JAPANESE ADVANCE
The Japanese seem to have learned very
soon Of this condition Of affairs. for soon
after they had crossed the Yalu mounted
| bands of them-each band being several
thousand strong-swept over the country
to the east Of the railroad.
Considering that the japanese are no
toriously bad horsemen. riding indifferent
horses and pitted against the finest riders
In the world. with practically the whole
| of the great horse-breedlng regions of
Mongolia at their disposal their temerity
| in venturing so far as they did into the
| heart Of Manchuria IS astounding.
They have now fallen back. owing to
| the damage inflicted on the japanese lines
OF communication by General Mistchenko
| and his Cossacks. In the meantime the
Russians are preparing a little surprise
| for them when they pay their next visit.
| / might mention, by the way. in this
connection. that on his return from South
/ Africa the japanese Military Attache with
| the English forces during the Boer War
presented a voluminous report to the
Mikado.
| Not a word of this document which ex-
cited much speculation at the time. was
| made known to the public, but | should
not be surprised If it pointed out low
easily the tactics of De Wet could be imi-
| tated by bands of japanese horsemen
! roaming through Manchuria. supporting
| themselves on the country. getting infor-
! nation OF the Russian movements and the
! disposition of the Russian forces from the
| friendly inhabitants and breaking the
| railway and telegraph lines as often as
| possible. FRANCIS McCULLAGH