The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1904-09-01

up in Thursdays dispatch from Che
foo, showing that the Japanese in the
assaults on Port Arthur August 81 and
% were again repulsed with heavy
losses. Despite the assertion made in
Toxic that all the attacks so far on
the fortress have been merely prelim-'
mary to grand infantry assault, the
feeling grows here that the ferocity of
the repeated attacks and the defeats
must be gradually dissipating the en-
ergy of the besiegers and that the
Japanese may find after all that they
have broken their teeth on the stones
of Port Arthur"
The fact that the Port Arthur squad
ron is already SO crippled and scat
lance as tactical factor in the eyes
of the authorities here. Accounts of
the misfortune to the battleship Sevas-
topol and of the sinking of the cruiser
Novik are allowed to be extensively
printed, and it appears that the bal
ance of sea power in the east is thor
oughly upset pending the arrival of
the Baltic squadron in oriental waters.
Recent Sortie Described.
The emperor has received from Rear
Admiral Prince Ouktomsky a telegram
bearing a Port Arthur date in which.
after briefly describing the sortie of
the Port Arthur squadron on August
10 and its engagement with Vice Ad-
miral Togo's ships. the admiral says;
"At 1880 o'clock. when the Care
witch left the line with damaged steer
ing gear and, signaling admiral, trans
fered command. as 1 had two masts
broken and all means of signaling by
day or night damaged on the Peres-
Wet, 1 displayed the signal Follow
me- on the captains bridge, but l
imagine that all the ships were not
able to distinguish it. AS my vessel
lost many in killed or wounded. and
as the armament, hull and electric ap-
paratus were seriously damaged, de-
cided to return to Port Arthur The
ironclads Retvizan, Pobedia, Poltava,
Sevastopal and Czarevitch accompanied
me, the Czarevitch being the. last in
line. We went at an average speed, but
owing to the darkness and to repeated
torpedo attacks, which obliged us from
time to time to change our course, our
vessels dispersed and at dawn the Ret
vizan, Sevastopal, Peresviet, Pobedia,
Poltava and Pallada. with three tor
pedo boats, were at Port Arthur. Our
casualties were two officers and SO men
killed and 81 officers and 286 men
wounded, so of them severely. Capt.
Boyeman, despite severe wounds, re-
manned for 20 hours on the bridge un-
til the battleship entered port. Our
vessels are being repaired by their own
and the dockyard appliances. In the
absence of Rear Admiral Without l
have assumed command of the Port
Arthur squadron"
Cruisers Out of Commission.
Shanghai, Aug. 26.-The Russian
cruiser Askold and the torpedo boat de-
stroyer Grozovoi have gone out of COM
mission, but the work of repairing
them is being continued. There was
no formal ceremony when the vessels
went out of commission. Their flags
were not raised Thursday. A simple
announcement was made by the COM
manders of the two warships that the
vessels would remain in port until the
war is over. The work of dismantling
them will begin on Friday The Ask
old has been authorized to remain in
dock until September II in order to
complete her repairs.
No Complications Expected.
Pekin, Aug. 26.-With reference t.
the report that Japan has conveyed an
ultimatum to China with regard to the
situation at Shanghai, high official
of the ministry of foreign affairs
Thursday declared emphatically that it
was without truth. He said also that
China would continue to preserve
strict neutrality and that she did not
anticipate complications in connection
with the Shanghai and Chefoo incl
dents.