The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1904-04-06

4OIOIHu O1IoSpOAQ0HGS Io1G 4OhtO kOI
the front today. It consisted of 81
newspaper men, mostly British and
American: From here the party goes
to Moi, leaving there April 6 on a
japanese transport for their destina-
tion, which is kept secret.
ALEXIEFF AT PORT ARTHUR.
SIT. Petersburg, April 1.-Viceroy
Alexieff is at Port Arthur on a tour
of inspection. He arrived there yester-
day and his stay will be brief, return
ing Immediately to headquarters.
With Admiral Makaroff and Gen.
Stoessel, respectively commanders of
the Russian naval and military forces
at Port Arthur, and Gen. Smirnof, he
visited the battleships, Petro, Palovsk,
Retvizan, and Cereyitch, the protected
cruiser Pallada and other ships in the
harbor and later conferred gold swords
of honor with ST. Georges ribbons
inscribed 'for gal]antry'' upon the
captains of the cruisers Bayan, Novik
and Askold.
According to information received it
is believed the Japanese are preparing
to repeat their attempts on Port
Arthur.
Lieut.. Newton McCully, assigned
as United States naval attache with
the Russian navy at Port Arthur, and
Capt. VIM. V. Judson of the United
States engineer corps who is to be
attached to Gen. Kuropatkin's head
quarters, left this evening accompanied
by Col. Paparoff the Bulgarian mill
tary attache, and two Swiss attaches.
They will 60 direct to Vice Admiral
AleXieff's headquarters at Mukden,
where their future movements will be
determined.
There is growing conviction in naval
and military circles that Vice Admiral
Togo's desperate endeavors to bottle
up or cripple the Port Arthur squadron
are for the purpose Of definitely i'm
mobilizing it while the japanese effect
a landing at New Cwhang or some
other point.
Vice Admiral Makaroff's capture Of
a japanese steamer near an island be-
tween the extremity of the Liao Tung
peninsula and the Shan Tung peninsula
proves that he is watching the en-
trance of the gulf of Pc Chi Ii.
It is not believed the Japanese will
attempt to debark on the shores of the
Liao Tung gulf while Makaroff's feet
| is uncrippled.
The Novi Krai of Port Arthur, dated
March 8, has just arrived here. 1t
contains a telegram from Capt. Reitzen-
stein, commanding the Russian squad
| ron at Vladivostock, referring to the
Japanese attack on Vladivostock, from
| which it appears that his squadzon
| was not only in port when the enemy
was sighted but that it got up steam,
went out and engaged the Japanese
who turned tail-Capt. Reitzenstein,
according to his telegram to the COM
mander- in-chief, pursuing the Japa-
nese till p. m., when he returned to
Vladivostock. He gives the compost
tion of the japanese squadron as fol-
lows: Battleship Full, the armored
cruisers Idsumo, Yakumo and Iwate
and the Togaino.
Admiral Skrydloff. commander Of
the Black Sea feet, who commanded
the Pacific squadron for four years,
in an interview just published, paid a
high tribute to the seamanship, never
and pluck of the japanese. The ad-
miral considers that only the first
attack on Port Arthur was serious.
The other attacks and bombardments
were for the purpose of keeping the
squadron in Port Arthur while a land
ing is effected in Corea or elsewhere.
He considers Port Arthur impregnable
of which te believes the Japanese are
convinced and declares that Admiral
Makaroff's fleet later On will play an
important role. But for the present
and for some months the scene will
be on land. While the admiral does
not say so it is apparent that Makaroff
is considering the arrival of the Baltic
feet in the autumn. While he says
be Black Sea feet is only preparing
for the customary manoeuvers Admiral
Skrydloff adds: "But we are ready
for anything