Waterbury evening Democrat., 1904-09-08
CLOSING ON MUKDEN
Russian Army Still Retreating
 Toward the North.
MUKDEN BASE IS BEING EVACUATED

 Japanese Are Constantly Pressing on Kuropatlxin's Rear-They Have
 Taken Many Guns, With Am
 munition and Stores.
 LONDON. Sept. S.St. Petersburg is now confident that the critical stage of the Russian retreat is past and that Kuropatkin is no longer in danger of losing any part of his forces, though he still continues his retreat toward the north.
 Kuropatkin is making terribly ardu- Ous retreat with his army, guns and baggage over vile roads, rendered worse than usual by the recent rains. This retreat is not destined to end at Mulzden, which place is untenable, but farther north, probably at Tfeling.
 Kuropatkin is doing all possible to avoid a fight which the Japanese are straining every nerve to force him to accept.
 A great battle is going on before Mukden. The First and Seventeenth corps are engaged against General Ku- roki.
 The bulk of the Russian troops are moving toward Tieling.
 Late reports from Mukden say that the whole country is af1ame with the widest and most contradictory rumors. The principal interest in the situa- ton is in the fact that the Chinese pop ulation is becoming more anti Russian with the advance of the Japanese army.
 Mukden itself is overcrowded, and it is almost impossible to get food or a place to sleep.
 Everywhere there is the greatest up- roar in the direction of Harbin. The soldiers, however. are not at all dis heartened at result of the fighting and say that the Japanese losses are so tre- mendous as to seriously weaken them. They declare that they have made the Japanese pay infinitely more for Liao- yang than it was worth.
 M. Kiriloff, the Russian correspond ent who was shot through the lungs in the attack on General Stakelberg's s corps southwest of Liaoyang on. Aug. 10, is in the Russo Dutch hospital, and the doctors say that he is not yet out Ia clares he will soon be back in harness. Advices from Mukden say that the main Russian army, pushing north ward, is evacuating that, city, where, it now appears, General Kuropatkin has been since Monday
 Some of his troops it is understood, are not entering the city, buS are talk X ing up prepared positions around Muk- ] den. While there is no specific infor- nation on this point, the general staff believes that only a small rear guard is in the neighborhood of Yentai t There has been constant fighting at { the Russian rear and along the eastern { wing.
 l Part of Kuropatkin's force which is coming to Mukden by wagon road is in danger of being cut off. All day and right Monday the Japanese in the hills ] on the east road shelled the Russian troops
 Tn one instance the Japanese infan- try attacked a large force of Russian infantry and artillery which had taken to the hills, running parallel to the Japanese, in protecting the flank of the retreating army.
 Troops, guns and transport are pour ing into Mulzden by train and road. Considerable transport was left be hind.
 The roads are in 8 frightful state < owing to the heavy rain Monday.
 A Tokyo report says that the Koku- min learns on good authority that Ku- roki after taking the heights near Hei- yingtai, about fifteen miles northeast of Liaoyang, has occupied line from Yentai to the mines by hot pursuit ot the Russians.
 The Russians, who were said to be l concentrated twenty miles north o1 ' Liaoyang, are now retreating in the di 1 rection of Mukden. The pursuit was obstructed by the high millet
 The Russians destroyed their stores but numbers of guns and quantities o1 ammunition and other supplies were captured.