Little Falls herald. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1889-1950, 1904-05-27
'I!Alu RIVER DIS TRIC

RIVER Dis TRIO
Scene of Great Land Battle Be
tween Japan and Russia.
FAIRLY AZ OPEN COUNTRY, BUT HmLY
Lofty Mountains on the North ana
East Make 1t Most Dimcult For the
Passage Of IN Army-The Yalu IL .
Picturesque Stream some Three
Hundred Miles In Length.
"Forked Ways is the name given by
the Chinese to the lower Yalu river,
the scene Of the first important land
battle between the Japanese and Rus
sian troops. Above the Yalu is called
by the Chinese the Tachiang, or Great
river" This designates especially the
stream beyond Win, where the Japa-
nese army had it's headquarters. Op-
posite, just below Wiju, the river is d.
vided by two islands, one, Samalinde,
Of considerable extent, says the New
York Herald.
Behind Yongampo and up the course
Of the stream to With, a march of
about forty miles, and stretching back
about five miles, is level plain, which
is cultivated and occupied by Korean
farmers. Beyond this plain, in a
southeasterly direction, rises a high
| ridge Southeast again, behind this
ridge, rise lofty peaks 1900 to 5000
feet in height.
Win, or Yichu, is on billy promon-
tory at the upper end of the plain,
beautifully situated and dominated by
a cliff about 200 feet high. Many of
it's people live along the Seoul road,
for ages an imperial highway to China.
Toward the sea, on the west, the
land is fairly open, though billy, while
inland, on the north and east, are lofty
mountains, making it most difficult for
the passage of an army. Except on
this Wiju-Seoul road wheeled traffic is
impossible in northern Korea.
The Japanese in 1894 crossed the
Yalu few miles above the town Of
Win and attacked the Chinese army
in the rear, overwhelming it notwith-
standing it's strongly fortified position
on the low hills just below Wiju. on
the Manchurian side at Chintiencheng
-"Nine consecutive forts" A few
miles above Chintiencheng the Al riv-
er enters the Yalu. The Al is a swift
runningi stream, navigable for small
boats few miles up it's course. The
hills of Chintiencheng. it has been said,
could be held by few thousand men
against an army. This the victorious
progress Of the Japanese has proved
false conclusion as far as the Rus
SLAMS are concerned Inland on the
Chinese side the country is Wild and
thinly populated.
Between Tatungkau and Chintien-
cheng, thirty miles from the first and
ten miles from tie latter is Shahitze-
"Sand River Town Antunghsien-
peaceful East Magistracy" TO-
600 inhabitants. The town lies very
low and has been inundated more than
Qace4 !: y c::-.>~'::@@ c:@@-:stti!c Of each
race IT, &c c'-.:iese ton SITES have
been chosen il low land, while the
more poetic:l Koreans, who appreciate
natural scenic beauty, build on high
ground or in valleys nestled in hills.
Fairly good roads run from Antung
to Fengwangcheng and Mukden to
To1>,
From Antung to Fengwangcheng is
forty miles. The mountain. overlook
ing this town Phoenix) rises quite
abruptly from the low, swelling plain.
A deep, forbidding gorge winds up
ward into the heart Of the site. In
Fengwangcheng are the remains Of
the Korean forts of the middle ages,
for here the Koreans made their last
stand before being driven out Of Man
chura.
West Of Fengwangcheng the road d.
vides. One section leads to New
chwang over three elevated passes, the
highest being the Tatungling. The
distance to Newchwang is $50 miles.
The main road crosses near the Mo-
tienling pass to Liaoyang, 100 miles,
and thence to Mukdea, forty miles far
ther on. This road is rather good.
The Yalu river, a picturesque stream
some 300 miles in length, is the divtd-
ing line between Korea and Manchuria
on the northwest frontier. It is nav
igable by native craft as far as Shin
kuihuo, but steamers are unable to
proceed beyond Antung. Some miles
below Antung, but situated In the same
bank and lying close within the estu-
airy Of the river, is the port Of Tatung-
kao, where, when the weather permits,
cargoes for Antung are sometimes dis
charged. Tatungkao, however, is diff
cult to approach, and, as a general
rule, steamers unload and receive their
cargoes at Antung, port Of great
promise in the near future.
The estuary of the Yalu river is
broad, but the anchorage Of Tatung.
kao is exposed to the northeast winds,
which at times blow with great force.
~&~ IN MD Nr1rAo1f 0S16