The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1904-09-06

Slidi oydlii1 Wa DlCSo Tie cdiS6AA a =
desperate vigor and in1ict on enera
Kuropatkin the most crushing blow
possible.
1t is believed that his trophies will
prove valuable Ii is the opinion here
that the Russians were not able to
carry many guns with them, and that
they were forced to abandon or de-
stroy vast quantities OF stores
One of the Most Desperate Battles i'm
History.
st. Petersburg, September 2.-12:30
o. NIP 10 the hour OF filing This
dispatch, the war Office, has not given
out the details of the fighting OF Sep
TENDER l, but it is believed that this
fighting exceeded in fierceness that OF
any previous day.
The absence of press kilograms from
Lao Yang on September 1 aroused
suspicious that changes of Importance
were proceeding, which the military
censors did not wish to be made
known.
A telegram from the Associated
Press correspondent at Mukden filed al
9:27 on the evening of September /.
states that h train service between
Mukden and Lao Yang has been in
terrupted, but the dispatch does not
mention whether Geographic COM
munfcat1OnS are open.
According 10 a dispatch from Lao
Yang, General Kuroki made his first
attempt to cross the Taitse river late
in the evening under cover of a heavy
bombardment of the extreme Russian
left. The japanese artillery, which
had been firing uninterruptedly for
IA hours that day, ceased about nine
o'clock and then suddenly reopened
about II o'clock. to conceal Kurokfs
preparations for crossing the river.
These preparations necessitated the
establishment Of a pOntoon bridge, as
n river was not fOrdable lower than
Sakankanwantun, and p%ontoons must
have been foated down the stream
The efforts of the Japanese to cross
the river ON August 80 were not sue
cesSful.
General Kuropatkin was unable to
prevent the passage of the river, owing
to the distance from Liza Yang, about
20 miles, but for the same reason the
Japanese were unable to bring the
forces which gained the right bank
Immediately into action.
K~uropatkin heard of the passage OF
the Taitse at Sankankanwantun after
6 o'clock on the evening of August 81,
n Immediately gave orders for his
men to fall back on the outer posi-
tons. This move is explained by the
desire to collect a strong force with
which to repel a thanking movement
from the northeast.
The Japanese repeated their attempt
TO throw Dontoons across the Taitse
near Liza Yang during the night of
August 81, again under cover of a
bombardment, and this attempt is be-
lieved to have been successful. Severe
fighting may, therefore, be expected
Immediately northeast of the city.
The action of h japanese COM
mander in throwing a force across the
river in The face OF a strong-enemy is
considered to be extremely rash, and
the position of this force, isolated from
the main Japanese army by a deep
river, may easily become desperate.
a correspondent of the Associated
Press at V~ladivostok telegraphS that
the Japanese are relying on The aid OF
the gunboat fiotilla for future opera
tons against Lao Yang and Mukden.
| The ~gunbOats. the correspondent SayS,
have not materialized. but in any case
they would be in no position TO rem
der aid to a force on the right bank
in time of need. because they would
be unable to run the gauntlet OF the
forts of Lao Yang. The
forts are situated on The right bank
where the Russian army is now con-
centrated.
The f, lighting at Lao Yang has beat
en- all records for the desperate valor
of the assailants and the invincible
| stubbornness of the defenders. The
whole history Of warfare tells Of no
such bombardmenL. no such carnage
and no such perSistency. Day after
day the fight has been resumed at
daybreak and kept Up with hardly a
moments intermission until after
| nightfall.
W~ar-Scarred veterans scarce believe
the reports which come from the seat
of war and declare that it is beyond
human endurance for an army to fight
without respite for a whole week, each
day of which has exceeded it's prede-
ceSSpr in intensity of struggle and car
nival of slaughter. Day after day the
thousands Of dead ~bestrewing the bat
tlefeld have TO be removed. The
| Japanese have invented new methods
to incinerate the heaps of dead COM
rades removing the ashes for the
ed present a most serious problem. as
they tax the transport capacity or
both sides to the uttermost.
The most difficult problem, however
is the bringing uD of supplies of food
and ammunition to every point of the
fighting line. which extends from ten
to twenty miles.
NCNOI iIdo SoSI q poIIlDdIuIIlSIl Dt6I
known. An eye witness of the battle
of Vafangow told the Associated Press
correspondent that man. officers suf-
fered nervous prostration, owing &C
h terrible road of h artillery, and
one military attache had to be invalid
ed home for the same reason. Yet
h artillery at Vafangow was far in
ferior in intensity no that at Lao Yang
Report on Wednesdays Fighting
st. Petersburg, September 1.-Gen-
raj Sakharoff. in a dispatch to the
general staff, dated today, on yester-
days fighting, says:
"A portion of General Kuroki's
force has crossed to the right banI
of the Taitse river and Sakankankwan.
tun. A division of infantry, with
cavalry and artillery, crossed first and
covered the advance of another de.
tachment. After fording the river, the