Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1904-03-29
GRAPHIC DESCRIPTION
OF First E.i::c Given BY Former Port
land Man.

Iart, who writes the following INTEREST
ing account of the condition of affairs
ut Port Arthur six weeks ago Will be
remembered by many Portland people.
| He was an officer on the police force
several years and resigned less than
| three years ago. He is of an 0bSerV-
ing turn of mind and his realistic de-
S.riptiOn of the first battle OF the war
which is now on at the extreme oppo-
site side of the planet from Portland.
will be read with interest by all who
take ali interest in the contest.
Che Foo, North China, Feb. II, 1904.
| Being an eye witness of the first bat
| tie of the Russian and Japanese war
and only yesterday was let out of Port
| Arthur by order of the admiral, L
thought you might find room in your
paper for Il short account of the fierce
but short engagement | am a Port
land man. we'll known. having resigned
| from the police force in 1901, Sept. 10.
| We sailed from the United States
Jan. G, arriving at Port Arthur Feb. I.
stopping at Japan ports on our way.
The morning of the Sth. at 12.15, we
WEI Z ttN sihtItt ny MS NUN liC ihtf'-
sian fleet that lay in the bay outside
Of Port Arthur. 1t lasted by few
moments and no one thought much Of
| it, but at daylight things looked dif-
| ferent. Three of the best battleShipS
| of the Russian fleet were disabled and
run ashore to keep from sinking.
1t seemed the Japs had got the Rus
! sian signals and they sent three tor
pedo boats on ahead of the fleet and
| they gave the signals and passed into
| the harbor by the guard ships. An
| hour later they went out again and did
their work, picking out the best ships
and sending Il torpedo into the stern
| of each. The Russian fleet got under
way and gave chase and succeeded in
sinking one torpedo boat CT the Japs.
All was quiet that morning. We
were discharging our cargo of flour
until 11.15, when they began firing from
! the forts at the entrance to the har-
| Dor Then the shooting began on both
sides and you could better imagine the
terrible noise and confusion that took
place i'll the time the struggle lasted
! than could describe it. It was some
thing to be remembered by those that
saw it to their dying day. The Japs
were about Az miles off and the forts
! about x of Il mile from where we lay
| at anchor.
| They are on the top of hills from 800
| to 1000 feet from sea level. The en-
| trance to the harbor is narrow at the
| outside, about 1900 feet channel. There
! is q low sand pit on one side after pass
| ing in and from our upper bridge we
could see the ships of both sides. We
| watched for perhaps 10 minutes and
! then we began to realize our position.
| Not until a shell exploded and pieces
came whizzinE past us and solid shot
came tearing up the mud flats not leo
| feet from our ship. Shells landed aStern
| of Us and the dirt and rocks they
caused to fly i'll the air were too close
for comfort. l saw one place after
!, wards that was eight feet deep and Is
feet across it.
Pieces of shell landed on our deck.
I have one here on my desk now. AT
this point faces began to turn white
and looked troubled. l know mine
must hdVe worn an anxious look by my
feelings. | think those were the long
est As minutes I ever experienced. That
was the time the battle lasted. The
J'lI'S ll'tt tpilt y, wv WIZ N A'i ~ N'tS
aud drew off shore, not followed by the
Russians, either.
l will try to tell you what was done
place well and they succeeded in nut
place WE'LL and they succeeded in put
ting shells in the places they wanted
them. Beginning at the dry dock they
dropped eight shells into that, making
it useless to the Russians in time of
tl,e-' -p,.ly Tf
repair it. They got lots of shell near
the magazine. but did not do damage.
That is back of the fort, south of the
harbor. They shot away the mainmast
ana after smokestack of their largest
cruiser and did her serious injury SO
she came in and sank at her buoy.
AT the upper end of the harbor one
battleship was sunk; she lay one ships
length from us: she was floated in and
sunk afterwards One has sunk by
the stern up near the dry dock and the
third hattleship has sunk by the stern
at the narrowest entrance to the har-
Dor. Just half the channel is now
closed and it is very difficult to get
out. One Russian gunboat was blown
UP by her own mines at Dalny by some
error on their own part.
i ne JipS are using the same KIND OF
shell the English used in South Africa.
those that kill from inhaling the gases.
| do not recall the name. There We're
men brought on shore from one ship
where one Of these shells burst in the
engine room. They had not been hit,
but they had turned yellow and were
deathly sick with terrible pains.
With US in Port Arthur We're three Eng
fish ships and four Norwegfans. Those
discharged they would let go to sea but
those with cargoes they held. There is no
representative from any country there.
1t could be called n hell upon earth and
not be hit too bad. We lay there until the
18th and We're not allowed to go to sea.
expecting every night to be blown to
rieces: they looked for the Japs to finish
their work at any time. We reported
having 1000 sacks of flour for the gov
eminent. and the morning of the 18th they
sent soldiers and lighters to take it ont |
They finished ut 10 o'clock on the 18th |
and ut 1870 p. NJ. they tOwed us out. not
trusting us TO go under our own steam
All the Russian fleet is in, ii in all, with