The Black Hills union and western stock review. [volume] (Rapid City, S.D.) 1904-19??, 1904-09-09

st. Petersburg, Sept. 1.-The battle
at Lao Yang last night continued UNI
til midnight, with frightful slaughter.
The Japanese at last succeeded in get
ting IL column across the Taitse river
on pontoons, northeast of Lao Yang.
General kuropatltin gave an order to
fall back on the main works, but ow-
ing TO the Japanese pressure this
movement was not executed. The ar
mics slept in their positions. Official
advices this morning, timed at a. M.
say the battle had not been resumed
at that hour
The battle at Lao Yang yesterday
was of the most desperate character.
1t ragged continuously from dawn until
midnight and the slaughter must have
been immense. AT 5 in the evening,
after holding his outer positions all
day, in the face of the most desperate
charges, kuropatllin gave an order to
retire upon the main works about the
city.
The Japanese assaults during the day
had been directed principally against
the Russian center q little east of Mai
etung hill. near the railroad. and three
miles southwest of Lao Yang.
Nothing approaching the severity of
the infantry and artillery fire here had
been heretofore experienced in this war.
General Kondratsvitchs division bore
the brunt and suffered the most. Bay
onet charges succeeded each other in
rapid succession. while the artillery
duel never ceased for moment.
No attempt is made in the official
aslvices to estimate the number of guns
the Japanese used except that they
had many hundreds.
Each gun carried $50 charges, and
these must have been expended many
times. as several hundred thousand
shells were fired between sunrise and
sunset.
General Kuropatkin's order to
was probably due to the receipt of in
formation that the Japanese had sue
ceeded in crossing the Taitse river
northeast of Lao Yang, although Cen
erals Kennenkampf's and Mandariteff's
divisions had been especially placed in
position in this direction to checkmate
such a move. The Japanese crossed at
q point called Sakankankwantun,
twenty miles east of and somewhat
above Lao Yang, and marched in force
directly westward, with the evident OBJ
ject of cutting the Russian line of COM
munication with Mukden. Their exact
strength was not established, but the
division was made out.
AS soon as the Japanese found the
Russians were retiring from their outer
positions. they resumed the attack
| there. although it WAS then quite dark.
| Thus pressed, the Russians arrested
their movement to the rear and again
| faced the Japanese.
| With view to eventual retirement
| from their outer positions, the Rus
slams had dug a large number of pits
| with stakes concealed in their bot
| toms. These pits We're artfully con-
cealed among the high Chinese corn.
| When the Japanese charged after the
| Russians they fell into the pits in hun
| dreds and were engulfed and impaled
4 At,
| thrown into confusion. When the Rus
| slams faced about and returned to their
| old positions they found these death
trans filled with dead and dying.
The rattle of musketry and boom of
cannons continued until midnight.
/ when at last silence hrooded over the
bloody battlefield and the tired soldiers
lay down where they had fought. while
/ the wornout surgeons and angels of
4 mercy ministered to the wounded all
/ night Chinese coolies worked at carry
ing them into Lao Yang.
/ General Sakharoff III reporting the
battle says the Japanese suffered enor-
nous losses, much larger than those OF
the Russians, who also lost heavily
The dispatch says this order was
given last night. after the Russians had
withstood an artillery and infantry at.
tack from dawn to midnight. But the
Japanese pressure was too great to per-
II itiiN aiNs oSiiiS eACGutets 1eIltIdl NuIo
patkin probably fearing that retro
grade movement at that time nigh,
result in q rout.
A dispatch from Toxic. however
bringing the action up to this afternoon
says the Russian right and center are
liow falling back, pursued by the Jap
anese. Russian official advices say
Kuroki. who was reported yesterday al
moving to the northward on the Rus
sian left has thrown pontoons over tn,
Taitse river and crossed with one di
), vision, While Others are following. Ku
rold's object obviously is to interpos,