The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1904-07-14
HOW KUROKI FOUGHT
WITH THE RUSSIANS.

At the Front With Gen. Kuroki's
Forces, July 4, Via Seoul, Korea, July
13.-The brief and disastrous attempt
of the Russians to overwhelm the
small Japanese force which guarded
the entrance to the Molten pass was a
bloody affair. The japanese troops
again exhibited their resourcefulness
and courage, and the Russians again
threw away many lives. The losses
cannot be ascertained until the battle
field has been searched. The japanese
are still driving the enemy up the val
ley.
The correspondent of the Associated
Press saw enough to justify the esti-
mate that the Russians had more than
200 men killed or wounded, and that
the Japanese casualties probably will
amount to sixty. The Russians left
thirty dead in front of and in the
trench where the attack began. At
this point they had an equal number of
men severely wounded, and the Japa-
nese took several prisoners and cap
tured 100 rifles. The Russians We're
seen carrying away two Japanese who
had been either killed or wounded.
Thirty-siX Japanese We're quartered
in a Chinese house near the bottom of
a hill and two companies of japanese
soldiers were in a trench a hundred
yards long, located on the summit of
the hill, which commanded the APP
proach. Two other companies of SOL
diers slept near this trench.
Between 8 and 4 o'clock in the morn
ing, in complete darkness and with
heavy fog enshrouding the hills, two
battalions of the Tenth and Twenty
fourth East Siberian regiments, to-
gether with 100 cavalrymen, approach
ed the japanese position. They sur
rounded the pickets and outposts in
the house, and gained a position from
which to rush the trench.
When the fighting began the building
where the Outposts were CHARTERED be-
came a slaughter house. The japanese,
aroused from their sleep by the enemy,
set their swords and bayonets to re-
sist the attack.
The Russians were at such close
quarters with the japanese that it was
impossible for the latter to use their
rifles The first fighting in the trench
and in front of the trench was hand
tO-hand and the Japanese, who ran
out to man the trench, were but half
clothed.
The first Russian onslaught was re-
PEELED, but the Russians charged twice
again within half an hour The re-
mainder of the japanese regiment,
however, to which the outposts, and
the companies at the french belong
ed, reinforced their comrades and be-
gan to drive the Russians back.
AS soon as it was sufficiently light
to distinguish the enemy, two hours
after the beginning of the fighting,
the Japanese forced the Russians to
retreat one mile down the valley. The
trench, and its approaches on the hill
side were thickly covered with dead
and wounded. Blood-spattered stones
and grass everywhere testified to the
holiness of the fighting.
Chinese stretcher- bearers, impressive
under dropping bullets, collected the
wounded and carried them to an inn
provised hospital in a roadside tenn
pie. Japanese details, with trenching
spades, were burying the dead, where
they fell and Japanese soldiers were
bringing water to their own and Rus
sian wounded and impartially giving
the wounded men cigarettes.