The San Francisco call., 1905-04-08
Port Arthur Surviv-
or Arrives on
Manchuria
SHELL Sits EAR
Admiral Whiting Is
Now in Splendid
Health.
RETURNS ON LINER

CAPTAIN John B. Aulin, whose home
is in East Oakland, and who, when the
Russo-Japan anese warcloud burst. was
manager ct Port Arthur for the big
shipping firm OF Clarkson & Co, ar
rlved yesterday on the liner Man
chura with one scar and some thrill
ing recollections Of the bombardment
Of the Russian stronghold. Three times
he made the close acquaintance of the
Nikado's ammunition, but, though he
neither 6eG, lodged nor sought
refuge underground. one small scar
WheIe q shell slit his ear is all the
physical han m that befell him.
The interests of which Captain Aulin
WSs IN charge were large and impor-
liant he was the custodian of much
valuable property. and in caring for it
ne was compelled to drive from one
limit to the other of the beleaguered
city four times a day Two trips would
have sufficed had the captain cared to
miss his home tifln, but the appeal of
the midday meal was stronger than his
fear OF death. so home he went to
luncheon under a sky filled with burst
ing comets Of steel
The captains blood was spilled on
the first day of the siege. He got in
the track of a fragment of a shell fired
by a Japanese war vessel He felt a
sharp pain and found blood on his
hand when he touched the place that
hurt. He found later that a fragment
OF shell had slit his ear as neatly as
a knife could have done it.
About the middle of the siege a six
III ii ? la aAf
Of his house and lodged in the floor
Of his bedroom, where he waS9being
shaved Fortunately for Aulin the
shell did not explode. and few hours
later Russian soldiers tenderly dug it
out Of the floor and sent it back TO the
Japanese lines.
SHELL KNOCKS OFF HAT.
-Four days before the fortress fell
Aulin was driving home to tiffin, when
a shell from the japanese lines ex-
ploded near him and one piece knocked
his hat off his head.
And for all of this Captain Aulin
vOuches on his word Of honor as an
honest mariner.
Captain Aulin says that food was not
particularly scarce in Port Arthur
for those with money to buy 1t. Bread
cost about l25z cents a loaf, and very
fine horse meat could be bought for so
cents a pound. There were no vege-
tables. NhOwever. and the health au-
thorities were without means of treat
ing the many cases of scurvy which re-
suited from the diet. He thinks that
Port Arthur could have been held for
at least two months longer
Vjacheslave Ruchieff, a steerage
passenger on the Manchuria, is
protege Of the captain. Ruchieff was
a civil engineer in the service of the
Siberian Railroad He was in
Port Arthur during the siege, and lost
his job when Stoessel lost the fort. He
has come to this country to learn the
English language. His immediate des-
tination is New York. Ruchieff was
very much afraid Of his Japanese fel-
low passengers, and kept himself hid
den away during the voyage.
Rear Admiral w. Il. Whiting, who
was knocked down and seriously
hurt by a streetcar in Honolulu, re-
turned on the liner. The admiral was
taken TO his station on Goat Island by
from his accident and will be able to
resume his duties as commandant Of
the training station He was on his
way to serve on a court-martial at
Manila when the accident occurred
which necessitated his return.
ITALIAN NAVY OFFICER.
There was another admiral on the