The Washington times., 1905-01-08

day enter Port Arthur.
Taking and Holding Forts.
According to all scientific maxims the
forts the japanese take are untenable.
Dominated by other and superior forts,
wise generalship would seem to dictate
that they retire until such time as they
can take series in toto. This Ma
poleon laid down; this Won A1oltke be-
lieved; not Nogi. Give him inch and
he keeps 1t.
IF he had done nothing else at Port Ar
thur he has given the lie to the critics
of the japanese at the beginning of the
war. who predicted that, though these
new wonderful soldiers might have Irish
elan and Yankee ;mpetuosity. they would
sprove to he without tie dour British
pluck when the long reverse came But
they have borne up now for five months
under conditions as hard as soldiers
ever faced have not gfgged rod. have
kept at 1t patiently night and day, not
TO be denied, never scsting, never ap-
palled, however severe tie losses or how
ever great the hardship.
A Persistent Soldier.
The Japanese soldier holds on because
he can exist in conditions that would
unnerve those of another race. BY ma
ture cleanly IN all his instincts neat
absternious by necessity, he lives there
on the same space of ground under
which he will eventually he-a six-foot
plot.
In some places, like the bloody angle
OF the Eternal Dragon, he is surrounded
by the stencil of his own dead, and
would weller IN his own filth were he
not a marvel sor sanitation
Wedeed In between the Russian forts.
with the enemy within fifty yards on
three sides, under the menace of three
Russian batteries whose guns at any
moment may rip him out, he yet lives
ard hcl-> mis- stake there. with some
thing OF the reluctant certainty man
= would have were his head between his
- enemy's legs.
Five Grand Assaults.
The great forts holland there have
been five grand assa uIts; one on the 18th
OF August. one en- the 18th of Septern-
ber one ON the 18th of October. one
oI. the 18th of November. and one On the
18th of December. They come about a
month apart, for an army needs that
time for rest and the progress OF its sub
sidlary operations. All the assaults
have. been at the same objective, 10
pierce the RUSS. Il right center. All
have failed and succeeded-failed to
break the right center, but yet have
succeeded in diving one more nail, little
or big, as the case may be- into the
Russian coffin.
The great slaughter was during the
first assault. Since then the losses
have been small. The Japanese are
learning that there are some things that
even f2natfcism and fataiisGn cannot do.
,NogTs Butchers Bill"
Crossing the Shuishing Valley in Au-
gust entirely without protection, Nogi
lost Z5,eo0 men, and did not take the
forts
y Then the lsTiy sat down and went to
4 ~orK with z TX and shovel by night This
was done under the enemy's search
lights and star bombs and within rife
range In places il was done through
solid rock. in others through shelving
sha.e, IN two places through villages. in
one through Ia spur OF a mountain,
and for port IN OF the way along a
- lngles of advance were
xpert engineers engaged
rdous of scouting. Then
10y Of SAP rs went out, never rlort
than hundred az time. and hastily
under fire. scraped out shallow trench
The enemy threw shrapnel into then
and sent out sprfieing parties TO impede
Vie ofh aus every niSHt AioiH =
tenth 10 q I'd part of the command
was lost.
Two Kinds of Saps
There are two kinds of saps-the flying
sap and the slow sap. The flying sar
takes in hundred yards at time wheI
the range from the enemy is thousand
yards and over. The slow sap is Used
! where they are xithin a few hundred
yards.
Ia the slow sap only six inches or a
foot advance is made at time by two
engineers working on their bellies be-
hind a steel plate which tbs enemy at
temDts 70 riddle with bullets. After the