The Black Hills union and western stock review. [volume] (Rapid City, S.D.) 1904-19??, 1905-03-24
Striking Account by a Russian
Correspondent Of the EvaC-
uation of kiukden.
WONDERS ACCOMPLISHED
l<uroratkin's Army is Being Reorgan
ICED at Tie Pass and Believes It
win Have Another Chance
for Its Life.

tie the connected story emerging out
of the confusion incident to the eVacua-
ton of Mukden. and the forced retreat
to Tie pass.
On February "a all was ready for an
attack on the west ward. Various por-
tons of the army had been disposed
for an advance on the right flank. Sud
denly in the evening of that day the or
Ger to advance was Cancelled and a sec
ond order was given for the transfer OF
General Rennenkampm' first Siberian
corps and several other organizations to
the left flank, which was being Pressed
heavily by large force of Japanese.
From that time forward the Japanese.
who were we'll informed as to all the
Russian movements, began heavy at
tackS along the whole front. The Rus
slams generally held their ground, doing
we'll until February 2S. when an unex-
peGted attack developed in the south
west. before which the Russian right
weakened by the withdrawal of al
most two corps, yielded. BY March l
it became evident that the Japanese
We're moving around the Russian right
III five heavy columns, and it became
imperative to withdraw the thin liue
from the southwest and form n new
line frolr the bridge across the Shakhe
river parallel With the railway.
Quick Change of Front.
The change of front was accom-
plished with remarkable celebrity, but
the various organizations became badly
mixed. The Russians on March 4 oc-
cunied their former positions on the
Shakhe river as far as the bridge
thence to Madyapu. on the Hun river
and thence parallel with the railway
six miles distant. the right resting on
the Sinn,intin road.
The Japanes" on March 5. beginning
| IL
to cutting off the retreat. the Russian
right was extended eastward from the
Sinmintin road to the railroad.
1t must be remembered that FIVE
miles north of Mukden an unceasing
fight was in progress. Trains earlier
! lad been bombarded with Shimose
shells and the railroad was twice
| damaged. The trains Travelled unlight-
ed and without whstling. under eight
minute Roadway. All about fires blaZed
in gigantic ring, burning straw, coal.
wood corn and biscuit. Occasionally
boxes of cartridges exploded with dis
agreeable dry rattle. or rockets rose
] and burst in clusters of stars. The
{ flames had plenty of material, as there
| We're over $500 carloads of corn and
| biscuit and over $4,000 cubic feet of
T. COAL straw and millet. This was only
| the reserve commiss,riat and other
stores that were destroyed.
( Trains Were damned.
The wounded crowded the station,
| filled every vacant place in the cars,
and the brakebeams, buffers and roofs
were occupied. while others were hang
| ing to the steps.
The last train pulled out as General
Tserpitzkys troops began to pass the
station shortly before the explosion
which wrecked the Hun river bridge
On the platform remained eight tee-
| sraphers who had volunteered to stay
1T their keys until the arrival of the
/ Japanese.
In the hospitals of the Livonian div
| islon of the Red Cross and medical
! staff were 1850 severely wounded IN
Guiding 1854 Japanese, the Chinese gov
ernor OF Mukden giving his word to
defend them until Mukden was occu-
| pied by the Japanese.
! How many wounded reached the
station after it's evacuation Is not
known.
OF the military railway all but 1875
miles was abandoned. and the wagon
cites We're used. Tens of thousands of
boxes of ammunition We're abandoned,
but most important of all from ma
1"rial point of view is the loss Of the
Fushun coal mines. which supplied the
road with coal. The trains were heavily
bombarded. but came through safely.
When the End Came.
The retirement of the wagon trans
port was twice imoeriled by panic. The
morning of March 10 Japanese squadron
and guns concealed In the mountains
orened fire and the drivers. who were I'M
disciplined peasants. unaccustomed to the
sound of japanese Shells soon began to
desert their carts and wagons cutting
loose their horses or throwing the stores
from the wagons Confusion became ram
pant and spread to terror stricken civilians
and even gunners and was communica ted
TO some infantry troops. The gray clad
crowd. without form hidden by dus,
surged on The Japanese. however soor
ceased firing and order was restored.
Troops following the wagons carried of
4 & few cannon, but were unable to gather
the abandoned property. Soldiers broke
open officers boxes and portmanteaus anG
rdnsacked them for valuabes.
Just before dusk another panic occurred
at the station of SantaItse. where ar
enormous collection Of carts had halted
for the night column Of Russians ad.
vancing was taken for Japanese and the
cry of Japanese cavalry was raised. The
unarmed drivers commenced to flee, while
those with rifles fired in every direction.
The cooler heads Gained the panic strick
en- mass but a number of lives were lost
and additional property was sacrificed.
4 The retirement Of the central and west
ern armies was effected by four roads
and over the field between. The army o.
General Linevitch followed the eastern
roads from Funshun. Impair and Flu pass
Third Army Falls Back.
The third army retired In eschelon. leav
ing strong rear guard. The Japanese
who at nightfall occupied half the v!llag,
of Santaltse, burst at daybreak into tn,
park OF the imperial tombs and opened
heavy rifle fire.
Il The Russians. however, refrained from
opening fire In the holy places of tn,
# Chinese. The Japanese did not press Sc
Fl verely from the rear, bending their eff
forts to thrust in from the TANKS and Gu
OFF portions of the army. Several divis
ioSs acting as the rear guard under Gen
eral Laounin were almost surrounded. bu
broke through under heavy fire on boil
h TANKS. The rear guard the night OF
March 10 he'd the heights al the station
OF Sushitai and on March II and 10 fei
slowly back to Tie pass.
Now, two days later, Tie pass IS grea
organized military camp In which tn
troops assembled are calm, and have got
ten themselves into order. The men I'm
mediateiy forgetting their recent hunge,
sleeplessness. weariness and fear OF death
sit around the blazing camfires and sin