Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1905-07-15
AT PORT AR Thu R
ITS MAYOR TELLS OF LIFE in THE
CITY DURING THE FAMOUS
SIEGE.


SIEGE.
Civilians Were in Good Condition at
End-Peculiar Freaks of Fate During
Long OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES Of Rus
sian General.
Colonel Alexander T. vershinin,
mayor of Port Arthur, and who re-
Gently sailed from New York for Rus
STA, gave most interesting account
OF the conditions in the city during
the famous siege. When Russia took
possession of Port Arthur at the close
of the Japan-C Chinese war Colonel Yer
pacity as an artllley officer When he
arrived there the site of the now ia
nous fortress and town was pasture
land on which the Chinese grazed
their cattle. When the town came
into existence he was appointed presi-
dent of the municipal commission,
which corresponds to the post of mayor
In It, and when the present war broke
out the duties of civil governor were
added to those of mayor Thus he
has known the place since it's birth
so to speak, and seems to feel for 1t
much the same affection that mother
does for child whom she has reared
and lost. He still declares that it is
the best town on earth, Che was easily
prevailed upon to make an exception
for New York, although he expressed
desire to learn the average length
of life In this city of tremendous hustle
and nerve strain) and when (if) the
Russians recapture it he wishes to re-
turn there
Colonel Vershinin received his i'm
portant appointment because of his
special fitness, acquired in part by his
experience in the service. After being
attached for time to the institute
OF technology in st. Petersburg he was
sent to what may be called the Rus
sian near east, serving in the trans
Caucasus and Central Asia, lover
whic-- he is enthusiastic), and becom-
Ing well acquainted with all Siberia
during the twenty years thus passed
rs he has the tastes of an archaeolo-
gist and collector, endowins various
museums with his finds" his range
of interests and opportunities of study
ing localities and inhabitants have
been much broader than those of the
ordinary officer. His accounts of the
famous siege, his anecdotes of curious
happenings, and his observations upon
the Japanese are of special interest to
Americans.
Civilians Not Exhausted
Following is an interview with Col.
Vershinin. which was published in a
New York paper:
Naturally I asked him the stock
questions first-"Was the surrender
necessary? Could you. have held. out
longer, or were your stores ex-
hausted?"
$50 far as the civilian populations
stores are concerned, can tell you
that they We're under my charge. and
we had enough for two months longer.
AS to the military supplies and ammuni-
ton, / am not informed General
Stoessel probably had his orders to sur
render
But were the people SO physically
exhausted and ill that surrender was
necessary"
Those who had charge Of the mill
tary side must answer that. The civ
ilians under my charge were we'll. Dur
ing the. whole siege they were excep-
tionally healthy, with hardly case of
Illness, They were not even afflicted
with scurvy, though they, like the rest.
had no fresh vegetables, except occa-
sionally garlic, brought in by Chinese.
That garlic cost rubles (about $3.5O)
pound. Otherwise prices were not
unusually high. | suppose the good
health Of the civilians arose from the
fact that they were able to get regular
rest and sleep at their homes, no mat
ter how hard they had worked"
did they help the army much"
Eyes. Whenever bombardment
began those who had carriages had
them harnessed and drove off to the
front to bring back the wounded. The
roads were very dangerous, of course,
with the shells, and sometimes these
civilians or their horses were killed.
Nothing of that Sort however, pre-
vented their going-even the women
went to the front"
Was no one frightened?"
"Oh, yes. some were. Let me tell
you about myself. From the beginning
OF the bonbardment until July | never
had the slightest culver Of fear. The
firing was done from the ships you
know and came in all sorts OF direc-
tons. But when in July they began
from the land batteries, in one settled
position. it SO happened that every
shot sailed directly over the roof Of nay
house--when it did not stop to make
me call. The splinters of the shell
would whiz past me and land in my
writing desk, my bed or my furniture.
"This began, after while, to act on
my nerves. When my house was
wrecked, / removed. to another; we
had to begin to double up after while.
In that house lived two very timid men
who were always in state of trepida-
ton. The atmosphere they created
worked on my nerves, and | began to
be terribly frightened all the time also,
and caught myself constantly thinking,
Now where is the safest spot?' When