Kingsbury County independent. (DeSmet, Kingsbury County, S.D.) 1894-1929, 1905-06-23

ON the night of February Q. 1904,
vice Admiral Togo, with a fleet of more
than sixty warships, quietly steamed
out OF the harbor of Sasebo-and the
with Russia was on.
n Japan, silent. inscrutable, kept the
Acret. Not q word of the news flashed
Eer telegraph wires and on under sea
For weeks the fleet had been ready to
sail, and for days army transports,
loaded with men and artillery, had been
swinging at anchor. But of this Rus
STA knew nothing; the world knew
nothing.
All through January the question of
peace or war had wavered in the bal.
Japan's final demands were
presented to Count Lamsdorff at st.
January 16. The principal
were these:
FIrst-The formal recognition Of
Chinese sovereignty over Manchuria.
Second-The recognition of the full
commercial rights of other nations in
Manchuria, as established by their
treaties with China.
Third-The admission of Japan's
paramount interest in Korea.
In return Japan declared that she
did not wish TO interfere with Russia's
-DEEldl kllLGl SONS La a Va ~
deny her right to protect them.
Practically, these were the same
terms that had been submitted to Rus
sia so far back as August IL, 1903,
4pd, as regards Russia's relations to
lsAanchuria, the note hardly went be-
yond the declarations frequently and
spontaneously made of Russia herself.
But when definitely asked to put her
promises into execution Russia took no
49, l-2ll-Y NAI-,, lHr
the Official Messenger of st. Peters
announced that the Japanese
sainister had broken off negotiations
and had left the Russian capital.
Japan in Command of Sea.
The first object of Japan was to land
her army on the Korean coast, n TO
no his she had to secure her trans
Aorts a course uninterrupted by the
Sssian ships. The main body of the
RGssian fleet, under Admiral Starck,
was lying outside Port Arthur under
the guns of the fortress: but so little
did the admiral or yiceroy, who was
also at Port Arthur and in supreme
anticipate immediate action
on the part of his enemy that he had
ieft two Of his ships in the harbor of
Chemulpo, the most probable Japanese
place, and had taken no steps
to stop the passage of the
transports.
Detaching a squadron under Admiral
IIriu TO protect the transports, Admiral
vogo, on the morning Of the Sth,
Manned straight for Port Arthur. AS
nf3ht fell, he sen forward his torpedo
steaming at twenty-one knots,
instructions to sink the enemy's
aeet. They reached their objective a
little before midnight and divided into
iva H1i.aoc en &C 70 on nfAn tha IVa1Qn
shaped fleet, they, without any warn
ing discharged their t~orpedoes and
hurried back under a storm of shot n
shell. They were scarcely touched, but
The Damage to the Russian fleet was
only imperfectly described by the mes
sage telegraphed next morning by Ad-
Alexieff to the czar.
Japanese torpedoboats delivered a
sudden mine attack on the squadron
wing in the Chinese roads at Port Ar
Nfur, the battleshlps Retvizan and
Ezarevitch and the cruiser Pallada be-
ing holed."
The wounded ships crept back into
the harbor, where during the weeks
that followed their injuries were more
Dir less perfectly repaired.
Admiral Uriu easily disposed of the
.ruiser Variag and the gunboat Korietz,
which had been left in the harbor at
Chemulpo, destined victims of the first
Japanese squadron that chose to come
that way. 1t appears to have been the
K0rietz hat fired the first shot of the
war, on the evening of February 8.
Next day both ships came out Of the
and were sunk, the main part of
their crews being rescued by Fl. NJ.
s.. Talbot and the French cruiser, Pas
cal.
.aThe naval actions at Port Arthur and
on February s and 8 gave
Japan, for several weeks, at least, COM
mand of the seas and an opportunity
to transport her army across the
straits into Korea without fear of
uolestati9n.
Marching to the Ya!u.
All during the months Of February
and March transports carried troops,
artillery and supplies to the west coast
Of korea-first to Chemulpo and then
up the coast to Chinampo, and
thus avoiding the long, laborious march
along the length of the Korean penin-
suIa.
General Kuroki was in command of
army that landed in Korea, des-
tined to force a crossing of the Yaiu
Md to invade Manchuria. Kuroki
All ned the army at Chemuipo in March,
arid the march to the Yalu began.
Advancing over frozen roads, and in
the face OF great hardship, the first
ontac was made with the enemy at
Pingyang, where scouting parties of
the Russian and Japanese forces ex-
changed shots. From that moment the
Japanese soldiers of the first army
uever lost touch with the Russians in
front of them.
AZ soon as the ice melted in the
estuary of the Pingyang river General
Kuroki moved his base from Chemulpo
Chinampo. The greater portion OF
artillery, including the heavy six
hN2h howitzers, which rendered such
Nndid service at the battle of the
&saiu, was landed at Chinampo, and
the first striking force was prepared
for its advance towards the Yalu.
THE Russians retired steadily before
VIII on April Z. There they halted,
and took up a position on the opposite
6ank OF the river, and prepared to con-
tcst the crossing.
Russia's Disasters at Sea.
White Kuroli was laboriously nov
<tx his army over the alternately
zen and ..ooded roads of northern
E4s5r4a stormy events were taking place
port Arthur, where Togo was en-
1eayoring daily TO lure the Russian feet
into battle in the open sea, away from
the heavy guns Of the land batteries
IN tsolden and Electric hills.
The naval events at Port Arthur had
been uniformly disastrous for Russia
on February IL the mine transport
yenisei was blown up by one of its
own mines inc 100 officers n men
sent TO their death.
drbhn on April Is came Russia's great
d,ss Iter-the loss of the battleshir
-. Ebps ylovsk, one of the finest war
ships in the world,