The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-10-18

Outside Port Arthur
There Is Little Trace
of Great Conflict Jap
anese Officers Praise
Cars Soldiers


gone undoteCtcd by kuropatkin az a
menacing movement, and even then dir
not attract the attention II mcrited
ON the eighth of March, partly fov
what might come of 1t and partly to
mask the Ranking movement of Nog..
Gen. tku made powerful forward
move with infantry masses that made
great dent in the Russian line op-
posing him. although 1t did not break
the formation Nogi had meanwhile
worked around the Russian left and
was swinging round north of Mukden
with he now plain object Of reaching
the railr"ad in tn, Russian rear. and
1t 'wns the stroke Of Nogi-grm, re-
.eutloss soldicr--that told.
kuropatkin. alive at last to his danger,
rushed masses of troops and field ar.
tillcry to his right and they clashed
bloodily with Nogi. by March Nogi.
pressing northward in a curve, actually
reached within two miles of the railroad
at the village of Tashichao. Against
tina; point and Nogi's line for ten miles
south kuropatkin hurled his battallons.
II was to this critical point On the
battlefield We were proceeding over the
plain south and west Of Mukden. Here
the immense field sown with the soya
bean-China's newest crop, exported by
the cargo In a score of vessels--spread
out on all sides to the horizon in Q
pattern Of burrows. sometimes straight.
sometimes gently curved. The men were
toiling under the sun and the women
finely DIRE ssed sitting in groups under
little groves of shade trees. gossiping
and watching their lords and masters
work. for that IL the way of it in Man
churia and most of northern China.
where a woman is an article Of caste
value, and only to be relied on If treated
to the very best.
over thcsc fields In the bitter cold OF
l9O5 had the soldiers struggled. Through
the 7th Sth and 9th of March attack.
defence, counter attack went on with
out intermission. fuctuating with ad-
vantage here to one side and there to
another, with heroism and sacrifice on
both sides. Nine times has the plough
share turned over the soil for the grow
ing Of beans and corn. barley and millet
the peasant reaping bullets and shells
and human bones with his beans and
barley. The battlefield seems effaced.
| But there are points on the level land
scape that remain.
A hot driving wind has risen. tossing
up cloudlets of dust that recall the
striking OF shells on the earth. Far of
there Is n line Of trees on the horizon
The heat haze that fingers close to the
earth brings a mirage effect as II the
trees stood on river bank or lake rim:
they float in the haze. Little groves Of
ash are dotted here and there among the
burrows that run straight for a mile or
| raiI fay
Major Shirai rose in his saddle and
pointed. Lieut.. Iano rode up. small
compound with the usual mud walls en-
near the horizon and it was to that he
was pointing.
| The three farm houses" he said.
Beyond It, maybe half a mile to the
right as We approached. lay a village
enclosed also by the yellow mud walls.
"Wi-fon-ton," said the Lieutenant.
on the first alarm at Nogi's turning
movement the Russians seized the VI
lage and the enclosure Of the three farm
houses. They had a couple of DAYS be-
fore thrown up a redoubt about a mile
to the south and on IL planted a bat
terry of field guns. They dug a line OF
trenches that ran from the three farms
to the southwark. Then in the night
came the japanese, the Sixth Regime mt
creeping up on the village and the Thir-
ty-third Regiment making dash in the
dark on the farms In both cases the
attack was discovered before delivered
and the night became hideous with
deadly fire. The Japanese loss was
heavy.
The Colonel of the Thirty-third met Q
soldiers death before the mud walls
= the Colonel of the Sixth, wounded in
arm and leg. still kept his feet and went
with his men over the walls into the
village. The Russians were bayonetted
? or driven out of both places,
With daylight came another foe. The
fire of the Russian redoubt withered
| the lives Of those in the three farms
whom the night attack had spared. Only
100 of the 200 of the night attack were
living an hour after daybreak. The
bodies of 900 comrades lay around them
and just outside the walls.
In a few hours as the morning grew
came sixteen Russian battaions sup
ported by the fire Of the redoubt. They
captured the three farms and the west
ern half Of the village. The main street
lay between the two forces and for two
days the fighting was incessant, but
neither could make the other bulge
Four 'huusand bodies Of Russians and
.Iapansc lay over the fields and within
the walls II was stubborn, slecpless
heroic.
The Japanese attacked the three
farms again and again without success
In one attack they had agreed 10 at
tempt to scale the seven foot wall, but
when with a spring they threw their
arms over the top the Russian officers
inside chopped them off with their
sabres. 1t Is characteristic Of the Jap
anese to keep on, and they kept spring
ing up and falling back with chopped
off or shattered arms until ordered
away Half a score Of arms were found
inside when the battle was over.
In the village street along the higf
mud walls on either side, pierced b,
heavy doors to the front yards OF nj
houses tho tiny rife missiles sung an'
stung all day. Tho rain of lead ha
left innumcrable traces in the door
and doorposts, a sinister peck markin,
that can still he seen. Where Russian
1nd Japnnpso IN each side of the 81 rec