The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, September 9, 1904, Page 4

THE SAN FRANCISCO. CALL, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 9. 1904 EXPLOSION OF LAND MINE ANNIHILATES FORCE ATTACKING PORT ARTHUR MANCHURIAN ARMY TO BE REORGANIZED —_— General Kuropatkin May Be Relieved of Command. ——————— Czar’s Forces Will Be Divided Into Two Great Units. el PETERSBURG, Sept 2:15 ,—Besides the formation of two fresh ermy corps as the first answer to the Japanese success at Lisoyang 3 probably ,in the form of mand of General Genera! Baron Kaul- with General Kuro- nander in chief. Gen- ars will go out with the rpe now orga=izing in the of Kazan, Odessa, Vilna 1 Linevitch has been telegraph from Viadivostok This decision is due in part, rowing unwieldiness rganized which w mmand. be large- sed b ) 2l K »patkin heretof has b d every detail of the vast organ- PREDICTS A LONG WAR. British Press Believes It Will Be the Most Terrible in Centuries. NDON pt. %, —W is te events at the um. As di Petersburg have con- every initiative e Japanese. disregard death sides and the ability 1 beinay either from defensive point of view, onsidered here to be e more to convine f the despera the struggle being waged than all the dispatches ated from Tokio or S ring t neither Russians w for 3 & 1 ever ndeavoring o foilow ess of the campaig: apers somewhat torials preparing be witnesses that onger drawn out and every respect than centuries within recent owing guard or the pros- has paused in his retreat and ed for ba ¢ the Standard believes that a battie is now in progress. e BIG BATTLE EXPECTED. Russian Genmeral Staff Looks for a Renewal of the Fighting. ST. PETEREBURG, Sept. §.—A dis- patch from General Kuropatkin, timed 8:30 o'clock yesterday evening, was re- rat his t celved last night. He reported that General Kuroki's army was about twenty-seven miles eastward of thel railroad and that General Oku's arm; was twenty miles west of the railroad. | J&Panese at bay, but the iron-minded | there was grewsome evidence the next The gemeral staff expects that a big battie will be fought Among other reports sent by Russian correspondents is one to the effect that during a certain fight below Liao. yang a regiment of Japanese infantry charged ome of its own trenches, bayo- neting & number of Japanese before th-! mistake was discovered P i Japanese Repair Russian Dock. CHEFU, Sept dock at Port Dalny has been repaired and a Japanese torpedo-boat destroyer is now undergoing repairs there. The Japanese raised the vessel, which had been sunk at the entra of the dry- dock by the Russians when they evae, uated Port Dalny, and they recently discovered the gate of the dock, also sunk by the Russians. With this in their possession the dock was speedily made effective. ADVERTISEMENTS. SUNBURN quickly relieved and surely cured by Bottle which will absolutely prove this state- ment gent for 1oc. to pay ¢ Watt until vou have s bad case get it Dow and have it at hand needed. Sold by leading druggists. None genuine without my signature. Q. clettstes 610 Prince Stroet. New York. o S I T ussian army at the front will be| g force under Gemeral Kuro-! ile | 8 —The Russian \*lry-| 'DEAD PILED IN HEAPS ON THE FIELD Liaoyang Slaughte r' Greatest Since | Civil War. ‘ —_— Thousands Fall Each Charge by Japanese. —_—— LONDON, Sept. 9.—The Times’ cor- | respondent with the Japanese left army ! sends a long narrative of the battle of ! Liscyang. Describing the operations of ! September 1, he says: ! “The general impression was that we | had onmly to advance and occupy the town, but Generals Nodzu's and Oku's armies required a day’s rest. In fifty | hours Oku had made four general as- tsaul:!, which had failed, and we had | subsisted through the inclement weath- ler on rations carried on the persom, | while reserve ammunition required re- | plenishing. | “The Russians had fallen back in | good order, taking with them every- | thing except some 200 of their latest | dead, while the only prisoners to fall | o the hands of the Japanese were ven men who were entombed in an | observation mine casemate on a brush- | covered hill. A Japanese storming party had piled sandbags over the edi- fice of the casemate. It was an extra- incident, for the entombed in | | ordinary Russians had shot two officers whoe wished to parley with them and surrendered thirty-six hours | a horrible state. 1 will not dwell upon the sickening and harrowing sights of the battle- fitid, except to mention one incident: | The Jananese stormers had penetrated | the highest trench and had overpow- | red the Cossacks holding it, but Rus- sians from a linter-proo? shelter be- | hind had fallen with their bayonets on the gallant Japanese in the moment of | their success and the bodies of both Japanese and Cossacks were piled thick upon each other in a hideous heap. ENORMOUS CASUALTIES. The casualties of the Japanese in | { five divisions, at the lowest compila- | ition, were not less than 10,000 and | there were probably many more, for, | owing to the crops of millet, many of the wounded have not been found and they must have died miserably, while | many bodies will never be found until | the crope are cut. It is impossible to estimate the Russian losses, which probably were | half those of the Japanese. It must be remembered that my estimate of the latter does not include the Tenth Division of Kuroki's army.” The correspondent refers to one of Oku’s artillery attacks as one of the most severe concentrated artlliery fires the world has ever seen. Every gun belonging to two of the Japanese | corps was trained in rapid fire on the | left of Kuropatkin's position. The | correspondent days: | "It was a magnificent and withal n awe-inspiring spectacle. The Rus- sian go-downs were set on fire, as were {the station bulldings, and nothing couid live under the attack. The end {of the Russian resistance had come. the Japanese gunners rested from vastation and slaughter, wher ly, out of the midst of the and murky dust left from the reeking shrapnel, camé counter flashes {from two or three Russian batteries. One was almost inclined to cheer, but |it seemed that it was their last ef- |fort—a magnificent farewell to the | enem eventui ater. 1 whom they had balked for so | long. | We had evidence that Liaoyang| !would be abandoned, but it seemed {certain that, though defeated and | forced by superior numbers and su- | perior artillery, and to some extent by | superior troops, Kuropatkin had in | turn defeated Japanese strategy, for, iu far as we could learn or judge by | the direction of the fire, Kuroki was | | still fighting to get astride the Rus- iziln communications. LIAOYANG CAPTURED. ,“That evening the remaining Rus- |sians in the trenches still kept the Oku, little reckoning that his fierce assaults had already cost close upon | 20,000 men, determined upon a final | enveloping on this stubborn rear guard. | The last reserves were pushed in andl |at 3 o'clock in the morning, after five | {days of the most severe fighting the | world has seen since the American Civil War, the Japanese army seized the railway bridge and was in occupa- tien of Liaoyang.” The correspondent adde: | “No resource known to modern en- | gineering for field work had been over- |looked. It was eviden{ at the outset Oku’s previous successes had that caused him to despise the staying pow- ers of the enemy, for without waiting for adequate preparations he pushed his infantry down to the limit of the 4mnd|ng cropg, which had not come under the Russians’ precautionary | sickies. ; “The Russian tactics at Liaoyang were a revelation, for which Oku had to pay dearly.” & Describing the failure of some of the Japanese infantry attacks, the corre- spondent says: “The Japanese art of war counsels persistence and they have material that can be persistent. Despite the | fullure of the first attack on the 30th, lflle cold gray of the morning wit- inessed another scene of slaughter on jthe Russian right as the defend- , ers again hurled back the attack. The 3 Japanese deserved success, but an en- ] fiiading fire swept each rush before the men could even lay hands on the entanglements.” ¢ OKU ORDERS THIRD ASSAULT. Graphically picturing the ebb and fow of the conflict on August 31, the correspondent continues: “Oku, was growing desperate. From the position of the Fifth Divi- sion it was evident that the Tenth Di- ! nearly a mile of available | withheld their fire for some time. Sud- | denly they threw a searchlight up the | rocks landed inside the Russian lines. | of saying that he heard a report that I { failed. Divisional telephones told head- LATEST SPECIAL DISPATCHES FROM THE SEAT OF WAR. BERLIN, Sept. 8.—Colonel Gaedke, war correspondent of the Berlin Tageblatt, telegraphs that Mukden was still held by the Russians this morning. MUKDEN, Sept. §.—The terrible rains hinder the movements of both armies, but there is an intercept- ing movement toward Tiehling, north of Mukden. LONDON. Sept. 8.—A dispatch to the Morning Leader from Tientsin says it is reported in Newchwang that General Kuropatkin was severely wounded at Liaoyang. LONDON, Sept. $.—A dispatch (o the Central News from St. Petersburg says a rumor comes from Muk- den that General Kuroki has been killed. The rumor is not credited. ST. PETERSBURG, Sept. 8.—The best information of the War Office indicates that General Kuropatkin lost about 17,000 men during the ten days’ battle at Liaoyang. General Kuropatkin reports that he did not lose a gun during the retreat. ST. PETERSBURG, Sept 6:15 a. m.—The appointment of Prince Sviatopolk-Mirsky as Minister of the Interior, in succession to the late Von Plehwe, is gazetted in lbgonculmmhmfln‘. His selection means a sweeping change in the internal policy. ST. mmm.sm-.—nynwmwwmmmm_mm who it has been reported is to replace Rear Admiral Prince Ouktomsky in command of the Port Arthur squad- ron, is promoted to the rank of rear admiral. b MARSEILLES, Sept. 8.—The commander of the French mail steamship Oceanie, on arriving at Mar- warships seflies to-day from Yokohama, complained that his vessel was held up by four Japanese Yokohama and that she was detained and searched for five hours. MUKDEN, Wednesday, Sept. 7.—The Russo-Chinese Bank at Mukden has been closed and the civil au- thorities are preparing to leave. AR L outside of TS RS S R R RS L o O L R R Frightful Slaughter of a Japanese Column Moving at Night to Assail General Stoessel’s Garrison. CHEFU, Friday, Sept. 9, 1:30 a. m.— A Japanese column numbering ap- proximately 700 men, while marching along at might on a road in the valley between Long Hill and Division Hill, near Port Arthur, met with a frightful disaster through the explosion of an electric land mine on September 1. The mine was carefully laid by the Russians three weeks ago. It covered marching space. The explosive was placed at the bottom. Rocks were placed next and on top of these clay was packed so carefully that the ground gave the impression of not having been dis- turbed. The indications of Japanese activity in this vicinity put the Russians on| guard. Near midnight the outposts rushed in and reported that the Japa- nese were approaching. The Russians valley. The Japanese opened with a rifle fire. The Russians continued to wait until apparently the whole Japanese column was in the danger zone. Then the mine was exploded. AWFUL DEATH OF HUNDREDS. The force of the explosion knocked a number of Russians down and the sight of Japanese rifies, water bottles, Jegs and arms hurtling’ through the lighted space in range of the search- Mght ‘was an awful spectacle. Some There was one appalling moment, during which the garrison itself was stunned—then a deathlike silence. The searchlight coldly lighted up the road and hilisides, strewn with dead. The following day the Russians buried the dead., but owing to their dismembered and mutilated condition they were unable to accurately esti- mate the number of killed. A few Japa- nese escaped. The foregoing information is con- tained in a small sheet issued on Sep- tember 3 by the Port Arthur Nova Krai, a breakage in the press having| made it impossible to issue a full edi- tion. A Chinese arriving here at mid- night confirms the story to the extent many Japanese had been killed by a mine, but he did not learn the de- tails. On the nights of August 26 and 27 a similar disaster befell the Japanese near Redoubt No. 2, but no details have | been ascertained. GARRISON REPELS ATTACK. CHEFU, Sept. 8.—Chinese who left Port Arthur on Monday arrived here to-day. They report that severe fight- ing occurred on September 3. The Japanese attacked certain positions on - twenty-four hours. All day he had been guarding reserves upon the firing line and this assault was but a repeti- | (& of previous ones. Fxcept at one portion of the line morning to show how like hares in snares the heroic infantry had strug- gled into the barbed wire entangle- ments to die—how, blundering in the darkness, sections had thrown them- selves down yards from the firing lines of muzzles, whose flashes marked the goal they were never to win; but the first battalion of the Thirty-fourth Regiment, which for forty-eight hours had been lying in scrub at the foot of the green glacis on the center hill, broke through the entangleménts and, in spite of a flanking fire, which swept away group after group, had enough endurance to reach the first trench. What happened there nmo one knows, but in the morning when we viewed the positions Russians and Japanese were lying intermingled waist deep in the ditch, while from parapet to en- tanglements, perhaps for 150 yards, a thick trail of prostrate khaki told a tale no gen can describe. | UROPATRKIN FALLS BACK. “Everywhere again the assauit had quarters the desperate news, but la- conic reply was made: ‘Construct, re- inforce and assault agamn before day- break.’ But the curtain had already fallen on the first act of the drama. “When shaken by the repeated at- ; tacks, fearful for his left flank, or find- H i ing that Kui could be held only with difficulty from his communications, Ky- ropatkin, who was present in person, countenanced a gemeral withdrawal from the positions, and about midnight he fell back to the third line, leaving several prisoners in the Japanese hands. “Kuropatkin was beaten, but was not routed by any means. It was thought that the Japanese would occupy Liao- yang immediately, but there were to be forty-eight hours more of sanguinary urmkm-flg'nmmotln- ropatkin. - Commenting upon the foregoing, the “If the Russians still put their trust the east and west of the works and the Russians allowed them to approach to within a short distance, when they opened a heavy fire and compélled the Japanese to retreat after three bours’ fighting. An incident of the engage- ment was a clash between Japanese and Russian regiments of cavalry, re- sulting in the retreat of the former. Apparéntly well-informed Japanese, who reached Chefu from Port Dalny to-day, report that the Japanese army | before Port Arthur is preparing to make another assault on the fortress. Japanese agents here are sending to Port Dainy 70,000 gunnysacks and en- deavoring to procure 60,000 more. It is reported that these sacks are to be filled with sand and used to fill up por- tions of the moat protecting the Rus- sian right flank. The Chinese report that the Russians are paying 50 cents each for unex- ploded shells manufactured for use dur- ing the Chinese-Japanese war. The persistency of this report during the past two weeks entitles it to considera- tion as indicating a shortage of large ammunition at Port Arthur. —-——— — DETAILS OF LATE FIGHTING. Garrison Accuses Besiegers of Violat- | ing the Red Cross Flag. CHEFU, Friday, Sept. 9.—The Port | Arthur Nova Krai of August 30 gives some details of the recent fighting in front of the beleaguered fortress. At 6 o'clock on the morning of August 27, during a severe attack, Colonel Kirik- off, commanding the Fourteenth regi- ment, ordered a detachment to remave the dead and care for the wounded near an unnamed fort on the east flank. ‘When within rifle distance of the Japa- fiese the Russians hoisted a Red Cross flag. The Japanese gave inviting signs with their caps, whereupon the Rus slans, thinking that all was well, con- tinued forward. However, when the detachment had reached the dead the Japanese opened fire upon it, fatally | wounding a petty officer. The Russian detachment, thereupon retired. Captain Spanoff, who commanded the | detachment, believing that the Japa- nese had mistakenly fired and seeing the further beckoning signs by the Japanese, ordered the detachment out a second time. The Red Cross flag was again hoisted, but the Japanese again fired and wounded one private. The de- | tachment again retired and the attempt to remove the dead was abandoned. On August 27 there was a little fight- ing on the west flank. The Japanese had two companies intrenched at Shiatsiatung. The Russian artillery opened a severe fire upon them and dis- mounted two of their guns, but the Japanese held their position. in intrenchments, they have learned at all events how to construct them with teiling effect. Their artillery also seems to have been successfully handled. Our correspondent declares in so many words that the Russian tactics as a whole were a revelation, for which Oku had to pay dearly; yet the history of the war thus far, or, indeed, that of any other war, hardly records anything more heroic than the triple advance of Oku's infantry against most appalling obstacles.” PICSSER AT bt Alexieff in Growing Disfavor. ST. PETERSBURG, Sept. 8.—The Novoe Vremya to-day published an ed- itorial urging the appointment of Gen- eral Kuropatkin as commander in chief of the Russian forces in the Far East. Evidently this was aimed at Viceroy Alexieff, who has repeatedly been rep- resented as interfering with Kuropat- kin's plans. S P ¥ Japanese Scarch French Vessel. MARSEILLES, Sept. 8.—The com- mander of the French mail steamship Oceanie, on arriving at Marseilles to- day from Yokohama, complained that his vessel was held up by four Jap- anese warships outside of Yokohama and that she was detained and searched for five hours. e Siie I Cruiser Ordered to the Orient. GIBRALTAR, Sept. $.—The United States cruiser Baltimore sailed to-day for Genoa, where she will do some pre- At 9 o'clock on the morning of Au- gust 28 the Japanese bombarded Fort No. 22 on the east flapk, using field batteries posted at the left of Eagle Nest hill. The Japanese batteries were well scattered and hidden and fre- quently fired on Eagle Nest hill and Rocky hill. At 3 o'clock in the after- noon the J’pmne shelled Battery No. 3. It was observed by the Russians that the Japanese were bullding a battery to the left of Orphan Mountain. At $§ o'clock batteries were posted en this position by the Japanese and firing was begun. The firing was directed chiefly | against Kurgan fort. All night the | Japanese bombarded along the whole east front, directing their fire against the roads behind the batteries, with the evident intention of .destroying the roadway by which guns can be re- moved in case the Russians are driven | from the forts. During August 2§ a peculiar contrast to the warlike proceedings on the east flank was presented on the west flank by the Chinese, who had resumed work in the fields as though war did not ex- ist. The Chinese, who have grown ac- customed to the firing, paid no atten- | tion to the Russian fire, which was directed nearly altogether from a bat- | tery northwest of Division hill. There was no fighting on the west flank on the night of August 28. At 5 o'clock in the morning of Au- gust 29 the Russians posted on a high mountain opened fire on the Japanese eoncealed in the eorner of a hill. The ‘Japanese immediately scattersd. = ' Chinese report the.death at Chao- <chanko of an active and intelligent Japanese gemeral, but the Nova Kral was unable to learn the general’s name. The Japanese control Palichuang, but | only small Hetachments are seen there at dawn each morning. They appar- ently occupy the place merely as a night outpost. % Chinese report that oats and straw for the Japanese horses are getting scarce. The Japanese ammunition de- pot at Litungau has been destroyed by Russian shells. From August 27 to August 29 the | Russians buried under a severe fire | 700 decomposing Japanese bodies on the northeast front, in order to pre- | vent a pestilence. . | A letter reaching Chefu from Port Arthur says that the Russians are dis- tilling sea water, as the Japanese have | cut off the reservoirs in the Etzshan hills. The last copy of the Nova Krai which has reached here shows evidence of an increasing severity of the Rus- sian censorship. Although it mentions that the Japanese have occupied new pesitions it dees not tell how they won them. 1 eral months she has been shadowed by a corpulent man with thin lower limbs and a gold eye tooth. She says the stocks were in a valise in her room. When she went down to dinner the room had been entered and the papers abstracted. TR A A Sheep Poisoners at Work. RENO, Sept. 8.—Half a band of 700 gheep belonging to C. A. Estes and B. F. Lynip, twe large sheep owners who reside in Alturas, were poisoned this week by saltpeter. For months the sheep and cattle men have been en- gaged in a controversy, one intent on driving the other from the ranges. Several times entire bands of sheep have been nearly wiped out of exist- ence. The last sufferers claim they will hunt down the guilty parties, and strenuous times are looked forward to. —— e Negroes Will Colonize. SAN BERNARDINO, Sept. 8.—The Afro-American Stock Company, a new departure in the way of colonization schemes, was launched in this city, all the members being of the African race, who have set their faces toward the ‘West and propose to bring to this sec- | tion all the Southern negroes who have ' the will and the price to make them-! selves independent as ranchers and orange growers. ——P e Child Would Be Desperado. ) REDDING. Sept. 8.—Joe Landis, the! BROWN MEN REFUSE TO SURRENDER —_—— Accept No Quarter When Surrounded . by Russians. Tragic Incident the Engagement at Liaoyang. of ST. PETRESBURG, Sept. 8.—A Rus- sian correspondent of the Associated Press, in a graphic description of the ‘Only the Russian soldiers’ tradi- tional splendid qualities enabled them to support the terrible conditions, of which the lack of sleep was the most unbearable. The Japanese availed themselves to the utmost of rain and darkness and did not cease fighting, their night attacks testing Russian en- durance severely. The Japanese suf- fered terribly, but made light of their losses. They continually drafted fresh reserves into the ranks to replace the worn-out men. “Indeed, the numerical superiority of the Japanese is astounding and incomi- prehensible, for, after losing enough men at Port Arthur and elsewhere to| form a perfect army, their effective strength appears only to increase, and they still are concentrating fresh bodies of troops on the Liao River. “The battlefleld was a perfect in- ferno. General Stakelberg was wound- ed, but, defying death, he remained immovable at his post throughout the day, regardiess of the rain of shot and shell around him. Several officers of his staff were killed or wounded. In the evening General Stakelberg noti- fied General Kuropatkin that he could hold the position or take the offensive if necessary. “Among the incidents of the day was the slaughter of two Japanese battal- jons which were pursued through the Chinese corn and grain to Saitsa and surrounded by the Russians. They resolutely refused to accept quarter, preferring death. “In another part of the fleld the Jap- | anese shelled and captured by assault one of the Russian trenches, omly to find too late that it had been aban- doned by the Russians and occupied by their comrades. They fell upon the prostrate bodies and flooded them with tears. ‘“In one case a party of Japanese officers found a body of their men re- tiring in disorder and drove them back to the battlefieid at the point of the sword. ““The Russian frontier guards-died at their pests, refusing to surrender. was the anniversary of the creation of their regiment, which they had cele- brated the previous night. They lost a large proportion of their officers. “At many points the combatants stoned one another. “Of late the Russians have learned to mask their batteries more effectively and thus have gained a sensible ad- vantage over the Japanese. The Rus- sians worship their guns. General Kuropatkin's admonition is: ‘Soldiers, die for your guns as you would for your flag!” “The pits which the Russians had dug in_the Chinese corn and the grass were filled with Japanese corpses, which were trodden over by their comrades. The ground was so thickly strewn with bodles in one fight that the Japanese raised a white flag and sought permission to bury their dead, but this was refused. The air became polluted with the stench. “The Russian evacuation of the forts and entrenchments was carried out without loss. The troops cr.:sed the river on pontoon and railway bridges in'perfect order.™ —_—— JAPANESE CEASE ATTACKS. Kuropatkin's Army Continues Its Re- treat Unmolested. MUKDEN, Wednesday, Sept. 7 (night).—The fighting has ceased and the Russian transport and army are moving without interruptions. There is much uncertainty concerning the movements and purposes of the Japa- nese. It is impossible to say definitely yet whether there will be another bat- | tle here or farther north. General Kuropatkin evidently is not seeking to renew the battle, but if challenged, he will not decline an engagement. —_———————— Art Notes. ~ Visitors to our city, and the public generally, are cordially invited to visit our newly fitted art rooms. New collec- tions of the very latest things in pic- tures and frames. 741 Market street. Sanborn, Vail & Co, . §t| A British shiv |[KORSAKOVSK SHELLED BY WAR CRAFT Jfipanese Ships Bom- bard the Sagha- lien Port. Fire Torpedoes at the Sunken Cruiser Novik. ST. PETERSBURG, Sept. 8—Two Japanese cruisers bombarded Kor- sakovsk, island of Saghalien, yester- day, and fired torpedoes at the sunken cruiser Novik. No attempt was made to land. Korsakovsk is defended by coast batteries. Lieutenant-General Liaopounoff, Mil- ftary Governor of the island of Sag- halien, in a dispatch to the Empaeror, dated yesterday, has transmitted the report of the commander of the gar- rison of Korsakovsk, on the visit of Japanese vessels to that place on Tues- day, as follows: “At 6 a. m. the smoke of steamers was observed at sea and the troops were prepared for action. Two Japa- nese transports of 600 tons each an- chored eight versts out and two launches were lowered and proceeded to the Novik At 19:15 the order was i given to fire volleys at the Japanese on | board the Novik and in the launches. | This firing was so successful that the deck of the Novik was cleared and the launches returned to the transports. The enemy returned the Russian fire. but no damage was dome. At 12:45 P “The commander went on board the Novik and found a number of rifles and some wires con- mected with mines. The wires were cut and nine mines in different parts of the ship were removed.” PEHES AR P | FIRING OFF WEIHAIWEL Japanese Warships Probably Shoot- ing at Chinese Junks. WEIHAIWEIL Sept. £.—Firing at sea was heard here last night. Vessels which went out to investigate report that the flashes of the guns were plain- ly visible. They were unable, how- ever, to ascertain whether the Japa- nese were firing upon Russian ships which had escaped from Port Arthur or upon Chinese junks. The activity of the Japanese in catching junks makes the latter supposition the more | probable. Eighteen junks have been | captured by the Japanese during the {last few days. was among those { which investigated. She reports that | seven ships were engaged In the can- | nonade and they steamed away and disappeared upon the appearance of the | British vessel. | —_— | CZAR FAVORS AMERICAN VIEW. | Contraband Question Is Nearing an ST. PETERSBURG. Sept. 8—The question of contraband of war, as con- | tained in the American and British | notes, was presented to the Emperor | yesterday by the commission which has been considering the subject. For- L eign Minister Lamsdorff, who through- | out has been favorable to the Amer- jcan and British contentions, made a | strong argument in support of his po- | sion and was warmly seconded by "Munv(efl. Minister of Justice An | opinion by Professor de Maartens, | professor of international law at the | University of St. Petersburg, also fa~ vorable, was presented. No decision was reached, but the Bm- peror plainly manifested his with Count Lamsdorff's view, and, at the conclusion of the audiemce, urged the advisability of a prompt decision, i —— Lieutenant Thompson “Butts In*™ VLADIVOSTOK, Sept. 8.—Vice Adn miral Skrydioff has received a lettey from Lieutenant Thompson, professed- 1y writing in behalf of the custom house officials of Manfla, expressing sympathy with the admiral in the losses sustained by the Viadivestok Russian. Japanese Estimate of Foe's TOKIO, Sept. $.—Ravised of the Russian force defeated at Liso- yang place the number as follows: hundred and eighty-four battalions infantry, 128 squadrons of cavalry 572 guns.