HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Herald, 1904-04-22, Page 2GREAT BATTLE AT SEA
NEAR PORT ARTHUR.
Japanese Scouts Surprised and
50 of Them Shot or Bayoneted.
Japanese Anxiotis to Wary the
First Land Fight.
A late. St. Petersburg cable says: One soldier lost his life. The Japanese
Rumors afloat are taking definite shape, pursued the Russians in a boat, but
;indicating that there has been a fight were in turn attacked by a Russian
boat, which had come to the rescue
!at Port Arthur, but no details are ob- of the swimmers, The Japanese were
;ttdinable, except that the Petropavlovsk all killed and their boat sunk."
'has been sunk, probably with the loss The result of Gen. lirasnalinski's
Of almost her entire crew.
- MAKAROFF A PRISONER.
reeonnaissanee, after encountering the
Japanese on Samalind Island, is not
explained. It may be pointed out that
London cable: The Westminster an attack on Wiju was probably not
intended, but the topograpby of the
country tends to favor night reconnais-
sances. 1Yiju lies in a hollow, two
miles from the river, from which it is
separated by a rather step hill.
Gen. 1%ourplh:rtlsn s report to the Em-
peror of the annihilation of Japanese official-iufoririation from 11iukden states toys, to which the snarl had beeo
detachments on the Yalu River is a that the Japanese fleet is cruising in dragged dottln! many steps:
matter of general satisfaction in offs• the direction of New-Chwang• The body of the watchman, wel-
cial circles. One feature of the rhes- New-Chwang, April ].2.•—'. he British
sage which is not pleasing; to the au- .+unboat Eslrieglc, which has been sta- tering in Plated, was founts by
Gazette publishes this afternoon a Paris
rumor that Vice Admiral Makaroff has
been taken prisoner.
RUSSIAN VESSEL BLOWN UP.
...A. St. Petersburg cable says:
Another report is teethe effect that the
telegram which Grand Duke Vladimir
;received was from,, Grand Duke Boris,
'brother of grand Duke Cyril, announce
' fig that tht Petropavlovsk, of which thorities is the action of the Corms, tionecl' here during the winter, left to-
up
o
up by was ing officer, had been blown in revealing to the Japanese the res
up striking a Russian mine, only four 1 P day. The departure of the Espiegle re-
officers escaping. The Grand Duke epee of the Russians at Yongampho, gloves a cease of embarrassment to the
Cyril's wound was stud to be slight. and the belief prevails that the Cor- Russian authorities, and enables them
The telegram, according to this re- eans are not unfriendly to the Jap to put into execution a system of mar -
port, did not mention the losses sus- cense, as bas been announced. Incl- tial law consistent with the demands of
•tained by the crew. dents such as that at Yongampho the situation. The Espiegle was the last
indicate ' that the view held of the foreign warship at New-Chwang, the
GREAT LOSS OF LIFE RUMORED. Corean attitude is a mistaken one. United States gunboat Helena having
St. Petersburg cable: The city is left some•ten days ago.
full of rumors of the destruction of
The Japenete alie a te. to Corea, M.
'Hayashi, has requested the Corean
(eovei'rlinent to facilitate the plans of
Gen. If:iragnelis, the commander of the
Japanese forces ut• Seoul, for the thor-
ough sanitation of 'Seoul and the other
Nage terns of Corea, so as not to ex.
pose the Japanose neaps to the ravages
of cholera and other diseases.
•
AT NEW-CiI.WANG.
Russians Alert, Resistance Will Be
- Determined.
A .London cable sap; i Reports frohu
New-Ghweng.indicate that the Russians
there are very*. alert, expecting an at-
tack in the neighborhood.
'rime correspondent of the Times, , et
New;Chwarig .states that the Russian
fusilade Sunday night, owing to 'their
mistaking signals. resulted in the sink-
ing of a junk with thirty-five hands on
board, in addition to the casualties
previously reported.
A despatch to the Morning Post from
Now-Ohweng states that the Russians
regard the next ten days as critical,
believing that if the expected attack
in the Liao valley is delivered, it will
be within that 'period. The New-Ohwang
correspondent of the Express, referring
to the same idea, says that the
Rusian resistance will be very de-
termined. The whole line from '
Ping to Liao-Yanrr is held in great
force. The best defensive points have
been coni;inually strengthened. There
is a great concentration of troops at
Tashiehia, the jnnotion of the railways.
Nearing New-Chwang,
Paris cable: A despatch to the
ry that
1'ennps, from tit. Petersburg, to souse,, says
GED WATCHMAN
/AS MURDEREO
r
Struck Down by Unknown
Assassin While on. Duty,
John Thomas Had His Head
Crushed With Hatchet.'
Trail of Blood Marked Scene
of a Desperate Struggle,
Phadadelpbim April 18—��1'urprised
at robbery a man or several men,
.with a hatchet, horribly murdered
John Thio7n'as, an old and faithful
watchman iu Houston Hall, Univer-
sity of Pennsylvania, last evening.
The victim's ,bead was frightfully
hacked by the rain of blows that
had fallen on it. The attack was
evidently made at the head of the
stairs leaning to the basement: of
Houlston Hall, and the body* tvaS
Sound in orie of the .bowling .al -
1,b b '
William Shields, an orderly of the
University Hospital, on Bowling
Alley No. 1. Groans were still
coming from the bleeding form,and,
from reflex action, the battered head
of the murdered man gloved convul-
sively several times before the
body became quiet.
No more sickening sight could be
imagined than that which met the
eyes of Orderly Shields Innen lie
turned on the electric light (ire fit-
ly above the dying man in the bowl-
ing alley. There had been no light
in 'the place, and only by the merest
. ubalice sfeblelds ;w,ent to tile :mot at;
w;hicii the ,victim' of the murderous
assault lay. The bleeding form was
close tot the ;wall separating tee al-
leys Frohn the cigar stand and the
lower hall and nearer the line at the
players' end of the alley. Two
pools of bloat' marked ;here the
head had rested, and for twenty
feet or amore, near the snail, there
;was a smear., of blood indicating
that the body had been drugged.
Tried to Save His Life.
Close by was a heavy iron poker,
taken from the firejlaeo in the bil-
liard roam!, on the first floor, with
which Thomas had evidently tried
to defend himself, and the hatchet
used iii committing the murder was
found later on the first floor,tlrust
under the cushion of a. wall seat,
The fact that some ling had god
wrong at the Houston Club was dis-
t() Both�;covered at a quarter after seven
o'clock in the evening 'by William'
0. Milton, a senior in the College
department, who resides in one of
the dorm'itori•es. Ordinarily on Sun-
day evenings Houston Hall is closed,
and Milton, -noticing that the build-
ing; was :amen and that there were
lights upstairs, thought lie tvduld In-
vestigate. Thomas then had been on
duty only lite :minutes, and 'Milton,
a,5 he walked into the building,
heard coming from 'tbe basement
what he knew at once were groans.
Ho hesitated about going down-
stairs, where all was dark, and
turner( at once and hurried across
Soutar street to the University Hos-
pital.
There Shi lis woes encountered, and
the orae.ly burred to the club Reuse,
and, striking snatches ak he went,
descended the broad flight of stairs
to the basement. (When he lead turned
on the light the cause of the groans
was revealed in the finding of the
eiy.n+g gran. Resident phyeit•ians from
the hospital were at onm
es 'inion-
od, but when they arrived Thomas
was expiring, and he died in a few
mantes,t
Murderers Were No Doubt Rob Uers
The crime was, without doubt,
brought about by the interruption
the first-class battleship Petropav STORM ABOUT TO BURST. The last of the merchant steamers
left New-Chwang today, and the ship-
'lovsk, with great loss of life. The re- Outpost Incident Merely Regarded as ping companies have notified their
;ports cannot be confirmed or traced to Precedent Rumblings. agents to send no more vessels there,
tan authoritative source. The Emperor consequently it is expected that hence-
forward com'emetically
at
will he aetically
at a standstill. The streets of 'IV`etiw-
Chwang are no longer lighted at night,
and the movement of boats on the river
at night is prohibited.
has received an ; official telegram, which
is now being. deciphere.d
- .The Petropavlovsk, which ha& twice
,previously been reported damaged in
Japanese attacks on Port Arthur, seas a
(first-class battleship of 10,960 tons dis-
:placement, and 14i213 indicated horse
power. She was 367 feet long, had 6e
Moot beam, and her armored belt was of
about 16 inches of steel, with ro inches
of steel armor on her turrets. Her arm-
ament consisted of four ie -inch, rz 6-
(inch, 34 smaller guns and 6 torpedo
'tubes. Her complement, when fully
manned, was 7oo men. She was built in
• London cable: The silence regard-
ing the movements of the Russian anal
Japanese forces is compared here with
the stillness that precedes a cyclone.
Speculation is focussed on. the probabil-
ity of the quarter where the storm will
burst. The outpost incidents in tbe
neighborhood of Wile are merely regard-
ed as precedent rumblings. The unofficial
telegram from St. Petersburg reporting
the movements of the troops and the
fleet do not deserve much attention, in-
asii ucli as Jimmie is avowedly not cen-
soring despatches to foreign newspap-
ers. The immunity of •Port Arthur from
another attack is ascribed hero to the
prevalence of rough weather, which has
compelled Admiral Togo to seek shelter
at the Elliott islands or elsewhere, pos-
sidly with a fleetof transports to guard.
GRAND DUKE CYRIL WOUNDED.
St. Petersburg cable: Grand Duke
Vladimir, uncle of the Emperor, has re-
ceived a telegram, announcing that his
son, Grand Duke Cyril, has been wound-
ed at Port Arthur. A. service of thanks-
giving because his life was spared has
been held at the Grand Duke's palace.
at
A Chefoo cable says: :Che captain
of the steamer Lockshan, which arrived
to -day from New-Chereports be
heard heavy tiring between 5 and 7
o'clock this morning in the direction of
Port .Arthur. The firing was continu-
ous, but no ships were visible. From
the direction of sound he judges that
there was fighting at the entrance of
'Port .Arthur. The Loekshau was the
•ilast foreign vessel to leave :view-Chwang,'
sailing at tbe same time as the Brit-
ishatm-boat Espiergie, at 1 o'clock yes-
terday afternoon.
A. correspondent at Tenchow, 40
idles northwest of here, telegraphs as
follows:
"Sounds of heavy firing were heard
at half -past six o'clock this morning.
The firing evidently was being done
between here and Port Arthur. It is
believed at Tent; -Chow that the long -
expected sea fight among the Miatao
Islands has taken place.
"The Japanese battleship Asaii, flying
an admiral's flag, was seen. off Chefoo
yesterday, going to the west, and there
is no doubt that the remainder of the
Japanese fleet was in the vicinity of
Port Arthur. The Russian fleet also
was seen outside of Port Arthur yes-
terday."
FILLED WHOLE PARTY.
Japanese Scouts Ambushed by Russians
and Slain.
St. Petersburg cable: Gen, Kouro-
ppatkin, in a despatch to the Emperor,
bearing to -day's date, says that Gen.
lheasnalinsky, on the night of April 8,
ordered a detachment of sharpshooters
to cross to the left bank: of the Yalu,
opposite Wiju. The sharpshooters land-
ed on the island of Sasnalind and sur-
prised a patrol of 50 Japanese scouts
just As the latter were approaching the
east side of the island in three boats.
THE FIRST FIGHT.
Victory of Vital Importance
Sides.
cable: The Japanese array
having driven the Russians front Corea
and advanced to the Yalu, the fleet. im-
portant battle may be expected- there.
The enemy is reported to be strongly
fortifying and concentrating on the op-
posite bank.Great importance is attached in .Ta -
pan to the result of the first battle, be-
cause of the moral effect it will have on
the respective armies. It is well under-
stood that Russia will make a supreme
effort to regain her prestige by means
of a victory on land. japan also, in view
of the effect on the attitude of the Cor -
Bans and Chinese, as well as upon Ilex
own troops, considers it of vital import-
ance to win the first fight.
The Russians are greatly han.dieapped
by the difiieulty of conecntrating their
troops off' the line of railway. Consid-
ering the condition of the roads, the Jap-
anese advance has been rapid.
Russia having lost the opportunity of
opposing iho Japanese in Northern
COMM, opinion herr, is divided as to
whether theltnssians can make an effec-
tive stand on the Yale, or whether a
more decisive :action will occur nt the
border passes near Fonhwang.
The Minister of Marine has arranged
to Mae. ten morn war:chips plaeecl at the
disposal of Admiral Togo.
Fire Curtain at the Yalu River.
London cable: A news agency de-
spatch •from St. Petersburg says that
the military administration recently de-
spatehed to the troops on the Yalu River
appliances and materials which Rill en-
able them to obstruet by fire a Japan-
ese attempt to cross the river. The pro-
eoss 15 a military secret that has been
acquired by the' overament trona its in-
ventor, Who is '1 eolonel of engineers.
The first test, which cost 40,000 roubles
($20,000), was earned. out years ago,
during the manoeuvres at Tsarskoe-Selo,
in the presence of the Imperial family.
Sappers threw across a river n pontoon
bridge. Then a small oily patch appear-
ed in the middle of the stream, close to
the bridge. Tiltsgrndnall' grew large,
Mid at the end of three minutes it was
200 yards in length. Flames then burst
out, and soon attained an immense height
constituting a formidable curtain, which
completely hid the bridge. The flames
rapidly reaelhrd the height of a seven -
storey building, throwing out such in-
tense heat that the onlookers near the
shore were au:alslc to remain. Even the
Emperor and his suite, at a distance of
a. grinder of a mile, were incommoded
by Lite • heat. After working for eight
minutes, the apparatus was stopped. The
flames (Bed out in two minutes, and it
was seen that the bridge had been com-
pletely destroyed. The apparatus, which
was invisible to the spectators, was six
miles frons the river, to which It trans-
mitted a liquid, prepared by a secret
process. through tubes buried is the
earth. If the Russians sueeoed in estab-
lishing the apparatus and tares on the
banks of the Yalu, a crossing will'• be
absolutely impossible, so long as they
are wonting.
hall seat under which the blots*
soaked hatchet had been plaoetl.
Ti.ere are two theor.es X•egardit
the murder. One is that but one
man was concerned in the crime„
atxiotbtit that tihere were two mens..
However st was, 'phorias undoubted-
ly put up a, )n,uwi y fight and lsei was;
only overcome sifter a most v:tciouas•
attack. The signs of• a. terrible
struggle was everywhere to be
seen, not only in the extent of the
blood stains anct of the area over
wiiiett they were spread, but in the•
l and;tioe of the building generally..
At the top landing of the s+taim
an overturned brass comp dor mane -
ed the first signs of a. struggle or
a, hurried. flight, and there were•
marks of shoed that seamed to in-
die.ate a struggle. On. the stairs is
trail of 'blood leit to the basement,
and there, in the ball, in front of
the cigar stand and book room,.
Were splatters of blood forming tsrc+
hoots. These manes were directly la'
front of the cigar stand and book
room, wiinOh is a section screened eft
from: tlhe rest of the hall by an or-
namental Iran grating. In front o,
the locked iron grating door:ass f
was an overturned chair she -win
that•someone had come from behind.
the grating and had leaped from
tIs top to the hallway leading to
the first floor. In the first place
to man had gotten behind the screen,
apparently by climbing over 110
grating doorway, and by tearing '
down ornamsnta•l iron' scroll vvotk:k.
This scroll still hangs a nwreck oet-
wardly, from the grating and the•
mean evkiently, lead haat come Damn
the cigar stand when; he was heard
by Thomas, and perhaps, made lxiin-
self heard by, leaping to the floor
froom grating. That bis. object Wer
first of all robbery, was seen when:
it was found that the casb register
behind the stand *svgs open, and that
it had been rifled of its contents,
Persons holding the belief that
two 'mien were concerned in tike rob-
bery( believe that 'Tihomasi, encount-
ered one man on the stairs as the
other fello* was trying to get outb
of the cigar -stand enclosure, be-
low. Other Persons who viewed the
scene of bloodshed were of opinion
that bat one roan was concerned in
the assault and 'that be met Thomas
at the bottom of the stairs. Thomas
head no revolver, and this sole protec-
tion was the poker.: lie took from the
billiard room. t
The hatchet used In the murder is
the property of 'the Ilbuston CIub
and is marked "Bath" That this was
the w'eapon`ilsed indicates to the po-
llee that t'ile crime was committed
byt Some person familiar with tbe
building, for the hatchet had been
'taken from a closet in the check-
room adjof'ning the ;swimming pool in
Cm basement. In order to get into
this check-naam it ,is necessarn to
crawl through a door -way;, scarce-
lyl three Teet •high, and This door and
the closet were found wide open.
A. towel used by the murderer or
'murderers in wiping the blood thorn
his hands was also taken front this
check -room; it is said, and it was
resod 'b'ylthe man or men before they
went into the toilet room' to wash
a'tca:y more Of the fblood and to dry
their hands on 'towels there. •
FIGHTING BEGUN.
Russians Strongly "Posted on the North
Bank of the Yalu.
ARTILLERY QUELLED RIOT.
Peasants of Samovar Stormed Town
Hall and Burned Public Records.
• Vienna, April IS. A political
meeting a t Samovar, near Ageaur,
.Croatia, yerstrd,ty .ended with deri- of a robbery at the basement elgar
Inas rioting. A glob of peasentey Stand. It is eviieet that the robLers
stormed the Town Hall, carred out I knew lionoton Hall was deserted on
thepnbl'c recurtls soil burned them S'nr:day nights. Thomas telioved the
in the street, llei'r Ia.ip:rch, a &i (lily watchman' at 7 o'clo k in rho
puty tvl,o tied proticic•1, a t Itis meet 'est nilig, end, a.ecordtng in ,haUca-
ing, and the town notary 'tuts o se 'flan ,Iwai ' Itrac!e l' l y sans, •:srunu;sl
. • j aolae In the 1haSemeni Its lie WAS
vc;rc;ty Deafen' ititerin at • the time clack, just
A Tokio ethics says: Although nothing .t, battery or weerern di,v..rs se d g' g
official is given out, fighting is reported the rioters. ]th the .ounrsr, of tl:r, th the head of the broad, winding
to have begun on the Yalu River,evlxere 5ueg;1: a ri I, we''s alcet'.lenta'ly dls j 4aire lestdisne to she lotwlin.1 sllevaa
(Its lie contrary. statements, the Rus- c.:lhars:el an.1 abus et p'a'.se1 .tbtou;;h ani to lhh 055iinmine • po.rl.• This i.=
sians are believed to be strongly posted, a. sol'l er and wounded a woman. • thcuzht :13 be to, b'cense the -closet
occupying a large past, of the north '.011' althorn::1.5 0' Asir am have de- to Which the clock is situated was
1, fo.sn�.i wide o;he,i when the detectives
bank, with the intention o£ o�iposiug Ilse asp':tt ]t�:rd a. (irtus:hnreat of in1'szntry
Japanese crossing. .The foreigo military to Seinatar in order to prevent a mads a march of the oremises.
attaches have been warned to be ready g
to start for the front, azul. it ie expected
that they will go in a few date. There
The Russians allowed the Japanese to nye four British attaches, including fieri.
land and then fired, on then. Nearly Iain Hamilton, two American, one Ger-
all the Japanese were shot, bayonetd span and one IIrencti attache.
or drowned and their boats sunk. The FLAT -CHESTED SOLDIERS.
Russians sustained no losses.
"Non-commissioned Officers. Lomb-
kinewind Souhaselanear distinguished
themselves in tho'fight.
"On the following day the Japanese
lowered their flag at Wijii, and their
outposts, which lately have been seen,st
fell ba..
"On the night of April 'a, fear Rus-
sians crossed the rant at Yanampo
(Yongampho?) and made towards a
•Ittissian village, where they, found a
squadron of Japanese cavalry. They re.
Corean Infantry Start Out AgaYnst
Chinese Bandits.
Seoul cable: About 600 flat -chest-
ed, sandal -shod infantry left Seoul to-
day for the northern part .of Hamhi-
nnthe
Province (on the frontier of e
Kirin district es. Manchuria), to keep
in order the bandits who are constantly
embroiled with the Chinese settlers in
the Tamen region, which. has reculted
in diplomatic representations on the
attained there tsvelve hours, when the,,' subject from Chian, et is considered
Were betrayed be Coreans and fauna doebtfltl whether these troops will
themselves obliged to swim the river, reach their destination. fears beano e:-
ther bout having struck a sandbar. pr•csed that they Will desert.
recurrence or the disorder..
TO BE REMODELED.
Forces hi India Must Adept 'System
Suited to Onangsd Conditions.
Simla, .April le.—General Kitchener,
commanding the forces in India, 'has
•
issued an army order, based on con-
clusioes formed after making, a tour
of the garrisons of the country. 110
deeinies that the army must1adopt
a system of training suited 'to 'tate
e},••,h.,ed en'olitions, and abandon ob-
solete traditions, It was not to Im
assumed that it was necessarily able
to cope with any enemy. • All ranks
require .increased knowledge, and im-
proved martial qualities. Gen: Kitch-
ener condemns the present military
arrangements, in Tedia and announces -
arrangements which the Government
has saneticned,
'Thomas its thought than to have
t;on•o to the billiard -room, close by,
and to have taken from at fireplace
the heavy iron ;broker used at the
grata.. Then the i.k tlrotrgitt to Ihave
Warted downstairs to investigate.
Whether or not he ss•as met on the
stairo and etrnek , s it matter of
a:onj;ctu.o nl.la u lr tame it e many
drop+ of Wood l upon the staffs and
at the 'basement landing.
Tlso old man had been .~truck again
and again with a hatchet until iris
brains oozed 'out and even splinter's
or bones. frons •his droll: fell upon the
floor,,
The murderer or murderers( ran, tap -
stairs, stopp:rlg in the toilet 'Dont
at the r:ght or the centre stairway
to Wa,sth bleed sta;ns away i 1 a mar -
bin basin. Drop of blood were left
on the marble , to allow, What
murderer lend done, and lb tell-tale
create town 1, w'.th the marks of fresh
blood upon it, was found upon the.
• , Brains Were Beaten Out.
Thomas' bully' presented a most
harrowing sight. A proof of blood.
with bits of brain and bones, lay's
tender his bead, and nearby there was
another pool in vv'hieh ire bad lain,
but from watch he]lad been drag-
ged. All the brains bad oozed oat of
nus &mill—hacked, as it was, into an•
artful masse-andthefiendisih mur-
derer had alsto chopped a finger front
his lest hand.The left-hand trousers pocket was
turned inside out, apparently with
robbery as the intent, and all that '
was found in his pockets were his
gold spectacles and a box of matches.
A w
silver atch and a plated gold
chain, believed to have belonged to
the murdered man, were •found in the
South street doorway of the hall.
Identification of the body was not
made until halt -past 10 o'clock, whets
the bowling alley attendant arrived.
and said that it was that of Thomas,.
and that be resided in the neighbor -
stood of liia.rin,g and Fortieth streets.
Thomas was; at one time a 'preacher,.
and he is isaid to have been about 6i5,
years old.
NEGRO ADMITS CRIME,
Former Employee Says He Was
Attacked by O►3 Watchman,.
Philaidelpilria,, Pa., April 13.—The•
inylstery surrounding the murder c5f
John Thomas, the 'night watchmais
at the Houston Club of the Univer-
sity; of Pennsylvania last evening,.
Inas cleared up 'byl Ibo arrest and'
eonfessl.on of Lawrence Gibson, alias.
John Oakley, who was •for, a number
of years employed as a utility mane
man at Houston hall.
Gibson, a West India negro, was
arrested at hips home early; in the.
day and denied all knowledge of the
crane, mail late in the afternoon,
when he broke down and confessed to.
the murder.
Gibson says he 'went to Houston
ldiall to call on Thom.n,s. The watch -
gran, Gibson enyls, lllrely mistook him
for a thief- and attacked him. In the
struggle be unintentionally, killed the.
old man:
'Tho pollee do not believe the story'.
Superintendent Quirk is el the opin-
ion that revenge for being diemisied
from' Houston Hall was the motive
for the murder. Cxiboon, whose come
plexian is so light that he easily;
passed as a White man, misrepre-
een'ted lhhnself a.s a student at the
university, and married a young
white woman three weeks ago.
When the deception was discovered
he was discharged from i1 uston
Xi=_all. How the expooted to get re-
venge and bis meson for attacking
the watchman the police decline to
'1',lae autlrooa•ltie.s said to -night
that Gilman is wanted in Jamaica Van.
Borne offence.