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About The morning Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1899-1930 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 9, 1904)
ftitr WW VOLUME LVIjc ASTORIA, OREGON, TUESDAY, AUGUST 9, 1904. NUMBER 263. JAP VESSELS DAMAGED BY , THE RUSSIANS AUxleff Reports That Port Arthur Fleet Successsully Engaged , the i Enemy Off Port Ar ' thur July 26. Chlyoda Reported to Have Been Sunk and Itzukushima Plac ed Out of Action. ; BIG FLEET MAKES SORTIE Dombard Jap Ioltlon at i.uti ganton for Thre Hours-lU-ported That Port Arthur Has Fallen. St. Petersburg, Aug. i.The emperor ha received th following dispatch from Atexleff, dated at Mukden, Au ust : "Telegram received today from Port Arthur state that , the cruisers Bayan, Akold, Pallnda and Novtk and some gunboats steamed out of the harbor. July 2. and bombarded the enemy's poult lout. ; "An eight -Inch shell from the Bayan burst In the stern of the Itsukushlma. placing the ship out of action. There upon all the Japanese ships steered for the open aeu and. at the same time, the Chlyoda wai damaged by a Russian mine. A the Chlyoda waa sinking by the head ahe fteered toward Tallen buy. A shot from a land battery also damaged a Japanese gunboat. . "3tfy 7. In view of the Japanete having taken the general offensive f against our land position, the Bayan. " Retvlaan. Pallada, Askold ;and Novin, Gr-mlahhl and Qtvashnl, the gun- r.i!l.ik and U torpedo boat -were ordered to support our right flank at the demand of General Stoessel. .. "Our ahlpa ateamed toward Lungan tun, whence they bombarded the Jap aiieie position until 3 In the after noon." SAID TO HAVE FALLEN. ) Rumor of Capitulation of Port Arthur Rife in Ruitia. St. Peteraburg. Aug. 8.-Thl city la full of wild rumor that Port Arthur has fallen, due to the reports from Chefoo of another asaault in which the fortress was taken by a combined land and sea -force, though the Japanese lout three warships, Including the pro tected cruisers Chlyoda and Itsukush Ima, There is not the slightest con firmation of these rumors. It Is be lieved the Japanese are still unable to capture the outer works, much less the fortress Itself. MORE FIGHTING IN PROGRESS. Sound of Firing at Port Arthur Heard Plainly at Chefoo. Chefoo, Aug. 8. The firing' of heavy guns, at Intervals of one minute, has been distinctly heard In the direction of Port Arthur since 10:30 p. m., the ecoustlc conditions of the atmosphere being unusually favorable. y MANY SICK AT PORT ARTHUR. Number of III and Wounded Persons j: Plaoed at 10,000. London, 'Aug." Acoordlng to the correspondent of the Morning Post at Shanghai, It Is reported that there are' 10,000 sick and wounded persons at Port Arthur, and that the Russians are negotiating with the Japanese to send the hospital ship Mongolia out of the harbor. It Is reported, the. corre spondent says, that General Stoessel has committed suicide, and that panic prevails at Port Arthur. ; i Marquis Oyama (commander-in-chief of the Japanese forces in Man churia1) has proceeded north and ex pects to attack Llao Tang on August 20. : ' ' NEWS FROM PORT ARTHUR. Refugees Know Nothing of Sinking of Japanete Cruiser. Chefoo, Aug. 8. During the last 24 hours, 200 Chinese and SO Russian refugees have arrived here from Port V Arthur. They almost ail Jft there August 4. It has ben Impossible to obtain con firmation of the report of the baking oft Port Arthur of a Japanese cruiser, but that this occurred Is not denied. as the vessel Is said to have sunk In a place where mines have recently been laid. Two French newspaper correspond ents who made an attempt to reach Port Arthur by Junk saw the Japanese fleet on August . They were twice arrested and turned back. They heard nothing of the alleged sinking of the Japanese cruiser. They counted 24 vessels of the Japanese fleet ranged In a double semi-circle In front of the harbor. The refugee report that the Russian cruiser Rayan was struck by ft frag ment from one of the mine which the Japanese constantly send In toward the harbor entrance. The explosion oc curred at the spot Just previously va cated by the Russian gunboat Gllluk, which had been in that position for months, acting as guardshlp. The Rayan bears marks of projectiles of various site, showing that she has been hit 218 times since the beginning of the war. It Is stated positively that Vlctf-Ad mlrul Skrydloff was not on board the Russian, torpedo-boat destroyer Lieu tenant Burukoff, which vlsted New Chwang ubout a month ago and which whs sunk on on of her return trips from that jrt. This last batch of refugees, several of whom witnesoed part of the three days' fighting of the week before luat. dny that the Japanese were one verst (.68 of a mile) from the Russian fort ress. They say that the Japanese troops are from 10 to IS versts from the Inner forts. The Japanese are busy endeavoring to work their trenches nearer the fortress. The Russian re sistance, to theeffort Is confined to the use of artillery, which ceaselessly harasses th diggers. The Japanese ar said to have.9 guns in position on Wolfs hill and vicinity and it evident ly Is their InteniHtn slowly but surely lo tighten their inobse around Port Ar thur, : .jj . A rfuK ,IM witnessed the fight ing at Woir t ..t July 2t aiid July 27. declares that 4000 Russian troops defended that position, all the ap proaches to which had been protected with terraces at angle of 45 degrees. In many Inatances the Russian soldiers dropped their rifles and rolled rocks down on the enemy with effect more fatal than their bullets. ; . ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTEEN PERSONS LOSE THEIR LIVES IN COLORADO TRAIN WRECK The Rio Grande Passenger Express Goes Through Bridge at Eden and Fright ful Loss of Life Occurs. GERMANY ACTING CALMLY. Not Disposed to Regard Sinking of Thea as Important. St. Petersburg, Aug. 8. In spite of the excitement shown by a section of the German press, the German govern ment Is acting as calmly in the matter of the sinking of the steamer Thea as It did In the seizure of the mall stenmer Prlns Henrlch, and is seem ingly convinced that If any wrong had been done it would be righted. Ger many thua far has contented herself by asking for an explanation of the sinking of the ship, but in the absence of result In the official inquiry by the prise court at Vladivostok, Russia is not yet able to reply The German consul at Vladivostok confirms the statement that the Thea had only 160 tons of coal on board, not enough to get her to Vladivostok. He say she was loaded with fish and fish manure. The captain was given 20 minutes in which to abandon his ship and the crew lost all their posses sions. From all the information thus far received there apparently was less Justification for sinking the Thea than for sinking the Knight Commander, and If sufficient Justification cannot be shown, Germany doubtless will ask for compensation for the ship, which, it is believed, Russia will not resist. Russia ha been officially notified of the agreement reached between Great Britain and the United States relative to the protection of the seals at the Kommander Islands. Nome Telegraph Line Opened. Seattle, Aug. 8. General Greely, chief signal officer of the United States army, thla evening reeclved the first telegraphic message ever sent direct from Nome, Alaska, It murks the In auguration of the government wire less telegraph line from Nome, 107 miles to St. Michaels. From St. Michaels the message came by the wire line up the Yukon to Dawson and thence to Seattle, traveling 3700 miles altogether ' : , i. ' , . Bodies of Eighty-two of the Victims Have Already Been Recovered and Thirty-three Other Persons Are Known to Be Missing Bridge Had Been Damaged by Water and the Train Crashed Into the Creek Below. Pueblo, Colo., Aug. 8. -Up to the present 82 bodies have been re covered from the wreck of the Rio Grand train which went through the bridge at Eden, Sunday night. Of ths SO hsv been identified. There sr (till 33 parsons known to b missing. Among the dead is Dr. James B. McGregor, of Ballard, Wash. Pueblo, Colo., Aug. 8. Two crowded passenger cars and a baggage car of the World's fair flyer on the Denver ft Rio Grande railroad, with all their human freight, plunged into a raging torrent that tore out the trestle span ning Steele's hollow, otherwise known as Dry creek, about 8 o'clock last night, and, as far a Is known tonight, only three of the occupants of these car escaped death. Fortunately the two "sleepers and a diner, completing the train, remained on the track at the edge of the abyss and none of their occupants was killed or injured. How many perished probably will never be definitely ascertained, for the treacherous sands are drifting over the bodies. Searching for the dead was begun about midnight on an extensive scale, and still is in progress tonight All the corpse found were brought to Pueblo and placed in the four morgue here. At 8 o'clock this evening 7 bodies had been recovered, and of these 60 had been identified. So quickly did the catastrophe hap pen that the occupant of the three cara remaining on the track did not realise that the accident had occurred until they alighted from the train, and then they were powerless to render any assistance to the victims who had disappeared in the rushing waters. On the lookout for danger, warned by squally clouds and heavy rains to the north, Engineer Hlndman was run ning cautiously, about 15 miles an hour, a he approached the arroyo, which was spanned by a bridge 96 feet in length. The condition of the bridge was not known until the loco motive hod nearly crossed, when It gave way, as If it had been a stack of kindling wood, and the locomotive dropped, with a hissing of steam, through SO feet of the flood to the bot tom of the arroyo, crosswise to the track. The baggage car, smoking car and chair car followed the locomotive into the stream and were swept away. All the occupant of these car save three men perished, and. had not the roof of the chair car burst asunder, not one would have escaped. The fireman, as the locomotive went over,-was thrown out and managed to grasp a piece of wreckage from the bridge and floated with that to a curve made by the cav ing of the bank and crept out of the water. He ran toward Eden, meeting on the way Operator F. M. Jones and hi wife, who had already started up the track. They had seen the head light of the approaching train a min ute before and then had witnessed it disappear with ominous suddenness. "Notify Pueblo," came the voice of the running man. "The train has gone down Into the river and everybody Is killed." . Relief trains, with physicians, wreck outfits, plledrlvers, horses and work men were hurried from the city. The arroyo had been widened to over 100 feet at the point where the bridge had been. There was but little left of the baggage car. The great locomotive, the boiler free of the trucks, cab and tank, lies where It fell. A quarter of a mile to the east, where this gorge of death breaks into a fountain, lay the chair car, with its windows gone, three-fourths filled with mud and sand, and farther on was the smoker. Still farther on the bed of the funtaln was the coal tender 4r of the engirri, and from that point on for four or five miles vestige of coaches stuck up from the bed of the stream or lay along the shore or on the islands. Bits of clothing, skirts and women's hats were found in the brush along the shore, and COO search i ers scanned every Inch of the river and its surroundings for hours after daylight. They waded In the stream and carried out mud-begrimed bodies. which were found at widely separated points, some of them miles from the scene of the accident. While It was still dark, axe had been used on the , half-burled cars at the Junction of the creek with the fountain, and at day light this work was resumed on the smoking car, which lay out In the fountain, where the men were com pelled to wade almost to their waists to reach it A few moments' search revealed the wounded head of a young man in his shirt sleeves. He evidently ; had removed his coat when the plunge I came. J A second party farther down the j river found several persons entangled tin a mas of debris, thought to have been part of the baggage car, which j was literally torn to pieces. In a short jtlme a large number of bodies were dug out of the sand here. One woman was completely burled, save for one foot, which stuck above the water. Some bodies were found lodged in the Rubbery along the banks, others in the wreckage in midstream, and many half burled, with only an arm or a bit of clothing to reveal their whereabouts, It required eight strong men to lift the water-soaked body of one woman to shore, and the skirt and hat found on the bank could scarcely be lifted with the Angers of one hand. Many of the bodies were almost naked, the cloth ing having been torn completely oft. Moat of the bodies were slightly bruised, probably from the first shock of the wreck, but there was little blood visible when they were removed from the stream. Hands and faces were blue and translucent. 'Without doubt the great majority were drowned like rats In a trap when the cars were plunged without a mo ment's warning Into the whirling water 35 feet deep, 100 feet wide and with a current strong enough to carry thou sands of pounds of weight nearly a mile before subsiding. When brought ashore, the bodies were placed on the ground and cov ered. A baggage car was kept run ning between the city and the wreck, bringing in those who were found. A number of wagons were Anally pressed Into service to haul the bodies to the tracks, leaving the searchers free to continue the hunt for others. Some searchers worked all night and all day and never once thought of eating or resting. People were constantly arriv ing and anxiously inquiring for lost ones known to have been on the train. By 9 o'clock this morning the plains were dotted with vehicles, each with Its load of anxious seekers or the mor bidly curious, and more than 1000 peo ple were on the scene two hours be fore noon. The bodies recovered were identified very slowly, because many of them were those of strangers here who had been to the fair at St. Louts. Science in Fruit Coloring. St. Louis, Aug. 8. The bright red apr'es from the state of Washington are attracting considerable attention at the world's fair. Visitors notice this fruit because of Its bright colors, large size and superior keeping qual ities. These apples are the product of soli which has been scientifically fertilized and Irrigated, and are the re sult of experiments conducted along scientific lines. The soil was supplied with muriate of potash and was oth erwise chemically treated, and this superior fruit proves the value of proper fertilization. The fruit is on exhibition in the palace of horticul ture and the methods used in bring ing it up to so high a standard are explained to visitors who desire to learn how to produce and color fruit scientifically. LITTLE GIRL HELPED THEM. Furnishes Bandits With Mana of Mak , ing Their Escape. Vale, Ore., Aug.. 8. R. I. Hess and C. Chester, who were arrested recently on the charge of horsestealing, es caped yesterday morning at o'clock by attacking Deputy Sheriff Thomas with a pocket knife Just as he entered the corridor, overpowering him and binding him. Chester, who Is a very large man. leaped upon the deputy and held him down while young Hesatled his hands firmly behind his back with a toweL Then they threw him Into the cell, locked the door and escaped to a pri vate barn, where they saddled two good horses, one belonging to Sheriff Lawrence, and rode out of town before Deputy Thomas was able to get as sistance and make known their es cape. Their bonds had been placed by Jus tice Goodrich at $8000. The defend ants failed to furnish bonds and were awaiting the action of the grand Jury. Sheriff Lawrence and Deputy Thomas, with a posse, are hot on their trail. It Is thought that the knife was se cretly handed them by Hess' little sis ter, who vlsted them late last even ing. A large posse is in pursuit and it is expected if the fugitives are overtaken a desperate battle will take place, for both Hess and Chester are heavily armed and will fight for their liberty, on account of the state having a con clusive case against them. Hess and Chester are the two men who were recently captured In the Irn- naha country, Wallowa county, by Deputy Sheriff Thomas and an as sistant. They had 17 horses with them, supposed to have been stolen in Mal heur county. WORLD'S RECORD BROKEN. John A. Shields Write 230', Words in 62 Seconds on a Typewriter. St Louis. Aug. 8. John A. Shields, the little man who holds a big world's record by virtue of his speed perform ance upon the typewriter, continues to be an attraction at a typewriter In the palace of liberal arts at the world's fair. Mr. Shields, whose home is in Holton, Kan., won the title of world's champion typewriter by writing 230 Vt words In 62 seconds. Since coming to the exposition his friends have continually urged him to try to exceed even this seemingly speed and in a recent trial he succeed ed In writing 243 words, or 1063 let ters, in 60 seconds. The test matter which he wrote contained every char acter upon the machine and also con tained the letters of the alphabet in regular order. In making the record Mr. Shields was blindfolded, writing entirely from memory. The trial was witnessed by a committee of St. Louis men, connected with the typewriter trade. ORDER OUT DRIVERS OF ICE WAGONS Labor Union Officials Restrict De liveries to the Butchers Who Buy Meat of the Big Packers. President Donnelly Says Strike Is Greatest Educator of So cialism Extant ITS EFFECT POLITICALLY According to the Labor Leader It Means the Growth of the Third Party In theJJ JZ Western States Chicago, Aug. 8. Orders were iasoedl today to drivers of Ice wagons to de liver no more ice. to butchers who bay of the big packers or any of the branch houses of the packing plant where the men are now on strike. President Donnelly, of the National Meatcutters' and Butcher Union. sa& today: "The packing house strike is U greatest educator in socialism the west has ever experienced. From be ing unconscious socialists the workpr are realizing that they are ia reality a part of the great socialist movement. The harsh treatment meted out to the strikers by the packers and the Inhu man conditions under which they are willing to have men and women Uws and work in their slaughter house hm brought organized labor to the conclu sion that the propertied class has nm hesitation in consigning the masses to a fate worse than that of slave. Sit Edward Tllden's advocacy of chni labor In the yards also has added fuet to the flames of socialism. "From this class distinction and rea- ognitlon will arise the great socialist third party to achieve reform by the ballot instead of the strike." Fifty foreigners, nearly all former employes of the stockyards packing: houses, left early today for their oti homes abroad. They are discouraged, they say, with the predicament that faced them with no settlement of the strike in sight, living expenses hig and their savings dwindling away Just before the advent of cold weather. The majority of them spoke no Engteh, though they had been In the country for years. There were Bohemians. Poles and Italians In the number, and all were of a thrifty class who had saved, the greater part of the money they had earned In the yards. Retreating to the North. Charged With Abduction. St. Helena, Ore., Aug. 8. Dan Lope was arrested last night charged with the abduction of 14-year-old Mary Robinson, of St. Helens, whose disap pearance two weeks ago Is still the mystery of the hour. Lope was bound over at $500, his brothers furnishing the bond. A reward ot 3100 will be offered for Miss Robinson's recovery. Lope declares innocence, but his con flicting stories have led to an increase of the suspicion against him, and St. Helens people think he knows where the girl Is. Racing Starts at Portland. Portland, Aug. 8. V.'ith a good card and a large attendance, the three weeks' meet of the Multnomah Driving Association commenced today at Irv lngton, only one favorite winning out of six events. General Kuroki's Field Headquarters, via Fusen, Aug. 7 (Delayed in trans mission.) The Russian forces In front of General Kuroki's army are reported retreating northward. A part of it has camped at Anpieg 12 miles from Ua Tang. Guns were heard this morning on the Japanese right, meaning that possibly the Japanese are following the Russian retirement In connection with the death of Lieutenant -General Count Keller, killed by shrapnel on July 29. while watching the battle at Tangte pass from a battery position above Meowan, the Chinese living there say that the Russians removed the two coffins from that place with great ceremony. New Lifting Record. New York. Aug. 8. Fred Winters, member of the West Side Athletic Club has made a new world's record at weight-lifting. With one hand he tossed a dumb bell weighing 141 pounds above his head from the ground, beat ing by three pounds the best previous record made by G. W. Stoessel in Mad ison Square garden December 17, 1897. Big Fire at St. Louis. St Louis, Aug. 9. The plant of the American Refrigerator Company, one of the largest in the United States, 1 on fire. A general alarm has been sounded and it is thought the loss will be great.