A Chinese merchant, whose ancestral home is near here, has just' made his escape from Port Arthur and gives the following story He describes the first fight at Port Arthur, giving it practically as we know it from many other sources, After that, he said, nothing happened for ten days, when the Jups returned, and since then they have been storming the place off and on, day and night. Their usual method is to pass by in groups of four in single file, each group of four separated some distance from the group in advance, and each vessel firing two to four shots at every trip. After firing they turn seaward out of range. This is quite similar to the method pursued when the Japs fired on this city of Téngchou during the China-Japanese war. This merchant affirms that the fortress at Port Arthur is correct information which is very general- eight parts destroyed and that if the Japs ly disseminated as to the state el atfuirs keep up the present rate of firing they will in the North. There are ten or more take the place before long. He judges that six or seven shots out of ten of the Japanese hit the desired mark; and while the Russians fil the sea with splashes around the Japanese boats they do not seem to be injured much, at any rate they keep going on mand their circle day after day. The two sides are evidently going on two different theories of shooting, theories which are much discussed in these days as to which lone is the most effective, name! large number of shots fired quickly in the hope that with more shots there will be Iorger chance of more and earlier hits, or, the second theory, a few shots aimed with care and deliberation. Our informant, u's that the Russians fired about eight times any shots in a given time as did the Jo Scareity of Food and Labour.
He also said that he few sure that pius sions at Port Arthur were not so very plentiful. Lhe Russians seized on all the grain shops, ete., in the city, and in every way exercised the most extreme caution regarding the food supply; and it was quite certain that they were ceiving mu supplies by the railroad. All Chinese coolies are into work and kept ab work under guard.
They spend most of thei rebuilding what the Japanese knack down. This merchant made his escape at night by running fifty li overland, when be found junk bound for this place. Had he beer coolie and able to work he thought it would have hardly been possible to escape, closely are the able-bodied coolies watched.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.