Chefoo, 4th August.
A number of Russian refugees, who left Port Arthur on the 2nd, arrived here yesterday and reported that the Japanese troops are close to Port Arthur. Their shells fell inside the town, while the Russian men-cfwar are bombarding the Japanese positions from the harbour. Since the 26th ult. the fighting has been on the 28th at, when the fire raging with great severity, except
slackened a little.
Non-combatants are compelled to find shelter outside the port, for fear of being made a target for shells, or being forced to join the ese were repulsed at Wolf Mounta They also report that the Japan-
with a loss of 15,000 men, but this report is not generally believed.—Special telegram.
Later.
A fairly trustworthy Chinese employed in a German firm at Port Arthur has arrived here, and emphatically denies the rumour circulated at Chefoo that at the battle of Wolf Mountain on the 26th ult. the Japanese lost 15,000 men. He asserts, on the contrary, that of the Russians who on the 27th ult. reoccupied the two forts at Lungwangtou which the Japanese had taken and abandoned shortly afterwards, two thousand were kill-captured, having fled to the eastern shore when they were attack-and their retreat was cut off by the Japanese.
He also reports that in the battle on the north of Port Arthur on the 28rd or 24th ult. the Russian losses were terrible, a commander of the forces being among the killed—Special telegram.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.