Incidents in Manchurian Campaign

Waihi Daily Telegraph, Volume IV, Issue 1160, 2 December 1904, Page 2

Incidents in Manchurian Campaign

Writing to his paper from Kniping a fow weeks ago, Mr Goorge Lynch, tho Daily Ohroniclo's war correspondent, said:— I left Talienwan this morning after ,m early breakfast. It was a glorious morning, overcast, but promising to be a very day. Just as I was going to breakfast I saw tho Japanese corropondents start on foot, their baggage being carried in two carts, There was iuuc'.i confusion, oxciteuient, excursions, and alarms atthodspnrturo of tho correspondents. Tho horsos, after thoir long journey from Tokio by rail and soa, wore soino of them sick, and some of thorn suffering from too great exuborranco of spirits, my horso being among the latter class. Passing between two large old Chineso foils with rod clay walls, we debouched out on tho main road. It was lined with an endless stream of bullock* carts, mule-carts, donkey-carts, or carts drawn by some combination of all these. Thero was no room on the road, so wo had to skirt alongside. PRIMITIVE TRANSPORT

The way tho Japanese havo organised the Chinese cart transport is very good, With out the Chinese it looks as if it would havo been impossible for them to have kepi ench a large army in tho field supplied, Tnoyhiivo a largo supply of light handoarts to be drawn by two mon, but at various places Wo passed largo numbers of them which wero not being used. Another moans of transport they have is by means of Cbineso wheelbarrows, and long lines of theso croaking vehicles wo pass with ono coolie at tho handles and ono pulling a rope from tho front. All along our route for this day's journey tho Japanese havo narrowed the guago to suit some Japanese engines thoy havo brought over. 'Thoy havo dono this by moving ono of tho rails, thoTrans-Siborian and Manchurian gauge being sft wido, It is curious to see this path of pmpiro, by means of which the Russians occupied and annexed Manchuria now boing used by tho Japaneso to compel them to evacuate it.

All day we passed through a hilly country shimmoring with a glorious harvost in ut clear brilliant sunlight, suoh as England novor knows. No garments worn by any field surpass in splendour the tall, waving kowliang, now about seven feet •high, whose long succulent Laves of most vivid green "listen as thoir plunio-liko crests bow beforo tho light smnmor broezo. The wonderful fertility of this region is explained by tho enormous depth of tho rich soil. At one plnco our rond lay along the bed of a mountain stream which had cut down its banks shoer to 50ft or 60ft in places without gotling at tho bottom of this layer of soil, This is the surfacogold mine tlint'lias tnado China rich for thousands of yoars back, as it will for ages to come. SCENE OP A JAPANESE VICTORY.

About three o'clock wo arriyod at (he battlefield of Nanshan. It is tho narrowest part of tho isthmtiß whore just south of tho nock a group of hills with plain, oven slopes, devoid of any vestige of cover, oflbr an absolutely ideal position for defence.

Tho captured Russian guns aro now linod up down behind tho buck of tho hills, and thoro are nono loft in position, the Japanese ovidontly ignoring all .possibility of their ever having to retire'there. As an instance of the Japanoso .cocksuroness, I know that over a month ago they had tickets print od in Tokyo for use on tho Manohurian railway, Whether it was strategically advisable for tho Russians to defend Nanshan as n main position or not it was unquestionably a brilliant aohiovemont for tho Japanoso to have taken it across such a wide, unprotected fire-swept area. Tho contractor who had undertaken to cator for the correspondents was considerably in tho roar ovon when wo arrived at Ohinchoiund eighteen hungry men wero impationtly consigning him to pordition for two hours until ho arrived. Wo slept in a big and comfortable Chinese house, but hero, as throughout tho country, oycry house was simply swarming with Hies and mosquitoes.

Wo started next morning, just nftor daybreak; again a glorious morning: again through waving fields of glorious harvest; again orossing stroams of warm water, and ovor on the trrek, with the stream of ladon carts going up and rolurnod empties coming down. Tho qulotpeacofnlnoss of the surrounding country was in strango contrast to that labouring, straiuin» path of war-a narrow path, by which an army is oemg steadily and surely fed, gatliorin'" togolher its concontralod strength, which now, after toe ovaeimtion of Haicheug should rcnoh the rocua.point of oonfliot nt i Liaoyang.