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Show SURPRISE FOR GEN. STOESSEL Staggered by News ol Russia's Defeat, Incredulous When Told of Gen. Kuropatkin's Retreat. Re-treat. Wishes to Return Homo and Die in Peace After Fighting in Throe Wars HEADQUARTERS OK' THE THIRD JAPANE8B ARMY AT TORT ART1U R, Jan. T. via Tientsin. Jan 9. Copt Tsun-odn, Tsun-odn, th JapuncHe staff officer, who wan sent to Port Arthur to Inform CtSn, Stoes-pel Stoes-pel of the contents of the me--anfre of tho Bmpsror of J ipan saying that tho garrison garri-son should be treated with th greatest -consideration, ?ays "'Gen. BtOeSSeri first Inquiry was about the whereabout of Gen Kuropatkln 1 said I did not know exactly, but understood under-stood he was somewhere about Mukden "Gen. Stoessel remarked that ho had last heard from Gen Kuropatkln October 6. saying he would come to relievo Port Arthur soon. Gen. Stoessel added that he had sent nut Chinese spies who returned re-turned and reported that Gen. Kuropatkln, Kuropat-kln, with a relieving army, was at K Inchon In-chon twenty miles north of Port Arthur, "Gen Stoessel was plainly Incredulous nt my statement thot Gen. Kuropatkln had been defeated and driven back toward to-ward Mukden, so I produced maps, show. inn him th position of tiu two armlet near the Bhakhe river and gave him d'-t:ills d'-t:ills of Kuropatkin's defeat, with the loss of GO.000 or 60,000 men, at which the Russian General expressed amazement and quickly remarked that ho had been mish .1 "I then asked Gen. Stoessel what had caused the most damage to the garrison during th" siege, and lie replied, 011r eleven-Inch howitzers After they arrived our defense works became useless,1 " The real cause of the war was. In Gen Ptoessel's opinion the Ignorance of the Russian people of the fighting qualities of the Japanese. The first attack on Port Arthur In Fehruarj by the Japam-se fleet c 1 1 .1 tremendous surprise. The forts, he explained, were only partly garrisoned by 2M1 trnopn. "Gen Stoessel further said he had served his Emperor In three wars, and ho had te-en thrice wounded, first In the Russo-Turklsh war. second In the Boxer trouble and third at Port Arthur. Now he felt he had earned the right to return to Russia to live In his old age with his lamllv. The General added that he was taking home with him Ave children of officers of-ficers who had been killed during the flege." |