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262 THE SIEGE OF PORT ARTHUR
At dawn they steamed out and took shelter under
the Tiger’s Tail promontory ;
at night they again
took refuge in the harbour for fear of torpedo
attacks in the dark. The Japanese tried to fire
on them as they came steaming in at dusk, and
tried also to shell them in the harbour during the
night, but without success. All ten destroyers
succeeded, at the capitulation, in making good
their escape, four to Chefoo, five to Kiaochiao,
and one to Shanghai.
The bombardment of the town was very effica-
cious, and contributed greatly to demoralize the
garrison and bring about the surrender of the
fortress. The fire was directed against the
arsenal, which was soon laid completely in ruins,
and against places which, through spies, the
Japanese had learnt contained bakeries, flour
mills, distilling plants, stores, &c. Their shells
ignited a powder magazine under Paijushan hill,
causing a tremendous explosion, and several
houses and stores broke into flames. The civilian
population, including about five hundred women
and children, had of course a very hard time, with
large shells flying about everywhere, bursting in
the streets and coming crashing through the roofs
or the walls of the houses, and it is marvellous
that so comparatively few of them were killed or
wounded ;
but the strain on the nerves from this
unceasing, pitiless bombardment was very great,
and reacted naturally on the minds of those who
were responsible for their welfare and safety.
Though the Japanese certainly never deliberately
fired on the hospitals in the town, it was im-
possible to avoid stray shots hitting these build-
ings, in some cases with grave consequences for
the inmates. So many of the houses in the town
had been destroyed, and so great was the number
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