eye
view of Port Arthur from its top. On account of its advantageous
position, General Nogi and Admiral Togo chose the hill for the mausoleum
and monument which are built in memory of those who lost their lives.
There are two peaks; the mausoleum is situated on one, the monument on
the other. The monument, two hundred feet high, was in process of
construction when we saw it; stones raised from the sunken ships formed
the principal material in building it. On the opposite peak, with a
torii in front, as an indication of the Shinto faith, is the mausoleum,
where the remains of 22,183 officers and soldiers have been buried with
formal ceremonies. It is impossible to convey an idea of the
impressiveness of the scene as we stood on this hill, gazing out on a
landscape significant of war and carnage on every side.

After luncheon at the almost completed new hotel, we had the roughest
ride I have ever taken--a long distance to the outskirts in order to
view some of the ruined forts--first, to East Keekwan, the name of a
group of defence works. The main fort here was so well defended that it
was considered unassailable from any direction; it was also very
strongly protected. The assault began on the 18th of August; there was
very stubborn resistance, and many attacks were necessary before General
Stoessel, on January 1st, proposed to surrender. As the Russians
retreated, however, they blew the fort up with dynamite. A scene of
desolation greeted us in consequence, and it was almost impossible to
walk across the debris.

We next visited another prominent work belonging to this group, called
North Fort, the one we had studied at the Museum in the morning, with
its intricate system of tunnels. These latter represented two shafts,
three feet high and two feet wide, each forty feet long with four
trenches; eight mines had been laid, and these were exploded on the 18th
of December, blowing away the rampart in the northeast and seriously
damaging the interior. A desperate resistance followed, but the Russians
finally retreated, destroying a part of the fort before they left. We
also saw other defences, but had no time to study them, as a long rough
drive ensued, in order to reach 203-Metre Hill, the scene of the last
engagement.

[Illustration: _Tiger-Tail Promontory and Port Arthur during the
conflict_]

203-Metre Hill is the highest eminence of the whole fortified line,
about two and one-half miles from the new town. It command