Waterbury Evening Democrat

A MORE SERIOUS BLOW

St. Petersburg Fears Loss of the Rest of Her Army

--Tie Pass Captured by the Japanese at Midnight

-Belief That the Russians Are Cut Off From the North and If They Are Kuropatkin Is Beaten.

St. Petersburg, March 16.--The news from the front is again very serious. Field Marshal Oyama is striking another blow at the defeated Russian army. In spite of the exhaustion of his forces after the long twelve day struggle for Mukden, he has been able to organize a fresh turning movement in the hope of completing the victory won under the walls of Mukden.

Tuesday's attack upon the Russian advance line at the Fan river, it is now evident, was only a feint while Japanese columns were being worked around to get in position to fall upon the Russian rear, and yesterday the blow was struck, a dispatch to the Associated Press from Santoupu bringing to St. Petersburg the first word that a battle was in progress north of Tie pass.

That General Kuropatkin was taken by surprise is a fair inference from the manner in which on Tuesday night he abandoned the Fan river positions, leaving so hurriedly that he again was obliged to burn his stores to prevent them from falling into the hands of the Japanese.

It is evident the Japanese struck in from west of the Liao river. Tie pass is practically the gate where the mountains and Liao river meet, and it commands the whole country northward. With the Japanese in behind the Russian army at Tie pass, General Kuropatkin's position is extremely critical.

Once the Japanese are across his rear in force Kuropatkin would have to cut his way out or surrender.

Japs Communicate by Kite.

The Japanese recently flew a large kite into the Russian lines. The kite was covered with photographs showing the treatment of Russian prisoners in Japan. It was evidently intended to attract the Russian soldiers.

Dispatches from General Kuropatkin to the czar report that the Japanese have attacked the central Russian positions on the Fan river, which is ten miles south of Tie pass, and were repulsed, leaving 1,000 dead on the field.

The magnificent brigade of Caucasian Cossacks who bore the brunt of the fighting at Mukden were practically annihilated. Only two of the officers survive. All belonged to the St. Petersburg nobility, and hence many of the highest families in Russia are in mourning.

Generals Bilderling, Linevitch and Kaulbars have reached Tieling with a large number of troops in good order.

A Harbin report says that General Kuropatkin has only 100,000 troops organized and able to take the field. He does not believe it will be possible to remain at Tieling and prefers to intrench himself at Harbin, where he could keep in touch with Vladivostok.

Captain W. V. Judson and Colonel V. Havard, United States army attaches to the Russian forces in Manchuria, who were captured by the Japanese at Mukden, have reported that they were captured, but are safe and well within the Japanese lines. The whereabouts of Major M. M. Macombe of the artillery corps, the third of the military attaches of the United States army with Kuropatkin, is not known. It is presumed that he was not in Mukden at the time of the capture of the city.