Among the high officials at Port Arthur, Colonel Reiss, Commander of
the Ordnance Service, stood out alone. He was the only officer, not
excepting General Stoessel himself, who seemed to realize the gravity
of the whole situation. In long chats which I had with him, he more
than hinted at the lamentable state of his ammunition. Once I asked
him why these conditions were not changed and he said:
"The Little Father (the Czar) is far away,"--he shrugged expressively.
Officers told me that tons and tons of ammunition bags did not contain
full weight. Whole ammunition trucks had only a double layer of
powder bags on top, the rest containing sand bags to be used only for
bastions and escarpions, the money flowing into the pockets of the
army contractors. I met General Stoessel at the Casino twice, and
neither time did he impress me as a military genius. A soldier of the
Buller type, he was bluff, hearty, courageous and stupid. His florid
bearded face, thick-set figure and his deep guttural growls reminded
me of a Boer _Dopper_.
Among all the Russians I met at Port Arthur, the most interesting
figure was to me the great battle painter Verestshagin. I am proud to
be able to say that he called me "friend." I happened to be of some
assistance to him in alleviating an attack of malaria. This, with a
similar taste in the arts and literature, soon put us on a friendly
and intimate footing.
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