Wiju is situated about two miles South of the main stream of the Yalu, in the hollow of the hills over which runs a wall of light stone. A steep ridge separates the city from its port on the river, which is navigable as far as Tchang-cheng, a noted trading place sixty miles from the sea. The population of Wiju--“the stronghold of the West”--in ordinary times is twelve thousand, exclusive of one thousand Korean soldiers, whose chief business was to scrutinise all persons entering or leaving the Hermit Kingdom by the Mandarin road which passes through the city. Screened by cavalry whose lines stretched from Yongampo, near the mouth of the Yalu, through Wiju to a point some miles East of Suikochin on the upper stream, the Japanese infantry pressed forward toward the scene of their first battle. The Guards marched along the main road and were the first to enter Wiju. The Second Division came up on the West, while the Twelfth Division, armed with mountain guns, and composed of expert hill-fighters, continued to traverse the mountainous country on the East. On April 21st the concentration was completed. Almost every foot of the way was made under difficulties. So bad were the roads that the passage of one field gun rendered it necessary for the artillery to halt and repair the path for the next gun. Infantry as well as pioneers were employed in constructing roads from the Peninsula of Tyolsan. In some places the ground was very rocky, and involved much labour. Elsewhere morass and paddy field had to be spanned with timber. There are few districts in Korea that have not been denuded of forest, and wood is scarce. Fortunately, to the South of Wiju is an Imperial preserve known as White Horse Hill, the slopes of which gave a plentiful supply of timber. [Illustration: General View of the Russian Positions on the North Bank of the Yalu. (From a Japanese water colour sketch.)] When General Kuroki and his Staff arrived at Wiju and surveyed the valley of the Yalu from the temple on the North of the city they were filled with foreboding. To cross that network of rivers and attack an enemy of unknown strength entrenched in the hills beyond was a hazardous enterprise. At first glance it seemed hopeless. Even on a clear day field glasses were required to see the white walls of Chiu-lien-cheng. From the Temple to Conical Hill, North of the village, where the Russians had their artillery position, was a distance of six thousand mètres, and between these points were five or six deep and swift streams that must be bridged.