Away beyond the river plain rose the bare and silent hills, in the shadow of which slumbered the village of Chiu-lien-cheng with its tiled houses and walls of light stone. Only when you looked very closely could you discover signs of the impending conflict. Among the shrub near the island lurked dark forms denoting men and howitzers; behind the charred ruins of houses on Temple island lay more dark figures; they filled the dongas, the trenches and the broken ground. The stillness was uncanny and the question rose to every lip: “Have the Russians fled?” The moments crept on and still our eyes and ears sought some sign of the presence of the enemy. A few scouts were sent forward and were not fired upon. Was it the design of the enemy to draw the Japanese across the river and fall upon them unexpectant? If that was their hope it was destined to fall. At last the silence was broken by field gun and howitzer, but it was from the Japanese side. The batteries posted under Tiger Hill and the howitzers on the South island sent their shells screaming through the air to the heights beyond the river. Shot after shot was fired, yet drew forth no response save the echo of their reverberation among the mountains. Surely the enemy had retired, and the order to advance would be given. But the Japanese were not lured into recklessness. The bombardment went on systematically. The foothills in front of the Russian position have many spurs and ravines. To the slopes East of Chiu-lien-cheng was turned the fire of thirty-six guns from Tiger Hill while the howitzers bombarded the heights above the position. Every nook and cranny was searched again and again; the slopes obverse and reverse were rent with common shell and rained upon with shrapnel; and the crests spurted flame and smoke. To anyone without experience of shell-fire and its effects it must have seemed that nothing could live in such a hell. For more than an hour--from half-past five until nearly seven o’clock--the hills were ransacked for sign of the enemy, but not a sound came back. The order for the general attack was given and from the plain rose the small sturdy figures of the Japanese infantry. Their dark blue uniform showed up against the sand and bush. What targets they were for gun and rifle! Surely the Russians must sleep or have gone upon a journey! The line extended Eastward from beyond Chiu-lien-cheng, nearly ten miles, with a front of six miles, and the right flank--four miles long--thrown forward. You saw the skirmishers advancing steadily in open order and behind them the fighting line with the reserves well under cover in the rear. Near to the left flank a little to the East of Conical Hill the troops were in echelon column of company and began to deploy only as they approached rifle range. On the left the formation was much closer than experience in South Africa would have led us to adopt, but the Japanese had no faith in what it pleased them to call “Boer tactics.”