, 1886-04-03
GLOWING up 4 TuaNsH MoMroa


An Account OF the AFFAIR from the Lips OF
One OF the Russian omcers.
The following account of the affulI was
written by q contributor TO The Figaro,
who heard II from the lips Of one Ct thJ
Russian officers ordered to perform The
service; t rigH
My new acquaintance seemed suddenly
to have fallen into a reflective MOOD, "A
mood | attributed to too much cham
payne, arl lsr. 4.
And do these torpedoes Interest you
very much he inquired, niter Il short ST.
lence.
They are n mysterious and terrible
weapon, and must interest everybody who
knows anything Of naval lfiiirs,H said /.
@Well, can tell you more about them
thnn anybody else.p And without waiting
for my answer he continued; "You have
heard OF the use that was made Of tor
pcdoes during the Turco-Russinn war; /
was the oldce who blow up the Turkish
monitor" Mt the same time liking his deep
blue eyes upon me, US II to rcad my
thought at this confession.
~The Turkish monitors were anchored
In the bend Of the Danube early in Maj.
Our fleet had been stationed below to
watch it. We were hidden from each
other, but on the 25th il was discovered
that the Hisezi Rahman was getting up
steam preparatory TO leaving her position,
after which we kepta more careful watch
upon her. Maneuvering wns difficult
there, with ~sandbanks ON every side, and
we were afraid of being taken by surprise.
We expected an attack from the Turks,
they being IN much stronger force and bet
ter armed than we. but did not receive it,
whereupon we resolved to test our torpe-
I.au tfpnp thar nnnpfFar vrna nr1arad
to take command of the boat that was to
undertake. the expedition. At hat time
torpedoes were not the arm which you
know to-day. II was much more simple,
but a great deal more uncomfortable to
handle. We had to place it under the
ship and light il. / started out in the
darkness an hour after midnight, sur
rounded by vast plains and in the silence
of sleeping nature. My men | could rely
upon; they were brave, resolute and full
OF hope. The enterprise, however, wa to
be n most difficult one, and as u COM
mandcr shook my hand at parting he COM
mended me to the grace Of God We must
succeed or die in the attempt. Should
the Turks discover us there was no escape.
at was to be a trial which, If successful
would revolutionize the navy. loved my
profession and / would do my duty. The
piih NtAt tiNtiUlfA III ANAAf VIZ AhhAt AJ
noise. advancing with exceeding caution.
At last the Turkish squadron appeared to
view. The admirnl's ship, the monitor,
lay in the front line. Her enormous form
was Swallowed in the calm water before us.
| chose her for my trial. We approached
her without the noise Of a ripping wave.
The lights were few; that was careless in
theml My men rowed silently on. Now
Now we were within twenty yards and
had not been observed. We gained the
side of the vessel. As l placed the torpedo
under her | was filed with delirious Joy.
I felt like shouting Take careP The peril
Gus task had been performed The sailors
bcnt to their oars; with a few vigorous
strokes we were out of harm's way. But
soon a sudden cry from the ship pierced
the midnight air. The guards were madly
running up and down the decks shouting
in Turkish 'Torpedoesl torpedoeslp
~The Turks had but a vague Idea OF
what this fearful engine Of death could do,
but so parnlyzed with alarm had the Off
GERS become thnt our boat, not n ships
cable distant, was allowed TO glide out Of
range without a shot. When far enough
away to avoid the danger Of being en-
Quilted, | applied the electric current. An
instant more and n volcanic explosion rent
the air; an inhuman, despairing cry rose
to heaven; the vessel parted, and ship,
officers, and crew were swallowed up in
the believing abyssi That, sir, was the
first experiment made with the torpedo
said the officer, passing his hand abstract
eddy across his brow.
1t must ave been a terrible scene to
witness" said I. Were there many on
boardsr
"How can l know that. - said he, rather
impatiently, Destruction and death are
inevitable in war; but not such destruc-
ton and death as that, you sayi I say the
same, sir Good-night-Exchange