Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-07-16
A RUSSIAN HERO.

Stories Of Commodore skridlo6-How He
Fooled British Captain.
From the Figaro
1t Is scarcely known even in Paris that Il was
Commodore skridioff who was selected 70 &C.
company Admiral Gervais at the time Of the re-
ception at Cronstadt, and consequently the
high honor which Emperor Alexander paid to
his French hosts by this selection remained al
most a secret.
Nicolas larionovitch Skridloff, now forty
eight years old. is on the point OF becoming
rear admiral. His past history is glorious He
wears upon his breast the cross OF ST. George.
the highest order that can be conferred in
Russia, for an act of daring bravery which sig
naiized his debut in the war of 1877 between
Russia and Turkey. The Russian army was
preparing to cross the Danube on pontoont
when two Turkish monitors appeared. Young
Lieut.. Skridloff was selected to oppose the nd.
vance Of the Turkish vessels with six sailors and
his friend. the painter Verestchagin, Who in.
sisted upon going with him. Skridloff boarded
the pleasure yacht OF the late emperor. the
Schutka, and prepared to put torpedoes under
the monitors.
Let us take glass of sherry" said he &c
Nerestchagin. when the Yacht moved out; 81,
will doubtless be our last
The Turks we're astounded at the approach al
the little craft and sent perfect shower of sho,
AZ 1t; but, fearing to be blown to pieces the,
quickly steamed back, leaving the Russians tc
cross the river unmolested. The Schu,ka. hav.
ing accomplished her mission. brought bacL
Lieut.. Skr1dion with four serious wounds lie
was the irst man wounded in the campaign.
| This oct Of bravery won for the Young man 4
rapid promotion. In 1887 he was captain o.
the Strelok, war ship of 1900 tons. He wa,
cruising In the Atlantic during the Afghenistau
difficulty. II will be remembered that the
Russian General Komaroff fortified the STRAIT
egie line OF the river kouschka, thus threaten
| ing the English in India A war rumor passed
over Europe. The English government in.
stracted the ambassador at St. Petersburg to
obtain from the ear a refusal TO sanction the
action of Komaroff, under penalty Of n rup-
ture OF all amioable negotiations. Alexander
III was not intimidated, and his bold reply was
that komaroff had acted under his orders.
Everybody expected declaration of war.
Charged with a secret mission for the United
States. Skridlof was followed by an English
vessel of tonnage double the size of that OF his
cruiser. and the big Britisher was commanded
by Capt. Hand.
When anchored in the harbor of Newpor,
Skridloff resolved to escape from the English
man, and this is the way he managed IT. Il was
Saturday. and a performance was to take place
AT the theater in the evening In the afternoon
Skridloff ordered all the linen of his sailors 70
be hung out on the yardarms, as is the custom
on wash days. He himself went ashore and
proceeded To the theater. accompanied by Q
number Of his officers At the close Of the per
Torrance he invited the actresses and Capt
Hand to supper. The invitation was accented
Toward midnight, leaving his cap and parade
saber in view, he made an excuse for a tenn
porary absence from the dining room. But he
didn't come back. He quickly boarded his YES
sci, weighed anchor and escaped, and Capt.
Hand was afterward court-msrfialed