San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1894-10-20
YALU RIVER BATTLE.
FULL REPORT OF THE ENGAGE
MBNT.
The Japanese Had Hard Contested
Victory With Considerable
Loss of Life.

SAN FRANCISCO, October 2O.-A
special letter to the Associated
Press from Yokohama gives fur
ther details of the battle of Yalu
river. 1t says the Japanese ad-
miral Ito, at the mouth of the
Daido river, was advised Of the ap-
proach Of the Chinese fleet and
transports, and set sail with all the
men-of-war that could be imme-
diately summoned, the MatZuhima,
(flagship) Hashite, Itsukuohima,
Tashino, Tackachiho, Akitshima,
Naniwa, Chyoda, Fuse, Akagi and
Hinyei. Accompanying those was
the Saikio, a merchant steamer,
which would not have joined the
expedition but for the desire of
Admiral Viscount Kebayama,
naval chief of staff, who could not
resist the temptation to witness
the engagement. Between II and
l o'clock fourteen Chinese ships
and six torpedo boats were discov-
cred, the Ting Ynen, flagship
Chen Yuen, Lai Yuen, King Yuen,
Ching Yuen, Chichi Yuen, Hig
Yuen, Chao Yuen, Yang Fl, Kwong
Kak, Wei Yuen, Kwang Ping, and
two others, names still unknown.
or these the first sixcarried Krupp
guns Of thirty, fifteen centimetres
and twenty-one centremetres and
the next two 2 ton Armstrong;.
They commenced firing at
1000 meters distance. The Jap
anese were the first to dis
charge until another thousand
meters had been covered. Serious
fighting between the Chinese right
and the Japanese left ensued, the
flagships leading the onslaught.
By 10 o'clock the contest was gen.
eral. Both lines maintained their
positions for an hour, when the
Chinese showed signs of wavering
and three ships sunk, one after an
other, the crews climbing into the
rigging and signaling wildly for
help. These were the Lai Yuen, Chi
Yuen and Chat Yuen. AS soon as
they were disposed OF the Japanese
ships directed their assault against
the immense German built vessels
at the head of the Chinese column
for a long time without effect on
the heavy steel plates which pro-
tected them. At last lucky
shell struck the Ting Yuen a
little above the water and seemed
to pierce the armor through and
through. A black body of smoke
rising from the flagship told that
she had been set on fire and re-
manned burning up to the hour of
her hasty departure. Whatever
her condition was, she succeeded
in inflicting heavy punishment up
on her chief adversary, the MatSu-
hima, which was struck by two r.
inch shells, which upset one gun
and exploded the ammunition box,
dealing dreadful havoc among the
crew and setting her afire,
which was subdued only with
great difficulty. The Matshu
shima withdrew, Admiral Ito
transferring his flag to the
Hoshidate. Meanwhile three
other Japanese vessels underwent
extremely rough treatment. The
Saikio lost control of her rudder,
in much closer proximity than de.
sirable to the Fling Yuen and Chen
Yuen. AS she could not avoid
them, she made directly for them.
In the belief that she was about to
ram them, the two huge ships sep
arated, allowing the Saikio a pas.
sage through which to escape.
Torpedos were discharged at her
without avail. Hinyei was de-
luged with missiles and was set on
fire. When she lost twenty killed
and three wounded, she fell out Of
line, but meeting a transport, OBJ
tanned assistance in quenching the
flames and handed over the wound
ed and returned, with all speed, to
take up her work where she left
of.
In this she was disappointed,
for the enemy had flown. The
Akagi, a small gun boat, was bad
ly overmatched, the commander
killed and lost her mast, which
rendered her unmanageable and
she was found not fit to withdraw.
About the time Admiral Ito left
the Matsushima, disorder in the
Chinese fleet indicated the contest
would not be prolonged. Three
ships had been sunk and the fourth,
the Yang Wei, was half destroyed
and abandoned; the Ting Yuen on
fire and the entire force was en-
tirely demoralized. A little later,
after o'clock, the flagship took
tho Load in the retreat toward Soma