The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-06-09
ADMIRAL ITO's STORY.
Scenes in Japan's Naval Battles Wv
idly Described.

I sionss benevolent even 10 MS roe sucn Il
Admiral Ito. the commander OF the Jap
anese fleet In the China-Japan war.
| When interviewed at Hiroshima by a
| reporter about the naval battles. he gave a
| free bent to his eloquence and described
| some Of his most trying experiences OF
the war. and proceeded as follows;
During the war. there were many In
| stances which caused me great anxiety and
mental agony, but that which was most
| trying TO me (and even now its memory
makes me shudder) was when command
ed my torpedo boats to attack the China s
fleet in the harbor Of wei-Hai-wei one of
the most formidable strongohlds in China:
1T is a common and well accepted say
ing in Japan. that ito go TO war is TO 90 to
death" but how trying and agonizing is
it to one who has to command to his be-
loved comrades the cruel mandate: Go to
death However, /. cOnquering my mental
weakness and being stimulated by the
sense of duty TO my country, did command
it. Captain Mochihara, the commander of
my torpedo fleet. and his marines, joy
fully and valiantly accepted the command.
/ merely commanded Co and they simply
lence Teigned and amid this depressing
quietness. we exchanged cups of sah Jap
anese wine fermented from rice)and drunk
one another's healths. When afterward I
learned how determined the captain was
on the occasion, could not stop tears
gushing to my eyes"
At this point. the commanding features
of the admiral assumed for the time being.
a melancholy air. which feeling was APP
parently recalled by the memory of the
event. but which soon vanished; and after
a short repose, he further proceeded with
his narrative:
"On the night previous to this inciden.,
a few of my torpedo boats stole into the
harbor at the dead Of night and blew up
that formidable battleship, Tuig Yuen;
and that night we had to expect that tho
enemy was on the alert and fully prepared
TO meet our second attack.
"To steal into the harbor through the
narrow passage, cut open by band ri
my vigilant marines on the second pre-
vious night, of the floating barricade
stretched across the entrance of the har-
Dor and well covered by the guns Of he
fortress, was itself a dangerous attempt.
Moreover. to face quick-firing guns of
the enemy's fortress, as well as those OF
the fleet surely meant destruction to any
light skipping torpedo boats. Death was
staring in the faces of those who had 20
PERFORM TINS caring leaI.
Capt. Mochihara having been fully
aware of his situation. he left behind,
without any instruction, my command
ment, the secret signal code, the secret
chart. and other important documents.
which, If captured, were very useful TO
the enemy and greatly Instantaneous
to my side. He then addressed his ma
rines thus Ninety-nine chances out of
100. nay, ten chances out of ten, in suca
n tEra a dnorraaI IN
Our torpedo boats and our bodies are not
longer ours. but the enemys. The com
pick signal codes are of no avail to us any
longer; Ito the right" or Ito the left
are all the signals we now stand In need
of; all we have TO take along with us is
a signal lamp
Rig your boats, oh, my beloved com
fieet Sacrifice your lives and CALAMITY
perform your duty that you owe TO your
majesty. the Mikado and to your coun-
tryr
Such" the admiral added, with great
emphasis, ut is the true valor ana the
true spirit of soldiership Of the sons of
the Empire Of the Rising Sun"
This spirit was displayed by my ma
rines not In this instance only but at the
battle of the Yalu also, nay, throughout
the whole length and breadth of the war.
Even at the thickest of the fire at the
decisive battle of the Yalu. the marines
complacently performed their part as
though we had no fear of the war; but
rather relished It, They went so far as
to crack Jokes with one another while the
battle was raging; for instance. a ma
rine after having discharged his gun, call
ed out to his comrades, Look here! Look
at that vessel which my shot has Just
struck, and see what a terrible damage II
has done her. Where? Where?" uueriod
4. l. ILL.,
when the joker slapped his face and said
"Theret" ended in laughter ringing
throughout the vessel
an the midst of this jolly crowd, 1t was
/ only who was burdened with anxiety As
the flagship of which I was aboard always
took the lead of the whole fleet, and oc-
cupied, during an engagement, a COM
handing position, she was, in most in
stances, exposed TO the enemys fire But
the safety of myself and of my vessel was
not so much the cause of my anxiety as
that of other vessels of my fleet. I often
wished that other vessels were out of my
sight Every little incident taking place
on any vessel of my feet was visible from
the flagship, especially a she'll when it
struck her and burst shrouding her for a
time being in dark cloud of smoke. That
short interval, being uncertain of her fate,
was the moment of my great anxiety and
worry. Quicker than thought, she reap
peared amid dispensing smoke proudly rid
ing over rolling waves. This very sight was
my indescribable JOY. l was transported
with ecstasy on the morning of the 2nd of
February, when 1 saw all of my torpedo
boats safely and valiantly cutting through
tho turbulent sea near Wei-Hai-Wei.
ION the last day of January and the
day after a hurricane ragged over the sea,
and savage waves rolled about and dashed
against my vessels. The weather was in
tensely cold, and splashes of dashing
waves soon turned a rope into a cable:
and their decks having been covered over
with ice, were so slippery that to walk
on them with shoes on became impossible,
and had 1t not been for our Korean san
dals, no work would have been done on
deck at all
MY entire feet CALAMITY stood out,
Notwithstanding, fully prepared for inn
mediate action, battling against the wea-
Their and the sea, lest the enemy's feet
would attempt escape, taking ADVANTAGE
of the heavy sea, until l realized that to
be out any longer would result in an IT.
reparable loss to my country. and at
last made Roadway to the Gulf of Yeiio
Immediately after my vessels had an
chored there. the admiral of the English
squadron sent an officer to congra tulatc
me on the safety of my vessels. and in
quiring the whereabouts of my gunboats