Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1898-11-04
FIERCE NAVAL FIGHT
THE WYOMINe'S HEROIC BATTLE
WITH THE JAPANESE.

Commander McDugall Fought One OF the
Most Daring and Successful Engage
mentS In the History of Marine Warfare.
gling's oriental battle is an almost I'M
accorded chapter of our naval annals,
though it ranks even higher in point of
daring and success against overwhelm-
ing odds than the defeat of the Ala
bama by the Wyoming's sister ship, the
Kearsarge. But the Wyoming never
was in very great luck as a naval star.
She had her part throughout the civil
war in all the hardest of blockading and
cruising service, and fought well when
ever she had the chance, but she did
not have the luck of getting into the
papers. She was sent off at the same
time as the Kearsarge TO cruise for that
scourge of the seas, the Alabama, and
just missed her by the merest chance
ON two occasions in the China seas
1t was in 1868, toward the end of the
dual reign of the tycoon and the 1nika-
do, when Japan was IN the throes of
civil war, and the forces of the rebel
princes were resisting to the last the
passing of the old feudal system. The
from his tiny kingdom that fronted ON
the straits of Simonoseki he declared
himself lord paramount Of everything in
sight, including the neighboring seas,
from which he took generous toll as did
ever the pirate chiefs Of Tarifa. He
had laid violent hands and hot shot
upon the vessels of various powers, in.
Guiding Great Britain, France, the
Netherlands and the United States.
Meantime Prince Nagato throve and
hourished by the strait of Simonoseki,
and failing one day to wiring tribute CT
blackmail by any other means he fired
on the American merchantmen Penn
broke and killed couple of her crew.
There was another diplomatic protest of
the combined foreign representatives to
the japanese government, and Com
mander McDugall, who happened to be
i'll port with the Wyoming, suggested
that if the mikado could not take fall
cut OF his rebellious subject the Wyo-
ming could and would without much
urging. This struck the government as
good thing and an easy way out of the
international difficulty, so McDuga1
was given carte blanche to settle &C
counts with the Prince of Nagato in be-
half of all the powers concerned, and
he forthwith sailed away.
1t was the middle of July when the
Wyoming found herself i'll the strait
of SimOnoseki and i'll sight of the shore
batteries which We're IA part of the
princes defenscs to seaward. Before
she had time to open on the batteries
two japanese gunboats doomed up, one
ahead and one astern, in the narrow
strait, and presently third came cruis-
ing out from among the neighbOring is
lands. It was nasty place for fight,
being without charts or pi-
lots, and the odds were more than
enough for Nelson himself, being IS
guns of the three japanese vessels to the
26 of the old Wyoming, to say nothing
of the batteries on shore. There was
still chance TO run, barring some dan
ger of grounding in the narrow channels
among the islands, but the idea does not
seem 10 hare occurred to any one aboard
the frigate.
Working to windward of the nearest
japanese, the Wyoming opened at long
range and worked down on her till,
when close aboard, there was nothing of
the enemy left standing above decks.
The other two vessels had come up in
the meantime and engaged the Ameri-
can ON either side, but she lay TO and
gave them shot for shot, port and star
board, till her gunners were smoke
blind and the flame of the guns no lon
ger served to light the battlecloud that
rolled in white pillows over the smooth
waters of the strait. 1t was desperate
work in the shallow water, but the
was the best vessel, and she
outmaneuvered her two opponents from
start TO finish, though twice aground
and once afire, with as many men knock
I'd out from splinters and heat as from
the enemy's shot.
Fighting themselves out of one
smoke patch into another, the three COM
Jatants circled around like two crows
and a kingbird till they had drifted
Town in range of the shore batteries,
which gayly took a hand in the game.
But McDugall ran across the bows of
)ne of his enemies, raked her as he |
went and left her floating wreck, and |
hen turned his attention to the bat
cries The Wyoming's men rugged the |
smiths forge on deck and tossed hot |
hot into the works ashore till they set |
hem afire and the soldiers fed, and the |
)ther JapS ON the remaining cruiser, de- |
,iding enough was as good as 4 feast, |
their example.
So McDugall mended his rigging and |
patched his bulwarks, and meanwhile |
sent word TO the recalcitrant prince to |
,ome down and settle or he would sail |
inland and shell the royal palace about |
Is royal owners ears
The prince, who was no less discreet |
han Colonel Crockett's coon, came /
DOWN promptly. and of the resulting in |
lemnity $500, 600 fell TO the lot of the |
United States. 1t was many years be- |
ore this money got into the treasury of |
he United States, but meantime the |
tate department. had charge of it and |
lad invested it so well that there was
cry little short of 50, 600, 600 finally |
urned over TO the government, which, |