The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1898-05-09

| flfe the Chinese quick-firing HotchlSiss
and MaXim-N ordenfelt 8 and pound
| ers joined in, and thence forward the
conflict was almost incessant Like
| ours, the enemy's first shots fell short;
| but with an eXultant chuckle we noted
| that shot from one of our 12-inch
| guns had struck one of the Japanese
| leading ships The bridge of the Chen
| 9uen, although some thirty feet above
| the water, was very soon soaked. as
| was, indeed, the entire exposed sur
| race on the engaged side, although
| Thrown up by line shots that ucls the
| water a little short. Many of the men
| at the guns on deck were wet through
and indeed the water flung on board
| with such violence as to sting the face
ana hands like hail. Every on in the
coming tower had his cars stopr ed
| with cotton, yet the din made by pro-
| Jectlles rafting up against the outside
| OK ITS l0-inch armor was a serious an
| noyance.
| During this early part of the engage
| merit the Chinese fleet as a whole kept
their indented line, and preserved i'll
| tervals fairly well, steaming at about
| six krots-the Chao Yung and Yang
| we! Being still out of station on the ex-
TT s1ne right. The Tsi Yuen, with her
fai It hearted commander, Fong. had
| bolted very soon after the enemy had
orened fire. AT 1916 we saw 4his yes
sci about three miles astern on our
stalht ard quarter, heading southwest
| toward Port Arthur. She was followed
by string of Chinese anathemas from
our men at the guns. She reached Port
/
hours in advance of the fleet, spread
ing there a wild tale that we had been
4 overwhelmed by the vast Japanese
| armada, etc Upon our arrival Cap
tain Fong claimed that his entire bat
| terry had early been disabled and that
| he had been obliged to run to save his
defenseless ship, But upon an examina-
ton of his battery by a detail of line
and engineer officers, it was found in
! perfect working order, excepting the g.
| inch stern chaser-the one projectie
which struck his ship having passed
| beneath the trunnions, lifting the gun
from its seat. But this shot had enter
ed from the stern, having evidently
been received after the retreat had be-
gun-administered, it would seem, as a
contemptuous parting kick from the en-
| envy. Captain Fong's outrageous ex-
ample was at once followed by the
commander of the Kwan CHA, whose
| courage was scarcely exceeded by his
knowledge of navigation, for about
midnight he ran upon reef outside Of
Ta-LienW Wan, which he said was a
most unaccountable mishap, as he had
laid his course lin hundred-mie rum
| ito clear it by one and a half miles!
his vessel had not been struck at all,
but some days later was blown up by
her crew upon the approach of some
Japanese vessels. Our force had thus
early been reduced to eight vessels.
AS the Japanese fleet approached it
steamed along our front from left to
right, at perhaps double our speed and
each vessel thus could exchange shots
with each of ours in turn. The Japan
csc Principal Squadron kept at closer
range, upon the whole, than did the
Flying Squadron. The latter upon
reaching our right flank turned 1t and
poured in heavy cross-fire on the ex-
IRENE wing, the Chao Yung and Yang
Wei receiving the most of it. From
the first these two old fashioned cruis-
ers were doomed. Two passageways
in each superstructure connected the
bow and stern 10-inch guns, on the out
board side Of each being officers quar-
tiers, etc, the partitions and bulkheads
being of wood highly vanished and
oiled. The vessels were early set on fire,
and the draught down these passage
ways at once turned them into alleys of
roaring flame. The machine guns over
head We're thus rendered useless, the
deck being untenable, and the bow
and stern guns were Isolated from each
other and from their magazines. AS a
forlorn hope, the Inflated vessels made
for the nearest land The japanese
armed transport Sail1io, seeing their
plight and intention, made for them;
whereupon the Chinese iron clads fired
a few shots at her at long range, MAX
ing fair practice; for, according to
| Japanese report she received at least
four 30,5 centmeter projectiles. Then
the Ping Yuen and Kwang Ping, with
the two torpedo boats that had been
inside the Yalu river at the beginning of
the engagement, came UP and headed
for her, and her amiable intentions to-
ward the burning vessels were frus-
trated
BY this time the Flying Squadron
had altered course sixteen points Csc
| degrees) to port, and was returning,
evidently to succor the Akagi, which
was in a slight plight, having pluckily
engaged us at pretty close range, and
was now steering wildly, her mainmast
gone, her commander and consider
| able number of her crew killed and her
battery disabled.
We had now (about 2 p. n.y. six YES
sells, viz: the Ting Yuen, Chen Yuen
King Yuen, the Ping Yuen and Kwang
Ping not having Joined us. The flag
ship Matsushima, leading the Principal
Squadron, had now reached our right
wing, and, Ranking it. steamed down
again on the opposite course. The
Hiyei, the last of the Principal Squad
ron was now almost ahead of the Ting
Yuen having been engaged by the Chih
Yuen on our flagship's left. Her dis
lance from her next in line ahead was
increasing, and her captain, presum-
ably seeing that his slow old ship could
not keep up with the rest, and, being
already on fire, fearing to continue on
and receive the fire of both iron-clads
and of the King Yuen, Lai Yuen and
Ching Yuen, boldly decided to make a
| short cut between the two iron-clads
and rejoin his comrades on the other
side. This was splendidly done.
AS his ship passed between our two
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