The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1900-12-16

ON the declaration OF war by France
three weeks before. these had been de-
,scbed from the Pacific squadron with
orders to engage a French fleet known TO
h. somewhere between Australia and New
zealand. only waiting the inevitable COM
uencing of hostilities to swoop down upon
the defenseless colonies.
Nor had they far TO seek the foe; for at
sunrise one morning. in the Coral sea,
a line OF smoke was seen far away on
The port bow. The course was changed a
point or two, and gradually out of the
distance rose ship after ship till ten were
ecuntcd-great battleships. cruisers and
qunboats; two to each Of the British. Yet
when the tricolor was distinguished and
"Ciear for action was signaled, a great
cheer Of triumph went up from each of
the British.
But the Frenchmen had no taste for
a general action. though the odds were
all in their favor. Suddenly shifting their
course they turned and ran to the south
east. A stern chase is a long chase even
In these days of steam; and though the
slower of the British ships applied the last
possible ounce OF pressure under forced
draught, the foe made the best of the good
start.
All day the chase lasted, and towards
sunset the sandy coast line OF New Gale
donia stretched before the pursued, yet
never a shot had been fired. Then, in an
swer 10 a signal from the flagship. the two
destroyers. "Nimble'' and 'Tracker,"
forged ahead of their slower consorts and
attacked the last of the great French bat
tleships.
Round and round the ponderous giant cir
cled its two tiny ~tormentors, as it strove
10 beat them off with its heavy guns, one
shot from which would have sent either
10 the bottom like a stone. Unscathed the
destroyers passed through the rain of fire
their speed and size defying the vaunted
gunners of France. as they scattered dead
" torpedoes around the bulky foe.
Encountered by torpedoe nets. hurriedly
run out under a hail OF bullets from the
destroyers' machine guns, the movements
of the great battleship became still slower,
ana the two small vessels opened fire with
their four-inch guns. Shot after shot found
its mark and soon the enemy, blazing in
half a dozen places and abandoned by her
comrades now safe under cover of the bat
teries at Noumea, was driven ashore, a
total wreck; her crew escaping in their
boats.
So far the victory rested with the British,
but the French fleet had escaped. with the
loss of a battleship, certainly; still it lay
safe in the harbor, protected by the two
formidable forts on either side of the en-
trance.
To enter the harbor and force an engage
ment under the heavy guns of the shore
batteries was out of the question. so to
reduce these our admiral set to work. Day
after day the ships circled round within
two miles of the shore, firing steadily with
their heavier guns at the great earth
works. Clouds of dust and great masses
OF earth flew into the air as shot after shot
took effect. greeted by ringing cheers at
first. till the sight grew so common that
the British tars learnt to regard 1T as a
natural consequence of their shooting, and
only an angry growl was heard when a
shot fell short or went wide of the mark.
For all the reply our fire drew, the bat
teries might have been abandoned. Not
a gun was visible, and only when one of
the more venturesome of the smaller craft
stole closer in was it that the tornado Of
heavy shot and shell which welcomed it
toN0 AtAAN bAAoN Nv nCIC dl
their posts and alert.
Such damage as was done in the day was
more than made good by an army of ma
tives and cOnvicts forced to work at night.
despite an occasional shell dropped in
their midst by the help of a -searchlight.
Our admiral was not the man to throw
away his ammunition or to wear his sea-
men out with unnecessary labor, so be-
Voud such chnoffpU aS uaS naaaScory. 70
keep them in practice, the boHbardment
ceased and the fleet settled down to a
blockade.
Hardly was the investing line drawn out
of gunfre when columns of smoke. NOV
ing over the winding channel betrayed a
movement on the part of the foe. Ex-
pectation ran high as our seamen stood to
their guns. and the ships drew off the
shore in the hope of enticing the French
man from the shelter of his batteries. But
o. action there was little. for after ex-
changing a few shots the foe once more
retired to the security of the harbor.
Day by day these tactics were repeated,
with the sole object of wearing the British
out by the state of tension in which they
lived. and exhausting their coal supply,
now rapidly decreasing under the con-
slant necessity of keeping up full steam.
Such was the state of affairs on the
evening of the nineteenth day of the block
ade. Lazily ships rolled in the heavy swell
as officers and men gasped in the heat and
icnged for sunset. with its cool 'offshore
breeze. the only respite OF the four and
twenty hours.
Listlessly in that idle hour the same
everlasting topics were discussed by the
men weary OF waiting and worn with
watching. yearning for action. action OF
any sort Would the foe come out and
tght. or would the admiral run the. gaunt-
let OF the terrible batteries and attack the
Frenchmen where they lay, before his coal
vas exhausted? Or. dreadful prospect.
would the fleet abandon the blockade and
run to Sydney to recoal? Something must
b done. and that quickly, too; or the
coalless fleet would lie completely at the
mercy OF its powerful opponent
Suddenly listlessness gave way TO keen
excitement. and the low murrner OF sleepy
conversation ceased. Men sprang TO their
feet. swarming to ship side and mounting
every coigu If VANTAGE from which "A view