The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-04-22
REPORT OF MARSHALL
TELLS OF THE OCCURRENCES AT
 CHEMULPo.
Plain Contradiction of Report Sent Out by the Russians Regard
 ing Action of the

WHSmn8tOn, Apfii zl.-~A rcpoft Dy mai fram Captain Marshall. commander of the vicksparg. giving an account of the engagement at Chemulpo between tho Japanese and Russian naval forces Feb ruary 3. was received by the navy de- partment today.
 After telling of the arrival of the Japa- ncse squadron and the landing of S.000 Jcpanese soldiers at Chemulpo. one-half of which number he said took possess sion of the town. the other half going to Seoul he says he was notified by Ad- fieet. that hostilities existed between Ja. pan and Russia. Admiral Uriu requested that in case the cruiser refused to leave port, that he C aptain MarshalD keep away from the
 scene of action in the port. so that no denger from the action would come to
 hIs ships. Captain Marshall says the uriel and the Korfetz moved at II 80 a.
 m. standing toward Yo-Dolimi Island.
 Captain Marshall gives the following .ac-
 count Of the action.
 At 11l50 a. m., we heard the report of the first gun, fired by the Japanase squadron. but it was not until ten minutes after that the second fire was heard, and by the report, from a heavy l gun, the projectiie striking in the water near the variag. From then on until l2:40 D. m., when the last shot was | fired by the Japanese, the engagement | continued. both Russian vessels moving | through limited space to the northwest and eastward of Yo-Doiimi and apparent l ly keeping that island as much as possi- | ble between them and their enemy. This | statement Is made only from by observa- 1 ton and as 1t appeared to me. A bout l 12:3o both Russian vessels headed In to- | wards their anchorage at full speed and as thev approached 1t was seen that 1 the variag had list to port and ap- 1 pered to be on fire aft on the port quart | CT. number of Japanese vessels were | In pursuit until about mile inside of 1 Yo-Dcfimi. but not firing as the foreign men of war were directly in line of fire l when they gave up the chase and rejoin- ed their squadron outside
 1 Captain MarNhall says that on learning l that there were number of wounded on l board of the variag. he sent medical | officer aboard to render assistance, aud | when 1t was reported that the Variag was | sinking, two of the cutters and the whale boat with boatswain in charge, assisted | in taking of her personnel. and putting
 them aboard the Talbot and Elba. Two | Russian engineer officers were taken
 aboard the Vicksburg and cared for for I some time. And adds Captain Mar-
 shall, lon my offering to have the Fa- | fro used as temporary quarters, they | were taken to the Eiba. where their | captain detained them and declined my ! offer with thanks"
 Continuing the captain reported. These
 two officers very freely stated that they themselves had opened valves in the en- | zine and fire rooms with the object or | sinking their vessel.
 The fire aft, he said,. continued to
 spread, burning fiercely until eane vesse
 rolled over and sank.
 The Korietz, Captain Marshall re- l ports, was not hit as far as he could l learn. .She held position between the
 vicksburg and the Zafiro until 10:2o
 D. m, during which interval she never
 attempted to lower a boat, or go to the | assistance of her consort, which anch-
 ored in shore, near Observation Island
 Spit, the report cites. Later, she was
 abandoned by her officers and men in their own boats. There were two dis tinct explosions, according to the re- | port, the shock of which was so strong as to lift the Vicksburg perceptibly, giving the impression on board that the forward magazine of that ship had
 exploded. Immediately afterward the report says the crew of the Chinese
 Mail steamer Russian fiag) set fire to her and abandoned her.
 | In conclusion Captain Marshall said:
 About 10 o'clock a. m. there seem- | ed to be some sort of conference talk
 ing place on board the Talbot, as was judged on seeing the frequent commun-
 ications by boat from the Variag. El-
 ba and Pascal with the Englishmen. 1 After the engagement the following
 semaphore signal from the Talbot to
 the Elba was read by our signal men:
 Your letter of protest was delivered on board the Japanese flagship a few min
 utes before the first shot was ired!"