The Washburn times. [volume] (Washburn, Wis.) 1896-1976, 1904-07-21
MAKAROfF'S HEROISM.
Exploits of Russian Admira!
Lost at Port Arthur.
BEST OF THE CzAR'S SEA FIGHTERS

guished Himself by Desperate Brav-
nous Throughout the World as an
Inventor of Naval Appliances.
Vice Admiral Stepan Osipovich Ma
karoff, commander of the Russian
fleet in the far east, who lost his life
at Port Arthur on a sinking battle
ship, was considered the best naval Of
ficer in the cars service, says the New
York Globe
His reputation for herOism and skill
dated back to the Russo-Turkish war.
At that time only lieutenant Maka-
rolf was given command of a small
merchantmen of 1000 tons, called the
Grand Duke Constantine. Around
this unprotected ship, which he con-
verted into his flagship, he gathered a
flotilla of small vessels, and with this
force he assaulted the Turkish iron
clads that were seeking shelter in the
harbor of Batoum, Sulina, Nikopolis
and Sukhum Kale.
Torpedo warfare was then in it's ele
mentary stage, and Makaroff had to
develop his own methods of attacking
ironclads with bombs. The torpedo
tube had not then been invented, and
the men Of Makaroff's squadron had
to row IN the night to the sides Of the
ho+
ing torpedoes to them. The firing
mechanism Of these torpedoes was de
signed by the then young lieutenant,
and many were the Turkish ships sent
to the bottom by them.
Night after night the men Of the
Grand Duke Constantine put out in
rowboats with the young lieutenant
himself In command, the oars mufded,
the torpedoes in tow. More often than
not the Turkish lookouts would detect
their approach and give the alarm,
and the batteries Of the whole fleet
would be directed against them. At
other times the little party would
make good its attempt to reach the
Turkish ironclads and would retire
after igniting the time fuses attached
to the torpedoes which they had fas-
tened to the ships sides.
One dark night two Of Makaroff's
boats attacked his own ship, the Grand
Duke Constantine, by mistake, and
were on the point of blowing her up
when he shouted to them to draw off.
Makaroff was we'll rewarded for his
desperate bravery and conspicuous
ability by the car. He was given the
cross Of st. George e. most priced Of
all Russian decoratons-a gold sword
: Of honor and the rank of captain. Aft
er that he was marked out for dis.
tinction and was rapidly promoted
through various important offices IN
til he commanded successfully the
Baltic, Mediterranean and Pacific
sQuadrons.
Makaroff was a member Of a dis
tinguished naval family, his father
having been flag captain. Through
out his long career he showed remark
able skill In the handling Of fleets
He was also famous In all the nav3ss
Of the world as an inventor Of naval
appliances, Of which at least a couple
Of dozen are now in use aboard Rus
sian warships.
Among these is his invention Of the
Ice breaker Yermak, used to keep open
the icebound ports of the Pacific and
the Siberian lake Baikal. In order to
test the value of this invention he
made two trips to the arctic circle in
the Yermak, trying her against the
eternal Ice Of the polar zone. That is
a good illustration of his character.
He left nothing to theory or chance.
Admiral Makaroff was commander
at Cronstadt, the Russian Gibraltar,
before he was ordered to the far east,
and had held that post for many years
Unlike many Russian naval officers, he
took the keenest interest In the well
fare OF the enlisted men and could be
approached by them with petitions and
grievances at any time. At Cronstadt
he used frequently to pay surprise
visits to the ships In port and eat
some Of the dinner served to the men,
in order to make sure that the pursers
and cooks were doing their duty.
In person Makaroff was tall, finely
built broad shouldered man, with
bushy gray beard and whiskers. He
looked ten years younger than his age,
which was flfty-six. His manner was
genial and friendly, whether he was
talking to an officer Of his own rank
or to an ordinary seaman.
Since his appointment to The COM
mand Of the Russian Pacific fleet
Makaroff had shown himself to be a
man of great courage and energy.
Early in March he personally went to
the rescue of a Russian torpedo boat
destroyer which was hard pressed by
the Japanese and inspired the naval
forces under his command with a
great deal Of enthusiasm. He passed
Easter on board a guardship at the
entrance of Port Arthur and every
night personally supervised the pre-
cautionary measures adopted to pre-
vent the Russians from being sur
prised by the Japanese.