The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1904-09-08

a. m. and the distance separating the
two forces was 5000 metres Inrnef3i-
atefy afterwards, we opel.cd IRE and
the enemy replied, the battle increasing
in severity every moment Our SQUAD
ron then formed the horizontal line of
the letter IT, against the vertical line
OF the Russian warships. which were
in single column formation. our war
ships repeatedly thwarted the enenay.s
advance and poured longitudinal fire
on the enemy's vessels, almost every
shell telling on the enemy The for1na-
ton of the letter IT, by the hostile
fleets was decidedly Improbable TO the
enemy, for while in this position only
the Rossia. which led the way, could
fire, the other two being screened from
our ships by the Rossia. while all of our
vessels were able to concentrate their
fire on the ship nearest to them. The
Russian squadron, therefore, changed
its course in order to extricate itself
from this unfortunate position This
time it was the Rurik which came near
est to our fleet, the distance now being
from 1000 to 5000 metres and she be-
came the focus of our fire. She was
slower than the other two ships in speed
and had fallen behind. The shells that
struck her We're so numerous that she
was for while concealed in black
smoke Shouts of banzais echoed and
re-echoed from our warships, where the
gunners We're maneuvering as if they
were at target practice The Rossia
and Gromoboi. taking a circular route.
returned to succour the Rurik. BY this
operation the Russian warships again
fell into the luckless position of the IT,
formation, and We're fiereely fired on
by our guns. At that time the Rurik
was not only set on fire but her steer
ing gear was also damaged. She tried
to steam ahead, but could do no more
than turn round and round. To make
the situation worse, the Gromoboi and
Rossia We're almost simultaneously set
on fire. The sparks famed by a strong
wind, flew furiously through the loop
holes of these two vessels, and the
smoke assembled and darkened the skies.
The terrible confusion was visible on
the Russian vessels, and the sight was
simply appalling. After a short time
the fires were put under control, but as
for the Rurik, she was gradually sink
ing by the stern, owing to a big hole
created by one of our shells, and the
hull had listed to the left. Still she
CALAMITY continued to fire, and the
about the unfortunate cruiser, and We're
by turns subjected to our concentrated
fire This operation continued for four
hours, and the range was so short that
our gunners seldom missed their aim
The Rossia was set on fire five or six
times, and the Gromoboi three or four
The Rurik had lost the efficiency of all
her guns except two, and her aftermast
was broken in two. At 8, the Rossia
and Gromoboi abandoned the Rurik,
and proceeded north at full speed.
Prior to this, the Naniwa and Ia
kachiho arrived on the scene. The
Rossia and Gromoboi having taken
flight. the Rurik was left with these
two Japanese warships, aad the Kami-
mura squadron gave chase to the two
former vessels. They were doubtless
badly damaged and in fact only two
or three guns on each WarShip cortin-
ued to fire, but strange to relate their
speed had by no means diminished.
Our squadron gave up the chase a.
1915 a. m. after steaming for more
than twenty nautical miles, and We're
returning south when at 1887 a. n.
report was received to the effect that
the Rurik had sunk and the survivors
We're being rescued.
Later il was learned that when our
armoured cruisers went in chase of the
Gromoboi and Rossia. the Rurik. APP
parently defying the Naniwa and Ia
kachiho, suddenly regained her activ-
ity and took the offensive, but was
again fiercely attacked by our ships.
Meanwhile the water rushed in from
the stern to the magazine room, and
her crew kept jumping overheard from
the upper deck. At length the Rus
slams FASTENED the sinking of the war
ship. The fact that they continued to
fire until the ship sank has earned the
admira ton of the japanese crews the
place of her sinking is about 40 miles
from Ulsan, Korea. The eyewitness OF
her sinking states that at first she sank
by the stern. but then suddenly leap
ed up in a vertical direction and was
engulfed in two minutes. On the dis
appearance of the vessel beneath the
water, a great number of hammocks
and other articles were found floating
on the sea. Cries for help were heard
from the Russian sailors who were
among the waves. The Ma
niwa and Takachiho despatched their
boats and saved COL Russians Zone or
whom died afterwards), and after
wards transhipped them to the four
armoured cruisers. More than one
third of the Russians were wounded.
The Captain and almost all the other
officers of the Rurik are missing.
When all the Russian survivors had /
been rescued. our squadron returned
to a certain base. The fact that an
cruiser of over 10000 tons !
was sunk by gun fire a
lone is regarded as an achievement |
worthy of attention in naval tactics
Japan Times.
-e$~
HOW TO AVOID THE DANGERS ,
De a COLD.-Everyone must realize |