The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1904-03-20

who was standing on the bridge was in
stantly killed.
Another larga projectie struck close to
the after magazine, setting the ship aire.
Altogether ten large projectiles hit the
Variag and at fully a dozen places on the
ships sides were spots ten or a dozen feet
in diameter that were riddled with frag-
ments of the shells and shrapnel till the
steel plates presented the appearance of
a sieve
The Korietz was untouched The Jap
anese admiral evidently directed his at
tention to the faster Variag, using his
long range great guns to disable her,
keeping well away from Korietzs S-inch
guns and depending on his ability to sink
or capture her after disposing of the Va
RAG.
AbIaze and Helpless.
The variag. after less than an hours
fighting, in the midst of the rain of shot
and shell poured into her from the Japan
csc ships, had not a gun left which could
be worked two of her boilers were use
less and her engines could be worked only
with difficulty She was ablaze aft near
the magazine. and on her decks lay 100
officers and men, dead and dying out of
her total complement of $40 men. She
listed heavily to port as she turned back
into the harbor, moving to the anchorage
at about eight knots speed. She was fol-
lowed by the Korietz and they both an
chored under the protection of the neu-
trail war ships, a mile and a half from the
shore.
The Japanese fleet did not pursue, but
remained outside Round Island at the
inner harbor entrance 1t is said that not
one of the Japanese ships had been hit.
though the distance at which they fought
was only 5000 yards. If this be true, it
must be attributable to the condition of
the Variags battery or the port guns be-
ing put out of action in the first five min
utes by the heavy list due to the thrush
of water on that side, and to the deranged
plane of fire of the starboard battery
Firing began at two minutes past noon
and lasted exactly fifty minutes.
Decides to Destroy.
After anchoring the fire aboarg the Va
RAG was extinguished and the command
ers of the two ships held a consultation,
resulting in the sending of a note from
the senior officer aboard the Variag to
Consul Polianowsky al Chemulpo, stating
that the condition of the Variag. together
with the slow speed of the Korietz, made
Ii useless to go out to meet the Japanese
fleet at their promised hour of attack at
that afternoon. Under the circumstances
1t would result only in the ships falling
into the hands of the enemy. He there
remove his men. and sink the ships where
they lay at anchor.
At half past o'clock the Variag was
set afire astern on her upper decks. the
sea cocks were opened below and the men
removed from her and the Korietz to the
neutral war ships. At precisely 4 o'clock,
the hour set by the Japanese admiral in
his notification of the morning for attack
ing the Russian ships II not surrendered
and still in the harbor, two deafening eX-
plosions came from the Korietz. a cloud
of thick backish- white smoke scared up
ward, the anchored warships rocked and
the Korietz no longer existed except In
name AS the smoke cleared the water
could be seen boiling and kissing where
the Korietz had been lying bits of wreck
age hoated near and about four feet of
her funnel and the tops of two boats da-
Wits were all that remained to mark her
grave. Bits of wreckage, scraps of half
burned paper, a page of log book, an
officers visiting card and a typewriter
report came floating down on us from the
cloud of somke that shut off the rays of
the sun. A cheer went up from the Jap
anese along the shore and on the hills
back of Chemulpo as the Russian fleet
numbered one less.
Last of the Variag.
The list of the Variag was becoming
more and more pronounced and 1t could
be seen that she was gradually sinking at
the bow. At half past o'clock a fierce
fire broke through the deck. well aft, over
the magazine, and an explosion seemed