New-York tribune., 1904-10-24
MERCHANTMEN SEARCHED OFF ISLE OF WIGHT.

harmless fishermen. but these signals wsrs lx-
nored.
Eighteen injured men are here under sr.ss.
ment
One trawler. the Wren. is missing. and Is d
feared she has been sunk
There were many distressing scenes AZ puu
during the day and night. relatives inouir,uz
after friends.
There is rumor that the Great Northers
Fishing Fleet was also chased by the Russians.
This report has not yet been confirmed
London. Oct 2S.-The steam cutter Maspis.
belonging to the samecOck trawler feet. which
was fired on by the Russian Baltic fleet. arrival
in the Thames tonight Her captain. Psaksr.
confirms the details Of the story received from,
Hull He says:
Friday night there were about FORTY vassa,,
OF the eamecOck feet fishing In latitude 55 de-
Srees 10 minutes. and longitude ) degrees
IAllLuleS 10 was a misty, drizzly night We
spread over an area OF some miles ON ad-
miral had just previously signaIIed by rockets
anu cOlored lights the fishing direction Tor tba
night. Whether that had ANYTHING 10 10 rvirb
" wila' io1owed do not know: the whole thing
presently through the mist there apDesred tina
.Isnts I OF nsny vessels. big and small knowing
that the Baltic feet was en- route We naturaIlT-
assumed that they were Russians but Cavn1r
say so for certain. They we're sienaIIirs one
another. and with powerful searchIights sp.ed
out every one OF our fleet
Suddenly some OF the Warships starteI Trims.
at about twenty boats which were nearest ~
chem We az first supposed they we're rlaui,
was close in. held two big ash out al grIr1.s
length. Some say he was Offering them 10 the
Russians IN f9n, and others that he meant TO
acqualnt the Russians with the fact that we
were peaceful fishermen and not disguised en-
emies
In any case. there was no rnistakina, our oc.
cupatiOn. for We're close enough for the
Russians to see that men were all engaged
IN cutting fish. When we realized thar ne
RusSlanS were firing shot. and that men were
being wounded. all became terror and confusion
Nets were cue away. steam was gotten up. ard
the traWlerS hurried away fast as possible.
judging Oy the rapidity Of the shots. they
We're from quick firing guns have seen SONS
OF the shots embedded III boats. They are about
the diameter but not the length OF q big Gu
cunber. and have brass heads.
What with the darkness the rain and the
glare OF seaFchlights we were unable TO identity
the warships. After about half an hour the
firing suddenly ceased and the fleet steamed
away speedily in the direction OF the English
Channel
Captain Peaker confirms the details OF the
fate Of the trawler Crane and her crew. ana
speaks with intense Indignation OF the eoadaeS
OF the Russians. He says:
II is impossible that We could have been
taken for anything but trawlerS. i only
imagine that the Russians lost their heads and
blazed away in confusion and when they dis
covered their mistake steamed off.
London Oct 24.-The Foreign Minister. Lord
I.ansdowne. and N. BenckeudorI. the Russian
Ambassador. both were out Of town yesterday,
and all the government offices in London were
closed as usual on Sunday. and therefore no OFF,
cial view could be cleaned OF the firing by Rus
sian vessels upon British fishing feet In
the North Sea.
The first reports Of the affair received in LOn-
don were regarded as almost incredible. When.
however. cumulative evidence no longer Ieft
doubt OF the general accuracy OF the reports. as
tOnishment became bewnderment as 70 what
possible motive could have led Russian officers
into such an extraordinary and inexprcabls
course Of action. which unless q satisfactory ex-
PLANTATION is Immediately forthcoming. could
only be regarded as an act of war.
This is the view taken ediJoriany BY all the
morning papers. The worst feature OF the story
as viewed here is the heartuessness displayed by
the Russian fleet in steaming away without taxi
ing the trouble TO ascertain even whether their
i'AN 4+e''L t~N- S AtthiSe sttfl ttt4fLt siitl
effort To rescue the victims
While admitting the necessity Of a suspension
of Judgment Tor Investigation and explanation,
the morning newspapers are unanimous In de-
mandiEg that the government instruct Arnbassa-
dor Hardinge 70 make the strongest representa-
tions 10 the st. Petersburg government and OBJ
tain reparation and apology and assurances 81
the Russian Pacific fleets good behavior Tor the
future.
It is held that the omission Of the Russian
feet to stay its course down the Channel TO offer
any explanation makes the case look exceed
ngIy grave. and the only possible solution ec
the mystery that has been suggested is that. ex-
cited by rumors recently spread OF Japan's in
teEtions ON the Pacific squadroa in the event OF
its sailing the Russian gunners yielded to panic.
and supposed that the tEawlers' rockets were
the signals Of an enemy's feet In view os tha
decision in the AIIanton case. it is regarled as
quite impossible that the ST. Petersburg author
tiles can be IN any way responsible for the m
cident
Considering the circumstances. the nswsg~-