The Black Hills union and western stock review. [volume] (Rapid City, S.D.) 1904-19??, 1905-06-09
GRAPHIC STORY
OF THE Big FIGHT
Three Words "Russian Squad
ron Sighted" Put Jap
Fleet in Action.
IT WAS A RUNNING FIGHT
Gunnery Of the Japs Was Deadly and
Accurate and Soon Took the Fight
Out of the Russians-Bravery
Of Torpedo Crews.

TOXIC, June 3.-SatOrCay noon came
the wiz eless me: sage from Sasuna.
Russian squadron sighted" Togo. the
japanese admiral. signalled the forma-
ton for attack that had been agreed on
and the combined fleet started to meet
the enemy.
The commanders Of the torpedoing
flotilla had previously been
and had been notified In a few words
by the admiral of the desperate service
that was required of them and of the
small chance Of any of them reporting
again for duty.
Practically Told to Go to Death.
They We're told, in fact, that it was a
simple case of sacrifice, and they ac-
cepted it so willingly that the admiral
found 1t difficult to detail a torpedo re-
serve in case the first division failed in
Its task.
Until sunset the heavy guns of the
japanese battieships and the lO-inch
battery of the cruiser kasuga roared
and fired at the oncoming Russians,
while the Russian guns roared in re-
ply.
First Of the Russian battleships in
line behind the protected cruiser
Jemtchug was the 10. OOO-ton Borodino,
and these two soon showed thai they
We're receiving the brunt of the she'll
ing. The cruiser Nakhimoff, In the
van of the Russian port column, was
also observed to be in distress, and
then. the sun having set and the quick
settling having come, the tor
pedoers were sent out under cover of
a still heavier cannonade. The fotilla
formed into two divisions, one heading
for the battleShip column of the Rus
slams and the other for the cruisers.
The searchlights of the Russian fleet
threw out their great beams and their
small gun batteries swept the seas,
but the swift horne Of the sea went
wallowing and buzzing on their way.
They circled and swept. and then came
the dull roars and heaving fountains
that old { at the tor pedoes had been
ioos from their tubes m We're do
Ing their deadly work.
Borodino Is Struck and Begins to Sink
Again and again came the roars, as
the japanese searchlights swept across
the field of fight and then went out it
was seen that the great battleship
Borodino was sinking. that the pro-
tected cruiser Jemtchug was a wreck.
that the battleship Alexander Ill. or
one OF her class had gone, that the two
armored cruisers Dimitri Donskoi and
Nakhimoff were out Of the fighting.
Later. too, 1t was learned that some
far sailing she'll had reached and sunk
the supply ship k~amchatka. or that she
had been sunk by a torpedo. and that
three destrOyerS that had rushed out
to meet the Japanese flotilla had been
blown up.
Thus practically ended the first days
fight.
Escape of Japanese Almost incredible
1t seems incredible that In this first
shock of battle, with it's varied form
OF combat and with a brave and des-
perate enemy handling a powerful fleet
possessing an overwhelming armament
OF big guns-it seems inredible that the
japanese should not have suffered Sc
verely.
In the darkness of the night Of Sat-
urday. May 81. the shattered Russian
fleet reformed as we'll as 1t might and
once more took up Its despairing run
for the Sea OF Japan, and the haven
Of Vladivostok.
But Togo still held the strait!
Hanging on to the already beaten
enemy. an easy matter with his faster
ships. he picked up the Russians all OF
Saturday night with his searchlights,
occasionally sending a long distance
shell toward one Of the shadowy hulls
that were racing to get through the
strait!
But just as Togo had selected h,s
fighting ground for working out one
chapter Of the tragedy, so now he
choose the scene OF the second DAYS
fighting.
To the northeast OF kin island lies
a dangerous little archipelago known
as the LianCOur rocks, and with his
b~attleships and heavily armored cr1is-
ers he stood out in crescent form
across the Corean strait and drove the
enemy toward this dangerous running.
Keeping together in some semblance
- -I~- G,.a
the battleships Nicolai 1. and Orel
and the coast defense vessels Senyanin
and Afrexin and the protected cruiser
1Zumrud. were heading bravely for the
sea of Japan. Seeing a possibility of
their escape. Togo. who was personally
conducting the pursuit, signalled 70
close in and attack.
Japs Pound Enemy in Running Fioht
With their forward turrets blazing
and roaring. the Japanese squadron
dashed on. The Russians replied Wig
orously for a time. but the gunnery of
the Japanese was too deadly and ac-
curate. shells were carrying death and
destruction into the fleeing five and the
fight went out of the Russians.
One after another flew surrender SIG
nails. the Japanese ceased firing, and
the Nicholai l.. Orel, Senyanin and
AfreXin were added to the Mtkado.s
navy. Only the Izumrud got away.
tleeter than ner sisters, she SWerved
boldly to the northwest and escaped.
How far she will get, however, is
another story. for with the first black
columns from her smoke stack the Ian
anese admiral's signal flags futtered
and three Japanese sea hounds started
in pursuit.
So practically ended the second davis
fight. and here again the apparently
impossible happened-Togo's captains
all reported mo damage to men or
ships"
Victors Kept Busy Chasing vanquished
Togo's captains had. however. other
things to report. for while the main
force of the combined squadron was
hammering the four Russians into sub
lection off the Liancourt rocks, others
of his cruisers were chasing scattered
Russian units. while still others were
completing the work of capture or de-
struction around Okino island. Two
special service ships and a DESTROYER
were captured. and so was the armored
cruiser Monomach. but she %foundered
soon after transference Of flags.
And there were prisoners to report |
5000 of them. including the unhappy
Eebogatoff, while up and down the