THE BATTLE AT CHEMULPO.

Evening Star, Issue 12165, 8 April 1904, Page 3

THE BATTLE AT CHEMULPO.

DESCRIPTION BY AN EYE-WITNESS,

FEARFUL EFFECT OF THE JAPANESE FIRE. GREAT SLAUGHTER ON THE VARYAG. [From Our Special War Correspondent, Mr W. H. Donald.] ' HONGKONG, March 2. Considerable excitement, was caused here by the arrival of the British cruiser Amphitrite, with about 280 Russian refugees on board, and later on by the arrival of the Jtalian man-of-war Elba, with seven officers find 178 men from the Russian cruiser TTaryag. which, it will be remembered, was Bink by the Japanese fleet at Chemulpo on February 9. When the Elba arrived in the harbor I boarded her, and in the course tt an interview with one of the Italian •ffieers, who, by the way was a very obliging gentleman, and who spoke English with Bnough fluency for me to follow "his story intelligently, I gathered the following particulars of the Chemulpo fight:— "On the morning of February 9," he Find, "we were in the harbor at Chemulpo, together with the French cruiser Pascal and the British cruiser Talbot. The Russian cruiser Varyag, under the command of Captain Ludoneff, "a man fifty years of age, and thoroughly conversant with French and English, and the gunboat Korietz, •under Captain TeraiefL were also in the harbor. The Japanese fleet, consisting of the ironclad Asamn, the armored cruiser Ghiycoda, the cruisers Naniwa, Niitaka, Takachicbo, Chiyoda, and Suma. and nine torpedo boats, were sighted, and RearAdmiral S. Uriu sent a message into the port saying that unless the Russian vessels left before noon he would make an attack ttn them as they lay in the harbor. —The Russians Give Battle.— "The Russian captain, recognising that his chance of victory against such overwhelming odds was hopeless, endeavored to obtain his officers' signatures to terms of capitulation. This document the officers refused to sign, and it was decided to ao forth and do battle for the Empire. The Japanese fleet formed into line o{f Phillip Island, a small island near Richy Island, just outside the entrance to Chemulpo.' The entrance to the harbor is long and narrow, and when the Japanese fleet had extended in a south-westerly direction, towards the beacon light in the centre of the entrance, all their guns covered the channel. Jt seemed to us from the inside that the Varyag and Korietz would be blown to pieces if they attempted to go through that passage, but the Varyag turned her bow to tie _ open sea, and, followed by the Korietz, she slowly steered out. The heroic conduct of the RusV.ans in going out to almost certain destruction touched a responsive spot in the hearts of the neutral men, and a rousing cheer went up for the brave fellows.

—Tods of Shell Fired at the Varyag.— "The Varyag acknowledged the salute, and passed down the channel. It was then about noon, and as the Varyag came into the open water the Asama opened fire on her. The Varyag was steaming at about 23 knots an hour, and the Japanese ships were moored. Despite this fact the Japanese fire was much the more accurate of the. two. As the Varyag approached Yodomi Island, a small island opposite the centre of the entrance, her steering gear broke down, and sho had to reverse her engines to prevent running on the rocks. She lay to for a space of about five minutes, while the Japanese fleet poured tons of shell and shot into her. The funnels of the Varyag were riddled and smashed by the shells, both her bridges were blown away, and scores of the men were wounded. Midshipman Neirod was on duty on the bridge taking the distance, when he was struck by a shell and blown to atoms. AH that was subsequently found of him -was an arm, which lay beneath the bridge on the deck. —Great; Slaughter.— "The wreckage of the bridges impeded the men in their work at the guns, and the shells of the Japanese created great havoc. The flames rose high in the air, and the fumes from the bursting shells killed several men outright. Around one gun the whole of the men, except one midshipman, were killed by a shell, and the middy stood to his post, working the gun as best he could single-handed, until another shell burst near him, a splinter of which struck him in the face. He fell on the deck, both his eyes blinded with the blood that streamed from his face, but mercifully he lost consciousness. He was subsequently taken off the Varyag on to the Pascal, where it was ~ found that he would probably recover, although one eye was destroyed. When the steering gear of the Varyag was improved, she was headed back to the harbor, preceded by the Korietz. The Asama pursued them, pouring shell after shell into the retreating Russians. When the Russians gained the channel, however, they were comparatively safe, for the proximity pf the Pascal, Elba, and Talbot rendered it impossible for the Japanese to fire without hitting them. The Asama accordingly returned to the open sea, where she joined the remainder of the fleet —Sinking of a Japanese Boat ""Only one torpedo boat of the Japanese xqnadron was injured, and the crew of that was transferred to the other vessels before she went down. As far as I could gather, there were no casualties reported on the Japanese side, but it is very unlikely that they would have revealed the nature of them had any casualties occurred. The Varyag lost one officer (Midshipman ■Neirod) and forty men killed, while four officers and sixty men were seriously wounded, nine of whom, I believe, have since died. This, of course, does not include the slightly injured, but only tho*e whose wounds were of any magnitude. When the Varyag and Korietz returned to the harbor it was seen that the cruiser was m an almost sinking condition, having a decided list to port. The captain of the Konetz, knowing full well that the chance of escaping with his ship was hopeless, decided to blow it up, and accordingly the men wers taken off in boats, and soon the Korietz was a mass of flying pieces of steel and spars. She sank in a few seconds. —Sinking of the Varyag.— "The Varyag was too large a ship to be treated fn that way without danger to the T.eutral vessels, so the sluice-boxes were opened, and she slowly settled down into the water. Shortly after she sank the Russian steamer Sungnri was seen to be in fbfiUßi, s«s on fire by her captain to prefOfr fatt fulling into the hands of the Japanese. The Korietz was not damaged at all, ard there were no casualties on her, the Japanese having evidently concentrated the whole of their attention upon the Varyag, the gunboat being apparently beneath theiT notice. The Varyag was terribly knocked about, both upper and lower bridges being blown away; most of her guns were put out of action, and two large holes vrere made in her port side, one just below the water-line, which probably caused her to have a list to post. "The ships all lie in shallow water, and too recovery of the Varyag would be no difficult matter. When the Korietz was Mown up the band on the French cruiser Pascal played the Russian National Anthem, the Russian sailors on the neutral ship 3 going down on their knees while the strains of the music floated on the breeze. —Kindness of the British Sailors.— "When the news that the Amphitrite had arrived m Mirs Bay was circulated amongst the British fleet in the harbor, afl the men subscribed half a day's pav for fhe purpose of providing luxuries for" the Russian refugees. Tobacco, pipes, and even a piano were among the articles bought and sent round to Mirs Bay The voluntary action of the Jack Tars touched a responsive note m the hearts of the Russian soldiers, and their gratitude knew no bocnd.s. The Russian Consul, in particular, was deeply affected by the treatment of the Russians by the Britishers, and expressed liis admiration of their action in very flattering terms."