The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, May 29, 1905, Page 4

RUSSIANS FLEE TO 1HE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, MONDAY. MAY 29, 1905. N BB | DISPATCHES CIVE NEWS IF BATILE R 54 | Ameriean Consul -in-Naga- | saki and Minister to Tokio Send Word of Probable Victory by- the Japanese;® ———— - Small Craft fept in to Block | Passage-of Narrow Straits| of Tsushima of the Rus- sian Admiral’s’ Warships | Sty State was Russian battleship Borodimo and more warships and a repair ship.” “TOKIO, May 27.—Japaness fleet em- saged the Baitic squadron this after- moon fu the Straits of Tsushima, whick were beld. Cannenading heard from shore. sllows: SOLBIERS TO BE DISCIPLINED. | Russian War Minister Will Check Dis- rs on Troop Trains. s TERSBURG, May 28.—The| ssued order cy of disorders te prepara- ey, and savs upon soldiers regulations are regard- | i ey | and | the-Minister_save, siould nd for.ihs woldiers . such’ wu§ read and write, and o be taught Japanese words and to study. maps. ¥ ' regulations. should . res prayers and corporel in- Yo ' soldiers | henceforth | ywed 10 leave their com- | he stoppage of tr. i 1 HOPE FOR THE RUSSIANS. Battle Rumors Reaching Ohefu Are in Thelir Favor. €T. PETERSBURG, May 20.—The Petersburg telegraph agency publishes the following from ngnai, under date of May 28: m g here t tle is in progress between tne T: and the Japanese coa No are ar- | aval bat- | su Straits. detalls are | T from The grams st. telegram from Tol Japanese ha obody here b the greatest excitement in the warships in the harbor cleared for aetion. cable to n terrupted since y is not known. ng has been in- ¥, but the cause merchantmen have posg- pending the re- COTTON AS CONTRABAND OF WAR Division of Opinion in Russia’s Supe- | rior Admiralty Court. 8T.: PETERSBURG, M 28.—The written opinfon of the Superior Admir- | sity Court in the case of the cotton on the British steamship Cal- captured by the Viadivostok | . 45 expected to ~be handed »me time this week. There ap- > be a division of opinion in the De Martenz, in behalf of the | reign Office, while agreeing that, he cotton on board the vessel ‘was of aband nature, holds to the view he principle of conditional con- | or cotton should be enunci- ated, w the representatives of the Admiralty contend that this principle | is olute. | pressed that if | the officers -of the admiralty who on Sat- |-and delivered a series of torpedo attacks| 0V TURS T0 DESPAR N RUSSIA News of Loss of Warships Brings $Sudden Ending to the. Celebration in the| Streets of St. Petersburg | p € AR I Y Rojestvensky May Be in Communication With Viad- ivostok Squadron Within Next Twenty-Four Hours I ERSBURG, May 29, 2:15 a. m.— | in s momentous hour the Emperor, the Admiraity and the Russjan public g breathlessly for the Japanes authenti of -the fate of ral Rofest and his feet, the hopes of the Russians ate 2 is to con- but at son for inclined to come pessi- ports sent to Was an Consul at N of five Russian wzrships, including a eship and repair ship, was aceepted most definite and the most au- ce of news recefved up to mid- produced & bed 2s expressed that sunk might have been rensky’s flagship, the Kniaz Souv: Japanese would un- rate thelr fire. The | ir ship Kamchatka, the most modern it was. thought r be a more severe Joss than that of a warship, but at the Admiralty, where the crowds congregated on Sunday afternoon and event hope was ex- Rojestvensky had cleared he gateway to the Sea of Japan with no greater loss than that reported by the American Consul, the passage had not en uearly purchased, especially if later | hington by the ink- | reports should prove that the Japanese losses were anything like equal propor- | tionatel: | CZAR’S INTENSE ANXIETY. Probably no one in Russia displayed | Intense anxlety as the Emperor, morning he summoned | Duke Alexis, high admiral; Ad-| Avellan, head of the gussfan’ Ad- { from g | lnw, Russia, of course, will have to foot | the bi ity Departmept, and Admiral ‘Wiren- s, chief of the géneral staff of the navy, Tsarskoe-Selo,” and remained closeted te | with them.up.to a late hour last night, impetiently awalting information and per- ing -over- the chartsi . The only hews re- | sttamship ‘Yeaehes " Japan., cefved “by his ‘Majesty from “Russian sources were dispatches from Russian agenis and Odnsuls - at Chinese posts. which contained nothing ‘but current r mbrs. The only time the Emperor left thé meinbers of the Cabinet was to attend serviec -in the ‘chapel -of the Alexandra Palace, when the chaplain prayed for Rojestvensky’s success. The Emperor was greatly distressed when (he Washington dispatch contain-] ing the. information sent by the Consul at Nagasaki arrived. The newspaper dispatches naturally | created the wildest speculation. Some of | { } urda v were inclined to take the view that s off Wusung were empty col- | nt to the rear to avoid hampering | hips, or that it was a division of | tle fighting vafue dispatched to confuse Togo and to throw him off the scent, thought on Sunday that it was possible Rojestvensky might after all have divid- | ed his fleet and that the Japaness were awaiting the arrival of the second Ru sian division before making a general an- nouncement. 1 COULD NOT RISK A DIVISION. The majority of the naval authorities, however, continue to believe that Rojes vensky could mot risk a division of his fighting ships. Those of an_ optimistic turn hope that Rofestvensky did actually throw Togo off the trail and escaped him, as the French fieet eluded Nelson on the way to Egypt, and that they encountered only torpedo-boats in the Straits of Ko- rea. This opinion, though, is mot gener- ally shared, and the great majority think that Togo's scouts were able to keep in| touch with the fighting division and that| the Japanese lay In walt for Rojest-| vensky in the nairow waters where a bat- tle is reported to have taken place. Nevertheless. practically nobody be- lieves that Togo offered open battle, the | consensus of opinfon being that the Jap- anese, favored by a stage of the moon, whick was at three-quarters full, waited | Satur v night with such' aid as their heavy ships could offer without running | too much risk. Mines may have played an important role and, perhaps, been re- sponsible for a large share of the losses report=3. At any rate/"the result is not fully satisfactory tp .the naval authori- ties. It is possible that a running aght at | long range took place on Sunday, from | which better results are expected as) the maval authorities generally do not| belleve that torpedolng “could be rl--" newed on Sunday night in the open | sea. The cruisers Gromoboi and Rossia of the Viadivostok squadron probably ;i known at the Admiralty of the re- | egic b | assistance in their power. | Gay night he should be close enough IOENTITY OF VESSEL NOT KNOWN Report, However, Confirmed ! That American Ship Was Sent to the Bottom bye; Rojestvensky’s Squadron | In View of the Meager In-{ formation at Hand, the] Federal Officials Decline | to Discuss the Incident| SRR e ¥ WASHINGTON, May 28—Confirma-| tion n been received here from | Shanghai of the press report,that the | Russian warships have sunk an un- known American merchant ship off the inese coast. @ :nce of detailed informa- in Washington are disin-| ass publicly any interna aspects the case may have. Much depends on the action of the vessel | ‘when she was halted, whether the car- | he carried was contraband, and on | t If the vessel refused to the Russians ordered, the 5 according to the view here, had a right to sink her on the spot. | Muny American as well as vessels of | other nationalities are asserted to be| rrying contraband of war in the Far ., and if the vessel sunk was doing s she was liable to seizure under the law as to prizes and to be disposed of | iing to the rules of war. | PETERSBURG, May 28.—Nothing lat ST, ' portcd sinking of an unknown Ameri- | can steamship off Formosa by Vice Ad- | miral Rojestvensky, It is recognized at | the Admiraity that as gquite pos-| sible Rojestvensky. may have been! compelled by military necessity to| destroy a neutral. If he feared!| that to allow it to proceed and report the whereabouts and direction of the| Russlan fleet would endanger his strat- | plan he had no other alternative ! than to take off the crew and sink the| ship. Such an inecident is unfortunate, | but the risk, according to the Russian | vie in_such a’ crisis 18 too great to warrant the taking of any chances. H If the ship was unjustifiably sunk, the standpoint of international! but any cost i€ cheap 1f It fur- thered Rojestvensky’s mission. { TOKIO, May 28.—The name and des- | tination of the American steamship | which ,Vice Admiral- Rojestvensky | yéported. t¢ rhawe.- sunk . off - For- | sa about” May 21 'is . Unknéwn | i here. Deétails ocoficerning the llnk-, ing” of 'tite “yedBél are expécted to be | madé known<when the crew of the: Ithough . nothing 18 kuewn here about ‘the - it is exoecteq in ‘official circles thal Vice. Ad Shvensky. that mfléi"-“.;-m"“"”' »'ux ¢ LEARNS 0P THE BATTLE: - 5 Japanese Consul at Chefu Receives News iu Private Telegrams. CHEFU, May 28, noon—Private tele | grams from Korea to the Japanese | Consul here state that a battle was prozressing vesterday afternoon at or near the Korean Straits between: ‘the thain portfon of the Russian squadron and the Japanese fleet under command of Admiral Togo. According to the best information received here recently, the main por- | tion of Admiral Togo's fleet has been almost constantly at Masampho Bay. Advices from a reliable’ quarter re- ceived here are to the effect that three Russian battleships, three armored cruisers and several colliers were off Shanghai on Friday. It is believed that Vice Admiral Rojestvensky sent suffi- eient ships to the vicinity of, Shanghal in order to induce the bellef that his main fleet was there, while the major portion of it pushed on toward the Korean Straits. Several Russian colliers were at Shanghai at 9 o'clock on Saturday | night. Private telegrams received | here from Shanghai say that as fast | as the cargoes of the colliers are con- sumed the vessels are dismissed by Vice Admiral Rojestvensky and. re- turn to Europe. +- g sailed south to afford Rojestvensky any If Rojest- vensky got clear of the straits on Sun- to_ Viadivostok to communicate to-night. No light has been. thrown on. the identity of the four cruisers reported from Toklo as having passed the Kurile Straits, and the only explanation is that possibly another division:of con- verted cruisers has been detached for the purpose of confusing the Japanese. At 1 o'clock this morning Admirals Avellan and Wirenius, on returning from Tsarskoe-Selo, were shown. . the latest dispatches to the press. ‘Admiral Avelian said: “Practically. all the information in the possession of the Emperor or of the Admiralty is contained in the press-dis- patches. Like the gemeral public,- we are now dependent upon them for news; but-we hope to be able to relieve the general suspense by dispatches .con- taining authentic information from Vliadivostok by this evening.” 1 i | ! | 1 “the ‘| against permitting the cabling of facts THE C -— ARD VL 11 POWE -l | DISCOVERS | 1 | | — “Beat” Is Scored Over Opposition Newspapers. In publishing the first details of the great maval battle in the Far East, which all the worid has awaited with intense Interest, The Call ysterday scored the greafest “beat” recorded In newspaper annals since the outbreak of the present war. ‘While “its morning contemporaries were confined tp gossip as to the proba- bility that a naval battle was being fought, or that Vice Admiral Rojestven- sky had succeeded in passing the Straits of Korea and had arrived un- harmed “at the gates of Japan” to the consternation of the Mikado and all of his subjects, The Call was enabled to make the positive statement that the | Titante strugsle had commenced early Saturday merning dn the Straits of Tsushima and was in progress when the cable dispatch was sent.” | This journalistic:victory was shared | by only three newspapers on the globe | —The Call, the New York Press and the | Chicago Inter Ocean. While even the Associated Press admitted that the Jap- anese censorship had closed all avenues to its dispatches, and the great news- papers of London, Paris and Berlin ac- knowledged that they had been unable to pierce the vell of Japanese secrécy, | The Call and its two fortunate contem- | poraries were enabled to obtain direct from Tokio not only an account of the battle, but the disposition of the { ¢ { anese _in conformity . with t% 4 ;B’owu Togo that. tésulted, hfipp& of his Russian adver- | he. $rqv lu-tm qytvnrd of The @bliging, cable cersor., while ad- hering ¥o.the letter of his instructions asg to the Josses of the rival fleets, per- mitted The Call's dispatches to be so worded as to convey..m every line an intimation as to how the fortunes of the day had gone. 2 IR L ANXIETY IN FRENCH CAPITAL. Paris Government Is Without Official News of Battle. PARIS, May 28.—Interest has been aroused here by the news that a naval battle has been fought between the Russian and Japanese fleets. Officlal and diplomatic quarters are without advices, most _of the information reach- ing Paris coming through press dis- patches forwarded from the United States. These dispatches. are promi- nently displayed in the evening editions of the newspapers and are eagerly com- mented upon. All of the newspapers display a tone of extreme anxlety over the result. The | Temps pays a glowing tribute to Ad-| miral Rojestvensky's success in prepar- | ing his squadrons for the.final encoun- ter and to his audacity in taking the route where the Japanese were strong- est. The Echo de Paris’ St. Petersburg correspondent says that a letter has been received from Admiral Rojestven- sky, written six weeks ago, in which the admiral said he desired to reach Vladivostok without a combat, if possi- ble, but that he would do nothing to avoid an encounter. Servamao T i d 1P DOES NOT CLAIM VICTORY. Tokio Admiralty Refuses to Encourage ! TOKIO, May 28.—Throughout the day | the Government shut out all sources of , news of the naval engagement. The cen- | sorship on newspapers is a;{complete, so r\‘ as naval operations are concerned, ! s aré the restrictions on telegrams and - dispatches of correspondents. The Mihistry of Marine -promises to/ give out information as soon as its publi- ! cation ‘is advisable. It refuses even t encoura!t; inquirers to hope for a vie-| tory. fIts justification’ is' that “hothing that could possibly be of value to the! enemy must be circulafed. H an ‘for the simple cloghes angels wear is the nice, long, curly hair they all have. The only thing mazfonwles a wom- F (O CETS WLTRISTY | i to-day in the greatest naval contest of modern times. The world will ton facts of the drama which began shortly after day | g RO .-fl;;*]VENS . rATE (R | ‘ DEFEATED IN THE STRAITS. Togo's First Blow Carries Disaster to the Slay Navy. LONDON, May 29.—“Togo holds the straits,” is the laconic message that has been -~ recefvéd by = the Japanese legation! This means 'that Rojestvensky’s bold'dash for Vladivostok by way of the Korean Stralts and across the sea of Jdpan has failed. - Qpe dis- patch from Tokio says that ‘“'several” Russian ships have been disabled and that'the “remainder afe in flight.”” Where | they can flee -to, now that Vladivostok as a port of refuge is cut off, is not stated, neli is any report made of the where- abouts of the cruiser Gromobol and her sister ship, which sailed out to join forces with Rojestvensky. The great battle began on Saturday. evening and, it is understood, lasted all day Sunday. When Rojestvensky began the fight he had eleven battleships. ‘When, after a brave fight of thirty-six hours, his battered, crushed fleet turned to flight, two of these monster ships were at the bottom of the Korean Straits. After dividing and reuniting his fleet a dozen times In the evident pursuit of a policy of confusing the Japanese ad- miral, Rojestvensky collected his entire force off Saddle Islands—sixty miles southeast of Shanghai—on Tuesday, pass- ed the day in coaling end refitting, and on Wednesday - night headed for the Korean Straits, forty-eight miles away. But, according to the naval intelligence | bureau of Nagasaki, Togo had never been mislead by the Russian strategy. By scouts, by wireless and by a score of un- named sources of information, the Jap- anese admiral had kept in touch with the .enemy and actpally shadowed him from the moment of his departure from the Saddle Islands. More than that, Togo made his fight in a field of his own se- lection. For a clear setting of the scene of the tragedy it should . be stated that the Korean Straits, from Korea to the Jap- anese shore, are 111 miles wide, but are divided into two channels by Tsu Island, | the southern end of which is heavily | fortified. On the Korean side lie Fusan and the great harbor of Masampho Bay; on the Japanese side is Shimonoseki | Here, at Fusan and on ghe nothern ex- tremity of Tsu Island are wireless sta- tions. The Korean channel is about thirty miles wide. The Japanese channel is about eighty miles across. It was by the Japanese channel that Rojestvensky elected to pass. Leaving his empty. colliers at Shang- bai, with orders to return to Europe, Rojestvensky formed his ships in dom- ble battle line. ..e evening of Satur- day, Mav 27, was closing when Rus- sian sea columns appeared north of Quelpart Island, and it was growing dark when a gun was fired from the Japanese flagship. Instantly a swarm of wasps of the sea darted out toward the oncoming Russians. They were met by a torrent of shots from the Russians, but destroyers shot on, the sea rose in fountains, and the great battleships FETS 0 AUl D (£ N THE NIRRON S DIESTVEN xr's FLEET SAID the | ADIVOSTOK ALL PUBLISHES FIRST NEWS | OF BATTLE OF FLEETS. -+ THE @A\, PRINTS MMORE NEWS THAN ANV OTHER PAPER PUBUSHED | 15 OF TOKIO, May 28 (Sunday 10 a. m.)---History was made at the entrance of the sea of Japan - @ CAMERA’S PROCLAMATION OF THE SUPERIORITY OF THE CALL'S NEWS SERVICE. PAN MEE yesterday and is being made’ probably have to wait another day to learn even the skele- light yesterdayne hundred and ninety miles southwest of Shimoneseki. Togo Forces Rojestvensky Into Battle at Point Chosen in His Plan.g for the Engagement. NCISCO | e N SAN FRA nengan~ ik 20t i e catrpamta e Sy o P Caemai e o 8 S ERCTET KOREA. ATTACK UPON TRANSPORTS. Japanese Alleged to Have Entered the Harbor of Wusung. LONDON, May 20.—A dispatch from| Shanghal says that Japanese warships arrivéd fn the offing at Wusung on Sat- urdsy and attacked the Russian trans- ports, but a later dispatch says that the Russian transports are to stay in the vi- cinity of Shanghai, while the vessels of the volunteer fleet are to leave for either German or French territory. in the province of Chekiang) as a naval base and it is also stated that the Chi- | nese authorities ordered the vessels to | leave Wusung by 8 o'clock on Satur- | day night or to haul down their flags. The Russians, the dispatch said, were temporazinig. It is reported from Hongkong that the British fleet is leaving for the north at full speed. The Daily Telegraph’s correspondent and the Daily Telegraph Itself both discredit the rumor that the Japanese will attack the Russians at Wusung | which rumor lack confirmation from any other quarter, though the Shang hai correspondent of the Morning Post, cabling on May 28, says that the fir- ing of big guns was heard outside Wu- sung on Sunday night. The same dis- patch says that the Russians claim they are merchantmen and are entitled | to remain at Wusung, while the Chi- nese admiral now declaresgthat he will not permit the transports to leave, and the dispatch adds that the Chinese war- | ship Haichi has cleared for action. Mail says that fifteen of Rojestvensky’s ships appeared east of Tsu Island at 2:45 o'clock on Saturday morning: that at 10 o’clock that morning the fleet was ! passing ten miles southeast of Tatziki, and that cannonading was heard. A S AR Army Operations Suspended. ST. PETERSBURG, May 28.—General Lineviteh, in a dispatch dated May 28, | reports that there is no change in the positions of the armies in Man- churia. 3 e against which - the torpedoes. were principally directed rose and shivered in turmoil. The moon was in her third quarter when the fight began, but the sky soon clouded and it was in this obscurity that the torpedoes did their destructive work. Early in. the engagement tne Borodino was Seen to settle, and soon . afterward -the.Orel was sunk, the repair ship. Kamchatka, laden with valuable machinery, going down from a torpedo rent. The Russians fought bravely, but the gunnery of the Japanese was dead- 1y, and when Sunday was closing the Russian armada was scattered and beaten. The Tokio correspondent of the Daily | S FRENCH FEAR SLAV DEFEAT. Belleve Japanese Have Beem Victorious in Naval Battle. PARIS, May 2, 4355 a. m.—Late edi- tions of the morning papers here express the fear that the Russians have met with defeat in the naval combat. The Matin, remarking that the dis- | patches from Washington are far from | reassuring, recalls the words of Vics Ad- | miral Rojestvensky when he entered Far Eastérn waters: “If I am victorious, I shall inform ypu. If 1 am vanquished, Toge will inform it is reported’ that Rojestvensky's!| % squadrons used Chusan (one of a group , y“’!“‘l‘: - s S o t of China e Journ: speci wi corre- of islands off the east coas Bl T TRateit. i e | taken a prisoner at Mukden and sent to Japan, cables from Tokio under date of | May 23 that the authorities there are ob- | serving the strictest secrecy regarding | the naval battle. He says that on the smorning of May 27 a_large Russian fleet appeared in the Tsu Straits, entering the | channel between Tsu Island and Kilushiu Island, where the belligerents came in contact immediately. their cannonading | being heard at Shimonosekl. The tempest | which waged in the Japanese Sea for some days previous, the correspondent | says, had settled down, and the sea was | more calm. | A later dispatch from the same corre- | spondent puts the p@lic on guard against false rumors reiterating .he statement te | the effect that the Japanese authorities | were observing the strictest silence re- | garding naval movements and that there | was also a most severe censorship, which it is impossible to escape. ey TWO POWERFUL BATTLESHIPS. Description of Russian Vessels Rew ported to Have Been Sunk. The Orel and Borodino, which mawy | prove to have been among the Ruse | silan vessels sunk by Togo, are of 13« | 516 tons displacement each, heavily | armed, well protected, and were de« | signed to make eighteen knots. They | measure 397 feet by 76 feet, with 26 feet draught, and both have a lofty spar deck fully thirty feet above the waters line, extending from the bow to the quarterdeck. Forward is mounted a pair of 12.4« inch guns in a turret protected by eleven inches of Krupp armor. Ag- other pair of guns of same size fs mounted aft. There are thirty other | guns of an Intermediate battery, and | the vessels carry two submerged tor- pedo tubes. and two above water. A speclal feature of the vessels Is their vertical longitudinal bulkheads of inch armor running throughout the whole length of the ship at a distandeé of nine or ten'feet inboard from the" ship’s sides, designed to localize the effect of a blow from a torpedo. —_—————— The Duke of Orleans has it bought the Belgica, the vessel on+board o which the Gerlache expedition went toward the South Pole. It is reported that the { Duke intends to make a tour to the { Southern polar regions. ROJESTVENSKY ATTEMPTS TO FI_GI—IT HIS WAY THROUGH SEA OF JAPAN Continued From Page 1, Column 4. Tsu Island in the forenoon o ed by the Japanese. 3 o'clock in the afternoon. blowing, with a high sea. There A dispatch to the Times from Paris says that a pri- vate telegram from Chefu, probably from Russian sources, reports that Rojestvensky began to force a passage of the Korean Straits on Saturday night, without lights, in two lines, one on each side of Tsu Island. Heavy firing was heard in the straits between 9:30 night ‘when it ceased. The same dispatch $2ys oneof Ro- jestvensky’s ships returned to Kia : having been badly damaged by a collision with another $hip. Many dispatches from Tokio May 27 during a fog, which cleared up in the afternoon, when the Russians were sight- The battle commenced between 2 and ments was a strong breeze and 10:30 oclock at ochaw Friday ‘night, and other points appear- ing in this morning’s newspapers - are filled with more or less authentic details of the of Admiral Rojestvensky's shi mises and rumors of the results of the battle between the Japanese and Russian fleets. According to the Daily Tele- graph a private telegram was received in London last night ina very high quarter to the effect that Vice Admiral Togo had gained a great victory. Based on the meager details received here, most of the newspapers are ready to believe the Japanese have wona decisive victory.” ; The secreey maintained in Tokio apparently extends to the European legations. At any rate, Baron Haka- shima, the Japanese Minister here, declined to see news- paper correspondents, much less te talk of the battle. The indications from many of the dispatches are that Rojestvensky sent some of his vessels through Tsugaru Straits, with the view of mystifying the Jap: recent move- ps, - and sur- it is not known on Saturday. or were from Vladivostok. A dispatch to a news agency says that two Russian warships were sighted. on Sunday afternoon at Mashike, - in Shiyari province, Hokkaido, steaming sputhwest, but belonged to Rojestvgnsky It is assumed here that the Japanese Government will follow its customary plan not to allow details to be published until the action has been completed, and it is “believed that the fight has been of a running character. ; The “Daily Telegraph’s Tokio correspondent says that an intermittent fog prevailed in the sea of Japan It occasionally lifted; when there was brilliant suml‘fihe. A high wind prevailed, with a rough whether they "The Russian ships were first sighted at 6 o'clock in the morning approaching the Tsu Island, under cover of . ‘a '!bz*whtdn, “however, ‘lifted and the squadron retired, This squadron is believe class ships, and, according to information twenty-one more Russian warships were not far away. Nothing . definite is known, however, says the corre- d to have consisted of six first- received, spondent, and the authorities merely reported that can- nonading was proceedin tinues, that Rojestvensk of the Island of Luzon o day they cruised about large quantities of bun ing. It has now been discovered, the correspondent con- ¥’s ships coaled along the coast n May 22, and on the following north of Luzon and transferred ker coal from colliers. Then Rojestvensky decided to divide his fleet into several parts. . He traversed the Bashee Straits ana steamed in a nonhegsterly direction. On the morning of May 235 the Russians were southwest of the Luchu Islands, and the slow converted cruisers and transports were sent to Shanghai, while the main squadron went to Tsu Island.