THE JAPAN-RUSSIA WAR.
the narrow entrance channel might be blocked up by an enterprising enemy, in which cafe the Czar's ships, even if they were the finest in the world, would be useless for all the essential purposes of naval warfare. This attempt to "cork up the bottle" was, indeed, nearly carried out by Admiral Togo in the course of the fortnight following the outbreak of war.
Two days after the great attack another disaster befell the hapless Russians.   With this the Japanese fleet, which had retired
temporarily to the Elliot Islands in the
Another Russian         Korean Gulf to refit and repair injuries,
Disaster              ^a<^ notmn£ *° do.   It was solely due to
carelessness and mischance; and while
illustrating the state of demoralization that existed at Port Arthur, it contributed to spread that demoralization still further among the already sufficiently harassed forces of the defenders. The mine transport Yenesei, which, with her sister ship the Amur, was engaged in superintending the mine defences of the harbor entrance, observing a submarine mine which had become detached floating on the surface of the water, approached it for the purpose of firing upon it and thus removing an obvious danger to the ships lying at anchor. Unfortunately, in the excitement of the process, Captain Stepanoff, who was in command, allowed his ship to drift upon a neighboring mine. A terrific explosion followed, and the Yenesei, with a yawning hole in her bows, began at once to settle down. An attempt was made to lower the boats, but the catastrophe was so sudden and unexpected that little could be done. Captain Stepanoff went down with his ship, and there perished also, either from the direct effects of the explosion or from drowning, the engineer, two midshipmen and ninety-two men of lower rank. Not only was this terrible disaster damaging to the morale of the fleet, but it
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