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TiHE PASSAGE OErTfiE -
DABJJANBLLES: . I
?'- ?? -The following letter, writte A by an officer
on board oner of the ironclads/; whiel* A
has -appeared in several- :bf tfie
EnglMi journals,- ; will be found of »
interest, as:; describing the maBoeuvres of *
the flefet -wfeen (ordered to the Dardanelles ~
— 'The Orders were to pass through- fhe-
Dardanelles peacefully, if jpossible, but to
resist any attempt at obstruction. It was
a prevalent idea in the fleet thatipermis
sion had been granted in the first instance
by the Turkish Government, but that it
.had been subsequently- Tescinded. The
'? Salamis. Steamed into Besika Bay for latest
telegrams, and on coming out liie iAdmu&l,
shifted his flag to the Sultan, rthe ivice
consulfrom Chanak also arriving andeem
barldng on board that ship. ThefleetiheiL
receive^ orders to prepare for aetion withoirfc.
any outward; demonstration, so that though
the upper yards were sent down, the top
gallant masts' were left standing. . The'
Salamis then steamed ahead to Chanak to
give warning of the approach of the fleet.
Early in the ; afternoon the entrance, was
reached, the fleet halted for a short .time
at the Rubicon, and then, in ^ood order,,
column of divisions line ahead,; steamed,
quickly into the Dardanelles, v.No attack:
was expected from the forts Seddul Bahiy
or Castle of Europe, and Sum Kaleh, the
Castle of Asia, at the entrance, as in anyr
case the fight for the passage must have
really taken place at Chanak, the narrowest
part of the strait, the entrance being^
over two miles wide. The guns were
now loaded and run not .quite out,,
but only, level with the ship's side andV
with the tompions in them. Those ships.
possessing Gatling guns hoisted them %to-
the tops, so as to bring them to bear on the
embrasures of the forts. The menfwere\
cheerful and steady; though at the moment V
every man believed that fightingmust ensu^
with the terrible forts at Chanak; yet ngne;
knew whom they were going to . figtf, \ '*
whether Turks or Russians, nor why they
were going to fight them, for in theVfljet
there were no news of what was. goittg''-Jit
in the world ashore. At length the terrible
Chanak was approached ; and then at. the
last moment was seen a signal hoisted frpnn
the Salamis,: which told that the passage
saluted the Turkish flag,: and /proceeded
with the Salamis; yet, to the general
disappointment, the jremainder of tite
fleet was ordered to return , to the
nearest anchorage, Besika Bay.. iJJuring the
journey the larger ironclads, had. 'afl of
.them their ...steam anchors rcready* . so*
that they might be anchored, bow, and
Btern to the * forts, to; assaultrtbem if re
quired. There i8anoldca§tleandastrpng
earth fort x-n the opposite j .side e% the
; narrows .tO: Ghanak,: and the stream is
known toliave torpedoesrlajd 4o\wij_s.O;tiiat
the most.sanguHie could not have expected
:.: a blooflless, viptory, had ; it .b^enjinecessary -
to force thej^^rdanftlies.:f.3Hie; fleet jiaa:
certainly a most imposing aspect, and there -
was much that was sta^ng; to be seen^
frcan therft&et. itself. ; On its ffetaarn the day
cleared up,i and, there - was seen the grand..
Mand of Jmbps basking in. the .^un.
Jf - ftYery one. Lat ;home only , knew how
anxious the crews of ihe ships are .to^et
some xeal news about t&e wajrihey could
Mot but admire tiie cheerful obedience with ^
which the; iHen execute order* that are un—
iulelligibie to tkem.- -It; :is interesting', as -
well as important, to know that as. the ^eet
passed between the rcastles cf : Evtrope and'
;Asia the: guard turned put and /pre§eiited-
arms to the ships. The following was the \
arrangement of the lines on approaching- *
the terrible forts of Chanak :— 7AgiBCjpurt-.
Swif tsure, Hotspur, Research, Suitan,
Ruby, Temerajre, Rupert. There was a
strong feeling; in tie fleet; at the timp of
the advance that tjhe passage : of the JDar^
danelles^ouldcertainly have been forced had
it been required- But at Chanak there are
two lowf orts,.stated.to]mount 40-ton Krupp
guns, and there .is an' upper fort, with a
, plunging fire, so, that it wpuldhave taken,
sometime to desjrpy them.'
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