the Japanese were vastly superior, and while the Chinese
battleships _Ting Yuen_ and _Chen Yuen_, each of 7,430 tons,
were superior to any of the Japanese warships, the three largest of
which were each of 4,277 tons, the gross tonnage of the Japanese
fleet was 36,000 to 21,000 of the Chinese. During the progress of
the battle the ships engaged on each side numbered an even dozen,
but at the very start, before a decisive shot was fired by either
contestant, the _Tsi Yuen_, 2,355 tons, and _Kwan Chiae_, 1,300
tons, ran away, and before they had time to get into the game the
_Chao Yung_ and _Yang Wei_ were in flames and had fled to the
nearest land. So the battle was fought by eight Chinese ships
against twelve of the Japanese. Of the Chinese vessels, the
flagship, commanded by Admiral Ting, and her sister ship, which
immediately after the beginning of the fight was for four hours
commanded by McGiffin, were the two chief aggressors, and in
consequence received the fire of the entire Japanese squadron.
Toward the end of the fight, which without interruption lasted for
five long hours, the Japanese did not even consider the four
smaller ships of the enemy, but, sailing around the two ironclads in
a circle, fired only at them. The Japanese themselves testified that
these two ships never lost their
formation, and that when her sister ironclad was closely pressed
the _Chen Yuen_, by her movements and gun practice, protected
the _Ting Yuen_, and, in fact, while she could not prevent the
heavy loss the fleet encountered, preserved it from annihilation.
During the fight this ship was almost continuously on fire, and was
struck by every kind of projectile, from the thirteen-inch Canet
shells to a rifle bullet, four hundred times. McGiffin himself was
so badly wounded, so beaten about by concussions, so burned, and
so bruised by steel splinters, that his health and eyesight were