steamers to Puget Sound and had there found
the naval depots and the fortifications, the
arsenal and the
docks in the hands of
their countrymen, who had also destroyed the second-class
battleship _Texas_ lying off Port Orchard by firing at her from the
coast forts
previously stormed and captured by them. They had surprised Seattle at
dawn much in the same way as San Francisco had been surprised, and they
at once began to
land troops and unload their
war materials. On the other hand, an attempt to surprise Port Townsend
with an insufficient force had failed. The Americans had had enough
sense to prohibit the Japanese from coming too near to the newly armed
coast defenses, and the better watch which the little town had been able
to keep over the Asiatics had made it difficult for them to assemble a
sufficiently large fighting contingent. The work here had to be attended
to by the guns, and the enemy had included this factor in their
calculations
from the beginning. How thoroughly informed the Japanese
were as to every detail of our coast defenses and how well acquainted
they were with each separate battery,
with its guns as well as with its ammunition, was clearly demonstrated
by the new weapon brought
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