The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1889-04-17

men OIL. Senmen Taea, chief OF the Apla dis
trict, and Salu Ana King Mstaafa's secretary,
directed the men in their work.
The scene was one of intense excitement.
The sea broke upon the stem of the Nipsic
with awful force and it seemed as If the vessel
would be shattered TO pieces before the men on
her decks could be saved. The waves were
rolling high on the beach and the under tow
was so strong that the natives narrowly escaped
being washed out into the bay. The terrible
force OF the wind can hardly be imagined.
The rain continued to pour and clouds OF fly
ing sand grew thicker. Above the roar of the
wind and waves could be heard the voices of
officers shouting to the men on deck mingled
with the cries and singing OF the Samoans as
they stood battling against the surf, risking
their lives to save the American sailors Nearly
all the American and English residents of Apia
were on the shore in front of the consulate,
and there seemed to be willingness on the part
OF every man to render whatever assistance was
In his power. Ensign j. L. Purcell, of the Nipsic,
who had been on shore during the night. was
up 70 his waist in water helping TO rescue his
comrades from their perilous position. On
board the Nipsic the excitement which had
prevailed among the men just after the fall of
the smoke-stack, had subsidized, and there was
no attempt TO leave the vessel in disorder.
Capt Mullane and several other officers stood
by the rail, where the hawsers were made fast,
and directed the movements of the
men. All who were in any way
sick or injured were allowed to
to leave first and after that the men came down
the ropes quickly. The seas were rolling so
high under the bows of the steamer that when
the men had advanced ten feet down the ropes
they would often be submerged and nothing
but the noble efforts of the natives prevented
them from being washed off and carried away
by the current. As soon each
man would come within reach he would
half dozen Samoans and carried to the
consulate. Most of the men had but scant
clothing; few had tied some articles in their
handkerchiefs, which they held onto firmly.
Capt. Mullane insisted upon being the last man
TO leave the ship. lie finally found himself on
deck with Lieut.. John A. Shearman and two
sailors by his side. He ordered the sailors to
leave, which they did. The captain being I'M
able TO swim did not care to trust TO descend
ing the rope by means of his hands and legs, as
all the others had done, so he procured
empty water cask, which he attached to the
hawser. When he was seated in the cask
Sherman stood alone on the deck and started
his brave commander down the rope. The
plueky lieutenant then climbed down the rope
In the usual way, and the Nipsic was left alone
TO battle with the waves.
Lieut.. Fillette of the marine corps, who was
In charge of the consulate, had anticipated the
destitute condition in which the men would be
and had ordered quantity of dry clothing
from another neighboring store. As the men
were taken into the consulate he provided them
dry clothes and did everything possible TO make
them comfortable as circumstances would
permit. Vice-Consul Blackjack and several
other persons also assisted in relieving the men,
and DR.. DreG and his apothecary were busy for
several hours IN administering restOratiVes to
those who were exhausted.
The Nipsic, Adler and Eber were the small
est war ships of war in the harbor. The four
large men-of-war, the Trenton, Calliope, VAN
dalia and Olga, were still afioat and were well
off to the reef. Nearly all the sailing craft had
ashore The TrpnfOn stood pvall mt int
the bay, her steam and anchor barely holding
her head up to the wind. The Olga was rolling
terribly. The Vandalia and CalliOpe were
close together, nearer the reef than the other
vessels.
Meanwhile much trouble was being ex-
perienced ashore with the sailors who had been
rescued from the Nipsic. There was no place
of shelter for the men to go to. The dry cloth
ing with which they had been provided was
soon drenched. They had been at work all
night without food, and it was impossible to
give them breakfast on shore for some time. A
great number of them visited saloons, and it
was not long before many were intoxicated and
looking for an opportunity to cause trouble.
Lieut.. Fillette bent all his energy toward the
work, and during the whole day, and part of
the following night, did everything in
his power TO relieve the men who were
taken to the consulate and also to
preserve order among the sailors in the street
His guard of marines was very small and they
were all needed at the consulate, but he used
his men to the best advantage and they at
tended 10 their duty wells Several times dur
ing the day a number of drunken sailors went
to the consulate and demanded dry clothing
and hundred other things which it was i'm
possible TO give them. 1t became necessary to
keep them away from 'he building altogether
to protect the COVE nent property there
Fillette talked to the men quietly, but firmly,
and it is due to his efforts that serious trouble
was prevented. The handful of marines stood
by their officer and carried out his instruc-
tons faithfully. They were obliged to use
day, and one or two unruly men were put in
irons.
About 10 o'clock in the morning the excite
ment on shore, which had quieted little COM
menced to grow more intense the Vandalia
and Calliope were seen in most dangerous
position and collision between the two yes
sells seemed inevitable. They were both bear
ing back against the reef near point where
the wreck of the Adler lay. The Calliope was
nearest shore and her bow was close to the
stem Of the Vandalia. Great waves were
tossing the two vessels about and they were
coming closer together every minute. The
space between the men-of-war was next
seen 10 close altogether, when suddenly the
great iron prov of the Englishman arose high
in the air on the crest of an enormous wave
and came down with full force upon the port
quarter of the Vandalia. The crash was awful
and heavy timbers OF the Vandalia were shivered.
Every man who stood on the poop-deck of the
Vandalia was thrown TO his feet by the shock.
A hole had been torn below the rail and the
water rushed into the cabin. Itwas impossible
to ascertain the extent of the damage in amo-
ment but at the time il seemed that the Van
dalia had received her death blow. The men
rushed up the matches in the belief that the
steamer was sinking, and il was only after great
effort that the officers persuaded them TO re-
turn TO their post
Just after this collision Capt. j. Kane of the
Calliope determined TO make effort to steam
out of the harbOr, as he saw that to remain in
his present position would lead TO another col
lision with the Vandalia or throw his vessel
on the reef. He accordingly gave orders to let
90 all anchors. The CalliOpe's head was swung
around to tha wind and her powerful engines
were worked to their utmost capacity. 1t was
an anxious moment on board the Corvette as
with her anchors gone she had nothing
but her engines to depend upon to keep
her off the reef. The steamer seemed to
stand still for moment and then the rapidly
revolving propeller had its effect for the vessel
moved up slowly against the great waves which
broke over her bows and flooded her decks from
stem to stern Clouds of black smoke poured
from her tunnels and fresh coal was thrown
into her furnaces. Every tension was strained
in the desperate struggle against the storm.
She seemed to make her Roadway at first inch
by inch, but her speed gradually increased
until it became evident that she could clear the
harbor. As she passed the breast of the Tren-
ton a great shout went up from over 400 men
were given for the Calliope; three cheers for
H. ii 4hn fbo