Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1889-04-18

fairly upon her bottom, rolled over tow
ard the open sea and disappeared from
view. Every timber must have beer
shattered and half OF the poor wretches
aboard of her crushed TO death before the
water closed above their heads. A cry OF
horror went up from the people on the
beach, and with oDe accord they rushed
TO the waters edge to the nearest point
where the Eber had foundered
Natives swan into the surf far beyond q
posnt where white man could have lived
and remained waiting to save any poor
creature who might rise from the water
At first it seemed as if every man on the
i'll fated steamer had gone to his death
but the breakerO on the reef had hidden
a few struggling souls who had come TO
the surface. Presently man was seen
clinging to the pillng under the
small walk; he was grasped
By willing hands and drawn
| Gaedeke of the E5er and was the only
officer of that vessel saved. Four of
her sailors we're seen struggling in the
water about the same time and were
quickly rescued by the natives and all
taken to the American consulate. Five
officers and sixty men were lost. The
| n
about two hundred yards west OF the
point where the Eoer struck and liz g.
wise was approaching her doom
! broadside on. In half an hour she was
| lifted on top of the reef and turned com
| plste,y over en- her side. Fortunately
she was thrown so far up that nearly her
entire hull was out of water and the decks
facing the shore SO the men were COM
paratively protected. They had but a
few yards TO swim to shore, and the
greater plumber of them were rescued.
Of one hundred and thirty Off
GERS and men aboard, twenty were
drowned or killed when the Adler
struck. Many officers and men were
seriously injured. just after the Adler
! struck, the attention of everyone was
directed toward the Nipsic. She was
standing off the reef with her head TO the
wind, but the three anchors which she
had on were not holding. The steamer
was beating back toward the point where
the Eber went down. Sac had on all the
steam it was possible to carry and
had just succ oeded in getting
clear of the reef, when the little schoon-
er, Lilly, got in her track and was cut
down. The Olga was bearing down on
the Nipsic at the time, and the latter
vessel was trying to avoid collision with
the German when she struck the Lilly.
OF the men abroad the latter schooner,
only Captain Douglass was saved. He
managed to grasp one of Olga's anchor
chains, and drew himself up on
the steamer. The Nipsic then got
we'll away from the reef and the men were
preparing to hoist the heavy eight-inch
rifle on the forward deck overheard to
assist her anchors, when Olga again
came down upon her. The German
struck the Nipsic amidships. Her bow
spirit passed over the port side of the
N1psic, and after carrying away the boat
and splintering the rail came into con-
tact with the smoke stack. The smoke
stack was struck fairly in the center
and fell to the deck with
crash like thunder. Great confusion
ensued, the crew believing that the
steamer was going down, and many men
ran into the rigging for safety. The iron
smokestack rolled from side to side, the
men on deck rushing around to keep out
of it's track. Heavy blocks we're finally
placed under it, but by that time the
Nipsic had swung around and was again
near the reef Having lost her smokestack
the Nipsic was unable to keep up steam
power and it was useless to attempt to
steam out from the reef in the face of the
wind. Capt. Mullen, who was on the
bridge, gave orders to beach the vessel.
One anchor was slipped and few pounds
of steam, which could still be used, kept
her iu deep water until she had cleared
the end of the reef. Wien she
finally struck the sandy beach
the vessel swung around, forming
ia fh -h
Orders were given to lower the boats.
Five sailors jumped into one, but the
falls did not work properly and before
the boat was lowered one end dropped
and the men were thrown into the water
and drowned. Another boat, containing
Surgeon Derr and half dozen sick men,
was lowered in safety but capsized before
it reached the shore. The natives who
were standing IN the serf seizsd the float
ing men and passed them TO the beach.
Other men on the Nipsio, ran to the rail
and jumped overheard, among them be
| ing Lieut.. Davenport. All but two sailors
reached shore in safety. By desperate
effort a line was got to the bow of the
steamer and a double hawser passed
ashore and made fast. Mataafa's men
gathered in great numbers in the surf
ana along the hawsers to assist the men
on shore. The waves were rolling high
on the beach and the under tow was so
strong that the natives narrowly escaped
being washed into the bay.
The terrible force of the
the wind cannot be imagined. Rain con-
tinued to pour and clouds of flying sand
grew thicker every moment. Above the
roar of the wind aud waves could be
heard the shouts of officers and men on
deck, mingled with the loud cries and
singing of the natives as they stood bat
thing against the surf. Captain Mullen
and several other officers stood by the rail
and directed the movements of the men
The sick and injured were sent off first,
and after that the men came down the
ropes quickly. The waves were rolling
so high that when the men had come ten
feet down the hawsers, they would often
be entirely submerged, and nothipg but
the noble efforts of the natives prevented
them from being carried away by the
current. Capt. Mullen was the last man
to leave the Nipsie. The Nipsic's sur
geon and his assistants were busy
several hours administering restor-
atives to the wounded and exhausted
mel. There was not much shelter for the
men TO GO TO, however, and tho dry cloth
ing with which they were provided, was
soon drenched by terrible storm. They
had been at work all night without food
and it was i'm possible to give them all
food for some time. Great numbers of
them visited saloons and many were soon
intoxicated and quarrelsome. Lieut..
Fillette and small guard of American
marines, did every thing in their
power to preserve order, and
several times the sailors had to be