Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1889-04-25
CRAWLING

ufob put out ~ tuo Nubu OA NhtcK ttAxOuku
the hawes-holes. She then fouled the
Olga when the latter let 60 her anchors
and was run ashore. The Trentsn drifted
on toward the Vandalia. A new danger
now arose. The Trenton was sure to
strike the Vandalia, and to those on shore
ii seemed that the huge hull of the flag
ship would crush the Vandalia to pieces
and throw the hundred men still
clinging to her rigging into the
water. It was now after o'clock, and
the light was beginning to fade away,
and in half an hour the Trenton had
drifted on to within q few yards of the
Vandalia's bow, and the men in the rig
ging of the latter vessel trembled with
fear as they saw the Trenton approach.
The poor creatures who had been cling
ing for hours to the rigging of the Van
dalia were bruised and bleeding, but
they held on with the desperation of
men who hang by thread Of life. Their
final hour seemed to be upon them. The
great black hull of the Trenton could be
seen through the darkness almost ready
to crush into the stranded Vandalia and
grind her to atoms.
Suddenly shout was heard across the
waters. The Trenton was cheering the
Vandalia. The sound of 450 voices broke
upon the air. Three cheers for the
Vandalia" was the cry that warmed the
hearts of the dying men in the rigging.
The shout died away upon the storm and
there arose from the quivering masts of
the sunken ship a response so feeble that
it was scarcely heard upon shore. The
sound of music next came across the
water, the Trenton's band was playing
The Star Spangled Banner" The thou
sands of men on the sea and shore had
never before heard strains of music at
such time as this. An indescribable
feeling came overthe hundreds of Amer
leans on the beach who listened to the
notes of the national anthem, mingled
with the howl of the storm. For a mo-
ment only they were silent and then they
broke forth with a cry that rent the air
and reached each of the struggling men
on the rigging of the Vandalia.
The men who had exhausted every
means during the whole of that awful
day of rendering some assistance to their
comrades now seemed inspired to greater
efforts. The collision of the Trenton
and Vandalia, which every one thought
would crush the latter vessel to pieces,
proved to be the salvation of the men in
the rigging. Notwithstanding the tre-
mendous force of the waves the Trenton
dragged back slowly, and when her stem
finally struck the side of the Vandalia
there was no shock and she gradually
swung around broadside to the sunken
ship. As soon as the vessels touched
the men in the mizzen rigging crawled
out on the yards and jumped to the deck
of the Trenton. The men escaped just
in time, for as the last left the yards the
mizzenmast of the Vandalia fell with q
crash on the side next to the shore. The
other men escaped In the same way.
After the storm abated somewhat, the
men on the Trenton were taken of in
boats. King Mataafa came down from
his camp early in the morning for the
first time in several months. He went
down on the shore and directed the ma
tives in their work. He then went to the
American Consulate and offered the
services of all his men to Vice Consul
Blackjack.
BY noon there were nearly 500 Ameri-
can sailors on the streets of Apia. The
saloons we're crowded with them, and it
was not long before many were disor-
derly. Vice Consul Blackjack, recog-
nizing the gravity of the situation,
issued peremptory notice to all saloon
keepers in town of whatever nationality
forbidding them to sell or in any way
furnish liquor to American sailors, and
notifying them that if they did not obey
this order guard of marines would be
sent to their places and all liquor emp
tied into the street.
Most of the Trenton's crew remained
aboard of her after the storm subsidized,
and work was begun to tighten her and
pump her out, but it is feared she was
badly broken below. All the inhabitants
united in rendering aid to the ship
wrecked sailors, many of whom are shell
tered in tents in Apia. Admiral Kim
berly remained with the Trenton.