The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1889-04-21
ADMIRAL KIMBERLY
Gives an Official Account Of the
Samoan Disaster.
INGENIOUS METHODS OF COWBOYS
They Utilize Railway Bridges for Crossing
Streams-4 Father Murders His
Children-Suicide.

Children-Suicide.
VI WASHINGTON, April 2O.-Admiral Kim
berly's official report to the secretary OF
the navy, dated Apia, March 10, says: at
becomes my painful duty to report to the
department the disastrous injury and loss
sustained by the vessels under my com
mand in the harbor of Apia during the hur-
ricane which swept these waters March ID
and 16.
WIEN THE GALE COMMENCED
there were in tie harbor the following
men-Of-war: The United States ships Ircn-
ton, Vandalia and Nipsic: II. y. NJ. 5. Cal
Hope and II. /. @. NJ ships Adler and Eber:
also a few merchant vessel and small
craft The Nipsic had the inner berth, and
the Trenton (the last to arrive) the outer
berth. Indications OF bad weather appeared
during the forenoon of Friday, March 10, and
at o'clock that day / commenced prepara-
tons to meet the gale by sending down the
lower yards and housing the top masts.
Fires were lighted and the steam raised.
BY o'clock the gale had developed. 1t
blew hard during the evening, and about 5
pm. we parted our port bow cable. Dur
ing the night it blew with great violence,
but with the aid of steam YES
sci l kept in good shape until morn
ing. At daylight we had hoped for a
moderation of the wind, but were
disappointed. The gale set in with renewed
fury, and early it the forenoon it was evil
dent some of the inner ships were ashore
Tand those nearer to US riding uneasly.
THE FLAGSHIP LOST HER WHEEL
about this time. 1t was carried away with
a crash, and seriously injured some of the
helmsmen. Relieving tackles and the spare
tiller were applied promptly, but it was dis
covered the rudder was broken and was
soon entirely useless.
The wind by this time was blowing with
q hurricane force and the seas were very
heavy. The ship had begun to make water
During the early morning the hand pumps
were manned and all the bilge pumps in
the engine-rOOm put on The water gained
and threatened to put out the fires, the
greater part of 1t seeming to come in
through the hawse pipes, which are situated
on the birth deck. Every effort was made
to stop the force of the water at this point
by jamming in bedding and by putting
mOuldings on the chains and by veering
into the haWse pipes 1t could be checked
in this way but not stopped, for the
7 violence of the seas was so great that
it would force everything opposed to it.
''Ail hands were set to bailing, and by 8
o'clock the fires had been put out and the
men came up from the fire room to work
on the hand pumps and with buckets, and
continued from this time throughout the
gale with the hope OF being able to relight
the fires and keep the ship atlOat. \ little
before the CaliOpe was seen to be very I'M
easy at her moorings, and soon steamed to-
%ezlFd US, having parted on slipped her
cable, and making an effort to get out OF the
harbOr. She came near colliding with US
and a steamer in the face of the hurricane.
In the afternoon the wind not having
lulled, the little flagship was moving I'M
married.
chains soon after. We then drifted over
toward the reef, escaping the wreck of a
merchant bark by i mere chance of her
dragging as We approached her.
WE DRIFTED UNTIL
our stern was almost against the reef
Destruction seemed imminent as the vessel
was within few feet of the reef for long
while and pitching heavily. We drifted in
this position along the reef for a consider
able distance until we came TO where it
turned more towards the eastward. Here
we found smoother water, and our remain
ing anchor seemed to hold quite well for q
time. This position, however, put US di-
rectly on the haWser of the Olga which had
one of the smoothest berthS in the harbor.
At this time she was riding well
I. and had control of her engines.
Y Efforts were at once made to
10 heave over the S-inch steel gun from the
fOrecastle to assist in holding, but it could
not be done in time, so we slowly driftod
upon her and she avoided US twice by
skillful use of her helm and engines. but
soon after cut into our quarters, first on
one side and then on the other, carrying
away boats, rigging and quarter galleys,
Eut not essentially iniUring the hull.
During all this time the officers of the
flagship made every effort to manage her
by storm sails and putting men in the rig
ging, and we drifted by the port side OF the
Olga and across the western reef, dragging
an anchor and tOiling now on the western
reef as we had done before on the eastern.
Some of the wrecked vessels We're now in
plain sight of the Nipsic and well ashore on
good bottom, stem TO seas. The Vandalia
sank against the reef, the mastS standing
and the tops of the rigging were filled with
men, space and maStheads. The Eber was
nowhere to be seen. The Adler was on
Ger side high on the reef; the Olga had
y turned for shore and was going ahead under
steam and sail and was beached on good
bottom and in a good position to the seas.
All this time the gale was blowing with
undated fury.
ABOUT o'clock we were expecting to
strike the reef momentarily which was
directly under our stern, but as on the
eastern side the under tow current seemed
to carry Us along the reef and kept US just
clear of striking. Thus we came ON to
where the Vandalia was lying and it was
against her portside, as we approached her.
Rockets were fired carrying lines with the
hope of reaching the people on her masts.
This proved very successful, and the men
from the main and missen masts were
rescued first.
SOON AFTER WE STRUCK THE vANDALIA
with violence and her main and mizzin
masts went by the board We then swung
1gradually around and settled into position
d aloRgside her just touching bottom and our
Sstern raising a small wreck on the reef
The men were rescued from the foremost
of the Vandalia, and thence on during the
night we continued to beat our bottom
against the Vandalia with great force. The
wind during this Saturday night
blew with hurricane force, sguall
following squall with hardly an
appreciable interval. The seas. however |
we're not so high as they were further out, !
and we get through the night without any
additional serious misfortune. Just before |
ydaylight, the flagship was visited by two |
boats manned entirely by natives, who car
ried lines to the shore This was dan |
gerous work, owing to the darkness and |
the sea current, wrecka5e and to the diff |
Guilty of approaching the Trenton on &C |
count of the Vandalia's wreck. The men |
were kept at the pumps and buckets with |
out cessation with a view to hauling off the |
ship if possible, and keeping her afloat |
when the gale abated In the morning the |
wind moderated, and it was then |
ascertained that the propeller had
settled hard on the bottom and the water |
aOnld lna IN fba