The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1889-04-14

Inelr accOlnm0datl0n. great many mon
Gated as soon as they reached the shore
The force of the storm was never equaied
In this part of the world before. The baron.
eter had been falling steadily for seversi
days previous to the storm. and the w1nds
which commenced to blow on Friday after
noon, March 15, continued until Sunday
morning The rain fell in torrents during
the whole time. and great clouds OF SAND
stood on the beach and watched the awful
spectacle in the harbor. The vessels all
had a full head of steam on and three or
four anchors out Their yards and top
mastS were down, and every precauuon
was taken to insure the safety of the ships,
but the wind constantly shifted from north
east to northwest. The force was so great
that the vessels dragged their anchors all
over from. one side Of the bay to the
dozen times. Tremendous seas broke
over the decks, and torrents Of
water rushed down the hatchways
fusion among tie men on several of tho
vessels early on Saturday morning. but the
officers did noble work, and the men be-
came orderly and attended to their duties
bravely IN the face of danger Persons on
shore were powerless to render assistance
TO the ships. Hundreds ran to the waters
edge and stood in the binding storm.
watching the great vessels pitch about on
the waves or drift on to total destruction
against the reefs The sea broke upon the
reef with a roaring sound and washed far
up on the beach, carrying with it great
quantities of wreckage. The watchers ON
many were injured by the floating wreck
age Great clouds of sand filled the air,
and cut face and body like knife.
Every one was drenched with the rain, bue
stood shivering in the storm prepared TO
render whatever assistance might be possi-
BILE. The natives waded far out into the
surf, where a white man could not live, and
many life was saved through their efforts
Americans and Germans were treated alike.
No thought was given to the state of war
existing between the Germans and them-
selves; and the men who fought the Ger-l
mans at Vailele few months before now
battled with the waves and risked their
own lives to save their enemies from a
watery grave.
The storm ragged furiously for nearly
two days, and when the wind finally abated
the scene of destruction was awful. On the
shore houses were unroofed and blown
down, and trees and fences were thrown
across the streets, so that passage was al
most blocked. Out of seventeen vessels
which were moored in the harbor only two
small schooners remained afioat, and these
were badly damaged. The survivors of tho
disaster seemed dazed. They had seen
friends and comrades swept away from.
their grasp and go down TO death. and had
expected to follow them as every wave
broke over their ill-fated vessels. Long
exposure had rendered them weak and ex-T
hausted. Very few had tasted food for
thirty-six hours. Many had clung to the
rigging without a particle of clothing, and
all bore marks of terrible suffering. The
houses of Apia were thrown open, and
both native and foreign residents did all in
their power to accommodate the ship
wrecked sailors.
A DANGEROUS HARBoR.
Apia harbor, where the frightful accident
occurred, is little semi-circular bay, situ-.
A. - - I'll. -.
Opolu. The distance across the entrance
to the bay is about three miles, A coral
reef, most of which is visible at low water,
extends in front of the harbor. but is
broken for distance of three-quarters of
a mile, about half way between Matula'
| Point on the east and Mulinua Point on the
west. This break in the reef forms gate;
way for ships to enter the harbor. The
| space within this reef where ships can lie.
at anchor is very small, as there is q shoal
| of large dimensions in the eastern part OF,
the bay, and the western portion is OBJ
structed by another coral reef. which 10
located from 200 to 400 yards Oft shore, and
| extends almost from the western extremity
of the bay to a point directly in front of
| the American consulate, which is situated
near the middle of the crescent-shaped
| town. 1t was on this inner ree1
that most of the vessels were wrecked,
as the wind blew into the harbor from the
open sea and forced them back against 1t.
The water in the open space between the.
outer reef on the north and the inner reef
and shoals on the west south and east, IS
very deep, but the space is not capable Oh
accommodating with safety the number Of
large vessels which were lying in the har-
Dor when the storm commenced. There IS
| no holding ground at the bottom of the
bay, and it has been no uncommon thing
for vessels to drag their anchors whenever
| a stiff breeze would spring up.
L Anathar diead which the
harbor possesses is the rapid currents which
shoot about in several directions, the
velocity of which was greatly increased
by the immense volume of water emptying
| into the bay from several rivers The
principal one of these currents rushed along
shore, past the point where the American
vessels struck One hundred yards further
west, 1T was met 6y fSSaring 1S tprre9t e9 tSd OK
Vaisigano river. The consequence was
that a whirlpool was formed at the moutfk
of the river, and dozen men who were
tossed overheard from the Vandalia were
swept down to this point, only to be
whlrled round In the water for momenp
and then be forced out inte the bay.
The men-of-war, which were anchored IN
the harbor, were necessarily very close to-
gether. The vessels nearest TO the shore
were the Eber and Nipsic. The Eber was
directly in front Of the American consul-
ate, about quarter of a mile from shore,
and the Nipsic was about two hundred
yards east of the Eber. The Adler was
ahead of the Nipsic, and the Olga and Cal
liope were ahead of the Eber. The Van
dalia was beyond the Calliope, mile off
shore. The Trenton was the last of tho
| war ships to arrive here, and being much
larger than any other man-Of-war in the
bay, there was no room for her near shore,
SO she was obliged TO drop anchor beyond
the Vandalia, just within the outer reef.
The sailing craft were in shallow water
west of the men-of-war. The Trenton and
Vandalia had the most dangerous berths in
the harbor, while the position of the NipsiG
| was considered the safest.
For few days preceding the hurricane
the weather was cloudy and the barometef
had been steadily falling. but no one antici@
| pated the storm which commenced TO set IN
Friday afternoon, March Is. BY ii o'clock
that night the wind had increased TO gale,
and nearly all the war ships had their en-
gines working to- relieve the strain upon
| their anchors. The crews on most of the
sailing vessels threw out extra anchors
and then went ashore. The rain COM
menced to fall at midnight and the wind
increased in fury. Great waves were roll
ing in from the open ocean, and the pitch<
ing of the vessels was fearful. Every man
was kept at work. The Eber commenced
to drag her anchors at midnight, and an
hour later the Vandalis's was also drag
ging. However, by using full steam power
they both succeeded in keeping well off the
reef and away from the other vessels The
| wind hlew sfropOsr and sffonrer and fha