The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1889-04-18

Monday night, March 11th at about II
| O'Clock. Messrs. Dean, Beesley and myself
left our little village Vatia, on Tutu1la
| island, in our small boat for Apla, the seat
of the Samoan government. We had good
breeze during that night and long before
sun up we were stTaining our eyes looking
| for land, but for two more hours we hardly
knew where we were going nor what
direction to take: at last we saw the east
end of Upolu, which we reached by II
o'clock noon, having come forty-tive miles
in twelve hours. We were there told that
| Apia was thirty-fve miles up the coast;
so we
HoIsTED OUR LITTLE UNITED STATES FLAG
and started again; we had pleasant sailing
} for about four hours, when all at once,
after being in a calm, stiff breeze caught
US with broad sail, and the next thing we
realized was that we had been capsized in
the great Pacific. We were not long get
| ting wet and scrambling to the top. We
hailed boat load of natives Just passing,
and they were not long reaching US and
getting cur boat and valises out of the
water, and we soon renewed our journey.
| Apia was still long way off and dark
ness fast approaching. We were unac-
quainted with the reef on this island, so 1t
took sometime TO find a passage in the
| coral so as to drop anchor for the night,
which we finally did, and slept in our wet
boat. When the gray streaks of light be
gan to peep over the horizon, we were row
ing in a smooth sea towards Apia, where
we arrived at II 80 a. IN. We were the
| observed as we rowed into the harbor, and
passed the seven large men-of war, flying
our banner of stars and stripes. There
are three men-of-war from the United
States, under the direction of Admiral
Kimberly-the Trenton, $50 men; Vandalia,
go men and the Nipsic, 100 men. The
| 4l,,.nn 4
Adler, 100 men and the Eber ninety men.
The English feet in Samoa consists of one
elegant man-of-war, the CalliOpe, with $50
men.
THE TOWN OF APIA
is made up of one long street running al
most around the entire beach inside the bay
| lined with stores and houses, nearly all fac
ing the sea. Most of the stores and houses
are of frame, and one story high. There
are, also, few ccal oil street lamps along
this street. The American and Eng
fish merchants are by no means so numer-
Gus as are the Germans, which is only due
to the heretofore German government
! We interviewed the United States consul,
| Mr.. Blackjack, last Friday. We found him
a very atfable gentleman. He assured US
that the United States was not going to let
/ go of the Samoan government until they
had a ruling hand in the same, and that
four more men-of-war were daily expected
to arrive in Samoa: so it seems that the
| United States are preparing for the worst
with Germany.
| On Friday, March 18th, everybody, es-
| peclally old settlers, were greatly excited
over an expected wind storm. They told
US that the barometer never registered
! lower, and that we were going to have a
terrible hurricane. Already the men-of-
war had steamed up, masts down and were
| preparing generally for blow. By Z p.
N. the wind commenced in good earnest,
and by o'clock we were experiencing a
regular cyclone, the waves breaking over
the outside reef with terrific force. Our
little room was only about thirty feet from
| high water mark, but the breakers rushed
right and left of US banking up sand, and
tearing away wharves. There was great
excitement all night, and at daybreak the
raging tempest was worse than ever, and
we were Mortified to see the beach covered
with wrecks and to hear that two of the
German men-of-war (the Eber and the
Adler had gone to the bottom. The Eber
| lost eighty men and the Adler twenty.
| We could just discern, in the binding
spray, the United States Nipsic, with full
steam on. She was dragging her anchors
and would soon be on the reef. Flags were
sIGNALED FOR HELP,
but on account of so rough a sea. nothing
NoNA-- w
was anXiously watched by all the white
men ashore and hundreds of natives, who
| were waiting for chance to render assist
ance. When within about one hundred
yards from the shore, boat was lowered
and five sailors started for the shore. but
IN less than three minutes they were car
ried under and never seen again. Two
natives braved the Storm and after much
hard swimming reached her bow with
rope, and to see the sailors crowd for their
| turn to go down the rope was terrible
| sight. The captain was the last man to
leave the ship, which was high upon the
| beach on a sand bar.
| And still the storm ragged, and the sad
| dest was to come. We could see the Van
dalia was unable to hold her own and was
gradually drifting on the reef She had
been accidental yrun into, during the night,
| by the German men-Of-War. which smashed
her smoke stack, tore away part of her bull
| Warks and knocked a hole in her side An
hour later and she struck the reef Every
| breaker swept her decks clean, and her
crew were clinging to the rigging with life
! buoys and preservers on, not knowing what
moment she would go to pieces and force
! them all into the foaming deep. Under
many difficulties and after many trials. a
rope was stretched from the Nipsic to the
| Eandalla and many men We're saved. al
| though we saw great numbers washed
/ IIOlIl ullC Ibpc anu carried out TO sea. The
rescued sailors did all in their power to
HELP THEIR DROWNING COMRADES.
| We could see the poor sailors in the rigging
waving their caps for help and their cries
were heart rending in the extreme. Many
OF the men were stripped of their clothing,
and, with buoy in hand, were expecting
| every minute to be torn from the rigging
with the breakers which would sometimes
hide them from our view for a minute at a
| time.
| Still, it seemed the worst had not get ar
rived. for we could just see the outlines of
the immense Trenton following directly
| after the Vandalia, and it was believed
that unless the terrible storm abated soon,
a most terrible loss of life would be the re
suit. The English Calliope was seen steam
ing out early this Saturday morning but
it is not known whether she escaped the
reef or not
The wind moderated about 9 O'Clock Sun
day morning, but there was a terrible
spectacle presented by the wrecks and
floating timber. Nothing but the fore
mast of the Vandalia was sticking out of
water, and it was said that credit was due
to Admiral Kimberly for saving the lives of
so many of the Vandalia. After he found
that the Trenton's rudder and propeller had
| been torn away, he let her drift as near the
Vandalia as possible, and thereby saved the
lives of 120 of her crew. The German
Olga is high and dry. She lost no men.
and isn't damaged to any great extent