New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1889-04-15
ORDER RESTORED IN APIA
AMERICANS IN CHARGE OF TIE POLICE
~ux sHrYwREcKED SAILORS TROUBLESOME AT
TrRsT-MATAAPA OFFERING THE NATIVE
HOUSES FOR QuARTEES-pAN6hK
or PEvERS-E0RrT BODIES
rouNn AND HuHlEn

or FEvERs-EoRTY BODIES
FOUND AND BURIED
cs,vvssat 1859: 81 Tas Ns< rsrs AssesSassa Frees
unia Samoa, March 80. via San Francisco April
sA--Af,er the storm Of March 16 had snosioed,
and after the officers and crews Of the wreoheo
vessels had como ashore, the evidence Oh 'ne awnuA
asst-uction WAS ursseuted on every hand. Inc
n.vr,ap survivors remained in that part OF the
,oyn whore the property of the German lrading
Com1any is located, but the American saliors wah-
ao,e6 from one end Of the town to the other Inc
.a,oons were crowded with them, ana u was noU
-. 80. many were disorderly Vloe-Consui
plao,lock recognizing TIE gravity Oh the Stua-
60 s;s.rsa neremptery notice to al saioonKeep-
:. .ha town OF whatever nationality, forbid
a., .ho,r IN selI or in any way furnish liquor TO
.ha American sailors, and warning them thah il
49,, Ala NOT obey this order, guard OF marines
,,ould be sent to their places, ana all the hquor
found would be emptied into the stree1
Jieuteuant Fillette did all IN MS power
to preseryo order, but his small guard
was totally inadequate. and they were all
needed to protect the consulate; besides his whole
time was occupied in providing clothing and other
neoesssries for the officers and men OF the VAN
dalia as they had lost everything when the vessel
went down, and majority of them had htth or
no clothing Accordingly Lieutenant Fillette wrote
to Admiral Kimberly, who was still aboard the
Trenton, asking that an additional marine guard
he sent ashore to police the town and protect
nroperty. The Admiral complied with this re-
ouest and Captain r w. Huntington, marine
officer Of the Trenton, was sent ashore with guard
Of about fifty men. The next thing to be done
was 10 provide food and quarters for the ship
wrecked sailors. The Copra warehouse, be-
longing to the firm of William Macarthur & Co.,
was obtained and men were sent there for the
time being. A hasty examination was made Of the
Njpsic and though there was considerable water
In her hold. she was found in fair condition, and
her officers and men were sent aboard as quickly
As possible Contracts were made with various
parties for feeding the Sailors though it was a
difficult matter to provide them with much fooo
during the day temporary hospital was pro-
yitied for the large number OF men who nao peen
injured or we're suffering from exhaustion
Admiral Kimberly was the last to leave the
American flagship Trenton. lie went at once
TO some rooms which had been provided Tor MN
in the house of an American resident. The
Associated Press correspondent found the Admiral
a few hours later. sitting alone on the porch OF
n small house facing the harbor. There was an
EXPRESSION of great anxiety on his face as he
sat watching the wrecks of the American men-of-
war.
aIs il not awful he remarked to the CORE
spondent "In all my experience on sea nave
never seen D storm to equal this one. can
hardly realize yet the full extent of damage "hlcn
has been done. My chief anxiety now is TO get
these 500 or 900 sailors back to America. IL
would be of no use for them to remain here, ana
/ must get them home as quickly as possible
shall either telegraph to Washington for q
stpaner TO be sent from San Francisco to take
the men back, or I viii chartee steamer IN
Auckland. They must get back soon in some
way"
The Admiral was asked a question in regard
to his own experience during the storm, but had
little to saw of personal nature. He continued /:
sThe fires of the Trenton went out at
10 o'clock in the morning, and our
rudder and propeller were carried away at the
same time. No one can realize the force with
which the rudder was struck. l suppose piece
of wreclxage fouled it. The pilot-wheel whirled
around with terrible velocity, every spoke In II
was broken. and one Of the men at the wheel
had a leg broken Great volumes Of water poured
in upon the berth-deck through the hawse-pipes'
the fire-room was soon flooded, and the fires were
mt out The hawse-pipes should never nave Deen
plaeed where they were 1t was piece OF 1auity
construction which the Government ofnclals had
been asked to remedy several times. III they mao
tsen located on the deck above, the water could
49,. have come in I consider this as indirectly
che cause of the loss Of the Trenton After our
steam oave out we used the storm sail, and sent
I'll. men into the rigging and used tnem as saihS'
The ship was handled sklfuny. Ii wouh nave
been impossible for to steam out OF the haroor'
as the CaIliope did, as our engines were no.
,,,vsyful enough. We had on every pound OF
steam that we could carry and with tnree ahonorS
ont we were not able to hold up against the
stovr, We tonight against it as long we could
40 so. but were finally driven back upon the shore
The Admiral spoke feelingly of the death OF
Captain Schoonmaker and other officers and men
who perished
tits difficult to imagine the great confusion that
prevailed on shore during the first day after the
storm. Many disorderly sailors were placed under
arrest Captain Fritze, the senior German officer
was asked TO cooperate in providing police pro
lection, but he informed the American officers that
he was afraid to trust his own men as guards, as
the American sailors would attack them, and he
requested the Americans to take full control Of the
town. This was accordingly done. Captain Hunt
ington and Lieutenant Fillette stationed their
marines all over Apia, and the sailors were not
permitted to go to that part Of the town where
the Germans had their headquarters.
The confusion of the first few days disappeared
by the end of the week. The quarters Of the ship
wrecked sailors had been made more comfortable.
and the daily routine duty was properly attended
to. Consul Blacklocks orders prohibiting the sale
Of liquor to sailors had good effect, and few
drunken men were to be seen. The town is still
under marine guard in charge of Captain Hunting
ton, and Mataafa's police have also assisted in
maintaining order The men from the Trenton
and vandalia have separate barracks, and have
erected temporary tents for shelter. The Nipsic
men are still living aboard their vessel and the
German survivors are quartered IN warehouse
belonging to a German firm. WORKING parties are
kept busy all the time on the wrecks OF the iren-
ton and yspdalia. and articles of every description