The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1889-04-14

: z1p ofz TIE reef that when she tkrnes
: ossr on her sixse nearly hal
, tese hal was aDt Of the water
Most os the men who were struggling
: lad but a few feet "a reach tho deck
: Nhere they ciIzns 10 the guas ana
fo4Sfs Ia safety. Of the fSa afssce-s
! and nlcn aboard. - nnen wers
drowned o. killed when the steaaae,
: cafsSized. The natives stresehel
: = rope from the shore % the deck ol
! the Adler during the day, and . NAM.
: Der of the s1slors escaresf in thar way.
: but the rope parted before al had lef.
! sae yesSel ana the Others were no.
! taken of Till next day.
! II vas only lsy the naoss skilifus
management that the officers OF the
! NipSac and her crew we're saved from
: the same fate that hefeil the Eber.
The Sipsic Also narrowly escaped de-
Strucsion by being run into by the
Olga. and il was the blow she recei SET.
from thai vessel that finally sent her
! ashore. The Nipsie had on all the
steani il was possible for her II carry.
and bad just sacceesed in getting clear
81 the reefs when the little schooner
ialase got III her track and was cut
st0ssn. The Olga vas bearing ON the
Nipsle a. the time. snsf the latter res
!. sci was trying 20 avoid collision with
TIE German when she struck. The
little schooner sank out Of elght III d
! moment There were three men
aboard 1f the schooner. One was saved
TIE Nipsie got well away from the
! reef after she struck the Lille. and the
rnen had attached haNser 10 a heavy
eigkf-inch rifle on the forward deck.
hoping TO hc1st the gun overheard 10
assist her ashore. when the Olga agxiu
bore down on her. The oiga struck
the Nspsle asnidsnips, her howspirit
/ passed ever the port side OF she Nip
sic, aTsa, after carrying away the boat
and sptintering the rail. eanae in con-
Fact with the smoke~staek. The
smoke stack wss struck fairly in the
center. and fell 10 the deck with a
crash like thunder. The crew believed
the steamer was going down, ard the
men ran up the rigging for safety.
The iron slaGke-st tack rolled from side
70 SIDE with every movement ul the
I vessel Having lost her smoke stack.
! the Nips.c was unable 10 keep up her
steam power. and il was useless 10 at
tempt 10 steam out from The reef Ia
the face OF the wind
Capt. Mullan was upon the bridge at
| the time, and remained cool ami col
lected during the dangerous moments.
! Excitement on the Nipsic had reached
i the highest pitch. Several men stood
/ By their posts nohiy, but many were
demoralixed and refused 10 listen 70
orders. 1t was plain that in another
monaen; the SipSic would be upon the
reef and probably every man on board
be lost. Capt. Mullan saw that anv
/ further attempt 10 save his vessel
would be useless. so he gave orders to
beach her. One anchor was slipped.
anu the few pounds of steam which
could stili be used kept the vessel in
deep water until she had cleared the
reef. Boxes Of salt pork and other in-
f'ammable material was thrown in the
furnace 10 keep up the fires. Her
head was put around to shore and she
laid straight course of a hundred
wards to the sandy beach in front OF
the American consulate. Her engines
worked as hard as the amount of
steam would permit.
When the Nipsic struck, her en-
gineer did not take time 10 stop err
gines, and her propeller continued 10
revolye for an hour. The bow stuck
fast in the sand about Is yards from
the waters edge. Five sailors jumped
into one boat, but were thrown into
the water and drowned. Several men
on the Nipsic ran 10 the rail and
jumped overheard among them being
Lieut. X. q. Davenport. All reached
the shore in safety, except two sailors,
who we're unable to swim through the
current. end were swept out into the
bay and drowned By this .iaae every
man aboard had crowded on the fore
castle. The natives rushed down
near the bow OF the steamer and
shouted TO those on the deck above 10
throw g line. Double hawsers were
soon made fast from the deck 10 the
shore, and the natives gathered
around the lines 70 assist the men off.
The seas broke upon the stern OF the
Nipsic with awful force. and ID seemed
as If the vessel would be shattered TO
pieces before the men on her decks
could be saved. The waves were roll
ing high on the beach. and the under
tow was 80 strong that the natives
narrowly escaped being washed into
the hay.
The terrible force Of the wind can
hardly be imagined. The rain corr
tinned 10 pour. and the clouds OF iiy-
ing sand grew thicker every moment.
All tho were anv wav sick or Injured
were allowed 10 leave first, and after
that the men came down the rope
quickly. The seas were rolling 30 high
under the bows OF the steamer that
when the men had advanced 10 feet
down tie ropes they would often be
entirely submerged, and nothing bat
the noble efforts OF the natives pre-
vented them from being washed of
and being carried away by the current
As soon as each man would come
within reach he would be grasped in
the sropg arms Of halt b dozen Sa-
iaoans and carried 10 the consulate
Most 81 the men had but Scant cloth
ing.
Capt Aullan insisted apun being the
last ngan 10 leave the ship He finally
iound himself on the deck with Lienr.
John f. Sherman and two sailors hy
his side He ordered the sailors 10
leave, which they did. The captain,
! being unable To swim. did not care to
trn-. TO descending the rope by means
o: his hands and legs. as al the others
had cone. - he procured an empty
| Nsfer-eaSk, bicii he attached 20 the
( hgwsev. When he was seated in the
cask sherman stood alone ON the deck
and started his commander do~n the
rope. Tie lieutenant then climbed
down the rope in the usual way, aud
the SipSie was lett alone 10 battle with
/ tire waves.
The Nipsic, Adler and Eber were the
smallest war-ships in the harbor, The
four large men-ofsar, the Trenton
| Cal.iape, Nand2lia and Olga, wefe sill
ailoat aud were well off the rsef.
I Nearly ali the sailing craft had gone
ashore
/ MeznwhiIe much trouble was being
4 experienced ashore with the sailor
who lad been reecued Erofu the Nipsic
There was 10 place s3f shelter for the
! men 20 go and the dry clothing with
which they had been proyigaea was
soon esrencheJ. Ii Was impossible Co
give them breakfast on shore fer some
tine. 4 great nBmber CT them visited
the saloons. and IL was not long before
many were intoxicated and looking
70. an opportunity - cause trouble.
They we're very beisteFous and quar-
rvlsome all dav.
| Aboa, 10 o'clock in the morning ex-
element on shore, which had quoted a
/ little Just after the sipsic struck, com
menced 20 grow mere intense. as the
yandalia and talliope were in a most
/ dangerous position. A c0iiision be-
tween the tao vessels seemed ihesita-
| bic, and they we're 10th bearing back
! against the reef near the point where
tie wreck OF the Adler lay. The Cal
liope WAS nearer shore, and her bow
was close 70 the stern OF the Eandatia.
! Crest waves gers tossing the vessels
and they were coming closer together
every minute. The space between the
q ~ "a. tsxa