Wichita eagle., 1889-04-14

no attempt made to leave the vessel In dis
order, Captain Mullen and several Other
officers stood by the rail where the hawsers
were made fast and directed the move
ments OF the men, all OF wnom were Ia any
way sick or injured were allowed 10 leave
first and after that the men came down
the ropes quickly. The seas were rolling
so high under the bows of the steamer
that when the men had advanced ten feet
down the ropes they would often be entire
ly submerged and nothing but the noble
efforts of the natives prevents them from
being washed off and carried away by the
current. As soon as each man would come
within reach he would be grasped ID the
strong arms of half a dozen Samoans and
carried to the consulate. Most OF the men
had but scant clothing; a few had tied
some articles in their handkerchlefs which
they held on to firmly.
Captain Mullan insisted upon being the
last man to leave the deck. he nnaily
found himself upon the deck with Lieu
tenant John A. Sherman and two sailors
by his side. He ordered the sailors TO
leave which they did. The captain being
scending the rope by means of his hands
and legs as all OF the others had done, so
he procured an empty water cask which he
attached to the hawser. When he was
seated in the cask Sherman stood alone on
the deck and started his brave camman-
der down the rope. The plucky lieutenant
then climbed down the rope III the usual
way and the Nipsic was left alone TO bat
tie with the waves.
Lieutenant Fillet:e, of the marine corps,
who was in charge of the Consulate, had
anticipated the destitute condition IN
which the men would be and had ordered
a quantity of dry clothing from neigh
boring store. As the men were taken into
the Consulate he provided them dry
clothes and did everything possible 10
make them as comfortable as circum-
stances would permit.
Vice Consul Blackjack and several other
persons also assisted in relieving the men
and DR.. Dren and his apothecary were
busy for several hours in administering
restoratives to those who were exhausted.
The Nipsic, Adler and Eber were the
smallest ships of war in the harbor. The
four large men-of-war. the Trenton, Cal
liape, Vandalia and Olgo, were still afioat
and were well off the reef. Nearly all
sailing craft had gone ashore. The Trenton
stood we'll out into the bay her
steamer anchors barely holding her head
up out of the wind. The Olga was rolling
terribly. The Vandalia and Cailiope were
close together, nearer the reef than The
other vessels.
TROUBLE ON SHORE.
Meanwhile, much trouble was being eX-
perienced ashore with sailors who had
been rescued from the Nipsic. There was
no place of shelter for the men to go to.
The dry clothing with which they had
been supplied was soon drenched. They
had been at work all night without food
and 1t was impossible to give them break
fast on shore for some time. A great
number Of them visited saloons and it was
not long before many were intoxicated
and looking for an opportunity to cause
trouble.
THE "CALLIOPE" AND ''vANDALIA,"
About 10 O'Clock in the morning the ex-
element on shore which had quieted q
little, commenced to grow more intense as
the Vandalia and Calliope were seen in a
most dangerous position and a collision
between the two vessels seemed inevitable.
They were both bearing back against the
reef near a point where the wreck of the
Adler lay. The Calliope was nearing the
shore and her bow was close to the stern
of the Vandalia. Great waves were toss
ing the two vessels about and they were
coming closer together every minute. The
space between the men of war was seen to
close and suddenly the great iron PROV of
the Englishman rose high in the air on the
crest of an enormous wave and came down
with full force upon the port quarter of
the Vandalia. The jibboom of the CALI
ope was carried away and the heavy tim
bers of the Nandalia were shlvered. Every
man who stood upon the poop deck of the
Nandalia was thrown off his feet by the
shock. A hole had been torn below the
rail and the water rushed into the cabin.
THE ''CALLIoPE" ESCAPES.
Just after this collision Captain Kane,
of the Calliope, determined to make an eff
fort to steam out of the harbor as he saw
that to remain in his present position
would lead to another collision with the
Vandalia or throw his vessel on the reef
He accordingly gave orders to let go all
anchors. The Calliope's head was swung
around to the wind, and her powerful en-
gines worked to their utmost capacity.
1t was an anxious moment on board the
corvette. as with her anchors gone she had
nothing but her engines to depend upon to
keep her off the reef. The steamer seemed
to stand still for moment, and then her
rapidly revolving propeller had its effect,
for the vessel moved up slowly against the
great waves which broke over her
bows. Clouds of black smoke poured from
her tunnels and fresh coal was thrown into
her furnaces. Every tension was strained
in the desperate struggle against the
SlOTm. oue SeeIltti W IlI6he HeI utduWhy
at first inch by inch but her speed gradu-
ally increased until it became evident she
could clear the harbor. As she passed the
breast of the Trenton a great shout went
up from over 400 men aboard the flagship
and three hearty cheers were given for the
Calliope, three cheers for the Trenton, ''and
for the American flag" was the answer
that came back across the water.
When the excitement on the Vandalia
which followed the collision with
the Caliiope had subsidized lit
tie, it was found necessary to
act quickly to save the ship.
The Vandalia was now fast bearing down
on the reef. alongside of the wreck of the
Eber, and hundreds of people who were
watching her from the shore expected TO
see her strike and to go TO pieces every
minute, but she was seen 10 move away
from the reef and make slight Roadway
towards the point where the Nipsic lay.
THE VESSEL BEACHED.
Captain Shoemaker and Lieutenant
Carlin saw it was useless to make any fur
Their attempt to save the ship. As her en-
gines were not powerful enough to steam
out to sea, as the Calliope had done. they
determined to beach the vessel Two OF
her anchor chains were slipped and
full head of steam put on, more
than she had ever dared to carry
before. Past Assistant Engineer Webster
was III charge of the engine room and be
required his whole force of men to exert
themselves to their utmost 70 keep the