Los Angeles daily herald., 1889-04-21

storm on his vessel, Captain Farquhar
thanks Admiral Kimberly for his earnest
counsel, and ''for keeping us in good |
cheer, particularly when in our greatest
danger, by your good example,"
During these trying days." he con- |
tiDues, 'sthe officers sustained the repu-
t2tion that our navy is proud of. The
crew generally worked we'll. Lieutenant
Brown, the Navigator, was by my side
the whole time, and, by his excellent
judgment, at one time, the ship was
cleared of the reef. Had we struck it,
fear that few of the 400 souls on board
the Trenton would be alive to-day"
Captain Farquahar's last paragraph is
as follows: Il respectfully demand a
Court of Inquiry"
LIEUTENANT oARLIN's REPORT.
WASHINGTON, April 20.-Lieutenant
Csrlin, commanding the survivors of the
Vandalia, in his report to Admiral Kim
berly, says the Vandalia was prepared
for heavy weather, in obedience to sig
nails from the flagship. When the strength
of the gale reached the Vandalis, the
ship was directly on the hawse of the
Calliope, rendering it injudicious to veer.
All the vessels in the harbor were to
leeward of the Vandalia except the Tren
ton. About midnight of the 18th, the
Vandalia began TO drag, and commenced
to steam up with few intermissions until
she struck, the speed varying from
eighteen to forty-two revolutions. The
engines worked we'll, with the exception
Of short time when the steam ran down
to twenty-five pounds by an accident to
one OF the boilers, of which there were
eight, and they furnished all the steam
the engines could use. At daylight,
Lieutenant Carlin says, the vessels were
seen in the inner harbor to be in trouble.
The Eber soon disappeared entirely, and
the Adler struck the reef.
"After the Calliope put to sea-" Lieu
tenant Carlin Gays, lone obstacle was
removed from our path, and feeling that
the vessel must go on the reef if it re-
NAMED where it was, every exertion was
made to get the schooner into the inner
harbor. The engines were kept going
until the Captain was convinced that the
ship was hard and fast. Her head swung
slowly to the starboard. She began to
fill and settle and her rail was awash, the
eeas sweeping over her at a height of Is
feet. Many attempted to swim, but SO
many were drowned that the remainder
were deferred. The commanding officer
was washed overheard about half an
hour after the ship struck The crew
took refuge in the top of the rigging,
where they remained eight hours, when
nearly all of them were taken off by the
Trenton. The Vandalia is total loss.
Her rail is awash and she is filling with
sand. There is nothing standing except
her foremast. The safe was brought
ashore, but, aside from that, the articles
recovered will be insignificant"
In conclusion, Lieutenant Carlin gays
the loss of the Vandalia was due to the
extreme violence of the gale, the great
height of the seas, the extraordinary
strength of the current, the poor holding
ground and the unprotected condition of
the small harbor, fringed with coral reefs
and crowded with vessels.
THE ADMIRAL's OFFICIAL REPORT.
Kimberly's official report, which ac-
companied the above letter, is quite long.
1t gives the details of the disaster sub
stantialiy as related by the Associated
Press correspondent in his report from
| Apia, but much less fully. The follow
| ing points of interest are taken from the
Admiral's report:
Kimberly says the indications of bad
weather appeared during the forenoon OF
| EIIudHs bud 1Otn Vi VuhICHt Auu al l.
O'Clock commenced preparations to meet
the gale by sending down the lower
yards, housing the topmasts, lighting the
| fires and raising steam. He refers to the
fact that most of the water came into the
| flagship through the hawse-pipes, as re-
| lated in the Associated Press reports.
The Admiral says all efforts to prevent
| this failed, owing to the force of the
f5ao n drsv rxt hi Y1ea1 or
| them.
| ALL DID THEIR DUTY.
Admiral Kimberly, continuing his de-
tailed report, gives list of the killed,
which does not differ from that sent out
by the Associated Press last week. He
| then continues: "During the entire time,
Captain Farquhar showed great care and
good Judgment in handling the ship
| through this terrific gale, and never left
| the bridge. He was ably seconded by
his executive and navigating officers,
who did all in their power to navigate
the ship.
'In fact, as far as l could observe, all
the officers behaved extremely well un-
| der the trying circumstances, and per-
formed their duties cheerfully, effectively
| and as we'll as could be desired, This
disaster is classified among the incidents
and accidents inseparable from the pros
ecution of duty. Its magnitude, how
ever, gives it Distinguishing feature
which, fortunately, the service is rarely
compelled to witness.
A COURT OF INQUIRY ASKED FOR.
Captain Farquhar has demanded
Court of Inquiry. No disinterested Of
ticers are available here.
II therefore respectfully refer the en-
tire matter to the Department, and if
further investigation should be deemed
necessary, should be pleased to have
Court of Inquiry ordered.
THE APPEARANCE OF THE WRECKS.
Some of the wrecked vessels were now
in plain sight. The Nipsic was well in
shore on good bottom, with her stem to
lhe seas. The Vandalia had sunk against
the reef. Her masts were standing, and
the tops and rigging filed with men, and
the spray and surf flying to the mast
heads. The Eber was nowhere to be
seen. The Adler was on her side high
on the reef. The Olga had turned for
the shore, and was going ahead under
steam and sail, and was beaehed on a
good bottom and in good position to
the seas. All this time the gale was
blowing with unabated fury. About
O'Clock we were expecting to strike the |
reef momentarily, as it WAS directly un-
der our stern, but, as we were on the |