The sun. [volume] (Morris, Stevens County, Minn.) 1882-1895, 1889-04-04
WRECKED AT SAMOA
The American and German GunbOats
Destroyed by a Violent South
Pacific Hurricane.

AUCKLAND, March 29-Dlspatche from
Samoa state that the American men-of-war
Trenton, Nandalia and Nipsic and the Ger
man men-ot-war Adler, Olga and Eber were
driven on reef during violent storm and
totally wrecked. OF the American crews
four officers and forty-sx men were drowned
and OF the German crews nine officers and
elghty-seyen men lost their lives.
THE EIPsIC's OFFICERS.
New YORK, Special Telegram, March 20
Commander Denis ". Mullen, the com
mandcr Of the Nipsic, was ordered to that
duty Oct. !, 1887. Commander Mullen
while not regarded as one of the
brilliant men OF the navy, was
good fighting officer He was
u native of Massachusetts and was OF Irish
parentage The executive officer of the
Nipsic, in the absence of Lieut. Hawley, was
Richard q. Davenport. His reputation
as a first class officer in every re-
speut was vouched for by all the navy
people here. He was a son of the late
Capt. Davenport Of the nay who was one of
the most distinguished navel officers of the
late war and who commanded the Congress
during the battle of Mobile Bay. The other
officers attached to the Nipsic were Lieut..
John H. sherman Ensigns William p.
White, John L. Purcell, Harry A Field,
AMI Harry T. Jones, Passed Assistant Surgeon
Ferr Passed Assistant Paymast er John Cor
win, Chief Engineer George ". Hail Passed
Assistant Engineer Horace Z. Frink and
First Lieutenant of Marines T. Clover Fill
cite. The complement of the Nipsic was "A
marines and b.ua jackets, although some OF
her short time men were sent lone from
Samoa Wnen the Adams left for Samoa when
the Adams left for San Francisco in January
last. The Nipsc was wooden vessel and
was built in 1878. Her displacement was
l 800 tons and indicated speed ten knots.
Her battery consisted of one S-inch muzzle-
loading rifle, four 9-inch smooth bores,
one 6O-pOunder breech-lOading rifle.
In the secondary battery there was one
three-inch rifed howitzer, one twelve
FOUNDER and one shot gattling gun. In adj
Gition to these there wera sixty HOtchklss
rifles of the latest improved pattern i'll the
armory, besides the usual number of pistols
and side arms allow ed by regula ton for YES
sells of the Nlps:c cas0.
THE VESSELS
The Trenton and Vandalia were larger
than the Nipsic The Trenton was ship
=
and 5000 tons displacement The
VundaIia was bark-rigged wooden
cruiser of .. 100 tons dspuc1 ment, with q
batt"ry of eight guns mostly smooth bOres.
As far as known the Olga was the most for
niGaO!e Of the German vessels at Apia She
was unalmOrr d and unprotected single deck
cruiser OF .. POO tons. Her principal battery
consisted Of eight-inCh Krupp lit1es and q
number Of Hotchkiss revolving cannon. She
carried about half 4 dozen SchWartZ-kOpi
torpedoes, which are similar TO tha White
head torpeGoes in that they are projected
from tubes beneath the water line The speed
of the O'gI was somewhat superior to that
of the Vandal ia, her maximum trial speed
having Eeen fourteen. The Adler and the
Eber Were not rs large or as strong a. the
Olga, the Adler carrying four and the Ebel
three Krupp rifles. The great strength OF
the German feet from a fighting standpoint
lay in lis possession of torpedoes.