The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1889-04-14

ly gave orders to let 60 all anchors. The Cal
liope's head was swung around to the wint
and her powerful engines urged to theI
fullest capacity. The steamer seemed t.
stand still for a moment. and then thu
rapidly revolving propeller had its effect
and the vessel went up slowly against the
great waves. She made Roadway at hrs
inch by inch, but gradually increased he
speed until it became evident that she coulC
clear the harbor. As she passed the Tren
ton, a great shout went up from the 40C
men ON the flagship, and three hearty cheer;
were given for the Calhope, which were re
turned with will The English Vesse
passed safely out OF the harbor and steamed
far out to sea, returning after the storm
abated. She sustained little injury outside
the loss of her boats.
When the excitement on the Vandalia
which followed the collision with the Cali
ope, had subsidized a little, it was found nee
essary to act quickly to save the ship.
Lieutenant Carlin first officer, was practi-
cally in charge of the vessel, as Captain
SchoOnmaker had been thrown across the
cabin the night before and seriously in
jured his head being badly cut and one ear
almost torn away. Notwithstanding his
injuries, he faced the storm and stood by
his first officer until finally swept off to his
death. He was in such a weakened condi
ton he could do but little toward directing
UlS movements Ol LIS SHIP. i lit ulSuCS
praise is given Lieutenant Carlin, who had
been on duty since the morning before and
had not tasted food all that time. Though
weakened and exhausted he kept his posi-
ton by the side of Captain Schoonmaker
and Lieutenant Wilson, navigation officer,
and encouraged every one arouno him.
The Vandalia was now fast bearing down
upon the reef alongside the Wreckage OF
the Eber, and hundreds of people on the
Cb a,yrNan+o1 mi,
SEE HER STRIKE.
she was soon seen, however, to move away
from the reef and make slight Roadway to
wards the point where the Nipsic lay.
Captain Schoonmaker andLieutenantC arlin
saw it was useless to make further attempt
to save the ship, and as the engines were
not powerful enough to steam out to sea as
the Calliope had done, they determined to
| beach the vessel Two of her anchors were
slipped and a full head of steam put on. She
came on until her bows struck the soft
sand about forty yards from the stern of
| the Nipsic. The Vandalia swung around
broadside to the beach, and it was seen that
| her officers and crew were in great danger.
| In half an hour the vessel was seen to
be filling with water and settling down,
lying as she did almost broadSide to. Seas
| broke over herfuriously, and water poured
| down the matches. BY noon the wheel gun
deck was under water, and from that time
| on the condition Of the men was most
pitiable. Torrents of water that swept
over the rail knocked them from their feet
and threw them violently against the sides,
several being severely i iured. Most of
the men sought refuge in = rigging, but
a few of the officers re4nt " / "pon the
pOop-deck. Nearly every one on IOard had
cast away most of his clothing, and some
were entirely naked a few provided
themselves with life preservers, but these
could not be obtained for all, so rapidly did
the vessel fill. The men on shore were
powerless to render assistance.
NO BOAT COULD HAVE LIVED
a moment in the surf and it was impossi-
bic to carry a line across to the steamer, as
| there was no firing apparatus on the shore.
Lieutenant Sherman and EnsIgnS Purcell
and Jones attached small cord to a haw-
ser and three natives ventured in the surf
in an attempt to reach the Vandalia. They
entered the water a quarter of a mile above
where the steamer lay, Waded out as far as
| they could, and then struck out in the cur
rent with cord tied to their bodies. Elk
pert swimmers as they We're, they were I'M
able to overcome the force of the current,
which rushed down like a cataract between
the Vandalia and the shore, and the men
were thrown upon the beach without be-
ing able to get within fifty yards of the
! Vandalia. Their chief urged them to try
again. Several other attempts We're made,
but with the same result.
Finding it was impossible to reach the
| vessel there was nothing to do but to re
main near the shore and wait for an oppor-
tunity to render any assistance that might
| be possible 1t was evident that many of
the men would not be able to stand the
force Of the waves much longer, and many
natives Waded into the water and stood on
the edge Of the current waiting to grasp
any one who should float near them.
SEAS CONTINUED TO BREAK OVER
the vessel, and it was not long before
several men were swept over the side. AS
soon as they touched the water they swan
for the Nipsic, which was the nearest OBJ
ject Most of them reached the Nipsic,
where they grasped the ropes hanging over
the sides and attempted to draw themselves
upon the deck. A number succeeded in
doing this, but others were so weak that
after hanging to the ropes few minutes
their grasp was broken by the awful seas
which crashed against the side of the yes
sci and they fell back into the current
The first man to come ashore was Chief
Engineer Green. He was first washed off
the poop-deck of the Vandalia, and after
desperate struggle was caught by the ma
tiVes and brought to shore. Next was
Naval Cadet Wiley, who was very brave.
| Natives, Just as he was sinking, caught
him and he was carried to the American
consulate insensible. 1t was not long after
| Green and Wiley were washed over that
| four officers were drowned by being swept
| from the deck. Captain SChoonmaker was
clinging to the rail on the poop-deck, and
| Lieutenant Carlin was doing his utmost to
support him, as the captain was becoming
| weaker every minute. No one knew it
better than himself and he remarked to
those around him that he
WOULD HAVE TO GO SOON.
At last great wave struck the Vandalia
on the port quarter and submerged the
deck Captain Schoonmaker held on to the
rail with all his remaining force, but the
torrent of water was so strong that
machine gun near by was washed from its
fasteningS and sent Whirlng across the
deck Captain Shoemaker was struck on
the head by the gun, and either killed out
right or knocked senseless, as he was swept
off the deck Immediately and seen no more.
Paymaster Armes and Pay Clerk Roche
were swept off together and soon sank.
Marine Lieutenant Sutton died in
much the same way. During
the remainder of the afternoon
there followed a succession of awful
scenes of death and suffering. The storm
had not abated in the least and the waves,
that seemed like mountains of ysater, rolled
in from the ocean and broke over the i'll
fated vessels. Sheets of water which fell
from clouds and sand beaten up from the
shore struck against the houses like hail,
while the men and even the natives were
frequently obliged to run to shelter. The
Vandalia continued to settle, and the few
men who had not already taken to the rig
cling stood upon the poop deck or forecastle
n