The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1898-07-14
une Man Who VIII ,.r-rcr Forget tho
Samoan Dis3Ster.

une Man Who VIII ,+-rcr Forget tho
Samoan Disaster.
"I suppose that all of US who felt the
living, frenzied force of that awful on
shore hurricane will dream about it oc-
casionally as long as we live said an
ex-blue jacket Of the United States
navy, now living in Washington, who
was among the Vandalias ships COM
pany at the time Of the great naval dis
aster in Apia harbor, Samoa, in revert
ing to that experience, says the WASH
ington Star. For three or four years
sound, the memory Of it used to get
tangled up in my head when l was
asleep, and I would wake in a trenble
and be unable to sleep for the remain
der OF the night. But time has sOf en-
ed the craggieT edges OF the remem-
brance of that horrifying black wind,
and once in spell nowadays I forget
all about it for two or three days at a
time. 1t all came back to me with
heavy force when the Maine went uD
IN the air with lot Of my eliminates,
though. There was enc man in my
mess on the Vandalia who was never
quite right after we went on the reef.
l was shlpmate with him for two wears
atterWard and his occasional wildnecs
was plain to all hands and men who've
been shlPmates with him since fer
mes still in the Cutft-tell me that he's
just as badly haunted by the memory
or the disaster as he was when last T
saw him. This man was a shpwright
and his name was Turley. Before we
had that bad blow Turley was as cheer
tul and as clipper man around decks
as L ever swapTed yarns with; but
Wnen he got we'll of his broken arms
down in Apia he was changed man.
| never saw him crack a grin after the
dow, and from a stout, husky fellow
ne became thin and haegard lcokirc
He recovered all right phys :cally from
the thing, you soe, but it sort Of twisted
MS head and preyed upon him. He
swung his hammock alongside Of me
On the Alert for two years after we
were sent up to duty on the west coast
again and it was a common thing for
hurley to hop out CT his hammock in
frenzy IN the middle CT the night. in
port or at sea, yelling like a n,adman,
All hands abandon ship-shc's going
10 str1ke! He created lot Of excite
ment up forward by doing this, but
a1ter awhile the men got used to it and
cnly turned over when they heard Tur-
ley howllng. It was the regular thing
Tor the corporal of the marine guard at
the gangway to prod the pocr chap
awake when he had these crazv SOM
nambulistic spells and put him back
IN his hammock, for he'd come ont Of
them as weak as a kitten and from
ping all over. There were a number
OF us on the Alert who were washed m
in the Samoan disaster, and naturally.
once In while, we'd get to TALKING
about it. But it didn't take us long to
ma out that we couldn' talk about it
While Turley was around. The men-
ton OF the thing in his hearing would
Drlng an insane CLEAN into his ewes
ana ne would suddenly begin to talk
lnconerently and at the top o. his voice
ABOUT reefs and dragging anchors and
al tnat, SO that we learned to knock off
samoan 7'a hurricane talk when he was
around. l don't wonder, much either
Il was an evil enough blow to nigh turn
any mans headgear topsy-turvy.Y