The record-union. [volume] (Sacramento, Calif.) 1891-1903, 1899-05-06

ON Their Return to Their Ships
Known by the German to be
Lined With Rebels.
SAN FRANCISCO, May 5-The regu-
lar correspondent of the Associated
Press, writing from Apia, Samoa, under
date of April Goth, gives a detailed ac-
count of the fight in which Lieutenant
Lansdale and Ensign Monaghan of the
american navy and Lieutenant Free
Iaan of the British navy lost their lives
On April LIST landing party, made UP
of sixty American sailors and marines
and sixty-two English sailors and about
40 natives, proceeded to Valele 10
break up an assemblage of rebels who
had been committing depredations IN
the vicinity The party was under COM
mand of Lieutenant Angel Freeman,
first officer of the Tauranga, and with
him were Lieutenants Cave of the Por-
poise and Hickman of the Royallst- me
Americans were under command OF
Lieutenant Lansdale, who had with MN
Ensign Monaghan and Lieutenant Per-
kins of the Marine Corps. DR.. Lung
of the Philadelphia also accompanied
the expedition.
When the party had reached the Ger
man plantation Lieutenant Cave asked
CAPTAIN Hufnagel the German man
ager. if there were any Samoans in the
vicinity. The manager said that mona
had been there that day. At that very
moment, and within a few hundred
yards of the expedition, was a large
body of rebels. Hufnagel advised :hat
a return home be made by way Of the
main road through the plantation. as
everything was quite safe and no rebels
had been about Three other Germans
were with Hufnagel and heard this con-
versation.
No one gave any warming of danger.
The march to the beach was conmenc-
ed, and no sooner had the men got out
of the plantation premises when at a
bend in the road 400 yards away large
numbers of rebels were seen. Colt
automatic gun, of which the natives
have great dread, was Immediately
brought forward 1t refused to act. The
rebels got off clear and a halt was made
to fix the gun. This took half an hour,
and Lieutenant Landslide fired few
trial shots The gun worked all right
N---
friendly natives in the lead
Misled by the information of HUFF
nagel. it was decided to return by the
main road The open space where the
Germans had been mastered by Ma
taafa ten years ago was passed and the
troops marched down the road into a
narrow gully, the sides of which were
covered with buffalo grass.
n H. xxTt ~. c-1tnt inc q
last of the troops had begun to march
through the gully, the rebels fired upon
them. The line was about 300 yards in
length. The rebels were lying in the
long grass while some We're in the tops
of cocoanut trees. The Colt gun again
refused to act, and while Lieutenant
Lansdale was trying to fix it he was
wounded in the knee.
At the beginning of the fight Lieuten-
ant Freeman was shot through the
chest and fell dead. The friendly ma
tives retreated ct the first fire and the
whole force was thrown into confusion.
The retreat was imperative and the au-
tomato gun was accordingly abandoned
after the ammunition had been scat
tered and the breech taken away, rem
dering it still more useless.
The allied forces were surrounded en-
three sides. Through the scrub and
grass the sailors retired, Lansdale be-
ing assisted by his men.
The firing of the rebels was severe.
Lansdale, who was being assisted by
Ensign Monaghan and two men, seeing
that he could not get away, urged them
to leave him to his fate One AmeTi-
can sailor was shot dead and the other
~
treated and escaped Monaghan re-
fused to go and stayed with his fellow
officer. Next morning their headiess
bodies We're found on the battlefield
Mcnaghan's revolver was empty, as was
Lansdale. Between them lay the dead
bodies of three rebels. Monaghan, be-
fore the last man left him, shot the
chief, Aiono dead as he was advanc-
ing on Lansdale.
Deserters from Mataafa's side relate
how Monaghan stood over Lansdale I'M
til that officer was shot dead. and then
tried to escape himself, but was unable
to do so.
When the main party reached The
beach If was found that four men were
missing, besides the officers. They Were
Edsall and Butler of the Philadelphia
anu Lung ana IIOul liViiA tiAC III itisi
ships.
DIR. Lung, who had been conspicuous
for his GOODNESS and bravery under fire,
took command of the American forces,
and on the approach of reinforcements
the rebels retired. Several of the Ma
lietoa natives lost their lives.
The decapitated bodies of the three
officers We're recovered on the field next
morning, and on Easter Sunday the
bodies We're buried with the heads
which had been recovered by a French
priest. All the leading American and
British officials and residents were
present. The Germans were conspicu-
Gus by their absence, the only one at
tending being Pastor Margraf, who had
known Lansdale in the United States
The German warship Fake had her flag
at half-mast, and her officers sent
ashore two wreaths entwined with the
German national colors
In the fight there were killed on the
Mataafa side forty three, and fifty We're
wounded.
A complete list of the white dead and
wounded is as follows:
Americans-Dead Lieutenant Philip
". Lansdale, Ensign ]. R. Monaghan