The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1899-05-02

paper Our Flag" the appended graph
ic memorandum of the fighting in
Samoa. The matter before going into
type was yised by officers Of the Am
erlcan cruiser.)
Saturday, April /, 1899.
Cur starboard steam launch with a
I-pounder mounted over the foes lie
IeIc 10 go up the West coast inside the
reef wnle the forpolse accompanies
ner on the outside. The Roya1.st went
OUT 10 SneII around t&gaul.
Inc German merchant Darkenune
when lett port d lew days ago, ana
winch has been laying up on the west
ern horizon just outside the reef ever
since IS suspected OF selling arms ana
ammunition TO MaUaaIa. sac Was
Ioverhauled before leaving port.
BATTLE OF FAGALu.
800 p. II. Distant firing heard TO
| che East. supposed to be the Steam
| launch.
$500 p. Ia. The Royalist is close in
| 90 the reef about five miles East. She
seems TO be acting strangely. Can not
make out her signals. Two OF her
| UttZtIS 4SdFC LOi lllG SiOIS- kJilC 10
shells ashore.
| $50 p. N. sWigwag from Camp Hol-
ioway says: Captain says: send rem
| forcemenLs at once" All our deck force
was sent at once. This takes all the
rifles in the armory. The Englishmen
OFT the Tauranga were the first to get
ashore.
| $40 p. ia. Laird, shot in left hip;
Andrews, III right leg; Johns. in left
shoulder; Mccarthy, through right
wrist and Wellington, IN right arm,
brought aboard. Lieut.. LanSdale, En-
Isign Monaghan and Acting Electrician
Edsal1 missing and supposed to be
dead, and Butler, shot through the
heart, are the results of today's battle
to our men.
The little band of men that was to
receive such rough treatment at the
hands of the white capped Mataafa
men numbered less than 100 white men
and about 100 natives. The natives
led, being sent ON ahead and on the
right flank to deploy as scouts. The
white men came in the following ord
Ter: Colts automatic and crew, Eng
Ihsh Marines, American Marines, Am
lerican Bluejackets, English Bluejack-
letc. When they started ON the return
they We're in this reverse order when
the fighting began, except that the
Colts automatic was to the fore.
The senior officer was First Lieuten-
ant A. z. Freeman, Executive Officer
of the Tauranga, there was also pres
ent Lieut.. Cave of the Royal Navy.
Lieut.. Philip V. Lansdale, Executive
Officer of the Philadelphia, was our
senior officer. He was assisted by En-
sign Monaghan and First Lieut.. G. M.
Perkins, U. S. NJ. G.. The men came
mostly from Camp Lansdale, only the
/ squad on post being left behind, with
twenty marines from Camp Holloway.
The start was made from Camp Hol-
laway at 1870 p. M.
The route lay up the beach to the
East for about four miles, then a mar
row trail was followed till an inland
road was found parallel to the beach
and about one mile from it. This road
| was followed for about a mile to the
village of Vaivase. This village was
burned and then the start for home
| was made.
| Soon two white capped natives were
seen crossing the road ahead. They
were followed on the cross road lead
ling INLAND and to the South. (These
| two natives are now thought to have
been decoys) The lead was followed
land the road turned to the west back
| towards Apia, leading through Faga-
| lii This was followed down into
gulch, over a little muddy creek and
up the other side, where the enemy was
found in force. They opened fire from
| a little low ridge or breastWOrk at the
top of the hill directly in front. The
Colts automatic was placed near a
| -ha CT n .lc
soon as it started. This was soon fixed
but a second she'll Immediately became
damned in the mechanism of the gun.
Blacksmith Callaghan was trying 70
| fix this when Mr.. Lansdale ordered the
gun abandoned. Fisher took out the
barrel and hid it, while the rest of the
crew scattered the cartridges over the
ground. The natives were delivering a
heavy fire though few of them could be
seen.
Our own natives had very little am
lmunition and retired as soon as it was
Ispent.
Wellington was the first man wound
ed and was ordered to retire. When
shot he was facing the enemy having
just fired his rifle. The shot struck
him in the right elbow from behind
and he supposed it to be an accidental
shot from our own side until he
reached the Consulate, where Capt.
White picked the bullet out Of his arm.
It was a big round slug which proves
THAT they were nearly surrounded 1T
the first. Shaw, of the Colts automatic
crew, took Wellington's gun, and
standing close behind Butler picked
the cartridges out of his belt, for his
crew carried no rifles. Lieut.. Freeman
was the first man killed. Butler fell
Unto Shaw's arms with bullet through
his heart. He was shot in two places
before this. Mr.. Lanedale was wound
ed early in the fight. Near him was
Mr.. Monaghan. Ranlett and Callagha2
lstarted down the canon with Mr.. Lans-