Show THE APIA DISASTER the following account of the ble loss lose of ships and lives at abia apia a is dated march 30 and reached san francisco april 12 iu the little group of samoan or navigator islands which a few of utha ago attracted the attention tod the civilized sized world by the fierce feth cruel crue combat between the two et ons of natives and the conse tryall ft jerd serious difficulty between Y and the united states b by the disaster dis teaster astir more appalling than 1 all at wars Ms ever w waged here the bulted Jul abed I 1 losi ted 6 states and ad shermany Gh amany ermany have 06 dearly lives and y lent worth of PP ro perty the most vio v bod and destructive hurricane ever ln in the south pacific passed 0 ovo arthe the islands the and of SIX aggy and I 1 as a result the fleet of war W rr ships and ten other ships t re 6 ground to atoms on the coral the tt f 1 of 0 the th harbor or thrown on dal beach 0 in I 1 n front of A abia apia pla the lass states la 18 frigate trenton the heft neof bof the pacific squadron am k wl in n a stones throw of the erlean can consulate a total wreck V e great hull bull of the magnificent which steamed into the hartom harto barto to ra r 4 few rew weeks ago rests on the bot 1 Q aa going to pieces the united 0 out steamer vandana is buried tod d of vl sih between the trenton th bhore etiore eter shattered fored MW and smokestack smoke stack rises from the ve V ter to mark where the gallant asel hon all struck uck and lay for twelve 1 W M before afore an awful torrent of art 2 swept four of her officers ficere of and alt arty aino ine men from the deck and 8 A the S S lay for wui wit ays YS v alongside the VV 11 high on OB the beach and arty forty feet of the waters water Is edge esteel et teel though badly damaged was hauled off a few days ago and Is the only war ship afloat in the harbor the three american men of war swept ashore almost at the same spot the force of the storm was never equaled in this part of the world before the barometer had been falling failing steadily for several days previous and the wind commenced to blow on friday march and continued till sunday morning rain fell in torrents during the whole time and great clouds of sand swept over the town hundreds of people stood on the beach and watched the awful spectacle in the harbor the vessels all had a full head of steam and three or four anchors were out the yard and topmasts top masts were down and every precaution was taken to secure the safety ot the ships but the te wind constantly shifted from east to northwest and the force was so great that the vessels dragged their anchors all over the harbor drifting from one side to another and coming into collision several times tremendous seas broke over them and torrents of water rushed down the hatchway and put out the fires persons on shore were powerless to aid the ships hundreds stood on the shore in a blinding stor storm watching the great vessels pitch about and drift on to total destruction the sea broke upon the shore rushing away up beyond the usual high water mark many persons on shore were injured by the floating wreckage and great clouds of sand filled the air and anal cut the skin liko a knife the natives especially acted nobly wading far out into the surf where a white man could not live and many a life was saved through their efforts the storm raged furiously for nearly two days das and when it finally abated the scene of destruction on shore was frightful houses were unroofed and blown down and trees were uprooted and thrown about in such a way that the streets were in many places completely blocked out of seventeen vessels which had been moored in the harbor only two small schooners ners stayed afloat and these were badly damaged most of the war ships were anchored in the harbor and were necessarily very close together those nearest the shore were the eber and the eber was wag directly in front of the american consulate about a quarter of a mile from shore and the nipsie was about yards east of the aher the adler was just ahead of the and the olga and were ahead of the mer eber the vandalia was beyond the calliope a mile off shore the trenton was the last of the war ships to arrive here and being much larger than any other man of wax war in the bay there was no room for her near the shore so she was obliged to drop anchor beyond the vandana Fanda Van daXa aJust just within the outer coral reef the sailing crafts were in shallow water west of the men of war the trenton and vandalia had the most dangerous berths in the harbor while the position of the cipek was vas considered safest the storm commenced to set in on the afternoon of friday march 15 by evening the wind had increased to a 2 gale and nearly all the war ships had their engines working to relieve the pressure upon the anchors the crews of most of the sailing vessels threw out an extra anchor and went ashore rain commenced to fall at midnight and the wind increased in fury great waves were rolling from the open ocean and the pitching of the vessels was fearful every man was kept at work by 3 in the morning the situation was alarming nearly every vessel in the harbor was dragging and there was imminent danger of collision on the shore the people assembled on the beach everybody had been wakened from sleep by the tremendous fury of the storm the tide was coming in rapidly rabidly and washing over the streets a an hundred undred feet above the usual high water mark rain bain fell like sleet and the men and women who were out tried to shelter themselves with pieces of board or other objects before their faces through the blac blackness kuess of night could be seen the lights of the men of war and even above the rushing and roaring of the wind and waves the shouting of the officers and men on board came faintly across the water it could be seen the vessels were dragging every moment it seemed as though two or moreon more of the great warships were about to come together and the watchers on shore waited in breathless anxiety to hear the crash of a collision i when daylight came it was seen the position of the vessels was entirely changed the furious wind had swept them from their former moorings and they were all bearing down in the direction of the reef reel black smoke was pouring from their funnels showing that desperate efforts were being made to keep them up against the wind the vessels were tossing about like corks one moment standing on their beam ends and the next instant their and expose to view their rudders and rapidly revolving propellers then their huge prows would be lifted high in the air only to be plunged into the next wave and deluge the ships with a torrent of water several small sailing vessels had gone ashore in the western part odthe bay the jober eber adler and andnis ajo sw were very close together and only five yards off the reef the little gunboat eber was making a desperate struggle for life but every mome moment n t w was as being be ing drawn ne nearer a the reef suddenly she shot forward as if making a last struggle the current however bore her off to the right and her prow struck the port quarter of the lipsic the shock carried away several feet of the ran rail and one boat the mer eber then fell back and fouled with the olga and this checked her progress she seemed unable to make any further efforts to save herself swung around broadside to the wind and drifted slowly toward the reef in a moment more a great wave rolled in toward the shore the mer eber was lifted high on its crest and carried down with awful force and in an instant there was not a vestige of her to be seen she struck fairly on her bottom rolled over toward the open sea and disappeared from view every timber must have been shattered and all of the poor wretches aboard of her were crushed to death before they felt the waters closing above their heads A cry of horror went up from hundreds of people on the beach then with one accord they rushed to the waters edge nearest the point where the mer eber had foundered the natives swam into the surf far beyond the point where a white man could live and remained waiting to save any poor creature who might arise from the water at first it seemed as if every man on the ill fated steamer had gone to his death but the breakers on the reef had hidden a few struggling souls who had come to the surface presently a man was seen clinging to the piling under a small walk he was grasped by willing hands and drawn upon shore he proved to be gaedeke of the eber and was the only officer of that vessel saved pour four of the sailors were seen struggling in the water about the same time and were quickly rescued by the natives and all taken to the american consulate five officers and sixty six men were lost the adler was waa now close to the reef about yards west of the point where the eber struck and likewise was approaching her bom doom broadside on in half an hour she was lifted on top of the reef and turned completely over on her side fortunately she was waa thrown so far up that nearly her entire hull was out of the water and her decks were facing the shore so the men were comparatively protected they had but a few yards to swim to shore and the greater number were rescued of the officers and men aboard 20 were drowned or killed when the adler struck many officers and men were seriously injured just after the adler struck the attention of f every one was directed toward the dipsia she was standing off the reef with her head to the wind but the three anchors which she had out were not holding the steamer was heading toward the point where the eber went down she had on all the steam it was possible to carry and had just succeeded in getting clear of the reef when the little schooner jouy got in her track and was cut down the olga was bearing down on the lipsio at the time and the latter vessel was trying to avoid a collision with the german when she struck the idly of the three men on board the latter schooner only captain douglass was saved he managed to grasp one of the anchor chains and draw himself up on the steamer the then got well away from the reef and the men were preparing to hoist the heavy eight inch rifle on the forward deck overboard to assist her anchors when the olga again came down upon her the german struck the amidships and her bowsprit passed over the port side of the and after carrying away a boat and splintering the rail came in contact with the smokestack the smokestack was struck fairly in the centre and fell to the deck with a crash like thunder great confusion ensued the crew believing the steamer was waa going down and many men ran up tip the rigging for safety the iron smokestack rolled from side to side the men on deck rushing around to keep clear of its track heavy blocks were finally placed under it but by that time the nip dipano no had swung i around and was again approaching the reef having lost her smokestack the was unable to keep up steam power and it was useless to attempt to steam out from the reef in the face of the wind captain mullen who was on the bridge gave an order to beach the vessel vassel one anchor was slipped and the me few pounds of steam which could still be used kept her in deep water until she had cleared the end of the reef and when she finally struck the sandy beach the vessel swung around forming an acute angle with the line of the shore orders were given to lower the boats five sailors jumped into one but the falls did not work properly and before the boat was lowered one end dropped the men were thrown into the water and drowned another boat containing sergeant derr and half a dozen sick men was lowered in safety but capsized before it reached the shore the natives who were standing in the surf seized the floating men and passed them to the beach several other men on the effs ask ran to the rail and jumped overboard among them being lieutenant davenport all reached the shore in safety but two sailors by a desperate effort a line was got to the bow of the steamer and a double hawser passed ashore albore and made fast Mataafa Mata afas ls men gathered in great numbers in the surf and along the hawsers hawkers to assist the men on shore the waves were rolling high on the beach and the undertow was so strong that the natives narrowly escaped being washed out into the bay the terrible force of the wind cannot be imagined the rain continued to pour and the clouds of flying sand grew rew thicker every moment above the roar of the wind and waves could be heard the shouts of the officers and men on deck mingled with the loud cries and singing of the natives as they stood battling in the surf captain mullen and several other off officers feers stood by the rail and directed the movements of the men the sick and injured were sent off first and after that the men came down the ropes quickly the waves were rout rolling so high that when the men h had come ten feet down the hawkers hawsers they would often be entirely submerged and nothing but the noble efforts of the natives prevented them being washed off and carried off by the current captain mullen was the last to leave the the Ni surgeon and his bis assistants were busy several hours administering I 1 in restoratives restora tives to the wounded and exhausted ext exhausted austed men there was not much shelter for the men to go to however and the dry clothing with which they were provided was soon drenched by the terrible storm they had been at work all ni night lit without food and it was impossible to give them all food for some time A great number of then them visited the saloons Joons sa and many of them were soon intoxicated and quarrelsome lieutenant fillette Fill Fille ettee twe and a small guard of A merican american marines did everything in his power to preserve order or derand and several times the sailors had to be handled roughly i many of them being put in irons about 10 in the morning the vandalla and calliope were seen to be in the most dangerous position bearing back against the e reef rapidly the calliope was nearest the shore and her bow was close to the stem of the vandalla suddenly the great prow of the english vessel arose in the air on the crest of an enormous wave and came down with full force upon the port quarter of the Van vandalia daHa the crash was awful the jib boom of the calope was carried away and the heavy timbers of the vandalia were shivered A hole was torn below the rail and the water rushed into the cabin the men rushed up from the hatches in the belief that the storm was sinking the vessel and it was only after an effort that the officers persuaded them to return to their posts just after tb this Is collision captain jane of the calliope determined to make an effort to steam out of the harbor as he saw to remain in the present condition would lead to another collision with the vandalia or throw his vessel on the reef he gave orders to let go all anchors the calliope head was swung around to the wind and her powerful engines worked to their fullest capacity th the steamer seemed to stany stand still for a moment then the rapidly revolving propeller had its effect and the vessel went up slowly against the great waves she made headway first inch by inch but gradually increased her speed until it became evident she could clear the harbor As she passed the trenton a great shout went up from men on the flag ship and three hearty cheers were given for the calliope Go Sope which were returned with a will the english vessel passed safely out of the harbor and ana steamed far out to sea returning after the storm had abated she sustained little injury outside of the loss lose of her boats after the col dision when the excitement on the Vanc vandalia taliO which followed the collision with the calliope had ed ad a little it was found necessary to act quickly to save the ship lieutenant carlin first officer was |