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Show I '! A THRILLING INSTANCE OF I COURAGE AND ENDURANCE PH I Twenty-four years ngo the civilized B world was stirtled mid thrilled with H tho news that 142 bravo officers and K men of German and American war- H , ships had lost their lives In tho lit- H ' tlo harbor of Apia, Samoa. They died m under circumstances that brought Hf ' forth tho highest (juallty of heroism tH and coolness In the faco of deadly m A typhoon of ujnusuol violence do- H strayed six Germain and American PB warships and ten other vessels. They BBi were torn from their nnchorugo and BB' cast one by ono on tho coral reefs BVl ' or on tho beach. Tho Calliope, n Brit- PHj t lsh man-of-war, was tho only one PPj; , that escaped to tho open sea. Tho f gunboat Eber was tho first of the BhS' German ships to founder. It struck Y a reef with such forco that It was lit- PPJ orally broken In pieces and but ono PH i odlcer nnd a few men reached the BV Bhore. pBW' Tho American warships wero the PPJ: Nlpslc, tho Vandalla and the flag- PH ship, Trenton, under command of Ad- PH I mlrhl Klmbcrlcy. Tho Nlpslc sue- PPj ' ceeded In avoiding tho rocks and was PB finally beached. Tho Vajidalla was PH en. Tied beforo tho gale and struck PH a reef with terrific force. Tho sea PPJ washed over he' decks with such fury PH that the men wero forced into the PH rigging, whero they clung for hours, PPJ weary and exhausted, facing dehth PB' while their sturdy llttlo vessel bat- PH tied with the reef below them. PH Their ('nptaln, C. N. Schoonovcr, PPH remained on tho deck, too weak to go PPB iloft. IIo had been Injured earlier PPH In tho daj, but Insisted upon com- B mending his ship. As ho grew weak- PPH J cr under tho stress and strain of tho B storm ho wns supported by his llrst PJ, I olllccr, Drown, tho only other man on Pj deck. Tho two wero clinging to tho PPH r,i'' "10 y"'iger man with his arm BB around his Captain, when a giant BBJ wavo loosened ono of tho ship's land- BBJ "R Kims and swept It across the BBJ deck Into the sca and with It wo BBf "10 bravo Captain. BBm I Drown was saved; and weak nnd BBt exhausted, ho climbed Into tho rig- HBC glng whero ho was grasped and sup- BBb ported by sailors, HHjT Meanwhile, helpless cowds gather- ed on the shore, for It wns Imposs'blo to launch a boat or to reach the (lis- Bj treated ships. Many of the natives BBJ plunged Into a surf that no ordinary BBJ mnn ould live In for n moment, nnd BJ :isslstel many struggling sailors to BBt ,,le shore. BJ Tllnt theso white men wero their BJ enemies that the' had faced some BBJ of the Germans in battle on tho pro- BJ vlous day all was forgotteki now. BJ Their sole des'.ro was to save theso BJ bravo men from n watery grave and BBJ' ' many wero tho bodies they pulled BBJ1 ot of tho foaming surf, nnd many BJ wro tho lives saved by these daring BBJ Samoans. BBJ Meanwhile, tho Trenton, by skillful BBJ navigating, had been kept from tho BBJ, I rocks all through tho day. BJ; Moro Ulnn onco It seemed certain BBJ' that the And was at hand. Rudderless BJ and propellerless the ship whs drift- BJ lnB broadside upon a reef. Tho com- BJ mnndcr, realizing tho great po-Il, BBJ t0k prompt action what seemed to BBJ "a an almost hopeless chrtnee. Ho BBJ ordered every sailor to man tho yards. BBJ ' Without the slightest hesitation tho BBJ I men climbed Into Uio swaying rigging BBJ J and out onto tho yardarms. There BJ hey clung in utter defihnco of tho J rolling, plunging ship nnd of the fury BB of the wind and Btorm The com- mander won Tho resistance of their bodies to tho w.nil served In a measure meas-ure as sails and tho Trenton was blown out of Immediate danger. All hands knew, however, that unless tho storm soon abated It would bo but a short time until tho ship would founder foun-der or bo dashed on tho shore or the reef. And yet such wns tho spirit of theso sailors battling for their lives against such overwhelming odds, that when the Drltlsh ship Calliope steamed steam-ed past them bound for tho open sen, nnd safety, they gnvo her a rousing cheer. About five o'clock, as tho light was beginning to fade, tho crowd on the shore saw tho Trenton bearing down upon the Vnndallh. It seemed tain that the big bulk of the bagshlp would crush tho stranded vessel to pieces and send tho hundred men still clinging to tho rigging to their death. To tho Vamlal.'a's crew it seemed ai If dentil Itself wero bearing down en them tmd they watched with strained fearful eyes tho approach of tho Trenton. Tren-ton. Suddenly a Bhout was borno across the waters. The Trenton was cheering cheer-ing tho Vandalla. The sound of 400 voices broko upon tho air and was heard above the roar of tho tempest. 'Thrco cheers for tho Vanda'Ia!" was the cry that warmed tho hearts of tho doomed men in tho r'gglng. The Bhout died away nnd there arose from the quivering masts of tho stricken ship a response so feeble that It was scarcely heard on shore. Tho men who wero looking death In tho faco hnd aroused themselves to tho effort hnd united In a faint cheer. Those who wero standing on shore wero appalled by tho Bceno and listened lis-tened In sllehoe, for that was tho saddest sad-dest cry they had ever heard. Tho sound of music next camo across tho water. Tho Trenton's band was playing the "Star Spangled Dnnner." The hundreds of men on sea hnd shoro were thr.lled by tho beautiful strains of music coming from musicians musi-cians who wero p'nylng with death but a few feet away. On shore, men who had stood Inno-tlvo Inno-tlvo and helpless through tho long struggle, Inspired anew by this Bplen-did Bplen-did exhibition of manliness, ion excitedly ex-citedly up and down tho bench even ' 'nto tho surf wildly sea.chlim for , something to do some way to help men of such courage as these. As for tho sailors on the Vandalla, the sound of tholr national hymn rls'ng nbovo tho Btorm camo to them as a call to battle. It llred their blood and i they faced death with 0 new light In their eyes. Under tho spell of Buch nn Inspiring strnln tho weakest of us chn dlo like mrtn. Tho trash camo. Ono of tho wrecked wreck-ed ship's masts with lt8 human load snapped and dropped silently Into the sea. If there was a cry from the men who went to tholr deaths, It was not heard on ship or shore. They met their fate cnjlmly, silently, manfully man-fully worthy sons of a noblo race. Tho fow men left In tho rigging barely had time to slide to the deck hnd scramble aboard tho flagship. She then drifted from tho wreck and Anally crashed upon the beach stov-lng stov-lng In her bottom. Her men were saved, after having fought the storm for thirty-six hours without food or rest. Human Factor. |