A DESTRUCTIVE HURRICANE.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume IV, Issue 983, 30 June 1883, Page 4

A DESTRUCTIVE HURRICANE.

' ~ Captain Krouke, of the German " Tirigratihe Veneziilea, furnishes the Fiji rt Argus with -an interesting, account of th£' recent hurricane which wrought = ; such destruction, at Samoa ;—“ I went ashore,” says th6* captain, “ with some of the other captains, having previously observed that the barometer was still . stationary, the wind being light from the eastward, and the sky slightly overcast. By the time we had finished our (tafiness'it. was six b’clbdk,, and we went to dinner at' the hotel before going on board. At nine o’clock we prepared to goon board, the ; night being dark and the windi shaving shifted to the south-east I however, the waterman’s s*boa¥was Muled up, and we ,cpuld not .get off, aq, not .anticipating any danger, • <! -^ 7 fl&£hfilned to go and a bed at the hotel This we did, retiring to bed at about o’clock in some rooms . detached from the maini building, and having, of course, to pass through the open air to get to them, but even then we saw no indication; of bad Weather. At about ohe ’o’clock the landlbrd rushed, into my rpptp crying, ‘ for goodness sakb'get up. I ain afraid the house will blow down.’ I , had previously ’by the hpuse rocking wfffi u of the wind, and on . being called by the landlord, who told me that my .vessel was ashore, I hastened to tb£ v room of Captain . Schutg#chw^b°J^J|f l ”^ i 2lr e^y.ll P* Captain- T)abbert, of and we,all wentjautside, . when wSSftartrafies for Help from the harbor, so we went down to the shore and found the beach lined with lumber washed ourof the'Sheet Anchor, which had completely broken up. The crew of my vessel were showing bluelights. The mate of the Sheet Anchor, who had saved his life by swimming, got ashore with our assistance, and I threw a plank towards what I imagined must be another swimmer, but which turned out to be only a piece of wood. The men crying out for help must have been the captain and cook of the American vtfesel, whdr were never seen after. While attempting to rescue the mate, ! was washed off my feet,by aTrpturning wave, but soon"- succeeded »n getting ashore again. The T wind ,con,tinued to bldwf/aftl tb!sr; time Very ' heavily, with squalls of rain and the seas breaking ashore so badly that’ the stern of the Sheet Anchor was thrown* up entirely at the back of the hotel before two o’clock a.m.My own vessel was continually throw- ' ing tip blae-lighits:, and we could see her onthe western reef during intermittent flashes of lightning. - The night was pitch dark, and nothing' cduKr be dis- : covered of the position of the vessels. except by the aid of the lightning. When daylight arrived it was still blow;ing so hard we could not put off. The harbor, however, presented a sad scene 'of ruin and disaster. The Solide was a total wreck. In-shore of her a cable’s length was what remained of the Sheet Anchor, only the bottom ®f the hull with some of the lumber t pn it. In the small harbor lay Uhe - barque Braziliera, which had drifted from the main harbor, and the schooner Vau • Vau, the latter a total wreck. On the inner side of the western reef my vessel was lying, her back being broken - and the port side started from the ’tween deck beams. The Lizzie was high and . dry behind - the German Consulate, having lost her rudder and a portion of her stem. The cutter Apia, had weathered the force of the gale, but foundered in the small harbor about 8,30 a.m., and she was afterwards found off on the eastern reef, having ‘ drifted there untier water with the reflux of the heavy sea prevailing. In ray opinion the force of the hurricane wpuld not bcen*oy a uaal wave, occasioned by ah earthquake, lifting their . anphors when play upon them. At abpK&r half-past eight • o’clock, having obtained a boat from Mr Weber, and a&i&funlt&r c succeeded,' With great difficulty, in reaching my vessel and resduing all hands, they having ha«J a signal flying previously,The poor fellows were rejoiced at their rescue, as they were afraid of the vessel going to pieces. We afterwards found that the centre of the hurricand had expended its force Savaii, which has suffered severely J; . all the houses, churches and friyt trees having been blown, dpwn.anfl’ the people left destitute ,attct ! hbp?eless. Such an occurence hi# tr6t' / pfeviously happened in Samoa within the memory of the oldest inhabitant. No other hurricane in the South Seas has, been equally disastrous in its effects upon shipping.”