The Hurrioane at Samoa.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume X, Issue 3169, 2 April 1889, Page 2

The Hurrioane at Samoa.

Latest Particulars. Auckland, March 80. Lieutenant Wilson, of the warship Vandalia, arrived in Auckland by the Mariposa, having been sent by Admiral Kimberly. to-forward information of the calamity to Washington fay cable. In a narrative oftiie wrecking Lieutenant Wilson says that at daylight nothing could be seen of the Eber, whilst thoAdler was on a reef on hor beam ends. Tho other ships were heaving about under tho influence of tho wind and sea, Tho Vandalia met strong cross currents, and it was with tho greatest difficulty that she was eventually brought up head to wind, but the strain upon her anchors was so great that sho began to drag. At 0110 time it was necessary to cross tho bow of the Calliope, otherwise tho vessels must have fouled. Whilst the ships were crossing the Calliope was obligod to go astern as far as possible, whilst the Vandalia was forcing herself ahead. It seemed almost certain that the Calliope's bow would cut tough tho stem of the Vandalia beforo tho late warship got across, and sho had an almost miraculous escape, the management of both ships being very skilful. As it was, the collision was only averted by about one foot, the quarter of the Calliope cutting some two feet into tho tight framework of the Vandalia's quarter gallery. Directly after this the Calliope slipped her chain and wont to sea, This proved the salvation of that vessel and all on board. The Vandalia continuod to drag, and was carried inshore by tho wind and sea. It was only by constant watching 011 the part of Captain Schumacher that she was kept off the reef., An effort was made to beach her in the safest possible place, and this would probably have been successful were it not that theOlga came up on her starboard beam, and was in imminent danger of crashing into her, In order to save both ships the Vandalia. dropped astern, and had just cleared the Olga when she was struck broadside qu by a sea, and carried on to a Boft sandy bottom just beyond the reef. Once in this position all lippe of saving the Vandalia was over, but tho engines wore kept going as long as they hail any effect pn the ship, the men in tho firing room standing by thoiv fires to the last,, The seas, which were now running very heavily, swept over the ship from'stem to stem, Carrying away the Doits nri cleaving

tlie decks. The men were forced to take refuge on the top-gallant forecastle and on the quarter-deck,' The last boat swamped before it could be lowered away, so, that, all means of communication with .the shore or other vessels was out off. The idea of firing rockets and /Ifc/y shooting a line by that means was attempted, but, as everybody and everytbiiigintheebipweretboroughly soaked, no means of lighting the rocket could be found, and each succeeding sea lifted her and carried her further ashore until she rested on the bottom of the harbor, where heavy seas broke over her,- making it almost impossible to hold on. Many of the men and. some of the officers then took to the rigging, while the captain and the executive officers and .others still remained on the poop deck. The distance from'. the shore could not have been more thanlßO yards, but tile heavy sea running into the harbor made the intervening water a perfect whirlpool. One' man,. Coxswain Hanimon.jk jumped overboard without orders, taking with Mm the end of a line, ▼ and tried to reach the shore. He was a powerful swimmer, but the sea was too heavy, and he was lost-before . v he had got 60 yards from the ship. He was soon followed by the boatswain's mate, Merrage, also a power?-w., ful swimmer, and a man of fearlessness, who made another attempt to carry a.line ashore; but Mia also drowned before he could. • . ' cover JuSf the distance, j. From time to tinio men with life preservers would , : ' leave the ship and attempt to "reach the shore, and three out of every four who did so were either drowned close to the ship, or earned out to sea by the strength of the current.

A number of men succeeded in reaching the Nipsic, which;, .was beached dose to where the Vandalia lay, and from that vessel it was comparatively an easy matter to gaiu the shore. Just as Captain SohujWaoher was about to take to the rigging, the seas, which swept the pooj) cieek, caught him and threw ' him against a Gatling gun.; the same wave carried him overboard, and he was drowned in view of all who were on tho Vandalia, A thousand dollars £ were offered to any man who could M get a line to the 6hip.- One of natives was drowned in an attempt to earn this reward, and no amount of persuasion could induce the others ■ make the effort. Many swung 'fronnP tho rigging of the Vandalia into that of the Trenton. Some in their effort to make this perilous leap, being weakened by exposure, and by constantly holding to the rigging, were unable to maintain their hold of the rope and fell between the vessels and perished. Lieut Wilson himself, narrowly escaped drowning in this way. He fell twice inte the water between the Vandalia' and the Trenton, and would undoubtedly have been lost had he not been gallantly rescued by a sailor from the Trenton, who, at the risk of his own life hauled him on board the Amerioan flagship, A few seconds after this the ■ mainmast of theVandalia went by the board, the nrizzen niaßt having previously been carried away, and several who were clinging to it were drowned. Very few of the bodies of those drowned came ashore,-and by the latest accounts only 13 had been recovered, including the. bodies Captain Schumacher and a paymastew The Calliope, which put to seaiL during tho gale, returned to Apiaoa# the following Monday inomin'g,t* having sustained some slight damage. »,. She lost two or three boats* sprung tho foreyard and sustained slight damage to the hull, She' took in , coal as quickly as possible and left ' on Wednesday for Sydney. One of the German officers took a passage on the Calliope for Sydney to forward despatches to Berlin. Captain Schumacher was an officer of excellent record, and had been 85 years in the service. He took command of the Vandalia about a year ago at Honolulu. He leaves a wife and three children in Kingston,' New York. Paymaster Armeß was a native of Now London, Connecticut. . He leaves a wife and two children. Lieutenant Sutton and the pay clerk, J, Roach,. wore both single men. The latter was one of the most able pay clerks in the service, He was brother to Mr Eoach, editor of the Boston Pilot. Paymaster Yeoman, a single man, who was also lost, was a native of Baltimore, •-. M