The Book of the Ocean

by Ernest Ingersoll

The disturbed state of affairs in Samoa caused the assemblage there, during March, 1889, of three small German men-of-war, Adler, Olga, and Eber, the British corvette Calliope, and the American steamships Trenton, Vandalia and Nipsic. The Trenton, Captain Farquhar, was one of our largest war-ships at that time, and the flagship of Rear-Admiral Kimberley; the Vandalia, Captain Schoonmaker, was somewhat smaller, and the Nipsic, Commander Mullan, was still less in size. On March 15 a hurricane demolished the whole of this fleet, except one, and ten merchant vessels besides, and caused the loss of nearly one hundred and fifty lives. It is an extraordinary story, which has been fully related by Mr. John P. Dunning, from whose article in “St. Nicholas” for February, 1890, the accompanying facts and illustrations are drawn.

THE “CALLIOPE” ESCAPING FROM APIA HARBOR.

The harbor in which the disaster occurred is a small semicircular bay, around the inner side of which lies the town of Apia. A coral reef, visible at low water, extends in front of the harbor from the eastern to the western extremity, a distance of nearly two miles. A break in this reef, probably a quarter of a mile wide, forms a gateway to the harbor. The space within the bay where ships can lie at anchor is very small, as a shoal extends some distance out from the eastern shore, and on the other side another coral reef runs well out into the bay. The war-vessels were anchored in the deep water in front of the American consulate. The Eber and Nipsic were nearest the shore. There were ten or twelve sailing-vessels, principally small schooners lying in the shallow water west of the men-of-war. The storm was preceded by several weeks of bad weather, and on Friday, March 15, the wind increased and there was every indication of a hard blow. The war-ships made preparation for it by lowering topmasts and making all the spars secure, and steam was also raised to guard against the possibility of the anchors not holding.

The wind rose to a hurricane and was accompanied by heavy, wind-driven rain, and when toward morning it became evident that some smaller ships were already ashore, and that the war-ships were dragging their anchors in spite of every effort, the whole town was awake, and much of it down by the beach seeking what shelter it could from the sleet-like blast. This night of horror gradually lightened into dawn, when it was seen that all the war-ships had been swept from their former moorings and were bearing down toward the inner reef. The decks swarmed with men clinging to anything affording a hold. The hulls of the ships were tossing about like corks, and the decks were being deluged with water as every wave swept in from the open ocean. Several sailing-vessels had gone ashore in the western part of the bay. Those most plainly visible now were the Eber, Adler, and Nipsic, very close together and only a few yards from the reef.

The little gunboat Eber was making a desperate struggle, but her doom was certain. Suddenly she shot forward, the current bore her off to the right, and her bow struck the port quarter of the Nipsic, carrying away several feet of the Nipsic’s rail and one boat. The Eber then fell back and fouled with the Olga, and after that she swung around broadside to the wind, was lifted high on the crest of a great wave and hurled with awful force upon the reef. In an instant there was not a vestige of her to be seen. Every timber must have been shattered, and half the poor creatures aboard of her crushed to death before they felt the waters closing above their heads. Hundreds of people were on the beach by this time, and the work of destruction had occurred within full view of them all. They stood for a moment appalled by the awful scene, and a cry of horror arose from the lips of every man who had seen nearly a hundred of his fellow-creatures perish in an instant. Then with one accord they all rushed to the water’s edge nearest the point where the Eber had foundered. The natives ran into the surf far beyond the point where a white man could have lived, and stood waiting to save any who might rise from the water. There were six officers and seventy men on the Eber when she struck the reef, and of these five officers and sixty-six men were lost. This was about six o’clock in the morning.

“THE SAMOANS STOOD BATTLING AGAINST THE SURF, RISKING THEIR LIVES TO SAVE THE AMERICAN SAILORS.”

During the excitement attending that calamity the other vessels had been for the time forgotten, but it was soon noticed that the positions of several of them had become more alarming. The Adler had been swept across the bay, close to the reef, and in half an hour she was lifted on top of the reef and turned completely over on her side. Nearly every man was thrown into the water, but as almost the entire hull was exposed, all but twenty succeeded in regaining her deck, and the remainder were rescued toward the close of the day when almost exhausted.

Just after the Adler struck, the attention of every one was directed toward the Nipsic. She was standing off the reef with her head to the wind, but the three anchors which she had out at the time were not holding; and orders were given to attach a hawser to a heavy eight-inch rifle on the forecastle and throw the gun overboard. As the men were in the act of doing this, the Olga bore down on the Nipsic and struck her amidships with awful force. Her bowsprit passed over the side of the Nipsic, and, after carrying away one boat and splintering the rail, came in contact with the smokestack, which was struck fairly in the center and fell to the deck with a crash like thunder. For a moment it was difficult to realize what had happened, and great confusion followed. The iron smokestack rolled from side to side with every movement of the vessel, until finally heavy blocks were placed under it. By that time the Nipsic had swung around and was approaching the reef, and it seemed certain that she would go down in the same way as had the Eber. Captain Mullan saw that any further attempt to save the vessel would be useless, so he gave the orders to beach her. She had a straight course of about two hundred yards to the sandy beach in front of the American consulate, where she stuck and stood firm.