The night of the 16th was still notable for a howling tempest and extraordinary floods of rain.It was feared the wreck could scarce continue to endure the breaching of the seas;among the Germans,the fate of those on board the ADLER awoke keen anxiety;and Knappe,on the beach of Matautu,and the other officers of his consulate on that of Matafele,watched all night.The morning of the 17th displayed a scene of devastation rarely equalled:the ADLER high and dry,the OLGA and NIPSIC beached,the TRENTON partly piled on the VANDALIA and herself sunk to the gun-deck;no sail afloat;and the beach heaped high with the DEBRIS of ships and the wreck of mountain forests.Already,before the day,Seumanu,the chief of Apia,had gallantly ventured forth by boat through the subsiding fury of the seas,and had succeeded in communicating with the admiral;already,or as soon after as the dawn permitted,rescue lines were rigged,and the survivors were with difficulty and danger begun to be brought to shore.And soon the cheerful spirit of the admiral added a new feature to the scene.Surrounded as he was by the crews of two wrecked ships,he paraded the band of the TRENTON,and the bay was suddenly enlivened with the strains of "Hail Columbia."During a great part of the day the work of rescue was continued,with many instances of courage and devotion;and for a long time succeeding,the almost inexhaustible harvest of the beach was to be reaped.In the first employment,the Samoans earned the gratitude of friend and foe;in the second,they surprised all by an unexpected virtue,that of honesty.The greatness of the disaster,and the magnitude of the treasure now rolling at their feet,may perhaps have roused in their bosoms an emotion too serious for the rule of greed,or perhaps that greed was for the moment satiated.
Sails that twelve strong Samoans could scarce drag from the water,great guns (one of which was rolled by the sea on the body of a man,the only native slain in all the hurricane),an infinite wealth of rope and wood,of tools and weapons,tossed upon the beach.Yet I have never heard that much was stolen;and beyond question,much was very honestly returned.On both accounts,for the saving of life and the restoration of property,the government of the United States showed themselves generous in reward.A fine boat was fitly presented to Seumanu;and rings,watches,and money were lavished on all who had assisted.The Germans also gave money at the rate (as I receive the tale)of three dollars a head for every German saved.The obligation was in this instance incommensurably deep,those with whom they were at war had saved the German blue-jackets at the venture of their lives;Knappe was,besides,far from ungenerous;and I can only explain the niggard figure by supposing it was paid from his own pocket.In one case,at least,it was refused."I have saved three Germans,"said the rescuer;"I will make you a present of the three."The crews of the American and German squadrons were now cast,still in a bellicose temper,together on the beach.The discipline of the Americans was notoriously loose;the crew of the NIPSIC had earned a character for lawlessness in other ports;and recourse was had to stringent and indeed extraordinary measures.The town was divided in two camps,to which the different nationalities were confined.Kimberley had his quarter sentinelled and patrolled.
Any seaman disregarding a challenge was to be shot dead;any tavern-keeper who sold spirits to an American sailor was to have his tavern broken and his stock destroyed.Many of the publicans were German;and Knappe,having narrated these rigorous but necessary dispositions,wonders (grinning to himself over his despatch)how far these Americans will go in their assumption of jurisdiction over Germans.Such as they were,the measures were successful.The incongruous mass of castaways was kept in peace,and at last shipped in peace out of the islands.
Kane returned to Apia on the 19th,to find the CALLIOPE the sole survivor of thirteen sail.He thanked his men,and in particular the engineers,in a speech of unusual feeling and beauty,of which one who was present remarked to another,as they left the ship,"This has been a means of grace."Nor did he forget to thank and compliment the admiral;and I cannot deny myself the pleasure of transcribing from Kimberley's reply some generous and engaging words."My dear captain,"he wrote,"your kind note received.You went out splendidly,and we all felt from our hearts for you,and our cheers came with sincerity and admiration for the able manner in which you handled your ship.We could not have been gladder if it had been one of our ships,for in a time like that I can truly say with old Admiral Josiah Latnall,'that blood is thicker than water.'"One more trait will serve to build up the image of this typical sea-officer.A tiny schooner,the EQUATOR,Captain Edwin Reid,dear to myself from the memories of a six months'cruise,lived out upon the high seas the fury of that tempest which had piled with wrecks the harbour of Apia,found a refuge in Pango-Pango,and arrived at last in the desolated port with a welcome and lucrative cargo of pigs.The admiral was glad to have the pigs;but what most delighted the man's noble and childish soul,was to see once more afloat the colours of his country.
Thus,in what seemed the very article of war,and within the duration of a single day,the sword-arm of each of the two angry Powers was broken;their formidable ships reduced to junk;their disciplined hundreds to a horde of castaways,fed with difficulty,and the fear of whose misconduct marred the sleep of their commanders.Both paused aghast;both had time to recognise that not the whole Samoan Archipelago was worth the loss in men and costly ships already suffered.The so-called hurricane of March 16th made thus a marking epoch in world-history;directly,and at once,it brought about the congress and treaty of Berlin;indirectly,and by a process still continuing,it founded the modern navy of the States.Coming years and other historians will declare the influence of that.
