ll 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 Germ