Rockets
and lines were thrown into the tops of the friendly wreck; the approach
of danger was transformed into a means of safety; and before the ships
struck, the men from the _Vandalia's_ main and mizzen masts, which went
immediately by the board in the collision, were already mustered on the
_Trenton's_ decks. Those from the foremast were next rescued; and the
flagship settled gradually into a position alongside her neighbour,
against which she beat all night with violence. Out of the crew of the
_Vandalia_ forty-three had perished; of the four hundred and fifty on
board the _Trenton_, only one.
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.
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