WAR IN SAMOA.

Otago Witness, Issue 2355, 13 April 1899, Page 24

WAR IN SAMOA.

MATAAFA DEFIES THE POWERS. BOMBARDMENT OF UPOLU. DETERMINED ATTACK ON THE BRITISH CONSULATE. (Bt Otte Special Commissionbe.) {Telegraphed from Auckland.) APIA:, March 21. On Wednesday, 15th inBt., Admiral Kantz «ent -a final letter to Mataafa, who replied demanding if the Admiral's Government had Authorised him to take the action he had threatened. The rebels were given till 1 p.m. to clear out of the vicinity of the municipality, but it was evident by this time that they had not the slightest intention of doing 80, and we hung around waiting for the signal to announce the commencement of hostilities. At 1 p.m. punctually the six-inch guns of the Philadelphia boomed forth three Bhots in three minutes, the white ensign fluttered out on the breeze at the masthead of the Porpoise, and her siren sounded the long, low plaintive wail that was the signal for Britishers to seek safety on board. Then a strange sight met our gaze, for down the long semicircular street of Apia there poured in the direction of Mulinuu a crowd of solemn-faced Samoan refugees — men, women, and children, — carrying a heterogeneous colleotion of mats and other portable property. An American guard was entrenched at Mulinuu with the Colt automatic and a fine field gun for three pound shrapnel ; another American guard held the main street from the German firm to the Mulirai bridge ; the Porpoise and the Royalist had guards at the Supreme Court, commanding the Ifi Ifi road, and at the Tivoli Hotel commanding the Tivoli road. These had with them a Nordenfeldt and a seven-pounder. Mr Moors, the American storekeeper, might have been seen rocking himself in an easy chair on his verandah, bus as soon as the first shot was fired he left. The girls of the London Mission College at Paupauta, some of whom had been stuck up earlier in the day, now filed down the main street, and the first boatload of Britishers, with their wives and families, might be seen leaving the shore for the Royalist, and others followed in quick succession. THE WARSHIPS OPEN FIRE. Presently, when all the people who were anxious for their safety had reached the decks of H.M.S. Royalist, she opened fire with shrapnel shell from her five-inch guns, sending them into the bush about three-quartets of a mile behind the town. The American •warship Philadelphia bombarded Vaiuau, where.Malaafa and some of his : men were supposed to be ; but of course it was all, to some ' extent, guesswork, firing into the dense jungle, where none "could be seen. The Royalist also dropped shells. in the' direction of the. Mangaangi village, where the' 1 Mataafa- men were reported to be'^jin numbers'. ' We climbed the Tivoli tower, from where, w'6'had a splendid view of the shells bursting at the foot- of "Vala mountain, just behind the town. One burst half-way up the mountain, just beiow Stevenson's grave. The Porpoise, bent on destruction up the coast, left her moorings and steamed slowly out of the harbour. As Bhe~passed the Philadelphia, the Yankees gave her a rousing cheer, and their band struck up " God save the Queen." It was »the 15th of March, one day before the anniversary of the great hurricane. The Porpoise was not long in getting to work, for <lirectly she cleared Mulinuu Point she opened ■with shrapnel from her six-inch guns, and her first shot fired the village. She made magnificent shooting, shell after shell bursting just where it was aimed. Meantime the Royalist and the Philadelphia blazed away, and -a native refugee coming into the town from the bush told us that he saw the rebels running away, though some "who had strong hearts " remained in their trencheß. Hearing firing at Mulinuu, a friend and I •walked down there, and just at the neck of the peninsula we were in the direct line of fire, and could hear her shells roaring and screaming through the air just over our heads. Then they would burst inland, some to the left and some to the right of the Papasai waterfall. The smoke would drift away, and in its place would rise the smoke of a burning Samoan house. Some found out the German plantation at Vaitele, and the manager's house was reported to have been damaged. At Mulinuu we saw the' Yankees busy with the Colt's automatic and the shrapnel field piece. Mulinuu presented a strange sight. Instead of the Provisional Government and its attendant satellites sitting in solemn conclave, or passing ' the hours in idleness, crowded the village to overflowing, eating cocoanuts or chewing- sugar cane,' while Tamasese, ' the King's right-hand man, strutted about amongst his red-turbaned troops, and the Americans mounted guard, or worked the machine guns. A SHELL STRIKES THE AMERICAN CONSULATE. A signal for medical aid went up from the American consulate, and it was found that a. shell from the Philadelphia had burst prematurely, close to the American consulate, shat- j tering the leg of one of the men — Private Mudge, of the Marines, — and tearing holes in the outhouse and the consulate itself One piece of shell came through the iron roof and the floor of the cellar. We traced its pas- | sage through a box of native hats and fans underneath the cellar into the ground. The cocoanut trees and the ground in the back yard were torn up. Some men standing near had a miraculous escape. Two were knocked down, one had his rule shattered in his hand, the stock splintered and torn clear away from the barrel. Mudge's leg was smashed below -the knee. It was lucky that the consul's family had left for the ship some time previously. Several splinters went through the house, and the crockery on the luncheon table was smashed to atoms. On our way back we called at the British consulate, and had a chat with the consul and Mrs Maxse, who had remained in their own 'house, and were cooly watching operations, the latter employing her spare, moments getting- bandages ready in case of emergency. While we Were ther: a boat flying . a white flag approached, and was hailed by Lieutenant Gaunt. They turned out to be Samoan mission, people, who had come up the coast for safety. They reported that -300 of-the Aanu people, armed, were coming up through the bush to attack at ' the back of the consulate. # .- ; * The' afternoon was wearing on, but thebombardment continued, wjtji ftri oocasionaj

shell from the Philadelphia and the Royalist, and as the sun went down in a red glare behind the clouds of Savaii we could near the Nordenfeldt working in the bush close by. On returning to the Tivoli road we found the enemy had been sighted close in, and a sortie was made simultaneously up both the Tivoli an y d the Ifi Ifi roads, the Royalist field piece going up the former, and Cave, with the Nordenfeldt, up the latter. Several rebels were seen, but they plunged into the thick bush, and none could tell if the shots that were sent after them had taken effect. The roads were, however, found to be barricaded, and there were also good fortifications thrown up at Hamilton's Pool, near the Tivoli road, and within easy reach of the main street. It was getting late in the. evening now, and as the Nordenfeldt3 cracked and the 6-inch guns boomed, the Germans supplied the music. It was dinner time on the Falke, and the captain and his officers must have their music; it was their sole contribution. Even now had they combined with the other great Powers and landed troops the war might have been stopped. "We returned to our hotel for dinner, to find our dusky handmaidens all fled to Mulinuu, and the larder running low. We looked forward to A LIVELY NIGHT, and we were not disappointed. We had scarcely finished dinner, when we heard firing in the direction of the Tivoli, and rushed out, only to be challenged by the sentries every few yards till we reached Lieutenant Cave, and got written authority to pass along the front. It . appeared that the Malietoa scouts had located the enemy in a taro patch behind the town, and Cave. ; who was in charge here, came up with his two field pieces, and crack went the i^ordenfeldts. Several volleys were fired, and then the seven-pouncler banged and a shrapnel went tearing through the air. Cave, having made sure that the enemy were posted close in at the back of the town, resolved to keep them stirred up all night, and this action no doubt prevented an organised attack and saved us for the time being. Towards midnight, as I was returning from some firing at the Vaisuigano bridge, I was an interesting spectator of a very amusing scene. Captain Schoenfelder, of the Falko, the German consul-general, and the German pastor were passing along the line, when they were suddenly halted by a British sentry. TJiey explained who they were, but they had no passes. " I'm if I care who you are," replied the young sentry, "my orders are to let no one pass without orders." And the three Germans % had to wait for fully half an hour till Lieutenant Cave returned. They explained their predicament, .and Lieutenant Cave told them plainly that he had very strict orders. Of course, he baid, a German officer in uniform can pass along, but no civilians must go without an order. We have had a white man to-night — I won't say of what nationality ho belongs— found carrH"rr arms to the natives, and it is owing to these European spies and traitors to some extent that this action has been forced upon us. Captain Schoenfelder replied mijdly that' being a military man him_self, he knew the sentry must be strict, and he did not blame him. Lieutenant Cave said the sentry was certainly not to blame. ■ If anyone was to blame, it was himself ; but, he repeated, his orders were very strict. He, would however, -pass the party through the British lines. This was "done" in due course, but as soon as the American Hues were 'reached there was more tyouble for the German trio was halted every few yards till the consulate was reached. TWO RO"iAI<l3T MEN SHOT DEAD. About half-past 2 in the morning, some of the Mataafa men stole down through the bush behind the Tivoli Hotel, and, crawling on to the beach, managed in the darkness to surprise the guard from the Royalist. For half an hour there was a sharp interchange of bullets. Two of the Royalist men were shot dead at their posts. One bullet went clean through a sentry's heart ; the other man was shot in the back of the head, the bullet coming out at his chin. A third man was shot through the arm, and the bullet entered his body and went through the liver. He is apparently mortally wounded. During the night the Rev. Mr Hackett, of the London Mißsion, and Messrs Parkhouse and lielsham, two local residents, stayed in the mission house, and had bullets whistling over their heads and through the house. The natives were in the bush close at the back. Towards morning, Cave took a detachment up, and disturbed the rebels with a few shots from the field gun, while the Royalist dropped a shell right behind the mission house. Later in the night one of the men left on duty at the mission house (Sparrell), a sergeant of marines, was shot through both legs by one of his own men. The two men killed are seamen (Rogers and Halloran). and both were fine fellows. Able-seaman Thornbury is the man shot through the chest, and supposed to be mortally wounded. X)n Thursday morning the Porpoise went out with the two bodies, and they wero buried at sea. It' would not have done to bury them in the cemetery, as the Mata&fa men would have dug them up and taken their heads. The burial service at sea was short but very impressive, and after it was all over -the Porpoise steamed on to the eastward to do a little shelling. After burying their two countrymen, you may be sure the Porpoise gunners were in a fit mood to send the shells into the Savnoan. villages held by the rebels, and in a few minutes we could hear her 6in guns pounding away in fine style. The Taviuni nad arrived early in the day from Tonga, and aB soon as she had done some coaling to the Royalist the latter again opened fire. Indeed, she did not even wait till the Taviuni had hauled off. At 10 minutes to 4 p.m. the Philadelphia also re-opened fire from both her port and starboard batteries, the guns from the former firing over the German firm. ' One shell burst prematurely right in front of our hotel, a piece of it going through a Catholic Church a few yards distant, and another piece going into the German consulate and smashing some of th© crockery. This firing over the German quarter alarmed the inhabitants, and hurried signals were made from the consulate for a boat to put off from the Falke. The leading Germans left in large numbers for the Falke. and the employees of the German firm and some of the lesser lights were moved" in punts astern of a German brigantine. The Royalist two minutes later opened in the direction of Mangiangi.' I returned to our hotel, and on the way met the ambulance hurrying along with a'friendly native, shot in the leg by a piece of the defective shell. One of the American sailors also had a narrow escape, a piece of the shell chipping up some road metal, which hit him on the neck. The Royalist planted one shell close in the bush, near a German house, on the main street, where some of the rebels were seen a little to th westward of the British consulate. I am writing this on the verandah of the Supreme Court, with, a case of Nordenfeldt cartridges for a table. The court-house itself is turned ioto % hospital, aud tha two r£oufid«Ki Bri- i

tishers are lying on stretchers. Thornbury is undoubtedly dying.

AN ANXIOUS NIGHT.

On Thursday we had an anxious night, as extra precautions were taken in view of a repetition of the Tivoli attack, which, it is pretty shrewdly suspected was the result of German treachery. We heard firing in the direction of the British consulate, and later on there was hot firing near the Tivoli from j the rifles of both sides, and the Porpoise and Royalist put in a few shells. We rushed out | to get at the scene of action, and finding the guard gone from our part of the town, proceeded along the main street till we were stopped by the Americans, who were entrenched near the Mulivai bridge. Our passes were of no avail ; strict orders had been given to let no one pass, so -,ye had perforce to return to our hotel for the night. We were fairly well armed, and as the hotel was liable to be rushed at any time of the night, so we had to sit up and defend it. The rebels began I to fire at the ships, and bullet 3 whistled over the Taviuni, and all around the searchlight of the Porpoise. Evidently someone skilled in guerilla warfare was leading the attack of the rebels, and there could be no mistaking the crack of his modern rifle. The fire was hottest at the British and German consulates, and Lieut. Gaunt at the former had a very narrow escape, for while- he was taking a muchneeded rest on a verandah two bullets came whistling past him. As it happened the night was not to pass without some casualties, for one of the British Bailors who did not stop when challenged was shot in the foot by his own guard, and an American private of marines, named Holloway, was shot dead at his post by a native, who crawled up to him in the darkness of the dense bush at the back of the American consulate. He was a fine young fellow, and had formerly been a lieutenant in the United States army. In the morning they took a Mauser bullet from his body, thus proving that the rebels have been supplied with modern rifles and ammunition. THE BRITISH CONSULATE ATTACKED. The next day, as I was writing up reports in Blacklock's store, word came to clear out, and we had no sooner done so than firing from the big guns commenced right over us. It was understood that there was to be a general shelling, but firing was soon discontinued. The Admiral sent word ashore for everyone to ovacuate the houses between the lower "Vaisingano bridge and Matanto Point, on wKich tho British consulate was situated, as it might be necessary to flio.ll that portion of the town, and ho could not bs responsible for the safety of life and properly there. This was where there was some continuous firing from the rebels the night before. The searchlight located a few, and the Nordenfeldt vfaa quickly brought to bear, with what result none is ever likely to know, for the Samoana carry off their dead, and will never say how many have been killed. The Tivoli Hotel was cleared the night previous, and we shall probably have to evacuate our quarters at the International to-night, as, if an attack is made in that quarter, the place may have to be shelled. There was also a chance of another attack on the British consulate, so General Cuncliffe and Mr Douglas, who have been through the Military Cbjlege in Canada, volunteered for service there. At a late hour I learned that reliable news had come in to the effect that reinforcements were coming to the assistance of Mataafa. It was fully expected that there would be a night, attack on tho town, so I 'shifted up to tho Ifi Ifi road, where operations were oxpected to commence, and spent the night with the troops there. Late in the aftprndbn it was decided to search the house ami store of a Frenchman named Lattaby. That was where the hottest fire had come from the night before on to the Tivoli guard, and it was suspected that firearms had been used there. Lieutenant Cave accordingly left with a detachment of Malietoa men. and made a close I search. Two rifles which had been recently used nnd a number of shot guns were found on the premises. Lettaby, though a Frenchman, had taken refuge on the German warship, and the place was untenanted, but some of the rebels were seen in the house and the vicinity later, so the Porpoise sent in a couple of shells at very short range. These we saw bursting close to tho main road, in front-of the house. They did considerable damage, and must have scared away any rebels lurking iii the bushes near the house. Careful preparations were now made to repel a night attack, and every precaution taken to prevent a surprise. Nearly all the men were in entrenchments. A squad of 24 occupied the end of the Ifi Ifi road leading into the bush. They were under a rough shelter made by the Malietoa friendlies. Here I found Lieutenant Cave in command. Ho had been working splendidly, going day and night, snatching an hour, or two's sleep when he could, which was, indeed, very seldom. In six nights h© had only about as many hours' sleep. Under him was Lieutenant Shuter. They had a Nordenfeldt gun commanding the central position of the town, and a Gardiner gun on the left flank. On the right flank were the Americans, under Lieutenant Lanedale. Mulinuu was still defended by tho Americans, under Lieutenant Brown. At the American consulate Lieutenant Parkins had a one-pounder rapid-firing gun and a CoH'b automatic. He had 30 men from the Philadelphia and 5 friendlies under him. The British consulate was guarded by 20 bluejackets and 9 marines, 2 Americans looking after the Gattling and 3 half-caste. The staff was an equally heterogenious mixture. Lieutenant Gaunt was in charge, and Consul Maxse, whose experience as a Prussian officer was now valuable, was second in command. He was ready for any emergency, though he managed to carry on his diplomatic duties at the same time. Gaunt's brother, who had had some training in the Victorian Horse Artillery, was alpo on the staff, while our hotel contributed General Cuncliffe and an Indian staff officer, who, notwithstanding his 66 summers^ volunteered for service, and W. Douglas, who has been through the Canadian Military College. From Consul Maxso I learned that the first attack was made by the rebels at 12.30 p.m. on Wednesday, half an hour before the first shot was fired by the Philadelphia. At 9 p.m. on Thursday the rebels attacked the British consulate in force. There were apparently about 200 of them, and in the face of Gatling fire they replied spiritedly, and got to within 30yds of the consulate before they were beaten'back. Only a few of them could be seen in the dark forest. Their firo was, however, pretty hot, and several bullets went through the consulate, one going within 2ft of Mrs Maxse. Next day the loyal chiefs, headed by old Falau. waited on Consul Maxse, and begfred that both Captain Sturdee and he would not go outside their own guards, because they (the chiefs) had the most reliable information that the Mataafa were determined to have their lives before the trouble was over This is so unlike native custom that it is evidently a scheme arranged at the suggestion of some European. We were up all night at the Vi Vi Station waiting, «vsu hoping, for an attack ,• but thfi '

enemy kepi to the bush, and there was only some desultory rifle firing and a few shells from the ships to keep the rebels on the move. Dr Andrews (of the Porpoise) and Dr Beattie (of the Royalist) took night about at the hospital that had been established in the Supreme Court, and Miss M'Coy, with the red cross on her arm, was in continual attendance to assist. Several rebels found in the bush were taken prisoners, but would say nothing as to how many Mataafa men had been killed. The trees behind the British consulate were riddled with bullets, and patches of blood on the ground indicated that the fire in that quarter had taken effect. Mr Reid's residence situated in the bush about a mile behind the main street had been struck by a shell, and considerable damage done to it. It was further reported that the house had been looted by the rebels. Saturday passed without much incident, and Saturday night was one of the quietest we had had. The Philadelphia and the Porpoise had been out during the day to send a few Shells into the bush about viusu and Halia, up the coast to the westward. ARREST OF A GERMAN. The sensation of Sunday morning was the arrest of Marquart on board the Royalist. Marquart ia the German who was appointed by Dr Raffel to drill the rebel troops. He was also drill instructor under the celebrated Brandies when the Germans were fighting against Mataafa, 10 years -ago. - He was still suspected of acting with the rebels, so he was detained on board the English ship. Marquart, who has considerable influence with the Mataafa men, is a very pleasant fellow to talk to, and he appears to be absolutely fearless of danger. SHELLING CONTINUED. The Royalist did what seemed to be some effective shelling behind the town. A number of the rebels were sighted, and a shell dropped into them. Some were seen running from it into the forest, and then another shell was dropped on them, with what effect we could not tell. Towards midday some of the rebels interfered with the native servants at Mr Reid's house, and Lieutenant Cave and Consul Maxse took a section with the Nordenfeldt for some distance up the Ifi Ifi road, and sent a few shots after the retreating rebels, who, at the approach of the bluejackets, quickly made off into the forest. The Nordenfeldt must have hit some of them, but Cave did not care to take his men into the bush for fear of their being led into an ambush. Early in the morning the Royalist had planted a shell into Triesse. Here there is a mission plantation with plenty of food and good ovens, just the sort of place the Samoans were likely to be. At dawn the officers onboard the ship were watching for the smoke rising from their morning fires. I looked in at the Catholic Cathedral in the morning. A few children played on the steps in front of the solid masonry of its gloomy front. Inside there was the smell of incense and the voices of the French priests, and the Mataafa. non-combatant refugees — men, ' women, and children — sounded peculiarly strange ac they sang in perfect unison in the early mornine mass. ? French residents sheltering on board a German man-of-war, recently used- rifles found in a French house, French priests and Germans working together for the i rebel king: Franco and Germany shoulder to shoulder; strange cause, surely, that could have brought about this alliance. But if it is France and Germany, it is aleo Great Britain and American shoulder to shoulder as they have never before been in the world's history. British officers and American officers discuss the situation together. They dine at the same mess, and British and American troops go down the street at the double. Lato in the afternoon I heard hot firing in the bush near a village distant only 10 minutes' walk from our hotel. The British and Americans came down the Btreet at the double. I joined in with the British, who went some distance down a cross road, which they commanded with a machine gun. and presently we saw the red caps retreating slowly towards ub with great bundles of taro, bananas, and yams, which they had looted from a Mataafa plantation. It was the most extraordinary sight to see them coming down on us with their loot carried Chinaman fashion on pole 3, and their rifles in their hands. Their faces were smeared with black, greasy paint, and the red turban of the Malietoa party which they wore gave them a most picturesque air. At the end of the long line we could still see the smoke from their guns as they banged into the jungle in the direction of the retreating Mataafa warriors. They told us they had met the enemy in considerable numbers, and had driven them out of one of their forts. "Had they killed any?" Oh, yes; they had killed several. But a, Samoan is an inveterate liar in all such matters as these, and we- must take their tally of the dead with a grain of salt. One thing was certain : they had blazed away all their car tridges, and one Malietoa man wounded in the leg was being conveyed back to Mulinuu. DEPARTURE OF THE TAVIUNI. On Saturday the Taviuni left, and with her some of the wives and children of Apia. She had for two nights sheltered a number of the residents, and the people were loud in their praises of the Union Company, who did this free of charge. The dootor of the Royalist also spoke to me about the kindly way in which the two wounded men were received and cared for. Monday morning dawned without any fresh developments. This is the eighth day of the bombardment, and the Mataafa men are still holding out, so we presume the shells cannot have caught many of them. The Royalist, seeing a number of the rebels in a little clearing in the bush about a mile away, sent a shell in their direction, and as the smoke cleared away some of them could be scan running out of it into the bush. The gun was elevated a little, and another shell planted in i the bush into which they had disappeared. j The Porpoise has just left on another shelling expedition up the coast. The Philadelphia was to have taken 400 tons of coal from the Hauroto to-day (Monday), but there was such a roll in the harbour that it would have been dangerous to coal. There was the alternative of going to Pango Pango and coaling there, but matters are so critical that the Admiral would not do this, and he resolved to do without coal rather than leave Apia. Several families are leaving by the Hauroto for Tonga, and all the white people who do not volunteer for service have now to leave Apia. I remain with the British forces at the Ifi Ifi road. THE LATEST. The Porpoise to-day shelled and burnt Fasitootai and Vailutai, 18 miles west of Apia. These are strong Mataafa settlements. At Palaulio and Satriparti they destroyed 16 boats with their Bhells, and captured two others. They could also have killed several of the natives, but desisted. The natives fled into the bush. A Mataafa flag was also captured. THE VERT LATEST Nsti hw ]wt come in, th&t geyer^ natives

were wounded at the coastal, village, by sheik, ling, and there is no doubt how- that several were killed. Mr Reid's house in Apia is a perfect wreoK with shell, and everything movable has beeni looted or destroyed by natives. Other Brit?* ish houses were badly looted. Two prominent Mataafa ohiefß want \<i come over, but the main body, buoyed by G era man promises, await news from tho Poweri by Friday's mail. Marquart, arrested on the Royalist, Waif sent aboard the Falke, the German captain giving a pledge to the Admiral that he jviu not be allowed to land. The bombardment continues*