42 



WORK OF THE CARNEGIE AND SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTURE SCIENTIFIC CRUISES 



entire trip. Daily schedules with many amateurs in the 

 United States, Hawaii, and Australia had brought us the 

 news of the world, and had kept us in constant touch with 

 our home office. As an instance to show the faithful 

 services of these enthusiasts, we might mention the op- 

 erator of station WGDZY. He transmitted a two-hundred 

 word technical message for us and finished by stating 

 that he had just broken three fingers, owing to the fall of 

 a piece of heavy machinery. 



Entering Pago Pago Harbor in the early afternoon 

 of November 19, we did not have darkness to contend 

 with as we did in the spring, when we nearly pUed up on 

 the reef. But this time the little engine was pushed to 

 the limit in bucking the powerful wind squalls that 

 swooped down from the mountains surrounding the bay. 

 Time and again we were stopped dead in our tracks by 

 these sudden gusts, almost losing steerageway at times. 

 Because of the danger in tying up to the wharf under 

 these conditions, we made fast to a buoy until the follow- 

 ing morning. 



The landing this time was almost a homecoming. 

 Our friends of the spring were on hand to welcome us, 

 with here and there a new face among them. The hospi- 

 tality of the Naval Station was extended to us, as before. 

 Since we were to remain here over a week, we had a 

 better opportunity for observing Samoan life and for 

 making collections on shore. Once the records and 

 specimens were forwarded to headquarters, we found 

 time to make several delightful excusions to native vil- 

 lages and into the mountains. 



Graham and Paul spent the following Monday in col- 

 lecting biological specimens. A guide was furnished by 

 the chief who had entertained the party over the week 

 end, and before they returned to the ship they had walked 

 over a greater part of the island, crossing the mountains 

 several times. A large number of native birds were se- 

 cured for the National Museum and a good collection of 

 characteristic plants was made for the Carnegie Muse- 

 um in Pittsburgh. 



The day of our departure was drawing near and we 

 had preparations to make. Supplies for the galleys and 

 laboratories had to be stowed away and long-neglected 

 letters answered. On November 27 we pushed off for 

 Apia, arriving there on Thanksgiving morning, Novem- 

 ber 28. 



On the morning of Friday, November 29, 1929, the 

 Carnegie was at anchor in the harbor of Apia,Samoa. 

 All morning Captain Ault and the remaining members of 

 the staff were at work on l)oard, the crew was engaged 

 in loading the last of the barrels of gasoline into the 

 ship's tanks. There remained only one hundred andfifty 

 gallons to stow away when lunchtime came. After the 

 noon meal, the crew resumed their task; Captain Ault 

 unfolded a chair and sat on the quarter-deck; the engi- 

 neer and mechanic were below in the engine room; and 

 the others were scattered over th3 forward half of the 

 ship, at various duties. 



With a rumbling roar the ship was shaken from 



stem to stern by an explosion — then another. Captain 

 Ault was thrown into the water. The men at work over 

 the tank room were hurled to different parts of the ship. 

 The engineer and mechanic were trapped in the engine 

 room and in a moment the whole quarter-deck was en- 

 veloped in flame. 



The steward and Soule, rushing on deck, dived over- 

 board to save the Captain. The engineer and mechanic 

 fought their way out of the blazing engine room by rais- 

 ing themselves through the gaping hole in the deck. The 

 uninjured men dragged the others free of the flames. 

 To save the vessel was out of the question and all atten- 

 tion was directed to the saving of lives. 



Small boats had been launched at once from the 

 other ships in the harbor. Captain Ault, who had been 

 holding on to a rope as he floated in the water, was 

 helped into one of these and with the other injured men 

 was taken ashore. Apparently he was suffering only 

 minor injuries; but his injuries were serious and on the 

 way to the hospital, our Captain died as a result of them 

 and of shock. 



The other men who had been on the quarter-deck 

 suffered fractures and severe burns. They were given 

 immediate surgical attention by the hospital staff, who 

 had been notified by telephone of the accident. 



When the survivors were collected ashore, Tony, 

 the cabin boy, could not be accounted for. He had last 

 been seen in the after galley, immediately next to the 

 tank room; so it was apparent that he too had lost his 

 life. His remains were not discovered until December 

 4, when salvage operations on the charred hull of the 

 vessel were commenced. 



Seaton, Graham, and Paul had been away on a col- 

 lecting trip and did not return until about three hours 

 after the tragedy. The hospital staff and Government 

 officials had done everything in their power for the sur- 

 vivors. There was nothing further to do but to await the 

 arrival of the U. S. S. Ontario , the naval vessel from 

 Pago Pago which the Navy had ordered to our aid. 



The engineer and mechanic were too severely 

 burned to stand the journey to Pago Pago, so they were 

 left in the hospital at Apia. Parkinson, as second in 

 command, also stayed to take charge of affairs there. 

 On the day following the explosion, all the others were 

 taken to American Samoa to await the steamer from 

 Sydney. The three injured seamen we brought with us 

 were put in the Naval hospital while the members of the 

 staff were taken into the homes of the Naval officers, 

 and the crew was quartered in the barracks. 



Everything was done to make us comfortable. We 

 were furnished necessary clothing--for the ship and all 

 its equipment together with our personal effects, had 

 been a total loss. Governor Lincoln, on behalf of the 

 Navy, arranged immigration papers for entry into the 

 United States for those who were not citizens. 



On December 6, the survivors accompanied the body 

 of Captain Ault aboard the Ventura for the sad journey 

 home. 



