An inked manuscript account of the March 15-17 typhoon/hurricane in Samoa and the social upheavals in this South Pacific island nation during this period, written by Rear Admiral Lewis Ashfield Kimberly, commander of the U.S.N. Asiatic Station who was present during the typhoon and the climax of the imperial struggles over the island nation. This account is written in a black buckram 8vo (9.5 x 7.5 inch) notebook and is 84 numbered pages in length plus two unnumbered cover pages and includes three hand drawn and unnumbered maps by Kimberly. This account was the first time Kimberly had written about this incident, other than his official Navy reports. This period of history for Samoa was quite turbulent with Britain, the United States and Germany all contending for power in the islands. All three countries sent warships to the islands in March of 1889 and war seemed inevitable, with the British and Americans allied against the Germans until the typhoon of the 15th-17th destroyed or damaged nearly all the warships and thus mother nature prevented a war between the United States and Germany over this small Pacific island nation. The first part of the account describes in detail the four principle islands and the physical and social character of the Samoans. The next delves into the foreign power struggle in the islands writes of how the Germans were fueling the long running civil war on the islands in an attempt to gain political control and how both the British and American navies and consuls were supporting one of the legitimate traditional Chief who had declared himself King and was formerly allied with the rightful King, who had been sent into exile by the Germans, while the Germans where supporting a puppet King they had installed after the exile of the rightful King. The account gives a highly detailed description of all the main characters, Samoan and others with names and locations and actions of same. The written account includes transcript of many of the letters written to and by Kimberly to the various players in this imperial struggle, both native and foreign. The USN had three warships at the port of Apia on Upolu island. These included the USS Trenton (Rear Admiral Kimberly's flagship), USS Vandalia & USS Nipsic. While the Germans also had three, the SMS Adler, SMS Eber & SMS Olga. The British Royal Navy had the HMS Calliope in Apia harbor also, the only one of the seven warships to escape the harbor during the typhoon. This account is extremely well written and covers all the important events in the political struggle and more particularly the progress of the terrible typhoon and its resulting destruction. This even commonly known as the Samoan Crisis is rightly famous in world Naval history for the heroism shown by those involved and more particularly by the daring and skill of the Royal Navy Captain Henry C. Kane and his crew in managing to do the impossible and escape the harbor during the height of the storm with only feet between his ship and the USS Trenton on one side and the reef on the other with winds blowing directly into the anchorage at 100 knots and waves of immense size crashing into the harbor from the open sea. This audacious act s impressed the officers and sailors on the USS Trenton that they cheered the British as they passed, even though the attempt my have ended in the destruction of both ship. Admiral Kimberly personally witnessed this and writes most movingly about the cheers and encouragement give the British as they passed by by the sailors of his own doomed ship. There are copy letters from each of the American commanding officers of the three ship telling in detail their struggle and final ending during the harrowing storm. These accounts give details of how most of the American sailors who lost their lives met the untimely ends. They also tell of the destruction of the three German warships and several of the merchant ships during the storm.
The three maps are all tipped into the notebook, two are hand colored, and all are ink. The first is titled Samoan or Navigation Islands showing all four principle island and several of the smaller ones, each identified and has an inset map in upper right corner showing the anchorage of Pago Pago on Tutuila Island and the principle anchorages on the other island. The next in ink only is titled Position of the Samoan Islands Relative to the Highways of Commerce Between America and the Antipodes. Showing San Francisco and part of the west coast of America, the Hawaii & Samoan islands, northern New Zealand and eastern Australia and some of the more important islands in the area. The third is titled Sketch of Apia Harbor Showing Position of Wrecked Vessels After the Gale, Etc. and identifies each of the wrecked warships by name and what happened to them. It also has a side note about the destruction of six merchant ships during the typhoon and other smaller vessels. All three maps show the highly developed mapping skills of Kimberly. On page 78 Kimberly has included a small ink drawing of the final resting place of the three American warships after the typhoon had abated. This first draft by Kimberly also includes several pages explaining the various commercial and social position of the foreigners in Samoa, not in his later account. There is as well a copy of the letter written by Beeker, the German Consul on the island to the Samoan King, dated Apia August 23, 1887 demanding monetary and criminal reparations for supposed crimes committed by natives against German plantation owners and the Kings letter to his people in response telling his people that he was surrendering himself to the Germans to avoid bloodshed and saying his farewell to his friends and people and a second to the American Consul on the island, reminding the American Consul of his governments promise to support the rightful independent government of the island nation. Kimberly also includes the full English translation of a song composed by the native Samoan girls entitled The Matanta Maiden's Lament which mourns the loss of the American sailors, but interestingly makes no mention of the German losses, which far exceeded the Americans. There is also a copy of Annie B. Kings poem entitled Our Flag which is about the typhoon at Apia and the American sailors, and a poem entitled The Men of the Trenton, with note below reading: Respectfully Offered to Rear Admiral Lewis A. Kimberly, U.S. Navy and written by John Malone, N.Y. March 15th, 1890. The entire notebook is in Kimberly's hand.
This manuscript as stated above was Kimberly's first draft, he edited it and later deposited his second draft with the Naval Historical Foundation, who published it in 1965 under the title Samoan Hurricane by Rear Admiral L.A. Kimberly, Washington D.C. The second draft published manuscript is now on deposit at the Library of Congress and is only 22 pages in length, with several half page illustrations and far less text than his first draft. Only one of the maps is included in the published version and the small sketch of the final resting place of the three American ships is omitted, as are may of the letters, the Samoan song written about the even and much more. The first draft is far more detailed than the published version.
Rear Admiral Lewis A. Kimberly (1830-1902) born in Troy, N.Y. was appointed a Midshipman in Dec. of 1846 and served in the African, Pacific and East-India Squadrons before the Civil War. During the war he served aboard the Potomac in the Western Gulf Blockading Squadron, taking part in Port Hudson, Grand Gulf and Vicksburg battles. He was Executive officer on board the Hartford during the battle of Mobile Bay, where he was commended for gallantry. After the war he again served in the Atlantic, Pacific and East-India Squadrons and in 1887 was given command of the Asiatic Station and promoted to Rear Admiral.

Front board of notebook is detached, else Fine.