She arrived at the Strait of Magellan on 12 November and remained in the vicinity almost a month to be available to provide assistance to Chilean government officials at Sandy Point during a mutinous situation there.

On 10 May, the ship embarked the Samoan plenipotentiary, la Mamea , who had just completed negotiations in Washington on a treaty of amity and commerce between the United States and his island kingdom, and she set sail to return him and his delegation to Samoa.

A week later, on the 27th, she stood out to sea and laid in a course to Panama on the first leg of a leisurely voyage up the coast via Punta Arenas in Costa Rica, La Unión, El Salvador, and Acapulco and Mazatlán in Mexico.

On 19 July, the warship arrived in San Francisco and, two days later, began a lengthy period of repairs at the Mare Island Navy Yard.

She made the short trip back to San Francisco that same day and began preparations to return to duty on the Pacific Station.

Voyaging by way of Pichilinque Bay and Mazatlan in Mexico, Adams arrived at the Gulf of Dulce in Costa Rica on 29 February and set about establishing a coaling point for ships serving on the Pacific Station.

Adams left the yard on 23 August and returned to San Francisco for two days before heading back to the west coast of Latin America on the 25th.

She arrived at Panama (then a part of the United States of Colombia) on 15 September to begin another seven months cruising along the Central American coast.

On 11 April 1882, she concluded her assignment on the coasts of South and Central America by departing Panama and setting a course for California.

Instead of heading south to the coasts of Latin America, however, she pointed her bow north and made for Alaskan waters.

Her two main functions in Alaska seem to have been monitoring the seal fur industry and regulating the relations between the native Indian and Eskimo population and the multitude of white traders, trappers, prospectors, sealers, and whalers that had established themselves in the area since the United States purchased the territory from Russia in 1867.

Adams had not been on station a month before her commanding officer had to intervene in two incidents involving representatives of the Northwest Trading Company and the native population.

Merriman, backed by Adams and her guns, simply informed the Indians that their custom of levying reparations in the event of an accidental death did not apply in relations with white men and warned them that attempts to do so would bring swift reprisal.

When an Indian shaman died as the result of an accidental explosion during a whaling operation on 22 October, the natives of the village of Angoon seized two white men and two of the three company vessels involved and demanded a payment of 200 blankets.

The superintendent quickly put to sea in the company's steam tug Favorite and made the voyage to Sitka.

Merriman held a meeting with some of the Indians during which he made counter demands for the release of the hostages and a levy of 400 blankets in return for which the expedition would spare their canoes and village.

Merriman left a party of sailors at Angoon to insure continued good faith, and he and the remainder returned to Sitka in Corwin to reembark in Adams.

Adams spent the ensuing month preparing for an extended tour of duty on the coasts of Central and South America.

For 16 months, Adams "showed the flag" along the western coast of Latin America between Guaymas, Mexico, in the north and Coquimbo, Chile, in the south.

The warship spent the summer months of 1888 cruising among the major islands that make up the Samoan group, leaving the vicinity only once, in late July, for another visit to Tonga.

The warship made a stop of nearly two weeks duration at Honolulu early in January 1889 before resuming her voyage to the California coast.

During the night of 29 and 30 July, insurgents occupied the palace grounds and a local militia unit, styled the Honolulu Rifles, took up positions in support of the government.

The Hawaiian government restored order quickly without the necessity of American intervention, so the landing party reembarked in the warship the following morning.

Upon resuming active service, the steam frigate rejoined the forces assigned to the Pacific Station and returned to one of her old haunts – Alaskan waters.

Refloated on 11 January 1893, Adams remained in the San Francisco Bay area until 12 April when she put to sea on her way to the Hawaiian Islands.

That situation had been brought about by the revolution of January 1893 in which the faction that favored annexation by the United States overthrew the native Hawaiian monarchy once and forever, replacing the government of Queen Liliuokalani with a republic.

After more than 13 months of inactivity at the Mare Island Navy Yard, Adams was placed back in commission there on Christmas Eve 1895, Comdr.

After repairs, she returned to sea early in February 1897 to begin duty training recruit apprentices and cruised the waters along the California coast until the latter part of April.

Apprentice training cruises along the west coast, punctuated by periodic voyages to Hawaii, occupied her time until the beginning of 1904.

The warship continued to train New Jersey naval militiamen until after the United States entered World War I in April 1917.