Kansas City daily journal., 1897-02-09
NORTH ATLANTIC SQUADRON FINAL
LY REACHES CHARLESTON.
MET WITH MANY ACCIDENTS.
THREE MEN LOsTOyERBOARD FROM
THE BATTLEsHIP MAINE.
One MRn Crushed TO Death on the
MarbIchend. Another Fatally In
jured and Six Others Badly
Hurt-MnrbIehcadB Bnd-
Iy Damaged.

Charleston. S. c., Feb. S-AdmiraI
Runce's blockading squadron reached port
to-day. after 4 disastrous voyage from
Hampton Roads. Three men were lost
overheard from the battleship Maine dur
ing the gale of Friday, one man WAS
crushed to death on the cruiser Marble
head, another was fatally injured and SIX
others were so badly hurt that several
may lose limbs.
The details of the accidents on the Mar
blehead are not obtainable, but it seems
the cruiser made bad weather of the blow.
Tonight as she is lying off the jetties,
she presents a dismantled appearance. Her
forecastle is stove in and a portion of her
superstructure and two matches were car
rieG away. The heavy seas that swept her
decks also carried away her searchlisht,
lower port boom, smashed the rails and
swept overheard the life boats. Carpenter
Sharberl was crushed to death in the fore
castle, when it was wrecked by monster
wave, and Plumber Hickey had his skull
crushed by the wreckage and will probably
die. The six seamen who were injured are
believed to have been hurt at the same
time, but the officers of the vessel are ret
icent as to the details of the accident. 1t
is understood the injured men will be
brought ashore for treatment tomorrow.
Carpt nter Sharberl was buried AT sea, The
other vessels of the fleet show marks of
their rough voyage, their upper WORKS ana
deck hamper being damaged.
The squadron weighed anchor in the
Roads Thursday morning and put to sea.
Friday evening the weather thtckened and
by night was blowing a gale. The Indiana
returned to the Roads. owing to the con-
dition of her turrets. The rest of the fleet,
however. poked their noses into the storm
and headed south When about fifty miles
off Hatteras. the fleet felt the full force of
the blow. Open squadron formation was
maintained and the vessels were put IN
order for a siege of weather.
The battleship Maine rolled in the big
seas, the water washing her decks at every
plunge. 1t was late Friday afternoon the
accident occurred which cost three seamen
their lives, and three others We're rescued
only by prompt and heroic work. A gang
of men were ordered forward to make more
secure the laShingS OF the big guns. Inc
deck was deluged and the wind was fresh
ening every moment. The men were at
work with the lGshings when an unusually
heavy sea curled over her bows and swept
aft. Six of the gang were picked up, and
carried overheard before they could escape
the wave. When the cry of man over
board was carried back. there was II
scene of momentaTy confusion. but in an
instant the splendid discipline of the crew
was apparent.
Life buoys were cut loose end the order
given TO get a boat overheard. The high
seas made this work one of peril and diff
Guilty but boats crew, under Naval Cadet
Walter K. Gherardi. son OF Rear Admiral
Gherardi retired was finally lowered ex-
cellent saamanshlp alone preventing the
frail craft from being crushed against tine
sides of the big battleship. While the en-
gineS had been reversed at the first signal
from the bridge. the momentum of the
ship had carried her some distance beyond
the spot where the seamen were swept
overheard. and the set of the current was
carrying them further away every moment
The ships crew watched the rescuers as
they pulled manfully in the heavy seas
tie waves running so high that the little
boat was at times hidden from the vessel S
Meantime the drowning men fought brave
ly. and three of them managed to keep
afioat until their mates hauled them out
Of the water. They were Seamen Hassel
Cronan and Freeman. The remaining
three, Brown. Nelson and Kogel, were not
to be seen. The lifeboat cruised back and
forth over the sea, but the brave fellows
had given up the struggle and met sail
or's fate. Cadet Gherardi and his boat s
crew were highly complimented by the Off
GERS for their brave work.
Friday night the fleet made heavy wealth
er of II, but managed to keep within sig
mailing distance of one another. Towards
weathered out the rest of the gale in that
manner. The officers say it was one of the
worst gales the fleet has ever experienced.
The Fern made this port before the worst
OF the gale, being forty-eight hours ahead
of her consortS in making harbor. The
Dolphin, which came up from the South,
arrived yesterday and experienced no Sc
we're weather. A boat from the Maine came
up to the city this afternoon with several
officers. They visited the collector of the
port and filed kilograms. A dispatch from
washington was awaiting Admiral Bunce
presumably from the navy department in
connection with the blockade maneuvers.