The San Francisco call., 1897-02-09
Admiral Bunce's Squadron
Passes Through a Big
Storm.
WARSHIPS HAVE A VERY
CLOSE CALL.
Terrible Experience in the Gale
While Off the Coast of
South Carolina.
FOUR LIVES LOST AND EIGHT
MEN BADLY INJURED.
Gallant Marines and Sailors Dash
Overheard to Rescue Comra ades
From the Waves.

CHARLESTON, S. c., Feb. s. The
warships New York, Maine, Colum bia,
Amphitrite and Marblehead arrived off
Charleston bar to-day after terrible ex-
perience with the storm which swept up
the south Atlantic coast Friday and Sat-
urday. The cruiser Columbia and the
battle-ship Maine were sighted from Sulli-
vans Island early III the forenoon, and
the flagship New York, the monitor Am
phitrite and the cruiser Marblehead
steamed inte view later, the flagship being
the last of the squadron to reach an
anchorage to the north of the Charleston
l1ghtship. All five of the vessels are now
at anchor about two miles off the bar.
Admiral Bunce's feet ran straight into
the teeth Of terrible storm Friday night
The warships were forty miles off the
North Carolina coast and well below Hat
teras, and while the officers are, as usual,
unwilling to discuss their experiences it is
known that both ships and men were in
great peril. When the feet was visited by
q representative of the United Associated
Presses this afternoon it was learned that
the actual loss consisted of four lives
eight men seriously injured and minor in
juries 10 almost all of the vessels them
selves. The battle-ship Maine had seven
of her men overheard, three of them losing
their lives. The Marblehead lost one man
killed and six injured. The killed on the
Maine were:
l.. C. Kozel, apprentice, dashed to death
against the turrets and body lost at sea.
John Brown, seaman, washed overheard
and drowned; body not recovered.
A. B. Nelson, private United States
marines, washed overheard and drowned :;
body lost.
The Marblehead lost Ships Carpenter
Strawhat, who was dashed to death by
the sea. His body was saved and buried
at sea Sunday.
Seven of the carpenters gang, who were
at work on the sea anchor, were hurled
against the superstructure of the ship by
the sea and more or less injured. Their
names are: Dennis Royan, blacks smith +;
Charles Osborne, shipwright; Prentice
Scandland and Regan and Kicker,
plumbers.
Kicker sustained compound fracture
OF the skull and his condition is serious
Arrangements have been made for
placing all OF the injured seameu in the
Marine Hospital here and they will be
transferred from their ships to the shore
tomorrow.
The New York, the Columbia, the Am
phitrite and the Maine were off the coast
below Hatteras and about forty miles out
when the storm began to gather Friday
night. The admiral signaled from the
New York for the ships to stand together.
The storm was blowing from the south
east. II steadily increased during the
night and the four ships were separated.
So heavily did the New York roll that the
big eight-inch guns in the turrets were
Isshed down with heavy hawsers as a pre-
caution. During the storm a heavy sea
rolled over astern and the aft com panion-
way was flooded with water. which went
down into the officers quarters. The gun
ports and torpedo tubes also let the water
in. There was plenty OF water inside.
The boatswain, William Anderson, while
Aon the forward deck, was struck from his
PET by sea and injured by being dashed
|aft. Naval Cadet CastIeman, while on the
forward quarter deck. lost his footing and