The Brunswick times. [volume] (Brunswick, Ga.) 188?-1900, 1898-02-27
THE MAINE DISASTER.
Some Interesting Incidents Described By
Survivors OF the Battleship.

of the recent Maine disaster; Many Of
the surviving sailors, especially those
who were badly wounded, do not reeol-
lect anything Of the explosion except
that they found themselves in the wa
ter, aud some Of them do not even re-
member that as they were picked mp
unconscious and came to their senses in
their cots ut the hospital
One man With whom spoke the 9TH
er day could nct realize what day Of the
week il was
William Maguincss, who was hurled
from his hammock, awoke, believing
the ship hai been struck By sa0ts fred
from the Spanish forts. Ihis i.iea so oc-
cupied his mind that during the two
days be was at the hospital be was con
stanily talking eight
William C;ar,Fsu, a fireman, was
three decks down and was blown
through them without suffering a
scratch. lie was the only one from the
lower part Of the ship who was saved.
First Glass Gunner Bullock, seeking a
cool place to sleep. was lying ia the aft
or turret. When the explosion occurred,
he found himself astride the big cannon,
which had shifted to one side. Not
knowing how to escape, he finally
squeezed himself through the gunport,
which was quite difficult undertaking,
as the hole was hardly big enough 70
admit the passage Of his body.
Joseph Lutz marine, was blown
from his hammock aud went with the
flying debris into the air. He landed
again on deck, began hunting for his
shoes aud trousers and then jumped
overheard.
Captain Sigshee tells me that the cool
ness and bravery displayed by William
Anthony are commendable Anthony
Is a private in the marines. He was
stationed as orderly at the door Of the
captains quarters At the moment Of
the explosion the captain was writing a
letter to his wife All the lights were
Immediately extinguished. The captain
arose aud atteRwted 70 make bis way
through the'1ong passage leading to the
dock, and as the ship wses topping to
one side and sinking fast Captain Sigs-
bee CROPPED his way with difficulty He
finally bumped against man who PROV
ed to be Orderly Anthony. The orderly
first begged the captains pardon and
then very coolly said
Sir, have come 20 report to you
that the ship has been blown up aud
she is fast sinking
Captain Sigsbee says that any ordi-
nary man would nc that time have
thought how to save himself rather
than 80 inside dark passage Of sink
ing vessel, not knowing il he would
ever come out again.
On board were three cats young
tabby and two toms The older tom was
born on board a monitor at the Brook.
Ign navy yard l3 years ago He was a
tar By birth and bad served all his life
IN the United States navy. He paid no
attention to tabby and bad the good rec.
ord Of never having held moonlight con
oerts on roofs or sown his wild oats on
back fences. The officers, seeing his dis
regard for Tabby, bought on shore only
two days before the accident a young
Cuban tom, who, to distinguish him
from Old Tom, was named Young Tom.
He and Tabby persisted i'll their honey
moon. Old Tom, who was three decks
below, was also thought to have been
lost, but was discovered recently by
Commander Wainwright orouched and
meowing pitifuily on a pile Of wreck
age on deck.
He has been taken on board the Fern,
where the sailors are giving him the
best Of care and where he has assumed
again his old post Of the senior cat in
the United States navy.
Peggy, the little pug dog Of Captain
Sigsbee, who never abandoned his side
while on board and who once fell and
broke her leg while trying to climb aft
er him up the ladder Of the top bridge,
was ut the captain side when he took
to the boat She was trembling with
fright; but. taking in consideration that
she is only young pug aud that the
explosion was tremendous, Captain
Sigsbee says she is excusable
All the survivors Of the Maine lost
everything they had. Many landed with
hardly any clothing, aud all are today
lamenting the loss Of some valuable per-
sonal effects which money cannot re-
place. Father Chadwick. the chaplain,
grieves over the loss of a gold chalice
which the crew of the Maine gave him
and which be says was the worldly be.
longing which he most priced. New
York sun.