Arizona republican. [volume] (Phoenix, Ariz.) 1890-1930, 1904-04-14
DISASTER AT HOME
Twenty-nine Men Killed on
the Missouri
The Battlesbip Itself Would Have
Gone Down but for the Presence of
Hind OF President Roosevelt's
Brother-in-Law.

BrOther-in-Law.
Pensacola. Fla, April 13.-Ry the ex-
plosion of 1900 pounds CT powder in the
after Pinch turret and the handling
room of the battleship Missouri, Cap
tain VIM. S. Cowles, commanding,
twenty nine men were instantly killed
and five injured, of whom two will die.
The Missouri was Oh the target range
and the Texas and Brooklyn We're at
practice about noon wnen a charge of
powder in the 1-inch LEFT hand gun
iGnited from gases, exploded and,
dropping below, ignited four charges Of
powder in the handling room, and all
exploded. Only one man of the entire
turret and handling crew survived.
But for the prompt and efficient action
OF Captain Cowles in flooding the
handling room and magazine with wa
ter one of the magazines would have
exploded ana the ship would have been
destroyed.
Captain Cowles was completely
overcome by the disaster, and referred
all newspaper men to Lieutenant Ham
mer, the ordnance officer. Later he
gave out a statement of the explosion
and its probable cause. According to
him, about noon, after the first pointer
of the after 12-inch piece had fired his
I string and the second pointer had fired
/ the third shot of his string. the
1 charge ignited. The fourth shot was
/ being loaded and from all Indications
1 the first half Of the charge had been
rammed home and the second section
was being rammed home. when the
gases from the shot previously fired or
portion of the cloth cover ignited the
powder.
The breech was open and Il dull
| thud gave notice of something unusual.
| No loud report was made but flames
| were seen TO leap from every portion Of
| the tUrret. y few seconds later another
| explosions. somewhat fiercer occurred.
| This was in the handling room below.
| where 1900 pounds Of powder, or four
| charges, ready to be hoisted above,
| had ignited. Fire quarters were sound
ed and every man of the snip respond
ef AMI the magazine and handling
| rooms were flooded with water. In less
| than five seconds after the first eX-
: plosion two streams of water were be-
| ing played in the rooms and when
| volunteers were called for, every man
of the slip responded. eager to go into
the tlIrrets and rescue the crew.
| Captain COwles gave his commands
and but for his presence of mind the
! Missouri would have gone down. The
! second explosion occurred near one
magazine and so hot was the fire that
| tho brass work of the magazine was
melted. Smoke and fumes of burnt
| powder made it almost impossible to
| enter either the turret or handling
room, but the officers and men, with
! handkerchiefs over their faces, made
{ efforts to rescue the men inside. Lead
! ing the rescue party was Captain
| Cowles. Officers endeavored to keep
| him from going below as the men fell
| unconscious as they entered and had
/ to be pulled out by their comrades, but
| unheediug their advice, the command
| ing officer rushed below, followed by
| Lieutenant Hammer, the ordnance Of
fccr, and Lieutenant CIelland David.
! Captain Cowles caught up a dying
! bluejacket in his arms and staggered
! to deck with him. The bluejacket
with two others from the handling
room, had crawled partly from their
! place of duty where they had been
| overcome. Before the fumes of the
/ burning powder had left the turret, of
| ficers and men were lifting out the dy-
| ing and dead men. Three minutes after
! the explosion all were on deck and sur
| geons from the Missouri, Texas and
! Brooklyn were attending those not
| dead. Twenty-Five men were found ly-
! ing in a heap. They had started for
| the exit when the first explosion oc-
! CURED, and had just reached there
/ when the more terrible explosion in
/ the handling room occurred. which
| burned and strangled them to death.
| Lieutenant Davidson, officer in
! charge of the turret, evidently had Civ
! en- some command to the men, having
! fallen there after he had allowed them
| to pass him to get out of the turret.
! The bodies were hardly recognizable,
| tho terrible and quick fire having
| burned the clothing from their bodies,
! and the flesh hung from them in
! shreds. The faces were mutilated by
| smoke and flames only. Only one man
was breathing when the turret crew
was rescued and he died moment af-
! ter he reached the deck.
| Included among the dead are:
John w. Cole, ordinary seaman, res
| idence, I.akota, Texas; kin, John W.
! Cole Sr., father, L.akota.
| John G. Num-, ordinary seaman, resi-
| dence, Bryan, Texas; kin, Thomas G.
! Num-, father, Bryan.
J. X. Earney Kivlen, ordinary sea-
man, residence, Dallas, Texas; kin, X.
j. I<ivlen, father, Dallas.
There was one anxious mother in
( Phoenix when a brief dispatch describ-
/ ing the explosion on the Missouri was
received yesterday afternoon. She is
! Mrs. William Kelly, whose son, Will
! lam Russell, is a member of the crew of
! the Missouri.