Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1904-04-21
BLUE JACKETS
MEET DEATH
TN mime Killed By Pow.
e.. Explosion On Battle
ship Missouri.
ALL IN THE TURRET Persisted
Only Prompt Action Prevented De-
struction of Ship Captain CowIes
Led His Men In Heroic Effort to

Pensacola, Fla, April 14.-By the
explosion of two thousand pounds Of
powder in the after 12-inch turret and
the handling room Of the battleship
Missouri, Captain William s. Cowles
commanding, twenty-nine men were
instantly killed and five injured, two
probably fatally. ~-..,.
The Missouri was on the target
range with the Texas and the Brook.
Ign at practice, about noon, when
charge of powder in the 12-inch left
hand gun ignited from gases, ex.
ploded, and, dropping below. ignited
four charges of powder in the hand
ling room, causing all to explode.
but for the prompt and efficient work
Of Captain Cowles in flooding the
handling room and the magazine with
water, one Of the magazines would
have exploded and the ship would
have been destroyed.
Captain CowleS, overcome by the
disaster, referred all newspaper men
to Lieutenant Hammer, the ordnance
officer, who gave out statement OF
the explosion and its probable cause.
According to Lieutenant Hammer,
about noon, after the first pointer of
the after 12-inch piece had fired his
string and the second pointer had
fired the third shot Of his string, the
charge ignited. The fourth shot was
loading and, from all indications, the
first half Of the charge had been
rammed home and the second section
was ramming home, when gases from
the shot previously fired. or portions
Of the cloth cover, ignited the powder.
The breech was open and duh
thud gave notice of something unusual.
No loud report was heard, but flames
were seen to leap from every portion
of the turret. A few seconds later
another explosion, somewhat more
fierce, occurred. This was in the
handling room below, where sixteen
hundred pounds Of powder. or four
charges ready to be heisted had
ignited.
Fire quarters were sounded and
every man Of the ship responded and
the magazine and handling rooms
were flooded with water. In a few
seconds after the first explosion, two
streams of water were playing In the
rooms and, when volunteers were
called for, every man Of the ship re.
sponded, eager to go into the turrets
to rescue the gunners, IL any were
alive.
The second explosion occurred near
one of the magazines and SO hot was
the fire that the brass work Of the
magazine was melted. Smoke and
fumes of burned powder made ii al
most impossible to enter either the
turret or the handling room, but OF.
ficers and men with handkerchiefs
over their faces made efforts to re.
move the men inside. Leading the
party was Captain Cowles. The offic'
ers endeavered to keep him from
going below, as men fell unconscious
as they entered and had to be pulled
out by their comrades, but the com,
manding officer rushed below, follow
ed by Lieutenant Hammer, the ord,
nance officer, and Lieutenant Clei
land Davis.
Captain Cowles caught up a dying
blue jacket in his arms and staggered
to the deck with him. The blue jacket
with two others from the handling
room had crawled partly from their
place of duty before they were oven
come
Before the fumes of the burned
powder had left the turret, officers
and men were lifting out the dyina
and the dead Within a few minutes
after the explosion. all the injured
were on deck and the surgeons from
the Missouri, the Texas and the
Brooklyn were attending them.
The men in the turret were found
lying in a heap. They had started
for the exit when the first explosion
occurred and had just reached the
door when the more terrible explosion
in the handling room occurred, burn
ing and strangling them to death
Lieutenant Davidson, in charge of the
turret, evidently had given some
command to the men, as he was on
top of the heap of men, having fall
len there after he had allowed them
to pass him to get out Of the turret.
The bodies were hardly recogniz.
able, the fire having burnt clothing
from the men, whose flesh hung from
them in shreds. The faces were mm
tilated by smoke and flames. Only
one Of the men in the turret was
breathing when removed. and he
died in a moment after he reached
deck.
Hobson Has Met Defeat
Birmingham Ala April 13.-Fuller