The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-04-14
TWENTY-SK GALLANT SAJ.ORS
 MEETDEATH IN NIISSOUP 5 TURRET

man of the ship responded, and tht magazine and handing rooms wer' flooded with water.
 Tn less than five seconds after tn> first explosion two streams of water were being played in the rooms, and when volunteers were called for every man of the ship responded. eager to go into the turrets and rescue the crew. Captain Cowles quickly gave his commands, and but for his pres ence of mind and that of the officers of the ship, the Missouri would have gone down. The second explosion oc. cured near one of the magazines and so hot was the fire that the brass work of the magazine was melted
 Smoke and tho fumes of the burned powder made it almost impossible to enter either the turret or handling room but officers and men with hand. kerchiefs over their faces made efforts to rescue the men inside. E
 Gallant Captain Cowles.
 Leading the rescuing party was Captain Cowles. The officers endeav- ored to keep him from going below and the men fell unconscious as they entered and had to be pulled out by their comrades. but unheeding their advice the commanding officer rushed beiow, followed by lieutenant Ham, ner. the ordinance officer, and Lieuten- caught up a dying blue jacket in his arms and staggered to the deck with him. The blue jacket with two oth- CTS from the handling room, had craw1ed partly from their place of duty when they had been overcome. Before the fumes of the burning pow der had left the turret. officers and men were lifting the dying and dead men. Three minutes after the explo- sion all were on deck and the sur geons from the. Missouri. Texas and Brooklyn were attending those not dead. The twenty-five men. of the 'turret were found lying in a heap. They had started for the exit when the first explosion occurred and had just reached there when the more ter rife explosion in the handling room occurred, which burned and strangled them to death.
 Lieutenant Davidson, the officer in charge of the turret, had evidently giveti some command to the men, as he was on top of the head of men. having fallen there after he had allowed them to pass him to get out of the turret. The bodies were hardly recognizable. the terrible and quick fire having burned the clothing from the bodies of the men and the flesh hung from them in shreds. The faces were mutflated by the smoke and flames. Only one man was breathing when the turret crew was rescued and he died af- ter he had reached the deck.
 List of Dead.
 The dead are: lieutenant w. c. David son, in charge of the 12.inch tturret; En- sign F. A. Weickart Of the cruiser Cleve- land, gun umpire; Midshipmafl " D, F. Neumann: Lieutenant J. P. ". Gridiey, U. S. M. C.: Lieut.. Thomas Ward. junior division officer J. K. Pederson, hoatswain seaman; J. Biuxaputlan. coxswain; Charles Rice. seaman; J. c. Hardy, ap- prentice. second class; K. J. Kivlin. sea- Scherbauth, ordinary seaman; J. F. Ro- Hands, electrician. second class; H. B, Franks, coxswain; J. P. Starr, ordinary seaman; J. c. Mutt, seaman; N. Soder, seaman: c. H. Meyer. ordinary seaman; P. R. Castler. apprentice, second class; R. H. Allison, ordinary seaman; R. C. Tobin, ordinary seaman;r J. J. Mulligan, landsman; J. w. Cole, ordnance sergeant; A.. Smith, gunner's mate, first class; W. s. Shiman, private marine! P. J. Brown, chief gunner's mate; J. F. Kennedy, ordi- nary seaman; J: M. Roach, ordinary sea- man.
 The injured-J. E.. Knight, seaman. may recover; J. T. Donnelly, ordinary seaman dying: R. Starr, seaman, will recover: F. C. Shraub, apprentice, second class, will recover, and a man supposed to be o. B. Moe, appretice, second class dying. ..