The Hawaiian gazette., 1905-08-01

- AN DIEGO, July 21.-On that
- black page of our nations
~ history set apart for the pitt
full story of the battleship
Maine there is room for one more en-
try. The Bennington disaster in San
Diego harbor must take its place Sec
ond only to the destruction of the
Maine, and the Bennington met her
fate in home port and within slght
of hundreds of spectators on the shore.
At 1910 the Bennington was due to
sail for Port Hartford, there to meet
the crippled Wyoming. At l0:30, with
steam up and smoke pouring from her
funnel, the Bennington waited the ar
rival of Commander Lucien Young and
Assistant Surgeon A. L. Peck. One
hundred yards away, at the landing,
a launch crew waited for the two Of
ficers. Every other man of the crew
was in his place and ready for the
word. Curious sightseers lined the
wharves, their eyes on the white gun
boat swinging idly in the stream. They
wondered why the Bennington did not
sail.
Uptown Commander Young was
Strengthening out tangle of unpaid
bills. Only little tangle, but it saw
ed scores of lives. Had the Benning-
ton sailed on time she would have been
outside the heads at 1880 and beyond
human help when the catastrophe oc-
Cured.
BECOMES STEEL VOLCANO.
At 1921 the watchers on the
wharyes heard muffled roar and the
Bennington was blotted out in white
cloud of binding vapor, In an instant
she became a steel volcano, spouting
dirty water and steam. Through the
roaring mist men were jumping into
the water The air was filed with
bits of broken timber, and across the
bay came the yells of men in pain.
Boiler b, on the starboard side, had
exploded and buckled back on the sec
ond boiler, and like fash there came
n second explosion. This much has
since been determined by examination.
But the only men who know what real
ly happened down in that hell of boil
ing water and scalding steam will
never be able to tell their story. Death
came to them swiftly down in the
boiler-room.
Those on deck Jared little better
From every ventilator there shot
streams of boiling water, and over al
settled the hitting steam. Men lefl
that ship like rats; men with awfu
injuries went over the side and int
the water. One seaman, with grea'
strips of flesh literally peeling from
his arms and legs, swan to the shore
Another man, his leg broken by fly
ing timber, made his way to the near
est landing.
MANY of the men who were on thu
upper deck when the explosion cam
escaped injury. The scalding waite
spared some of the men of the Ben
nington and their action in the fac
of an unknown danger shall stand for
ever a credit TO the American jackies
The vessel was listing to starboard
no man knew when she might sink
but these brave American sailors fol
got their own danger and set out car
ing for those of their shipmates VIII
were too badly hurt to get over tn
side, Men were screaming and weI
lying on the deck helpless in the raj
of hot water and steam. Their shil
mates burst through the cloud an
carried them away to places of safet.
BOATS TO THE RESCUE.
From all sides the boats were cor
ing. Wounded men were picked u
swimmers were dragged on board. G
the shore everything with wheels W;
being put into commission. II
sealded sailors were being hurrie
away to the hospitals, some of the
screaming, some of them silent, bea
ing their agony with set teeth an
staring eyes. Then came the pitif'