Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1905-07-25

e. q. Hopp makes the first state
ment as to the cause Of the acci-
dent. He says that shortly before
the explosion, one of the boilers
was found to be leaking badly and
a bollermaker was sent for to re.
pair the damage. Before the lat
ter came the explosion occurred.
Hopp saw men all about him
killed outright and was himself
stunned for moment. The dead
will be given military burial on
Sunday afternoon at the military
reservation at Point Iona.
San Diego, July %. - The appalling
list of the victims of yesterdays ex-
plosion aboard the Bennington grew
throughout the night, almost every
hour adding to the long rows Of dead
In the overcrowded morgues.
Fifty-one known dead is the latest
summary, compiled at 9 o'clock this
morning. This included forty-f1ve
bodies at the various morgues and
seven bodies which were still floating
about In the flooded boiler rooms and
which could not yet be reached.
; About fifty injured men are scat
tered among the various private and
public hospitals and there are missing
twenty or twenty-five.
Roll call on board the Ben
nington some hours after the explo-
sion showed sixty-one men present.
leaving 1856 unaccounted for. Those
included the dead, injured and missing.
Pump Water From Hold.
Remington and is aiding in pumping
the water out of the gunboat's engine
room. There is at least fifteen feet of
water in her hold
Cause Of the Explosion.
San Diego, July %. - Commander
Young expressed the opinion that
there was weak pot in one of the
boilers, but said that there had been
no visible defects, so far as he knew
The men who are injured, including
Ensign Perry, tell different story
They say it had been the talk of the
ship for at least six months that the
boilers were defective and many of
them had feared for a long time that
just such an accident would happen.
Ship Badly Damaged.
The upper deck, amidship presents
a mass of wreckage. Inc smokestacks
have been blown out of place. the SUI
perstructures bent and twisted in
all sorts of shapes, the plates on the
side are bullying out and leaks in
a number of places are letting in
water.
Survivor of Maine Wreck There.
John Turpin, colored, who was on
board the Maine when she was blown
up in Havana was on board the Ben
nington and again escaped injury. He
rendered valuable aid in rescuing the
dead and wounded.
Had No Warning.
The disaster came without a Sec
ond's warning The Bennington was
lying In midstream off the commercial
wharf at the foot of H street. Com.
mander Lucien Young had received or
ders from Washington to sail for Port
Hartford. He was on shore making
final preparations for departure.
Disaster Comes Without Warning.
Steam was UP, most of the men were
on deck and everything was in readi-
ness for immediate sailing, when
deafening roar shook the earth for
miles around.
The outburst was accompanied by a
roar as of thunder and a shock that
rocked vessels nearby. In an instant
the air was filled with shrieks and bel
lows of pain from the wounded which
could be heard ashore, and with flying
fragments of human beings and pieces
of the ships superstructure.
Manned Sailors Fight in Water.
The next moment bleeding sailors
were fighting, crippled, in the water
against death in only a less sudden
form than that which they had es-
capped, while rowboats, sailboats,
launches and tugs were being driven
to the rescue as fast as arms, wind
and steam could carry them
Most of the men on board were as