Omaha daily bee., 1905-07-23

Harry E. Hise, commssary steward,
burned badly ON hands.
Emery StarlSweather, scalded face. hands
Fred II. Taylor, scalded face and body.
Claude c. Welborn, scalded face and
Ray C. shepperd. scalded very badly.
face and body.
@, f. Knox, scalded left arm and hands.
w .Pfuger, scalded both feet and legs;
also feet sprained.
G. Stroebel, scalded both arms and legs.
F. Miller both arms burned severely
j. o. Hanlon, scalded hands and face,
j. Cornell, injuries TO head,
II, Knocklock, scalded back and arms
W. Cronan, scalded hands
OF those injured 1t is estimated by DR..
NJ. H. Foster OF the United States marine
service, in charge of the injured, at least
ten will die within the next day or two.
Striving to Recover Dead.
Every effort aboard the Bennington today
- bent towards reaching the dead bodies
beneath the steel bulkheads in the closed
and flooded compartments. A ere engine
from the local fire department will be
utilized to pump out the water which,
during the night and morning periods,
rose still higher in the engine and boiler
rooms out of the confusion that fol-
lowed the disaster and the work of res
Gus COIlt luIlAhuB SlOIleb VI ueIOlSH anu
self-sacrifice The bravery Of the crew
was commented upon by all who had OPP
portunitieS to witness the scenes. Men
who were badly injured and scalded worked
to rescue those who were worse off than
themselves, and all the special instances
of heroism of the disaster probably will
not be fully written. The self-sacrifcing
efforts on the part of the physicians and
scores of nurses were also commented on
with praise for all. Every one who could
be made useful at the hospitals was put
to work and those who could not were
asked to return and relieve those who
were accepted
Fireman E. @. Hopp makes the first
statement as TO the cause OF the accident.
He says that shortly before the explosion
one OF the boilers was found to be leaking
badly and the boiler man was sent for to
repair the damage. Before the latter came
the explosion occurred. Hopp saw men all
! about him killed outright and he himself
was stunned for a moment
The dead will be given a military burial
Sunday afternoon at the military reserva-
| ton at Point Iona. Services will be held
at o'clock on the point and the launches
will convey across the bay the living OFF,
GERS and the men able to attend.
An examination of the Remington
above deck did not disclose any
| great damage. The vessel was COW
cred with a gray coating of ashes. fhe
steam carried a gray colored mud, which
smesred everything even the sides of the
vessel. There were broken gangways and
displaced machinery of mionr character,
| but no serious damage to the main deck
! was visible. II was explained by those on
board that the wreckage was all below, but
| frst hcu is xuftI ha LAT al
only after a more thorough examination
can be made. This cannot be made until the
water has been pumped out and the vessel
righted. Commander Young declined to
make any official statement for publication.
He said. however. today that he believed
the disaster was caused by the explosion
| OF boiler I'D" on the port side and that
boiler "B" while not exploding had been
damaged. allowing the steam to escape.
Boilers Were Defective.
Commander Young expressed the opinion
that there was weak spot in one OF the
boilers. but said there had been no visible
defects so far as he knew.
The men who were injured, including En-
sign Perry, tell a different story. They say
that It has been the talk OF the ship at
least six months that the boilers were de-
feetive. many Of them had feared for a
long time that just such an accident would
happen. one OF the men said that year
ago last February while the ship was at
Magdalena bay, the engineer OF the cruiser
New York was called 10 inspect the boilers
and reported that they were in good eondi-
ton. While the vessel was in San Fran
cisco last year the talk OF defective boilers
again arose, but no steps were taken TO
remedy them.
The upper deck amidship presents a mass
OF wreckage.
The smokestacks have been blown out of
place and the superstructure is bent and
twisted in all sorts Of shapes. The plates
on the side are bullying out and leaks In a
number Of places were letting in the water.
John Turpin. a eolored man OF the crew,
who was on board the Maine when IL was
blown up in Havana, was on board the Ben
nington and again escaped injury. He rSn-
dered valuable aid In rescuing the dead and
wounded.
scenes at Hospital.
Scenes at the hospitals today were trying
70 those unused TO them AT Agnew sani'
tarium thIrty-seven men lay swathed il
bandages, many OF them having their fea-
lures covered with masks OF medicatec
cotton. with only openings for the moutf
and nostrils. Nearly all suffered severely
about the hands and neck.
Not more than three men were IN any one
room and the arrangements for caring fOi
them were complete In every detail Their
were nurses and 20 spare. Almost ever,
] one OF the poor fellows had a trained nurs,
I at his bedside who did everything to cas-
their pain.
Many physicians. volunteers from capable