The Plymouth tribune. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1901-1911, 1905-07-27
GUNBOAT is WRECKED
HORRIBLE DISASTER ON U. q.
SHIP BENNINGTON.
Boiler Explosion Brings Death to One
officer and SO Men, and Injuries 1874
of the IS1 Persons on Board-Deatl
List May Grow.


officer and SO Men. and Injuries 1874
of the ISI Persons on Doard-Death
List May Grow.
One of the main boilers in the Uni
ted States gunboat Bennington, lying
in San Diego harbor, Cal, exploded
shortly before noon Friday, killing or
manning 134 among the 181 on board.
Thirty-six men and Ensign Newman
X. Perry are known to be dead, seven
ty-six wounded, and twenty-one miss
ing. The total deaths as the result of
the accident eventually will not be less
than sixty.
The gunboat was badly shattered, q
great hole being torn in the stern 1t
was beached to prevent sinking The
explosion was due to a weak boiler,
the precarious condition Of which has
been well known for months, although
an inspection year ago resulted in a
favorable report.
The disaster came without Sec
ond's warning. The Bennington was
lying in midstream off the con mercial
wharf at the foot of II street COM
mander Lucien Young had received or
ders from Washington to sail for Port
Hartford that morning. He was on
shore making final preparations for de-
parture.
Disaster Comes without Warming.
Steam was up, most Of the men were
Oh deck, and everything was in readi-
ness for immediate sailing, when a
deafening roar shook the earth for
miles around
The outburst was accompanied bv n
roar as of thunder and 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
o. the ships superstructure
The next moment bleeding sailors
were fighting, crippled, in the wafer
against death in only less sudden
form than that from which they nad
escaped, 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
sembled between decks, above the boil
ers, when the explosion occurred. Here
is where the most frightful slaughter
took place. No one living has been
able to describe what happened there,
but vivid witnesses exist in the blood
smeared walls. 1t is from between
decks that most of the dead bodies
have been taken.
Human Fragments Blown in Air.
A dozen or fifteen were blown over
board by the force of terrific explosion
Captain Wentworth, who was looking
at the Bennington when the disaster
occurred, says he saw human bodies
hurled over hundred feet upward.
The air was black with the smoke
which enveloped the ship. When 1T
cleared away only few men could De
seen on the decks, while number
were floundering in the water. A boat
/
most of them We're picked up and
taken on board.
On board was presented a terrible
scene. The force of the explosion had
torn great hole in the starboarl side
of the ship and the vessel was already
commencing to list. A section of the
upper deck was carried away from
stem to stern.
Blood and wreckage was distributed
over the entire ship, the after cabin
and the vicinity of the ship adjacent
To the exploded boiler resembling a
charnel house. Over it all hung the
great cloud of white smoke, which
drifted slowly toward the CORONADO
shore.
Both officers and men who were not
seriouDly injured acted her0ically and
promptly. Pumps were manned to keep
the water from the upper compaTt-
ments. the magazine flooded, and men
fought their way through the steam
into the darkened hold to search for
their comrades. In the worst danger,
would sink before it could be beached,
the young officers and men stuck man.
fully to their posts.
Hundreds Rush to Rescue.
Hundreds OF small craft which lot
ted the bay hurried to the rescue The
ferryboat Ramona was coming across
to San Diego. Capt. Bertelsen imme-
diately gave orders to change the
course of the boat, and instead Of con-
tinuinS his trip hurried to the aid Of
the stricken warship. The tug Santa
Fe, which was tied up at the CONNER
| cial wharf, the launch Mckinley, the
government launch General DE Rus
sey, and a large number of other
launches and water craft Which were
near the scene at the time, also rushed
| to the vessel.
Sparks from She Wires.