Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1905-07-26
DISASTER DUE TO BOILERS
Forty-nine and Fifty-fve Wound
ed in Explosion.
REPAIRS LEFT UNDONE.
Despite Frequent Inspections 1t Was
Feared for Long Time That
Trouble Would Occur.

San DleSO, Cdl., July LA.-Ine cause
of the disaster on board the United States
gunboat Bennington yesterday, was the
explosion Of one of the main boilers of
the vessel. Of the 1S1 on board. nearly
all were either killed Or MANNED.
Fireman e. G. Hopp made the first
statement as to the cause of the acct
dent He says that shortly before the
explosion one of the boilers was found
to be leaking badly, and the boilermak-
CT sent for to repair the damage. Be
fore the latter came the explosion oc-
CURED.
Hopp saw men all about him killed
outright and he himself was stunned.
Forty-one Are Now Dead.
According to the latest advices the Of
fetal list of casualties shows forty-nine
dead, nine Of the victims being as yet
unidentified.
The list Of wounded numbers ffty-fve,
sixteen of whom including one unknown
man, are in serious condition.
The only officers included in the list
OF victims Of the disaster are Ensign
\. X. Perry, who died from the effects
OF his wounds, and Ensign Leo Sahm,
whose right hand was scalded
In May last the Bennington was sent
to the Mare island navy yard, when
temporary repairs were made on her
boilers to put her in cruising condition.
Boilers Were Not Safe.
The boiler which exploded it is said,
was regarded as unsafe. Commander
Young stated that during 4 recent return
from Honolulu the steam pressure was
kept reduced in that particular one.
Later he expressed the opinion that
there was a weak spot in one of the
boilers, but said there has been no Wis
IDLE defects so far as known.
The men who were injured. inclu,l-
ing an ensign, tell a different story.
They say that it has been the talk of
the ship. for at least six months that
the boilers were defective, many of
them had feared for a long time that
just such an accident would happen.
One OF the men said that a year ago
last February While the ship was at
Magdalena bay, the engineer of the
cruiser New York was sent for to in
spect the boilers, and he reported that
they were i'll good condition.
Defects Known Before.
While the vessel was in San Francis
co last year the question of defective
boilers again arose, but no steps were
taken to remedy them.
When the explosion occurred the enri-
neer was inspecting the boilers as a pre-
limnary to the vessels leaving port. He
was not seriously injured.
The Bennington at the time of the
accident was lying in the stream Just
off the commercial wharf at the foot of
II street. The warship had received
orders from the navy department at
Washington to sail Saturday for Port
Hartford, where she was to meet the
monitor Wyoming and convey the vessel
to Mare Island navy yard. Steam was
up and everything was in readiness for
sailing when suddenly and without any
warning whatever the starboard for
ward boiler exploded with a deafening
roar.
Vessel a Fearful Sight.
The explosion was terrific. People
standing on the shore saw a huge cloud
of white steam rise above the Benning
ton. Columns of water were hurled into
the air and for distance of nearly
twice the height of the spars of the
vessel.
The ferry boat Ramona was coming
across the bay at the time of the acct
dent Capt Bertelsen of the Ramona
Immediately gave orders to change the
course of the boat and instead of con-
tinuing his trip to the San Diego side of
the bay hurried to the aid of the strick
en- warship.
Dead and Manned on Shore.
Most of the dead and injured were
taken ashore, where the undertakers and
physicians were assembled
The bodies of many of the men taken
from the wrecked interior of the ship
were mutilated beyond recognition. The
faces of many were covered with blood
and ashes.
Capt Young as soon as he reached
the ship, gave orders that the alright
compartments be closed to prevent the
listing ship sinking and that the maya
zines be flooded to avert further eX-
blossoms.
To Pump Out Vessel.
The city of San Diego loaded a fire
engine on a lighter and ran it alongside
the Bennington, where she now lies
beached. and it is now being used to
pump out the vessels engine room.
As the vessel now lies beached she
has a heavy cant TO starboard and at
least fifteen feet of water in her hold.