The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1905-07-24
LIST OF FATALITIES RESULTING
FROM EXPLOSION ON GUN.
BOAT BENNINGTON.
The CATASTROPHE NOT UNEXPECTED
MEN SAY 1T WAS COMMON TALK
ON BOARD THAT BOILERS
WERE DEFECTIVE.

San Diego, Cal, July 24.-The ap-
palling list of victims of the explosion
on board the United States gunboat
Bennington continues to grow, almost
every hour adding to the long rows at
the already overcrowded morgues.
Forty-nine known dead is the latest
summary. This includes the forty-two
bodies at the various mOrgues and the
seven bodies which are still floating
about in the flooded boilerroms and
which cannot yet be reached. Follow
ing is a revised and corrected list of
the dead:
N. X. Perry, lieutenant; F. w.
Brown, machinist; G.. w. Newcombe,
boatswain's mate; 3. A. Hughes, or
er; w. Cherry, coal passer; G. Rush
lngton, coal passer; A. P. Scroggre,
seaman; C. H. Hagbloom, coal passer;
A. B. Carr, able seaman; d. +. Saun-
ders, apprentice seaman; w. W.
Wright. oiler; e. Dresch, ordinary sea-
man; J. l.. Burns, seaman; l.. G.
Quinn, oiler; c. kuntz, coal passer;
Joseph Hilscher, fireman; G. Brown
lee, seaman; j. G. Keiss, coal passer;
+. B. Ferguson, chief machinist's
mate; Il. House, apprentice fireman;
Z. w. Bruison; Joe Hunt, oiler;
Charles Mckeen; C. J. Essell; w. c.
Wilson; ed B. Robinson, ordinary sea-
man; j. G. Barchus, seaman; G. F,
Nelson; l.. B. Archer, ordinary sea-
man; NJ. G. Chambers, seaman; John
Mackone; PeytOn Carpenter, ordinary
seaman; eight unidentified at morgue
and seven bodies recovered from the
ships hold which are also classed as
unidentified. Besides these there are
missing about twenty or twenty-five
men.
About fifty injured are scattered
among the various city private and
public hospitals OF the injured sew
eral are expected to die and it is be-
lieyed the death roll will be swelled
to sixty and possibly will exceed that
dgure.
Catastrophe Not Unexpected.
Regarding the disaster Commander
Young expressed the opinion that
there was a weak spot in one of the
boilers, but said there had been no
visible defects so far as known. The
men who were injured, however, tell a
different story. They say that il has
been the talk of the ship for at least
six months that the boilers were de-
iective. Many of them had feared for
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
sent for to inspect the boilers and he
reported that they were in good condi-
tion. While the vessel was in San
Francisco last year the talk of defeC-
tive boilers again arose, but no steps
were taken to remedy them.
Fireman e. G. Hopp made the first
statement 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 the boiler
maker was sent for to repair the dam
age Before the latter came the explo-
sion occurred. Hopp saw men all
about him killed outright and he him
self was stunned.
The upper deck, amidships, presents
q 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 bulging out and leaks in a
number of places are letting in the
water.
John Turpin, colored man of the
crew, who was on board the Maine
when she was blown up in Havana,
was on board the Bennington and
again escaped injury. He rendered
valuable aid in rescuing the dead and
wounded.