The Ladysmith news and Ingram news. [volume] (Ladysmith, Wis.) 1905-1906, 1905-07-29
EXPLOSION
ON WARSHIP
KILLS MANY
TERRIBLE DISASTER OCCURS ON
UNITED STATES GUNBoAT
BENNINGTON.
THIRTY-NINE BODIES FOUND
A DOZEN MISSING AND THREE
SCORE INJURED, MANY OF
WHOM WILL DIE.
TRIM LITTLE CRAFT A WRECK
BOILER BLOWS UP, TURNING
WARSHIP INTO VERlTABLE
CHARMED HOUSE.

and blackened, with her flag flying at
haIf-mast, her hold filled with fifteen
feet of water, the United States ship
Bennington lies beached on the shores
of San Diego harbor. Thrty-nine of
her crew lie dead at city morques, the
fate of a dozen more is as yet undeter.
| mined, and three-score are stretched
upon beds of pain in various hospitals.
This is the result of the explosion
which wrecked the trim little naval
craft and wrought such terrible havoc
among her crew at 1880 yesterday
morning.
The placid waters of San Diego bay
have never before been the scene of
such disaster, and San Diego city has
scenes of
DEATH AND SUFFERING
as those witnessed last night The
face of every victim of the disaster is
SCARED and sc2lded, in many cases al
most beyond recognition
At Agnew hospital are many in
! iured, suffering in almost every in
stance from scalded bodies. Several
are expected to die inside of few
hours.
On board the Bennington the un-
harmed members of the crew are
working under terrible difficulties to
reach the boiler room and coal bunk
ers, where it is believed dozen
bodies are lying wedged in the wreck
age or submerged in the water which
fills that part of the vessel.
Was Ready to Sail.
The Bennington at, the time of the
accident was lying in the stream just
off the commercial wharf at the foot of
H street. The warship had received
orders from the navy department at
Washington to sail yesterday morning
for Port Hartford, where she was to
meet the monitor Wyoming and con-
voy the vessel to the Mare Island
navy yard. Steam was up and every
thing was in readiness for sailing
when suddenly and without any warn
ing whatever, the starboard forward
boiler exploded with deafening roar.
The explosion was terrific. People
standing on the shore saw huge
cloud of white steam ABOVE the Ben
nington. Columns of water were
hurled a distance of nearly twice the
height of the spars of the vessel.
Terrible Disaster.
1t was Immediately apparent that
terrible disaster had happened on the
| Bennington. The ferry boat Pomona
was coming across the bay at the time
and hurried to the assistance of the
stricken warship. The tug Santa Fe,
wharf, the launch Mckinley, the gov
eminent launch Derussey, and large
number of launches and water craft
which were near the scene at the time
also rushed to the assistance of the
Bennington. BY the time the Ramona
had arrived, many of the sailors of the
Bennington, who had jumped into the
bay to
Escape the Scalding Steam,
had been rescued, and the removal of
the wounded, which had already been
commenced, was being conducted in
perfect order. Crews of the Santa Fee,
Derussey, Mckinley and the other
boats lent yeoman aid in picking up
the wounded sailors and transferring
them to the shore. At the time of the
accident Commander Lucien Young
and Surgeon F. E. Peck were on shore
The two officers, as soon as they
learned of the disaster, hurried to the
water fronA where Commander Young
Immediately took charge. On board
the Bennington were presented terri
BILE things. The force of the explosion
had blown a great hole in the star
board side of the ship and the vessel
was already
Commencing to List.
A section of the upper deck was car
ried away from stem to stern. Debris
and wreckage were distributed over
1.-The entire ship, the forward cabin and
deck in the vicinity of the boiler re
sembled a charnel house. The news