The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1905-07-22

effort to extricate the wo,in ded, whose
cries for help were heartrending. Many
were wedged between broken stanchions
| and had to be cut out. The hldeousness
OF the scene was increased by the fact that
scalding steam swelled the bodies OF the
dead to twice their normal size.
The strong steel upper deok was ripped
away from stem to stern. The force OF
the explosion seemed to reach all parts
Of the ship, as nearly every man on board
had some mark of deadly steam or bruises
caused by shock Many bodies were 80
mangled as to be recognizable only by
clothing.
The faces of many OF the dead were 80
covered with blood and ashes that even ship
mates could not identify them. The steam
was SO terrible from the wreo ked boilers that
1t was several hours before men could 60
down between the cocks and remove the
last of the dead. Here several bodies
we're found wedged among woodwork,
and axes we're used to free them.
Commander Young was among the first
OF those who reached the vessel from the
shore. He said there was no question that
a boiler which had shown signs Of weak
ness recently was the one which blew up.
During the recent trip from Honolulu the
steam pressure was kept reduced in this
boiler for fear OF disaster. When the ex-
plosion came Engineer Nelson was in
specting the boilers to see how much pres
sure they would safely bear.
Although he was near the boiler which
exploded, he was not severely wounded,
"a the whole force Of the explosion was
upward. Officers and men on the wrecked
gunboat showed great nerve and ooolness.
At first it could not be told whether the
magazine would blow up. The magazine
was flooded, pumps were set going to keep
the water from the upper compartments
and sailors dashed into the hold to rescue
shipmates who were calling for aid
For time it looked as though the vessel
would sink, so great was the volume Of water
which poured througha big hole In her side
Lieut.. Yates, the executive officer, who
was In charge Of the vessel at the time OF
the disaster, was in the aft cabin. He said,
In speaking OF his experience: Il must
have remained in my chair several seconds
after the explosion, as I was dazed and
couldn't imagine what had happened,
Then rushed out and even at the extreme
aft part Of ship the steam was 80 dense I
couldn't get breath of air. until assembled
the rail, Men were met crawling on their
bellies to escape steam. About twenty
were on fore deck all badly wounded.
l called for men to man boats and twelve
responded All the rest were 80 badly
hurt that they couldn't serve or had jumped
overheard to escape the steam
Il Immediately ordered all compart-
ments closed and magazines flooded. We
have no means yet of ascertaining the
extent OF the injuries to the vessel. The
cause of explosion was probably that
part of the furnace fell against the weak
boiler, which exploded. and this explosion
communicated to the boilers and then
steam pipes were wrecked liberating steam.
Every man in reach of its steam must
have persisted. The leak caused by hole in
the vessels side. may not be large, but the
vessel would have sunk if she had not been
beached The ship below may be a total
wreck, but we haven't had time and oppor-
tunity to ascertain.
Most o + the officers were scattered about
the ship and thus escaped the full force
of the explosion, but nearly all the sailors
were grouped between decks just above
the boilers The result was that not a
sailor escaped uninjured. Most Of the dead
were taken out of this place, where the
walls were covered with blood. No eye
| witness has been able to tell the story OF
what happened between decks, but it is
| evident that no warning was given.
The expl sion blew a great hole in the
side of the gunboat, and an uninjured officer,
seeing that she was in danger of sinking,
| had her run into shallow water The sea-
men who were not badly hurt manned the
small boats and began the work of picking
| up their comrades who were struggling
in the water. Launches and rowboats
| hurried from shore to aid them. I ex-
| plosion had shaken the city and people
hurried to the water front. ready to do