The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1905-07-23
SIx'y-sIght Men Dead and
Ten Expected TO Die In
the Hospitals.
HARD ToCoUNT The MISSING
Some Of the Survivors OF the
Bennington May Have
Deserted.

Blew Up--Wounded Jacides showed
Great roism-Burial OF the Dead
Teday-Reyised List OF the Dead and
Injurcd-In, esti CATION Work Started.
SAN DIEGO, Cal, July 22,-Every hour
makes the Bennington horror greater than
i at first appeared. The dead now num-
her sxty-eight. The three hospitals are
filled with wounded sailors, ten OF whom
are expected to die before tomorrow
morning.
With forty-nine dead men identified,
nineteen unidentified and fifty-four victims
In the hospitals, seriously injured, the
casualty list runs up to l22. The number
OF seamen missing is variously estimated
at from fifty to $50 and many OF these may
vet be proved to have been killed by the
boiler explosion which rent and wrecked
the gunboat as she lay in the bay yesterday
1t may be hard to learn just how many
perished, for 1t Is thou ght that some seamen,
who were blown into the water and rescued
by small boats, fed when they reached the
land. Commander Young has asked the
chief OF police to arrest all sailors who are
not armed with PASS, and he hopes, in this
wav,.o have seized any survivors who we're
tempted to desert.
The bodies of the dead, possibly except
Ing Ensign Newman X. Perry, will be
buried at the National Cemetery, Fort
Rosecrans, tomorrow afternoon. The
oase OF Perry, the only officer to be killed,
was q sad one. After he was taken to the
hospital desperately wounded he dc
tated a telegram to his wife, saying. Am
badly scalded. but am keeping stiff upper
ZIP. Come at once Mrs. Perry left San
Francisco, and not until she reached here
did she learn that her husband had died.
Details of what happened aboard the
eunboat at the instant OF disaster are lack
ing. The only mon who kne " what really
happened down in that hell Of boiling and
scalding steam will never be able to tell
their story. Death came to them swiftly,
down in the boiler room. Those on deck
Jared little better. From every ventilator
there shot streams Of boiling water, and
over all settled the biting steam. Men
left that ship like rats. With awful in
juries they went over the side and into the
water. One seaman with great strips
Of flesh literally peeling from his arms
and legs swan to the shore.
Another man, his leg broken by flying
timber, made his way to the net.. est land
ing Many Of the men who were on the
upper deok when the explosion came es-
capped injury. The scalding water spared
some Of the men Of tho Bennington, and
their action in the face OF the unknown
danger shall stand forever q credit to the
American jackies.
The vessel was listing to starboard and
no man knew when she might sink, but
these bravo American sailors forgot their
own danger and set out caring for those OF
their shipmates who were too badly hurt
TO get over the side. Men were screaming
and were lying on the deck helpless in
the rain Of hot water and steam. Their
shipmatee burst through the cloud and
carried them away to places OF safety.
Only about dozen men were killed
outright by tho force Of the explosion
and three lost their lives from flying debris
One Of these latter was almost beheaded
by some heavy object. Commander
Young ordered rollcall on board the Be n
nngton. 1t showed sixty-one men present
leaving 1885 unaccounted for. These in
Guided the dead, injured and missing
Commander Young believes some Of the
missing men were drowned and that theil
bodies will be found in the hay. JACK
Burns, one Of the survivors, said:
The engine room watch had just gone
below to prepare for sea. Some Of the
boys were up on the forecastle, and most
OF US were down on the berth deck, just aft
the boiler which exploded. The whole
deck seemed to lift in front Of US and
cloud Of steam and hot water swept
ait over the berth deck 1t scalded every
one Of us. We all made for the side ano
over we went
About all OF US could swim and we helpec
those that could not. We were in the water
only few minutes. The explosion coulc
not have happened at q worse time, for We
we're about all below and about every one
OF us was in his underclothes, 80 We were
all scalded severely"
1t is an assured fact that boiler B, the one
which exploded first, had been In a bad con.
ditlon for long time. In fact 30 serious
was 1t considered by the firemen that many
OF them were afraid to sail on the ship.
was Q o'clock on Thursday night tina,