Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1905-07-27
SCORES DIE
IN EXPLOSION
U. S Gunboat Is Blown to
Pieces With Great
Loss of Life.
BODIES TERRIBLY MANGLED
Roar of Thunder Accompanies a
Shock Which Tears Asunder the
Gunboat and Renders Lifeless the
Pink of American Seamen.

San Diego. Cal, July 22.-As a
result of a frightful explosion of one
of the boilers on the United Statee
gunboat Bennington in San Diegu
harbor shortly before noon yesterday,
twenty-seven bodies are at the
morgues and between sixty and sew.
enty men are at the hospitals, many
of whom will die. The total deaths
will probably be nearly sixty.
The warship was badly shattered, q
great hole being torn in her stern
and she has been beached to prevent
her sink ". The explosion is be
lieved to have been a boiler which
for many months has been regarded
as weak, though an inspection made
a year ago resulted in a favorable re-
port. The ship was going up stream,
preparatory to towing the disabled
Wyoming to Mare Island. Every man
on board was either killed or serious
ly or slightly wounded.
At a moment when the warship,
lying at anchor and with her officers
and crew quietly attending to their
duties on board, was the object of in
terest to hundreds Of people observ-
ing her piers, pleasure boats and pass
ing ferry boats, a cloud Of steam sud
denly burst from a point just forward
Of the smokestack out of which the
| spectators were Mortified to see bodies
and human fragments hurled high in
the air and scattered over the sur.
rounding water.
The outburst was accompanied by
a roar as of thunder and shock that
rocked vessels nearby. In an instant
the air was filed with shrieks and
bellows of pain from the wounded,
which could be heard ashore, and with
flying fragments of human beings and
pieces of the ships superstructure.
The next moment bleeding sailors
were fighting, crippled in the water
against death in only a less sudden
form than that from which they had
escaped, while row boats, sail boats,
launches and tugs were being driven
to the rescue as fast as arms, wind
md steam could carry them.
A ferry boat, which was passing
NEARBY, IuIlSu anu udSLelltu W leH'
der assistance, her own deck crowd
ed with frightened men and women
who saw the havoc that had been
wrought in a ~twinkling. A most hor'
rible sight met those who approached
In the water, men with blackened
faces were struggling, handicapped
by injuries; others on deck were GOV
cred with blood and CRIME, some
dead, some wounded frightfully, 9th
ers working to rescue comrades who
were yet below either dead or dying
The smaller boats turned their at
rention to those in the water, taking
hem to the wharves as fast as a
few had been taken aboard the small
craft. At the wharves preparations
were speedily made for taking care
of the injured in what by this time
was seen to be a disaster of awful
proportions. A~mbulances were tele.
phoned for, every express wagon and
driver who could be reached by tele.
phone was summoned, physicians
were notified and hospitals informed.
Within half an hour from the time
of the explosion, carriages, buggies,
automobiles and street cars were
bearing burdens of victims toward
the hospitals.