The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1905-07-28

| Trenches Without Any Form OF Ser
vice. an Hour and Fifteen Minutcs
Eein: Required to Inter the Entire
NumbeT-A Wreath for Zach Cof-
fin Was Contributed by San Diego
Commercial Bodies.
| San Diego, Cal, July 23.-Forty-sey-
eli of the gunboat Bennington S dead
were buried today in a common grave
i'm the little military cemetery on the
crest of the promontory of Iona, high
above the waters of San Diego bay on
the one side and within sound Of the
booming surf of the Pacific on the
ether. Without the crash of drum or
the sound of brass, without poInp or
parade, yet with simple im~pressiyeness
all honor was paid the nations dead
They have honored dead to keep
| them company. All about them lie
| these who died in the nations more
trying times. Grayestones, yellow with
age. bear the names of men who died
at Monterey, in the Mexican war; 9th
ers who gave up their lives in the con-
quest of California and who followed
Commodore Stockton at Old San Pas
dual. These are their neighbors III
death.
Army and navy paid their LAST trib-
utes no less sincere than the simple
grief Of the representatives of peace,
who made the long journey around or
across the bay. From Fort Rosecrans
came the One Hundred and Fifteenth
Company Of Coast Heavy Artillery,
from the city Of San Diego, the naval
reserves. from the Universal BrOthe-
hoods Home on Point Iona, a COM
pany of khaki-clad representatives and
from the government ship Fortune a
dozen sailors. But the most impress
sive body of mourners were the % men
from the battered Bennington. Be
sides these there Were hundreds OF civ
ilians who, unthogIghtful of the ia
tiguing journey from the city, brought
their offerings of flowers to lay upon
the raves.
San Diego was a city of mourning
today. Although the people of this
little city have taken In the Benning-
ton catastrophe an interest that was!
personal to all from the omen that
it happened. they set apart this a
tiful Sabbath day to- pay she last ana
loving tribute to the dead
Thousands filed through. the morgues
this morning with arms filled with
flowers, dropping the blossoms here
and there upon some unfOrtunate'S
tiag-draped coffin. Other thousands
gathered in the plaza, whence the pro-
cesison Of cOttin-laden wagons was toI
start. Promptly at noon the long line
OF vehicles began the journey arOundI
the bay to the burial place, Owing tol
the steep hills and rough roads it wasi
found impracticaDle to use hearses Or
even dead wagons, IL the bodies Werei
stacked in heavy wagons and other or
binary vehicles.
There were ITO bands of music to stirI
the people with dOleful melOdy-eyery7
thing was quiet and busiIess-like- TheI
task was too big to be hampered byI
any usages Of ordinary funerals For-I
ty-Seven men We're to be buried, andI
to bury them it was necessary to haul
them ten miles UP steep hills and alOngt
dusty roads. Every casket bore al
beautifully executed wreath of aspara-f
gus ferns, with carnations and lmlnOr-t
telles, sent by the San Diego commer-t
cial bodies. The flags came from thes
nation in whose service the men diedI
Every one of the plain black stainedf
.caskets was draped with the nationall
emblem, and the plain commercial
utility OF the dead wagons was dis
guiSed under the folds of the natiOnalI
colors. From noon until 5 o'clock thesel
dead-burdened wagons toiled- towardI
the burial grounds and not until almost
400 was the last casket placed In thai
long trench.
Captain f. J. Drake, Commander
Lucien Young, of the Bennington, andl
the members OF his staff; Captain e.
D.. Scott, commanding Fort ROsecranS;l
Mayor SehOn, OF San Diego, and menu
hers of the executive and l~egislatiyel
branches of the city, were hauledI
around the steep hills in. amhulance|
wagons from Fort Rosecrans. Thel
deep trench in which the bodies wereI
placed, in two rows feet to feet, is 66Oi
feet long and Il feet wide. 1t wasl
finished but Il few minutes before the
arrival of the first load OF bodies
AROUND it were drawn up in longt
lines the artillery company from theI
fort-75 strong on the west, the naval
reserves, bearing arms full of tioMersl
on the north; the Bennington's sur-l
vivors on the east, and the UNIVERSAL
brotherhood on the south. Just out-t
sue tHe Sillple picket Ieuco elclOSlnSk
the burying ground gathered. the publ
lie in solid masses. |
Without a moments delay the work.
of lifting the collins. from the wagonsI
and ranging them in the trench wasI
carried IN. Shipmates from the Bea-I
rington performed this, sad duty.
Squads Of six came forward from theirt
ranks in rapid Succession, lifting the
caskets gently, entered the trench atl
the head and deposited the bodies asl
indicated by Lieutenant Tobin. who di-
rected them. The board Paced at thet
head Of each body was properly mark-I
ed and numbered. In just one hourl
and fifteen minutes the last body hadl
been deposited in the trepch. |
And need a magic pill.