The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-04-16
ANOTHER KEARSARGE VICTIM.
JITiT. GRAEME SEVENTH MAN
TO DIE or WOUNDS.
Gvo Enlisted Men IN n Serious Condition.
hut All the other injured Are Doing
Wen Speculation as 10 How the Accl-
cent Happened and what Caused II.

N~AsUlSGrCS, Aprll 10. Lieut. JoSeIh
~ Graome. who was injured on Friday
.r,,t,oon In the forward turTet Of the
t,.,ic.bip kealsarge, when three sections
g., n inch gun charge of smokeless powder
l,.amc ignitcd, killing five seaman and
Ii.nr John u. Hudgins of the kearsarge,
Hai Yesterday on board the cruiser Mary
,,.j a., Guantanamo. to which vessel he
wa. taken immediately after the accident.
rf.u, Gracme'F death brings the total
,.al a. IN" result of the accident to seven,
and there are now two enlisted men, Will
.am King, ordinary m and Fred
rrcs &. Fisher, chief g%unner's mate, in a
,sry crave condition. The fact that Fisher
wa injured came to the Navy Depart
men, today in a despatch from Rear Adj
wrl Rrownson, commanding the cruiser
division Of the Atlantic fleet. 1t was in
M. ~,.s.ag, that the announcement of the
death Of Lieut.. Graeme was made.
Ifsn,. Graeme's father lives in Wilkes
larra. Pa. and at the Navy Department
il a understood that Mrs. Graeme is also
rr.,dlne in Wilkesbarre while her husband
H. on sea duty. The bodies of the enlisted
men will be buried on the Government
reservation at Guantanamo and those
~ the two dead officers will probably be
brought home.
MANY Of the offic, re- on board the Kear-
.arse are we'll known in Washington, and
their friends, together with every naval
man in the city, are deeply Interested in
tho misfortune to the vessel. Following
! nm announcement from the Navy De-
rartment concerning Admiral B%rownson's
message.
Hear idr-iral rowhson telesraphs to-day
from Guantanamo that Lieut.. Graeme died
SATURDAY.. William King. ordinary seaman.
ard frederick G.. Fisher. chief gunner's mate,
cordlt.on grave. All others doing well.
The use of the phrase All Others doing
we'll" indicates that there were some in
inred whose names have not been sent to
the Department.. These are undoubtedly
all enlisted men.
There is much speculation as to just
how the accident happened and what caused
It. There were probably twenty-five men in
the turret at the time the powder caught
fire. and it is a wonder that more were not
killed. Another subject Of speculation is
how it happened that only the three sec
tions of powder became ignited without set
ting fire to the full charge, which was in the
lift just below, and the remaining section
in the breeoh of the gun. There are many
theories as to what really happened, many
Of which, while differing, seem plausible.
A charge OF powder for a 10 inch gun is
about $50 pounds, divided into four sec
tons, each Of which is bound up in a cloth
bag. These bags are 80 made that when all
four sections are inserted behind the pro-
jectile in the breech Of the gun they fill
practically all the available space. Each
CT the bags contains from eighty to ninety
pounds Of smokeless powder, the total
weight depending upon the amount of
powder required for the particular gun.
The sacks in which the powder is bound are
supposed to burn up entirely and leave the
mu2zle of the gun when a shot is fired,
hut very often portions of the sack remain
in the breech, or in the back end of the
muzzle, smouldering.
Every ]precaution is taken by the officers
to see that no smouldering portions of the
powder sacks remain in the gun when an
other charge Of powder is rammed in.
Special appliances and apparatus are at
taChed to the gun to put out the remains of
the sacks which may remain in the gun, as
well AS to blow out any gases which remain
in tho muz7le. The fact that the charge
had hceu in the gun and three sections of it
had heeu removed whon the accident oc-
CURED makes it seem improbable that the
lowdcr caught fire from any smouldering
remains Of powder sacks in the muzzle, as
in that case the full charge of the powder
would have been exploded within the muz-
7r II is regarded as more probable that
somo smouldering pieces of powder were
N the hrcech or elsewhere and the new
charge caught fire there.
Smokeless powder is one Of the terrors
Of the navy. Without known reason the
powder occasionally becomes ignited, and
every time a gun is fred there is a certain
amount Of danger. In the case of the Mis-
fouri, when thirty men were killed, at
Pensacola, there were many versions of
just how the accident occurred, but a
satisfactory conclusion was never reached.
Lieut.. Graeme had been in the navy since
September 8, 1893, when he was appointed
II the Naval Academy as a naval cadet.
since then the title of naval cadet has been
Changed to midshipman. He was made an
ensign on July /, 1899. He served at the
Washington Navy Yard from November
10, 1902, to April II, 1905. He was CON-
nissioned Lieutenant in December, 1903,
and was sent to join the cruiser Maryland
on April rs, 1905. He had been attached
to that vessel ever since. He was on the
kearsarge as gun umpire for the target
practice, which had just been completed
When the accident occurred.
Competitive target practice is held by
the feet once a year. This year il started
ct Manzanillo Bay, $50 miles west of Guam
tanamo, Cuba, on April l.. In previous
years the practice has been at Pensacola,
hut Rear Admiral Evans, commanding
the Atlantic feet, decided that Manzanillo
Bay was mora desirable. BY a regular
system officers Of certain ships are sent
10 other vessels TO observe and make records
OF target practice. 1t was while on this
duty that Lieut.. Graeme received injuries
which resulted in his death.
In the death Of Lieut.. John NJ, Hudgins,
who was reported killed yesterday, the
navy loses one of its brightest young officers.
for a number of years Lieut.. Hudgins had
devoted himself to the study of wireless
Biography and was considered one of the