The National tribune., 1907-07-25
BATTLESHIP GEORGIA.
CONTINUED from page one.)

1
sumption of the target practice after the
injured men had been taken from the
vessel. its object being to get the men
away from the scene of the suffering of
their comrades and to train them to
meet conditions that might arise in case
of actual warfare.
The Georgia Ordered to Resume Practice.
ton of the Navy Department in order
| ing the Georgia to return to tie range
and resume her taget practice as soon
as the victims of the accident had been
removed from the ship at the Boston
Navy Yard. The explanation is found
| in the fact that there is extreme dam
ger of general decentralization of the
crew of the ship If permitted to brood
over 1t before undertaking again to ham
die the big guns. The almost inevitable
result is the loss of nerve such as
acrobats suffer when they have sustain
| ed a fall. the only means of avoiding
which is to Immediately renew the at
tempt to accomplish a particular feat
of strength or agility which led to the
accident. So in the case of the Geor-
gia, it was felt to be absolutely neces-
sary to get the men again into the tur-
rets and at their work of handling the
big guns, treating this disaster as just
such an incident as might occur in the
heat of action with a foe
A Young Hero.
The hero of the occasion was Ben
jamin Krieger. or George Miller" as
he stands on the ships books.
Seaman Miller was the loader of the
port gun. 1t had los pounds of powder
in 1t, just the same as the starboard
gun, where the fire started. The breach
had not been closed, all the powder not
having been fitted in when the flash
came.
The young seaman and one other man
c. hty fIHa n. ,.I~
just been loaded. The last powder bag
that had been put in was protruding a
little from the gun. When he saw the
fash, instead of dashing for the ladder
to save himself, he crowded home the
charge in the gun, and with the help of
the other man got the gun closed tight
before the flames reached the bag.
Capt McCrea is reported as saying:
IF the flame had touched that bag
there would have been an awful explo-
sion, for the powder was confined in
the gun and would not have flashed as
the other did. but would have exploded.
Not man in the turret would have
been left alive. whatever other damage
might have been done. That man gave
his life for the Others"
Kreiger was IS years old and
ran away from his home last February
and enlisted at the Brooklyn Navy Yard.
giving his name as George Miller. of
Memphis. and stating that he had no
home and no living relatives. To some
of his shipmates he coniided that his
parents were alive and that he had
written to his father in Brooklyn, but
had received no reply.
The Navy Department will make an
effort to locate the family of the dead
man. Meantime the body of Seaman
Miller" will be inferred with naval hon
ors at Boston, and should the relatives
appear they will have the privilege of
disinterring the body
Gunner Hansel's Story.
Acting Gunner Charles H. Hansel
now in the hospital, tells this story:
None of us knew much about it till
it was all over it was so quick. When 1
saw that first flash instinct told me
what was up and l kept my presence of
mind enough to dodge back from the
sheet of flames that began to envelop
the turret l got down to the floor,
crawled under the gun and out to the
portfolio as far as / could get. Here /
could get some air. and l was SO low
down that the fumes did not hurt me
seriously. Kimball was with me, and
he did not get burn. My hand was
burned where / held an iron rod, and
1 got burned around the head. but
guess it is not very bad.
The instant the flash came Lieut..
Goodrich, who was in charge of the
work in our turret, rushed to the hatch
way on Top OF tne tuTTet, thinking 10
get out before the turret filled with
smoke and gas, but the powder was too
quick for him, and he was horribly |
burned before he could get to the air
and safety. Seaman Maleck was sitting
on top of the turret. where he was sta
toned to take messages. with his legs
hanging down the hatchway. Influence
ed probably by Lieut.. Goodrich, who, |
maddened by his suffering, plunged into |
the sea, he threw himself overheard, |
too.
"The first flash was followed quickly |
by a second from the other bag of pow
der, each containing about 100 pounds |
Of smokeless powder That was mo- |
ment of terror to all who were still con-
sciOus, but they were few. Men were
lying in heaps, moaning, dying, uncon-
scious, baking. and suffocating.
Minute Seemed m Eternity.
The next minute seemed eternity. |
But help from outside came quickly, |
and the men We're lifted out and taken |
away to be cared for. But living men
could not enter the turret until the heat |
had been overcome by pouring in water,
which also settled the smoke and drove
out the gases to some extent. Those
poor victiris were terribly burned, some
SO as to be unrecogniZable. Eyes were
burned out, faces, bodies, and arms and
legs blaCkened, and there were no fea-
lures left on some charred faces.
.'Midshipman Cruise was pointing the
gun when the flash came. and l was by
MS side. He did not move away from
he sheet of flames as quickly as / did,
md was fearfully burned.
We were making a record, all right.
Lieut.. Goodrich took great pride in the
work, and had all of the men worked
up to enthusiasm. We had fired nine
shots and made nine hits, and still had
ime enough to fire twice more, and that
meant two more hits the way we were
and still be within two min
ties. Now, when you fire IL shots
with eight-inch guns in two minutes
;ou're doing some shooting, whether
yOu hit the mark or not. But we were
hitting.
How those fellows suffered after
hey were taken out! Capt. McCrea
Won the love of every man on that ship
yesterday Time and again he came
lown to the hospital, and would bend
,ver some dying fellow with his face
lose to the lips that were trying to
peak any try to make out the last
words, and then turn away with the
ceilings of his heart written on his face.
All the officers and the men behaved
;plendidIy thru it all, and there was no
confusion. It's fine ship, and if l go
Jack ! want to go back to the Georgia
The Dead and Injured.
The following is list of the dead and
injured: