Los Angeles herald., 1908-06-06
SEAMEN PLUNGE
INTO INFERNO TO
SAVE SHIPMATES
CAUGHT IN BLINDING STEAM,
RESCUE COMRADES
INJURED SUFFERING UNTOLD
AGoNIES
Wounded VIII Be Brought to Hospital
in Los Angeles-Dead to Be
Buried at San
Pedro
CONTINUED from Page ono,

being completely enveloped, but
number of the men heroically refused
to forsake their companions.
Scores of daring rescues were er-
fected, several of the men perforiniiis
feats of heroism which when prousnt
to the formal attention OF the navy
department will bring them medals
and possibly speedy promotion.
1t was about three minutes after the
explosion before 1t was possible TO see
into the Inflated compartment, ana
even at this time the room was choked
with scalding vapor.
Six minutes after the combustion
every one of the four dead and nVe
seriously injured had been removed to
safety, some by those Of their compan-
ions who were less seriously burned
and others by heroes from the ad-
joining compartments. officers OF the
Tennessee are profuse in their praise
of the rescuers and declare that never
was aid rendered to the injured and
dying more speedily or with less re-
gard to danger than on this occasion.
Men, bare-armed, with no thought OF
consequences, plunged head first inco
the cloud of steam. and, with eyes
closed, groped about in quest of the
victims, dragging them to safety and in
many instances keeling over from the
effects of the awful task.
The boiler pipe evidently burst with
terrible force, for the light" door in
the smoke box was completely torn
away. 1t was not the force of the
combustion, however, so much as by
the live steam which came direct from
the boilers and Is several hundred
times hotter than boiling wat,r. which
killed the men. 1t enveloped them in
a kissing cloud without seconds
warning. The inhalation of the steam
produced instant death in three cases,
and these three victims, dropping to
the floor, were subsequently cooked in
a most horrible manner
lnhales Deadly vapor
George Wood, the water tender, in
some peculiar way, escaped instant
death, evidently falling on his face so
as to be below the first cloud of vapor,
and thus escaping the worst of the in
halation. He was rescued six minutes
after the explosion and was still liv-
ing, but in being carried up to the sick
bay died before medical aid could be
given him.
e. C. Boggs, A. Reinhold and o. w.
Meek were dead when found. They
were cooked in an indescribable man.
ner, two of them being almost unrecog-
nizable.
Boggs was found lying near the
bunkers, his head thrown back and his
body drawn into a knot. The flesh
Wdo hCdiiy COOhSu ITOHl his IdC6 anu
hands. In attempting to open the |
fingers of his right hand. which were
clutched tightly into the flesh, the |
fingers broke Off and fell away, exem- |
plifying the terrible effects of the |
steam.
Reinhold, lying in a heap at the fur
ther side, WAS similarly cooked and |
presented a ghastly appearance when
taken out by his companions.
The scenes attendant upon the re-
moval of the dead and injured can
better be imagined than described. 1t |
was the first accident that had ever
marred the cruisers record since the
day she was placed in commission in
August, 1906. and the men-though de-
monstrating themselves rare heroes
were terribly affected.
The body Of Meek was about the last
of the dead to be recovered and an
examination revealed he had inhaled a
quantity of the steam and had met
death In the same manner as his COM
panions, almost instantly.
The injured were rushed as fast as
possible to the ships hospital, where
everything that was possible was done
to relieve their suffering, which in
some cases was indescribable. That
two of them will die is conceded by
Surgeon Guest, ships physician, al
strenuously to save them; and at least
two others have only fighting chance
for recovery is generally believed.
No Signs Of Wreckage
There was no wreckage. but the ex-
piosion was described by the survivors
as frightful. So great was the blast
of SCOT and steam that every man in
the room was blackened from head to
}, xub fhnca CI0caaf to he L.
were literally cooked alive.
There are eight similar fire rooms
but each set apart by steel doors.
When the first outside rescuers en-
tered the fire room 1t was in utter
darkness, the steam and SCOT covering
the electric lights, ceiling and walls
with a thick coat The men work in
this fire pit in nakedness except for
short trousers and slippers, and dead
and injured were blackened beyond
'It was hell hole" said one of the
seamen. Everything seemed
all right when, without any warning,
the shower of hot cinders, steam and
ashes burst out of the furnaces. The
boys dropped all over the room and
none of us knew what had happened. ,
Those of us VINO were able scrambled
to open the door, when the compart-
ment cleared quickly and we began
dragging the senseless ones out"
Were Martyrs to Duty
The impression among the officers
and crew is that Reinhold and Meek
were martyrs to duty, for they were
found dead where others escaped, and I
stayed at their posts to the last. The ,
accident served to demonstrate the ]
efficiency of the naval fire
drill There was no confusion. The {
general alarm 1t every man at quar- |
ters instantly, and twenty lines Of hose ,
were ready for service.
When the smoke came from the fire
room the call for fire was sounded. All
the crew went to their stations In per- c
feet order; fire grenades, axmen and t
the men stationed at the fire were there t
ME n q - = - III The mark to 60 by isg 1