THE BENNINGTON DISASTER.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1747, 30 August 1905, Page 43

THE BENNINGTON DISASTER.

A TERRIBLE EXPLOSION. . GREAT LOSS OE LIFE. (Per R.M.S. Sonoma, at Auckland.) SAN DIEGO, July 21. One of the most frightful disasters in the peace history of the American Navy, excepting the sinking of the Maine in Havana harbour, occurred iu San Diego Bay shortly after 10.30 a.m. to-day on "board the gunboat Bennington. At a moment when, the warship was lying at anchor, and wth her officers and crew quietly attending to their duty on board —an object of interest to hundreds ">f persons watching her from piers, pleasure boats and passing ferry boats- —a cloud of steam suddenly burst from a point just forward of the smoke stack, out of which the spectat >rs were horrified to see bodies and human fragments hurled high in the air and scattered over the surrounding water. The outburst was accompanied by a roar as of thunder«.and a ©hock which racked vessels near by. In an nstant the air was filled with shrieks and flying fragments of human beings and pieces of ship's superstructure. Next mo. ent bleeding sailors were fighting crippled in the water against death in a less sudden form than that from which they had escaped, while row be. v -> m, launches ana tugs were being driven to the res- u.2 ae fast. as.arms, wiua. and steam could carxy them. A. ferry boat which was passing near by turned and hastened to render assistance, her own deck crowded with frightened men and women. A horrible sight sickened those who approached. In the water men with blackened fao s • were struggling, handicapped by injuries; others on the deck were covered with blood and grime some dead, some wound d frightfully. Others worked to rescue comrades who were yet below, either dead or dy rig. Smaller boats turned their attention to those in the, water, taking them to the wharves as fast as a few o?uld be taken aboard. At the wharves preparation© were speedily mode for taking care of the injured in what, by this time, was seen to be a disaster of awful proportions. Ambulances were telephoned for; every waggon d ivor who e ukr .He reacted by telepho e was sun •mon ed .j drvs' eia ns? were not fled and hospitals informed. Withir h. If e.n hour from the time p.i the •xpiosion, carriages, buggies, automobiles and street cars were bearing victims toward thehcsnitals.

The sight which met the eyes of nundiekis along h • streets w 11 never be f rg>tten. . Waggons with a dozen wounded men wer • n -t rare: • e k :j eight sitting or reeling againer the sides, holding th dr laps the head.- of c.o ;ri e® near to d a, h, all of them with faces black with emok* and grime, and many clothed in r ‘hing but trousers. Some of those whose bod es were injured in a vital prrt suffered the agonies >f torn flesh, and git with lacerat'd bodies exposed to the wind. Scores of wounded men were hurried through the riferi© ,to places where blood could be stanched, gaping w unds stitched or more heroic treatment given. Meantime a more awful sight awaited tl o»;» who had hastened to the ill-fated ship, froni which steam cont’nued to pour in great clouds. Everywhere was end in all directions were mangled bod : es. Tugs and launches soon were headed for the shore, bearing the bodies of dead and those whose injuries- permitted removal.' -All the time the work of rescue gras going on the ship was Battling to starboard, and clouds, of wh to steam poured from her interior. News of the disaster spread like wildfire over the city, and soon the harbour was lin~d with people. Commander Young, who was ashore getting final orders preparatory to sailing, at one? ordered +he airtight compartments to be closed, and B-gnalled a tug to tow the ship into shallow water. Then he took chargeriof the s ek >ning work at hand. The explosion occurred in the main starboard boiler forward of the smoke stack. Tt is now known that fifty lives were blotted out almost instantly. In all probability this number will be increased bv at least ten when the interior of the ship can be more fully explored. Almost every man on board at the time was injured, many of them so badly that death is inevitable. The- force of the explosion was terrific. Human bodies were hurled into the air to a height of probably not less than 200 ft. A frightful sight met the eyes of those who first boarded the gunboat. Dead bodies were strewn all over the decks, and the scalded were writhing in agony. The uninjured on board kept their wits, however, and the work of bringing the dead and wounded up from below the decks was commenced. WASHINGTON, July 25. That the boilers of the Bennington had been known to be in bad condition for eight months past by the Navy Department was shown to-day by examination of the records pf the department. In November last, Commander Kossuth Niles, then in command of the vessel, reported that —“Unless the boilers should grow materially worse, there was no urgent necessity for sending the Bennington to dry dock.” He subsequently informed the department that the boilers were good for only a few months longer, in April, the Bennington was sent to Mare Island for such repairs as could be made in a limited longth of time. The Boiler tubes were repaired, but the boiler shell was not. The ship, being one of the most useful in the navy, was allotted too short a time in dry dock by the Bureau of Navigation, and had therefore not been in first-class shape since Commander Niles reported her condition. BURIAL OF THE VICTIMS.

SAN DIEGO, July 23. Forty-seven of the men who died on the Bennington were buried at San Diego today. The bodies were carried ten miles over rough mountain roads to a cemetery on the crest of Mount Loma. Many soldiers and sailors with officers of th©

array and navy, Avere in attendance. The service© were se\"erely simple. The citizens of San Diego sent beautiful Avreaths of asparagus and fern for all the caskets, and the United States GoA'ernment furnished flags, Avith Avhich the caskets Avere draped. The Euiseopal burial service Avas read, and afterwards the Venerable Father Übach, of the Catholic Church, read service. Many then turned to go, but Commander Lucien Young, of the Bennington, stepped foi-Avard. Commander Young was ashore at the_time of the disaster. This escape, by trie way, Avas not nis first. He Avas aboard the U.S.S. Huron, which Avas lost in a storm on the Atlantic Coast in 1877, Avhen he swam ashore with a line, and through his efforts a number of lives were saved. At the funeral service© at San Diego Commander Young raised his hand for attention, and in u deep, gruff voice, said “Captain Scott, Commander of Fort Rosecrans, and | successors,. I commit to your tender care the bodies of our unfortunate shipmates and patriot dead. May their graves never be forgotten by the hand of affection. May there rise above this their last resting place marble slabs to mark the place as sacred to the nation’s care and may the morning snn ever kiss the green sod above their duet, emblematic of our love and affection.” Volleys fired over the graves the Naval Reserve boys cast their flowers upon them, and the services were over.