The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1898-03-30
MARK CONFIRMS 1T.
The Times Dispatches Proven Cor
rect Again.


this is the publication yesterday of the
| anonymous letter received by Consul
General FitZhugh Lee at Havana just
| after the disaster. The document is
part of the official record of the Court of
Inquiry, and was made public in Wash
| ington on Monday. On March 4 a syn
| opsis of the letter was published in The
| Times, and is practically the same as
that sent out from Washington on Mon
| day:
Key West, Fla. March 3.-From Ha-
vana today comes the most astounding
story that has yet been told concerning
the blowing up of the Maine. In effect
1t is that the explosion was done by the
direction and with the full knowledge of
responsible Spanish officials the ISL
and, who. to conceal their crime, took
the life of the man who did the work.
after having paid him 5000
His widow. the story says, was imme-
diately placed in the insane asylum at
Mazora. SO that Whatever charges or
revelations she may make will be re-
garded as the rawlings of a disorded
mind.
THE statement will be placed before
the Court of Inquiry tomorrow.
1T would be difficult to conceive of a
plot more hellish.
According to this circumstantial story,
which comes from Havana to FL Yara
one of the most conservative and respect
able Cuban newspapers published in the
States, "a Spanish diver named Barquin
well known in Havana. was employed TO
place a mine under the American battle
ship and connect ii by wires with Santa
Catalina, tongue of land running into
Havana Bay.
I'll fara informant says that Barquin
was taken aboard the steamship Colon
after having received his orders from the
chief Of the military arsenal, and there
met Crisanto CalvO, the captain Of the
vessel This was at 2 o'clock in the
afternoon of February Is.
'Barquin brought with him his divers
suit and the magazine that was to be
placed beneath the keel of the Maine.
He was lowered from the Colon and made
his way about thirty feet on the bottom
of the haTbOr and deposited the maya
zine at the spot to which he had been
directed. Then he returned TO the
deck of the Colon, took off his suit and
was rOwed ashore TO Santa Catalina,
carrying with him two slender wires.
"A connection was made with the cleo
trio light plant to give the necessary
battery power.
"Barquin received the sum agreed upon,
and took the money home to his wife to
whom he told the whole story. He was a
comparatively poor man. and $500 was
10 him a fabulous fortune.
In n couple Of hours he was told that
his services were again required by the
Government He was directed to make
an inspection of the after part of the keel
of the Al9honso XII. Barquin went
down, and as soon as he was well under
water the rubber tubing which supplied
him with air was cut and he was allowed
to asphyXiate. As soon as il was certain
that he was dead his body was hauled up.
slipped of its diver suit and concealed
in the old warehouse in Santa Catalina
until 9:45 o'clock at night when the cir
cult was closed and the Maine destroy
ed.
The body of the diver was thrown into
the bay and was subsequently picked up,
and. in the excitement, was taken for one
Of the Names crew.
'El Yara's correspondent makes the al |
most incredible statement that Barquin
was buried with the battleship's dead as
an unidentified corpse
An interesting feature Of the published |
report Of the Maine testimony issued from
the Government Printing Office was the !
famous anonymous letter mentioned in |
the testimony of Henry Drain, the clerk |
IF the American consulate at Havana |
The letter was received by General Lee
a few DAYS after the Maine disaster 1t |
was dated February IS 1898, and signed |
AN AdmIrer." 1t was in Spanish, writ
ten apparently by a fairly well educated |
person. The certified translation is as
follows:
1T should be remembered that at dawn
Of the day Of the terrible catastrophe an |
was killed in a small boat to-
Sether with another who was found /
and a prisoner. They were GO
ng about the cruisers Maine and AIphon- |
so XII, and. as the said individuals are /
Of the worst antecedents as harbor |
thieves. ! have interested myself in inves- |
,igating what connection this occurrence |
'ould have had with the explosion of the 1
Maine, and l have discovered that these |
.wo men, together with another who is /
,alled Pope Taco, had bought in a hard /
ware store in Mercaderes Street. called /
La Marina, n hose such as is used by |
livers, and that the three left ReGla in /
small boat. which they placed under the |
yharves Of Santa Catalina. and they were
offering about more than an hour and
lalf while Pope Taco. who is a calker and |
liver. probably the best in these parts.
lid the work 10 bring about the explosion
# the Maine.
with the data l went to RegIa and
discovered that the family of the dead |
nan, who lived in the utmost misery in |
house in Rodriguez Batista Street had |
moved to a well furnished one on Celia
ert Street. There | learned that they
ad agreed with some merchants of Mu- |
lila Street for the work of blowing M |
he ship for the sum of s., O00-s2 600 in ad-
-anCe and the other 81 600 after seeing |
he result. But as they did not come
ut of the adventure very well. having
een attacked when they were retiring.
he result of which was the death of
ne, who left his teeth in the boat and
mother one wounded. The third one
las not presented himself to collect the
est of the money, and ii could be prob
bly, secretly done that. by paying him
he rest that the others will not now |
ay him, he would declare the truth of
III this. The one whom | called the |
bird is the diver. Pope Taco, who is
lnwOunded, who is no doubt afraid &c
resent himself to collect the result. In /
Iuralla Street, they tell me, was the
lace where the business was arranged
With Messrs. Garcia Corujedo. Villas
Iuo, Maribona and others whom 1 do
lot remember. The man who is arrest
d is being administered morphine coz !
family to see if he will die and not give 4
so as not, as they express it,
o spoil the affair after it has come of
o much to their taste"
'I certify that theabove is a true copy. |
"A. MARIN. |
Lieutenant Commander, United States
Navy, and Judge Advocate"
Drain, the consular clerk. stated in
is evidence that an effort was made to