The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1898-03-29

IF YOU consider the section of the ship
between frames Is and Is. continued MI.
Powelson, "and consider that the part of
the bottom plating between frame Is and
frame Is is bent out at a right angle, and
then that the whole section is turned for
ward through 80 degrees. you will picture
the position in which the plates are now
found. This plating could either have been
showed out from the after side or it could
have been pushed in from the forward
side The only indication as to how this
was done Is the wooden boarding II the
after part Of the plating had been pushed
out from the inside the boarding would
have been broken at the angle which the
plates make. IL the forward part OF the
plating had been pushed in. the boards
would have been pulled away from the
after plating. as Is the case with the plates
now"
Powelson said he regarded Olsen's tes-
timony. in view of his knowledge of the
Maine and the drawings, as extremely ac-
curate.
|. The judge advocate asked Mr. Powelson
what he deduced from all this testimony
received from the diver that forenoon. to-
gether with what information he had
had before.
Powelson's Deductions.
Mr.. Poweison replied that he thought
| the explosion occurred on the port side
somewhere about frame Is. the center Of
impact. The ship yielded at II and also
Is. but II was pretty hard to say exactly
where the impact came. Frame Is was
blown In
MY idea is that after the ship was raised
up at frame IS. the magazines. one or all
Of them. after that. were exploded. for
some powder tanks that I have seen
think were exploded. while others l have
seen were not exploded. I saw a coffee
can that was brought up this morning
which was as badly battered as most of
the powder cases that came up. II looked
| In very much the same conditlon."
| The Mine Not In Immediate Contact.
Poweison said: ION the bottom where
| the frame was thrown UP. it would seem
| to me that force was communicated some
! distance through the water. because ii
was lifted up instead of being battered in.
| II was a force that was cushioned In
| eowne way. because the diver tells me
| there was bulge In the plates between
| the two frames. and such force as that
/ would be a cushion pressure. The plates
| In that part of thesship having been broken
| in. the explosion may have occurred aft.
/ and the frames forward Of the transverse
| the ship might have been lifted up there
| by This cushion pressure from further aft
1T struck me-" continued Mr.. Powelson,
| speaking of the same part OF the vessel.
/ ''tha. the mine could not have been very
| close to those platter that were lifted up
| because. as say. the plates are not so
| much damaged or bent in the form Of a
| v and raised up a vertical distance. II
| seems to me that the mine was somewhat
| removed. and the pressure came through
| the water, which produced the cushion sort
| Of pressure"
Circle HfOwn Out Of ships Bottom.
| Gunner's Mate Smith described his first
descent, which landed him in the ten
inch shell room. The shells were there in
/ good condition. but some had toppled
| over from the shock OF the explosion.
| He erawled over this bulkhead and down
| behind it found a tsn-inch powder tank
| bent and dented. but not exploded.
| On his next descent he went down from
| the port frame. following the side Of the
| ship down. till he struck Plates that were
| blown from port to starboard. inboara.
| He followed the plates down until he came
| TO the six-inch shells still IN the sings
| for sending them up out of the shell room.
| The forward part of the six-inch reserve
| magazine seemed TO have been blown
| away altogether. The ragged edge of the
| steel floor 20 the shell room were turned
up.
Coming back from his trip into the outer
| submarine world, the diver came across
| lot OF FOUNDER shells and shell cases.
| some OF them not even broken away from
| the shells. Laying right across the mid
| die OK the ten-inch shell room he found
| an arrnor plate that had been torn away
| from the ships side.
| On hts fourth trip down he slid dewn
| the outer edge OF the ship by tbs port
| crane. THE skin Of the ship" he said,
| is in good condition TIL you come 10 the
| shell room before mentioned. Here the
| steel edges are blown inward"
| Craving into The aole. he felt the daa-
/ be bottom and the jagged edges Of the
| cement turned uf. Witness was CUES
| ,.oned very closely as 10 the plates that
| he found blown inward. and whether
| they might not have bsen bulkneads. bn,
4
skin of the ship near the bottom. and 10
Gated them accurately or the plans abou.
The middle Of the gsx-inch Shell room.
| where in 4 big circle there IL none of
the outside Of the ship Is.. az all" He
sld not find the forward susret but II wss
missing from th1 place where 1t be-
:oaged
The Importance Of this testimony caused
s; ~ be gone over ard cvtr again.
He told ~ his trips Down IN DIVING dress
On February ~ During one af these 20
located the hresk I'm the kexl. where TIA
sips back vas broken by the explosion.
BE there found hole In ire bottom az
the harsor about seven ssf, deep ard seven
feet IN diameter. The mud bottom o.
this hoie Was hsrter thar elsewhere and
zee ID nos ssrk over eighteen inches in n.
Wire Feuaa Wear the wreck.
SaaneF's Mate Carl RaEsaaiSt. one al