The daily morning journal and courier., 1898-02-17
PARTICULARS FROM HAVANA.
Captain sigsbee Win Not Express Himself
 on Cause of Explosion.

oh Sduse Oi NApioSiuhs
 Havana. Feb. 16.-A large number of deaths is said to be due to the fact that most of the men were asleep below at the time of the explosion. Most of the officers were dining on board the | City of Washington 1t was reported that the disaster was due to the ex- 1 plosion of the dynamo machine on board the Maine. The Spanish cruiser Alfonso XIII was for some time after l the explosion in great peril and her mooring tackles were tackled away and she was anchored at greater dis | tance from the burning warship, being assisted by other Spanish vessels. She l then lowered her boats and took part | in the work of rescue.
 Consul General Lees cable dispatch to the United States state department, which was filed at 12:30 p. m., was car ried to the palace by Vice Consul Springer as an act of courtesy. The first of the American sailors to reach the main wharf were swimming. All the navy fire brigade and the navy | physicians were immediately ordered 1 on duty. Stretchers for the wounded were sent to the scene by the firemen and the headquarters of the Red Cross l was called upon to send four stretchers and wen were sent to patrol the scene of the disaster and to pick up the dead and wounded. The smokestacks of the | Maine fell at 11:3O D. m. Three sailors who escaped fell senseless just as they reached a place of safety. One of the Maines officers who is being cared for at the sanitary headquarters is seri- ously wounded. He is very young and is believed to have been the officer on guard at the time of the disaster. He is said to have asked for a priest to make his confession.
 1 It is said ashore this afternoon that only ninety-seven men of the crew of the Maine had been saved. Captain i General Blanco's cable message was filed at midnight Half an hour after
 midnight thirty-six of the crew of the
 Maine had been carried to the military
 hospital of San Ambrosio. They were all most seriouslywounded Five others
 of the crew were taken to the Alfonso XII hospital. On board the Spanish cruiser Alfonso XIII tWenty-six of the
 wounded were treated and thirty-six were succored on board the City of | Washington. George Cowler, an ac- countant of the Maine, is among the men seriously wounded. The crew of 1 the steamer Colon saved two wounded men.
 l Position of the Maine.
 l The Maine at the time of the explo- | sion wa af nh Jc
 from the arsenal and some 200 yards I from the floating dock. The explosion
 put out the street lights near the wharf 1 and blew down telephone and telegraph l wires in that vicinity Admiral Man. l terola put off to the Maine soon after
 the explosion and offered his services to Captain Sigsbee. The Discussion
 says that fire broke out on board the
 Maine at 7:30 p. m and that the crew
 were unable to extinguish it. The first
 explosion is said to have been caused
 by over 500 pounds of gun cotton and 1 the subsequent explosion is alleged to have been caused by shells and car- tridges. Among the saved on board the City of Washington Is a Mir. Dressler, ! (Gustav V. Dressler of the Maine), who
 has lost both his eyes. The passengers
 of the City of Washington gave up l their staterooms to the injured men of
 the American warship. An iron truss
 from the Maine fell on the pantry of the City of Washington, breaking the
 tableware of the steamer.
 | sigsbee In His Bunk.
 Lieutenant Commander Wainwright of
 the Maine was half undressed at 9:45 | aJr;,, i. l..-
 next to that of Captain Sigsbee, it is
 said, when the explosion occurred and
 put out the electric lights. Lieutenant
 Commander Wainwright then lit a
 match and went to Captain Sigsbee's s
 cabin. The captain, it appears, had
 been thrown from his bed, but was
 uninjured. They both went on deck
 and ordered the men to flood 2,500
 pounds of gun cotton which were on l board. The order was carried out, the men never returned and Havana was
 saved from a more terrible explosion. Four boats were lowered, all manned by officers, and one of them lost. Cap
 tain Sigsbee went on board the Spanish
 cruiser Alfonso XII to thank her cap- tain and officers. He afterwards went
 on board the City of Washington, l where Consul General Lee, Dr. w. J. | Brenner and the correspondents of l American newspapers had already | gathered.
 Sigsbee's Statement.
 | Captain Sigsbee. when interviewed
 this evening by the correspondent of | The Associated Press with reference to the cause of the explosion, said: T cannot yet determine the cause, but competent investigators will decide l whether the explosion was produced from an interior or exterior cause. I l cannot say anything until after such
 an investigation has been made.
 will not and cannot conscientiously an- l ticipate the decision, nor do I wish to
 make any unjust estimate of the reason 1 for the disaster"
 l History of the BRttleship.
 The second class battleship Maine
 was launched at the Brooklyn navy yard on November IS, 1890, and was christened Maine by Miss Alice
 Tracy Wilmerding, a niece of General
 Benjamin F. Tracy, then secretary of the navy. Her hull is of steel, her dis placement 6,6S2 tons. She is propelled
 by twin screws. Like all modern war
 vessels, the Maine had a double bot i tom. Her length over all Is S24 feet
 AZ inches; extreme beam, 57 feet; mean