The copper country evening news., 1898-02-17

The Other Twenty Four Escaped without
Injury-Nearly All the Crew Perished
and the Bodies Of Many of Them Became
Food for Sharks = War Talk Rife at
Washington = what Secretary Of the
Navy Long Says of the Terrible Affair.
Havana, Feb. 1.-THE Maine,
charred and torn hulk, lies at the bot
tom OF the harbor. a tomb for 200 OF
her crew. She was blown up at $40
Tuesday night by an explosion well for
ward under the mems quarters. Her
magazine is farther back between her
coal bunkers. Information Is that II
did not explode. Most of the crew were
sleeping when the ship was blown up.
Some of the watch and few of the
officers and crew who were on shore es-
capped unhurt. One-fourth of the crew
were killed outright. The explosion was
terrific, shaking the city to it's founda-
tions, Illuminating the harbor and
causing terror to all within sight OF IT.
Was Torpedo Exploded?
Indications are that torpedo had
been exploded under the bows of the
battleship Captain Sigsbee, who was
| wounded in the head, says the maga-
| zine was in perfect order. Captain
| sigsbee, in his shirt sleeves. directed
| all work of rescue. He was bleeding
| slightly and his clothes were covered
with dirt. His first care was for the
| wounded All of the crew who were not
| disabled showed great coolness and
| courage. Five minutes after the explo-
| sion the Alphonso XIII, the Spanish
| cruiser lying not far away, launched
! boats and hurried them to the sinking
| battleship. They picked up the wound
| ed sailors and those who were swim
| ming. The wounded, as soon as they
! were brought ashore, were taken on
| stretchers to the Casa de Socorro,
where all the physicians in Havana
| were summoned
Story of James Rowe.
Among the least wounded was James
Rowe, ships cook. He said: Il turned
| in at o'clock and all was quiet. The
next / felt myself turning over and over
and falling heavily upon the deck
through mass of smoke. l got on my
feet and worked my way on deck.
When / got there the superstructure
deck was dipping under water and l
Jumped overheard to keep from being
drawn down in the suction. was picked
up by a boat from the Spanish manor
war. Four more were picked up by the
same boat. They were Daniel Cronin,
| a landsman; Charles Bergman, boat
swain's mate; Albert John. seaman, and
Bloomer. a landsman. The whole bow
was blown out of the ship. The last
I saw of her her bow was under and
her stern sticking up. The explosion
may have taken place in her little mag
azine, where they keep the gun-cotton
for torpedoes. Her big magazine could
not have been exploded, or there would
not have been enough left OF her to
make toothpicks."
\ Explosion Shakes City.
The explosion, which shook the city
from one end to the other, created the
greatest excitement. All the electric
lights were put out by the shock. Fire
engines rushed madly from one direc-
| ton to another, and no one knew for
| certain from which direction the ex-
| plosion came. Some one started the re-
/ port that II was the arsenal; others
| said IL was a shell, and 1t was not until
Ill o'clock that the real cause was
known. 1t is thought that the bodies
| of many of the American sailors who
| were lost in the harbor will never be
recovered. Cuban waters are infested
with sharks, and many were seen In
the water in the morning. All possible
efforts to find the bodies of victims be-
fore the sharks can get them are being