The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1898-02-25
THE sEMrwEEKLY MESSENGER: FRIDAY, FEBRUARY p. 1898.

mer's room, but it was found thai his
body was not there.
Thus far the sharks have given no
trobule, blu the vultures have left
scarcely anything but the skeletons of
three men who were entangled in the
debris very near the surface of the
water. The bodies were not noticed
by amy one until the foul birds had
completed their CHASTITY work. From
the hand OF one Chaplain Chadwick
emoyed a deeply chased gold ring for
purposes of Identification. Chaplain
Ch1dwfck says that the total number
OF missing is eighty-fve or eighty-six.
and five have died in the hospital. OF
the missing. doubtless some were
blown to atoms, no portions Of their
bodies being recovered, and there is
much doubt that any considerable num-
Der of those whose remains are now
being removed will be identified.
LEE NOT TO LEAVE HAVANA.
Consul General Lee, who has receiv-
ed a number Of dispatches today in
curing as to the accuracy of the re-
port that he is arranging to go to Key
West on the torpedo boat Cushing to
meet Senator Proctor, says he has no
present intention of doing so.
Today has been the quietest since the
explosion. The wounded are all doing
well except Frederick c. Holzer, who
is slightly worse. The divers have been
continuously at work, but the results
Of their 1abOrs, so far as these would
throw light IN the cause Of the explo-
sion, are kept strictly for the court of
inquiry. 1t is reported that twenty
bodies have been found under the for
ward hatch, but only three have been
removed, owing to the mass of chairs
and wreckage in the way.
TT A T>v,cs or1r1 M ,,,-
SHIP.
The officers of the court of inquiry
during their inspection of the wreck
today discovered, it is said, tina the
armOr plates projecting from the wa
ter forward neal the bow were from
the bottom Of the ship. There is a good
deal of speculation as to what caused
this, many ~contending that the position
of the plates shows that the big maya
zine forward did not explode. The
divers, it is believed by many, will
find very little of the structure of the
ship forward Of the 1O-imch turret.
FURTHER PROOF OF EXTERNAL
EXPLOSION.
The situation, which may be changed
at any time by fresh discoveries, may
be summed, when this dispatch is sent
this afternoon, substantially as fol-
lows:
The divers having discovered cases
of brown hexagona1 powder for the
1O-inch guns ~unexploded, and believing
also that others unexploded will be
found in the 10-inch magazine on the
starboard side forward, the conviction
grows that this magazine did not blow
up. If this be so, and many have
insisted from the first tina it is, the
further conviction is forced that the
explosion which wrecked the Maine
came from the outside on the port
bow. AS previously wired, the main
portion Of the wreck, as seen from
| above and noted below was blown to
cardboard.
BELIEVED TO BE PLOT OF SPAN
1sH OFFICERS.
The highest American officials here
! are confident that General Blanco and
| the other high Spanish officials had no
knowledge, direct or indirect, of the
conception or execution of a plot to
blow up the Maine, if such a plot ex-
listed, but they believe the junior Span
ish officers, who, from the nature OF
things, are more conversant with mod
| ern explosives than their elders and
| superiors, were at the bottom OF the
disaster, if there were any outside
| agency. 1t is pointed out that it would
not be impossible to plant a mine OF
! wet and dry gun cotton near where a
foreign war vessel was directed to
: anchor, such a mine communicating
with an electric battery on the shore
1t is regarded as an interesting pom
that the Maine, for the first time dur
ing her stay in the harbor, lay at tne
particular spot where she was at the
time of the catasthrope, and it is said,
hough not officially verified, hat the
Maine was the first foreign WarShlE
moored to this particular buoy since
the troubles in Cuba grew acute.
SIGSBEEaS RIGID DISCIPLINE.
All stories as to lax discipline on the
Maine are without a shadow Of truth
On the contrary Captain Slgs-
bee was complained of by SOM
for the rigidity of his rules
and the strictness with which he en-
forced them. Moreover, the Maine has
been in commission for years and never
had a serious accident until
in this quiet harbor.
1T WOULD MEAN WAR.
In reply to a question put by this
correspondent to a high American OF
cial as to what the outcome would OF
if il were proved that the disaster was
due to an outside agency, h officia
in question said:
Sir. the American people could no
be restrained. / mean war. Still,
doubt whether it would be necessary
TO fire a shot. Admiral Sicard coulC
anchor the Iowa, the Indiana, the Mas
sachusetts and the New York outside
of Havan harbor to prevent the in
gress of h food supplies. withou
whic the city could not exist a fort.
night. Cuba is a waste of ashes ant
desolation. Even the hotels and cafe:
here in Havana live from hand-to
mouth, on supplies brought from tn
United States. Admiral Sicard. de
handing the surrender Of Havana, Civ
ing t~wenty-four hours for the remova
of the women and children, ~surrendeI
would follow. The forts and old struc
lures could be demolished by
~S-pounder. Such new guns as hav'
been mounted are short of ammunl
ton and have never been tried. l
General Blanco should decline to sur
render, the Spanish here
who represent 80 per cent. of the prop
erty and pay IS per cent. of the lake