The San Francisco call., 1898-02-17
DID AN AGENT OF SPAIN DESTROY
 THE BATTLESHIP? ?
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plosion?" I asked Captain Sigsbee.
 You will have to excuse me from answering that" he replied. "In such cases it is best not to think; 1t is best to know. That requires investigation and time"
 Lieutenant John ]. Blandin, who was the officer of the watch at the time of the explosion. gave me this version of his own experiences and of the whole case under his immediate observation. T went on watch at 6 o'clock, relieving Lieutenant Blow At GAO o'clock, while on the port side of the quarter deck, an explosion occurred, seemingly on the port side forward, followed i'm mediately by 9 second one. l was struck on the head by flying piece of wreck age, but not stunned l climbed on the poop deck, where found the captain, the executive officers and several others. The barge and gig were lowered and manned, they being the only boats left We picked up all the wounded that could be found and put them into the boats.
 "The Spanish flagship Alfonso XIII had sent four or five boats very prompt ly to our aid, and more of our wounded were sent to the Alfonso. One of our boats pulled around the Maine and picked up several men who had been blown into the water The executive officer went forward to see if the fire could be put out, and found that it was useless to try to do anything to save the ship, as she was a total wreck.
 The captain then gave the order to abandon the ship, and most of us went in the boats of the City of Washington of the Ward Line. where we were most cordially received and cordially treated. The captain was the last to leave the ship"
 Faynaster Ray, who only few days ago relieved Paymaster Littlefcld on the Maine, told me of his experience.
 "I was in my room writing letter, 7 MT Ray said, when l felt the shock. Long residence in earthquake countries has given me the instinct to get under a door when i hear noise of that sort, and 1t IS lucky for me that 1 am pos sessed of that sort of instinct, for 1 had hardly got under the door jamh be- fore debris was crashing all around me. After the shower l made my way on deck and got into the barge l took an oar, as did Lieutenant Blow and Engineer Morris. We pulled long time, but found only one man, whom we picked up.'
 "I was sitting abaft the aft turret talk ing to Boatswain Laridn," said Assist ant Engineer j. K Morris, T am a bit hay as to how it all happened All 1 can remember now is I was thrown to the deck and that when 1 regained my feet and tried to reach the superstruc- ture was three times knocked down by falling wreckage, got on the superstructure some how and then into the barge. Fred Lanahan, landsman, was sleeping in his hammock under the topgallant forecastle He was hoisted high into the air by the explosion, and strangely enough was fshed out of the water with never bruise or burn"
 The steamship Olivette arrived early in the morning. As soon as her passen- gers had been landed the wounded from the hospitals ashore and from the AL fonso XIII were transferred to her. To her were also sent as passengers to Key West, Lieutenant John Hood and twelve officers of the Maine. Dr. Dud- ley. of the United States marine hospital service in Havana accompanied the ship as medical officer in charge of the wounded.
 The lighthouse steamer Mangrove reached Havana early in the afternoon followed shortly afterward by the SUD- ply steamer Fern, tender to the North Atlantic fleet.
 The loss of Lieutenant Jenkins and Cadet Merritt is deeply felt. Poor Jen lins-I had seen him few hours be fore in the Hotel Ingletarra. He was to have taken dinner with me, but a, the last moment decided to postpone the engagement.
 There were three magazines forward but all of them contained powder, anc my informants could not understand how this could be exploded by tor pedo bursting under water.
 When the cable closed at o'clock last night only thirty-seven officers ane men had been reported as surviving tho explosion. Before daylight 1t wa. known that more had been brough ashore and taken to the hospitals oi were on board the ships in the harbor I made the rounds of the hospitals commencing at 1:3o. At a:3o more O