Little Falls herald. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1889-1950, 1898-04-01

s. the statement that he had never known In
! I'll his experience, which covers visits to
j Havana for five or six years, vessel Of
war to be anchored at that buoy; that he
| had rarely known merchant vessels to be
anchored there, and that it was the least
| used buoy in the harbor. In describing
the surroundings when first moored
! to this buoy, Captain Sigsbee
stated that the Spanish man
of-war Alfonso XIII was moored
/ in position now occupied by the Fern
about 25 yards to the northward Of the
wreckage of the Maine. The German
now occupied by the Spanish man-of-war
| Legaspe, which is about 400 yards about
due north from the Maine. He then To-
Gated the German man-of- war Charlotte,
!! which came into the harin1r day or two
later, which was anchc1sl to the south
! ward Of the Names berth about 400 or
| 500 yards. In describing the surroundings
| ct the time of the explosion, Captain Sigs-
| bee stated that the night was calm and
still. The Alphonse XIII. was at the
same berth. The small Spanish dispatch
| boat Legaspe had moved the day before and
! taken the berth occupied by the German
! man-of-War Griesenau, which had left.
The City of Washington was anchored
! about 200 yards east of the Names stern,
T; slightly on the port quarter.
Coal Had Been Inspected.
The Maine coaled at Key West, taking
| on about $50 tons, the coal being regularly
| inspected and taken from the government
! coal pile This coal was placed generally
In the forward bunkers No report was
received from the chief engineer that any
coal had been too long in the bunkers,
; and the fire alarms in the bunkers were
sensitive.
In so far as the regulations regarding
infammables and paints on board, Cap
tain Sigsbee testified that the regulations
were strictly carried out in regard to stor-
age, and that the waste also was subject
to the same careful disposition. AS to the
situation of the paint room, he fixed it as
in the "eyes of the ship" just below the
berth deck, the extreme forward compart-
; ment. AS for the disposition of inf1am'
! mables, they were slowed away according
to the regulations, and when inf1amma-
bles were in excess of chest capacity they
were kept in the bath room of the cab
in. Regarding the electric plat of the
Maine, Captain Sigsbee stated that there
was no serious grounding nor sudden
up of the lights before the explosion, but
a sudden and total eclipse. AS for regu-
lations affecting the taking of tempera-
ture of the magazines, etc., Captain Sigs-
bee said there were no special regulations
other than the usual regulations required
temperature himself and conversed with
with the ordnance officer as to the various
temperatures and the contents of the mag
azines, and according to the opinion of
the officer, the temperatures were never
at the danger point. II do not think
there was any laxity in this direction"
said the captain in reply to question of
Judge Advocate Mark.
No Work on the Magazines.
He had no recollection of any work 60
ing on in the magazine or shell rooms on
the day of the explosion. The keys were
called for in the usual way on the day in
question and were properly returned. At
the time of the disaster the two after boil
ers in the after fire room were in use be-
cause the hydraulic system was somewhat
leaking. Speaking generally of his rela-
tions with the Spanish authorities, Cap
tain Sigsbee stated that with the
officials they were outwardly cordial.
The members of the autonomist council
brought to the attention Of the navy
department the fact that he did not visit
them and that fact brought embarrass-
ment to the government at Washington.
He took the ground to the department.
that it was unknown etiquette to call on
the civil members of the colonial govern
ment other than the governor. Without
waiting for such an order Captain Sigs-
bee made visit afterwards and, as he
states, was pleasantly received and his
visit promptly returned by certain men,
bers of the council. Later party of
ladies and gentlemen called and the pres
ident of the council made a speech which
Captain Sigsbee could not understand but
which was interpreted to him briefly, to
which he replied.
"My reply" said Captain Sigsbee, twas
afterwards printed in at least two papers
in Havana, but the terms made me favor
autonomistic government in the island. I
am informed that the autOnOmistic gov
eminent in Havana is unpopular among
a large number of Spanish and Cuban res
idents. I have no means of knowing
whether my apparent interference in the
political concerns Of the island had any
relation to the destruction of the Maine"
Tells of the Explosion.
The captain said the night was quiet
and warm, and that he remembered hear
ing distinctly the echoes of the bugle at
tattoo, which was very pleasant stars
were out, the sky, however, overcast. He
was writing at his port cabin table at tho
time of the explosion and was dressed.
He then went into description of the e1-
plosion when he felt the crash. He char
acterized it as a bursting, rending and
crashing sound or roar of immense vol.
ume. largely metallic in character. It
was succeeded by a metallic sound, prob
ably: of falling debris, a trembling and
lurching motion of the vessel, then an
impression of subsidence, attended by an
eclipse of electric lights and intense dark
ness within the cabin. He thought i'm
mediately that the Maine had been blown
up and she was sinking He hurried to
the starboard cabin port, but changed
his course to the passage leading to the
superstructure. y =: .~F
Discusses the Explosion.
The captain told of the escape from tho
sinking boat and in reply to the direct
question of whether any of the magazines
or shell rooms were blown up the captain