The herald., 1898-02-20
|SIGSBEE TELLS
Of the Destruction of His
Vessel
FAILS TO FIND WORDS
FIT TO DESCRIBE THE FIRST
AWFUL SHOCK
DISCIPLINE WAS PERFECT
But No Effort of Human Beings Could
Avail to Save the Doomed
Warship
,ciated Press Special Wire


| HAVANA, Feb. 1+.-Captain c. D. Sigs-
bee of the battleship Maine, in an inter-
| view today with the correspondent of the
Associated Press described in detail the
| explosion which destroyed the great ship
Maine.
ION the night of the explosion" said
| Captain Sigsbee, II had not retired. was
| writing letters. l find it impossible to de-
scribe sound or shock. but the impression
remains of something awe-inspiring, ter
rife; of noise, rending, vibrating. all-per
vading. There is nothing in the former cx-
perience of any one on board to measure
the explosion by.
after the first great shock-I cannot
| myself recall how many sharp detonations
| heard, not more than two or three-I knew
| my ship was gone. In such a structure as
! the Maine, the effects of such an eXplo-
| sion are not for a moment in doubt
| made my way through the long passage
way in the dark, cropping from side to side
| in the hatchway and then into the poop
being among the earliest to reach that
spot
$50 soon as l recognized the officers, or
dered the high explosives to be flooded and
I then directed that the boats available be
lowered to rescue the wounded or drown
ing.
discipline in perfect measure, prevailed
There was no more confusion than a cal
to general quarters would produce, nor as
much
II soon saw by the light of the flames that
Of alix Nd
board surrounded me. 1 cannot form any
idea of the time, but 1t seemed five mill
utes from the time l reached the poop
until l left, the last man it was possible
to reach having been saved. 1t mus;
have been three-quarters of an hour O,
more, however. from the amount of wori
done.
II remember the officers and men worke,
together lowering the boats and that tho
| gig took some time to lower / did no
! notice the rain of debris described by Lieu
| tenant Blandin or others who were on deck
at the time of the first explosion, but !.
| did observe the explosion of the fixed am.
munition and wondered that more wer,
not hurt thereby.
without going beyond the limits of whaI
err l always maintain precautions against
attack and the quarter-watch was ordered
to have ammunition for the smaller guns
ready to hand. so that in the improbable
event of an attack on the ship it would b,
found ready. 1t was this ammunition which
exploded as the heat reached It,"
Captain Sigsbee and all officers here are
very anxious for news from the United
States as to the public opinion there Tho
Captain has done all he can to calm the
excitement in the United States and to in
ducc the public to wait for the results of
the investigation before forming a judg-
ment as to the cause of the explosion.
AS the Olivette entered the harbor early
this morning the passengers crowded to
her upper decks to see the yellow forts and
long lines of walls manned by soldiers, the
beauties of palm-crowned hills or thou
sand sights new to many eyes. All inter-
est centered in the first view of the wreck
of the Inflated battleship, and the sight
was ghastly enough when reached to sat
isfy all who were desirous of witnessing
horrors
The wreck is the central figure of an
otherwise bright picture and it is as sad
as it is terrible. The huge mass of fame
charred debris forward looks as though
it had been thrown up from a subterranean
storehouse of fused cement, STEEL wood
and iron. Further aft one military mast
protrudes at q slight angle, from the per-
pendicular, while the poop, on which gath
cred the band offers a resting place for
the workmen or divers. OF the predomin-
ant white, which marks our warships, not
vestige remains. In its place is the
blackness of desolation and death.
1t is known that Lieutenant Jenkins,
who is among those missing, was alive
after the explosion. A colored mess at
tendant now at Key West, met jenkins
running forward. He evidently thought,
in the confusion, that the Maine had been
fired on and he was rushing to the fore
CASTLE where was located the six-inch gun
of which he was in charge