The McCook tribune., 1898-03-18
Investigating the Disaster.

Investigating the Disaster.
HAVANA (yia Key West), March IL.
-(New York World Cablegram)-Ihe
discovery of the Names ram ana lts
position relative to the rest Oh the
wreck is the crowning proof that the
shin was blown up by a mine or
large torpedo. There is no longer
room for doubt. reasonable or unrea-
sonable. The ship is absolutely broken
in two. It's heavy ram TODAY points
almost at right angles from the point
of the intact rear two-thirds or the
ship. 1t points under water sduarely
at the Spanish cruiser Alfonso XII.
which is anchor way to the left OF the
wreck 1t should point right ahead
at La Machina The queer phenome-
non CT the present position of the VS.
ible portion of the wreck is thus ex-
planned:
On February 10 Alfonso MI and the
City OF Washington, Immediately after
the explosion, lay very near the Maine,
but pointed away TO the left of the di-
recton in which the visible portion
OF the wreck was found TO point the
next morning Experts said that
either an unaccOuntable current had
held the Maine in a difTcrent position
from that Of the others while all were
at anchor or the Maine was hurled
away around toward the right by the
force Of an OUTSIDE explosion against
the port side we'll toward the forward
end 1t w2s hurled away and the ex-
plosiOn against its port bottom was
powerful enough to break the ship
bodily and hurl it up and over the
starbCard at the point of greatest in
pact-about 100 feet Tor One-third Os
the ships length, from it's ram.
TIE Names extreme forward point
was Il massive steel ram. a tremendous
heavy structure. 1t moved but little,
and this portion of the ship between
it and the point Of explosion swung
upon this arm like Il weight upon a
fulcriim, away from that awful force
applied against the port side In the
same manner the stern Of the Maine
was uninjured and moved little, while
200 feet of the ship forward to the
point of impact swung around to the
right away from the force. And the
Maine lies broken in two by a blow
against its side, as one might lay down
q stick he had broken across his knee.
The discovery OF the Names port
bottom plate. with it's sBlit ''Z" bar
braces, its Susset plate, its siuice valve.
its two inches Of protective cement on
the inside and its Higgins green anti
fOuling paint upon the outside was
proof enough. It protrudes from the
water fully twenty feet toward the cen
ter Of the ship from the proper posi-
ton, and moved exactly toward the
only interior explosive force of the
ship powerful enough to do much dam
age there. It was hurled into the ship
and above the water by tremendous
explosion against it from the outside.
and now that the discovered ram
shows the original position OF the ship.
the awful effects noted on great and
snail things are known to have come
from exterior causes, aided perhaps.
By small interior magazine, as has
been cabled
Dinner hour for the naval men. the
ncnaDpearance OF the Spanish divers
and the fortunate absence of the Da-
troll boats allowed me to work two
hours with q sounding Iced. COMPASS
and tape line. For some time I had
noticed that the navy divers were
working away to mort Of the apparent
nosition Of the Names sunllen bow.
They evidently had found something
big. They did little work where the
bow usually was supposed to be-
ToGay's snu1dings show nothing hut
mud and light wreckage where the
bow ought 20 5e. Rut they do show 4
massive Dointed object living some
eight feet above the mud and pnint-
ing as Indicated. In the widest place
it is about fourteen feet and runs to =
noint. It is the Names ram and nov
by answering direct questions. the ex-
perts admit il
Careful s0undirgs apprCxfmatfrg
SQUARES show no wreck
age on the mort side Of tho foryyarr
portion Of the wreck except tho 5ie,
iron ram. Naturally the rlass Of M
ner works went aw2v 10 star5nard and
this the Snanish divers nrobahIv have
mistaken for the Mains bow in nrora-
position. The rams position firaI-
and definitely fixes the fact Of mine
or a torpedo.