The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1898-03-29

bottom plating. He said the plate pre-
| sented a Jagged appearance, as ~ iau
| been torn and that crack had eAlehueo'
| from the bottom edge of the sehll-ciIcu-
| lar hole to u distance OF ABOUT elSn'
1 inches. and that the plates about INNS
hole were bent away from the green sue
: of the plating.
EXPLOSION WAS on PORT SIDE
The Judge Advocate asked Mr.
| po,veIsou how he looked upon Olsen
! testimony. in view of his knoWleuge OF
tho Maine and the drawings of the YES
soI no replied that he regarded 1t as
extremely accurate. ~,
/ Tbn Jndge Advocate asked Mr.. Powell
| son what he deduced from Olsens tcs-
timopy received from this diver that
| forenoon, together with what informa-
ton as he had before.
Mr. Powelson replied that he thought
the explosion occurred on the port SIDE
| somewhere about frame Is, center OF
impact.
When questioned further as to what
| he regarded as the cause of the injuries
Mr.. Powelson said:
ION the bottom forward where frame
was thrown up it would seem to me the
force was communicated some distance
through the water, because at was htted
UP instead of being battered IN. II
was a force that was cushioned III some
way, because the diver tells me there
was bulge in plates between the two
frames and such a force rs that would
be a cushion pressure. So the plates
in that part of the ship not having been
broken in this explosion may have oc-
CURED aft and the frames forward have
broken in this explosion may have oc-
CURED aft and the frames forward of
the transverse armor being weaker than
they are at the ship might have been
lifted up there by this cushion pressure
from further aft"
DIVER SMITHS WORK.
Mr.. Powelson said:
Diver Smith went down the ships
side and examined the backing of the
armor. That looked to be pushed in be-
cause at the place where the plate was
gone the wood backing about six or sew
en- inches thick was splintered and ali
the splinters pointed in-board."
Mr. Powelson sent Schluter, on the
morning of the 9Th to examine the plat
ing on the port side abaft the crane,
Just under the main deck The outside
plating he found was bent sharply from
outside in making an acute angle at
the waterway.
On February 24th Chief Gunner
Charles Morgan, who was i'll charge
of the divers was called. On first going
down in diving dress, he said he landed
in a mass of split and broken powder
tanks of six and ten inch ammunition.
He found what he thought was the
ceiling and sides of the magazine The
powder tanks were split and crushed.
some with the heads knocked off and
most of them empty. There were 20 or
% in all. They did not seem to have
exploded but being crushed open tn
powder had melted out by action of the
water. All the frames and plates found
had Il list TO star-board. The hold at
this point was open to the outside of the
harbor and walking to the edge he fell
off into what seemed to have been the
same hole in the mud described by
Smith Morgan did not estimate the
size of the hole beyond saying the sides
sloped and it was loved waist deep"
PRIVATE ANTHONY'S TESTIMONY
Private VIM. Anthony. of the United
States Marine Corps, whose .calmness
at the time of the explosion in reporting
to Captain Sigsbee has become the theme
of admiration throughout the world was
the next witness. He testified that he
had the first watch from s to II o'clock
on the night of the explosion. There was
drill that day aud it was not necessary
to open the ma gaines. In response to
questions private Anthony told his
story.
Il was standing on the main deck just
outside of the door on the star-b0ard
side. | first noticed a trembling and
buckling of the decks and then this pro-
longed roar-not a short report, but
prolonged roar | looked out and saw
an immense sheet of flame and then l
started in to warn the captain"
Did yor notice any perceptible list
to the ship at the first shock!
''At the first shock, the ship instantly
that is the quarter deck where | was
standing-d dipped forward and to port
just hike that (indicating). 1t appar-
emily broke in the middle like that Tin
dicating). and surged forward and then
went over to port"
THE ANONYMOUS LETTER.
Henry Drain, clerk in the United
State Consulate, Havana, was examined
as to the receipt of an anonymous let
ter received by the Consul General, in
regard to the explosion of the Maine.
Witness produced the letter, the date
of which was February 18th, of the
present year. There was no signature.
it being signed An Admirer." Drain
said it seemed to be the document of
fairly we'll educated man. 1t was writ
ten in Spanish The translation was
produced and was handed TO the Judge
Advocate and read by him. The letter
was referred to in the record as being
marked IF" but it was not appended.
In response TO the question as to
whether anything had been done to as
certain the truth of the statements con-
tanned in the letter, witness said that
he had asked General Lee to look into
the matter and he did not appear to
know what to do. stating he had no Sc
cret service money.
A man by the name of Pope Taco was
mentioned in the letter Witness said
he had tried TO discover the whereabouts
Of the man and the one to whom he