The record-union. [volume] (Sacramento, Calif.) 1891-1903, 1898-03-01
WORK OF DIVERS.
Only One Body Recovered From
the Wreck yestarSav

Z
the Wreck Yesterday.
HAVANA, Feb. 2S-The day prom
ised We'll for the divers who are at
work securing bodies from the wreck
of the battleship Maine and making
salvage there Including the Spanish
divers, there are probably eight men
below the water simultaneously.
Great preparations are on foot among
the Spaniards here to give q hearty
welcome to the cruiser Nizcaya when
she arrives at this port. General Wey-
Ter street is arched with bunting and
the Casino is gay with color.
1t is believed that the election of the
autonomist delegates set for March
both will be postponed until April 9th.
to correspond with the election for
Deputies to the Cortes in Spain. The
POS tponement, however, has not Yet
been officially announced.
Another tug belonging to the Merritt
s, Chapman Derrick and Wrecking
Company, with powerful apparatus. is
expected from the north at any time.
There were showers of rain late in
the day, and cloudy weather interferea
somewhat with the diving. The
weather, however, promises to clear,
and hopes are entertained that the
bodies of quite a number of dead will
be recovered Chaplain Chadwick
hopes to recognize many Of the bodies
when ne receives descriptions taken
from the enlistment papers which are
ION file at Washington.
The coast survey steamer Rache,
Lieutenant Barnett commanding, re-
nav t. hi
taking on BOARD four of the Names
wounded. IT is considered probable
that the Bache Will also take to Tortu-
gas the five wounded men of the bat
tleship who are still at this port as soon
as it is safe TO move them.
Only one body has been recovered to-
day, and it has not yet been identified.
With any others recovered in time, it
will go with the wounded on the Bache
to the Dry Tortugas and Key West On
the next trip north the Bache will carry
TO Key West the first company Of
wounded token to Dry Tortugas.
The Spanish divers viii not make
their examination to-day Captain
Sigsbee expected them and probably
VIII be advised to-day as to when they
Will begin their investigation.
Local work was done by The divers
from the tug Right Arm. Captain Nc
Gee, who is in charge, seems to lack
authority from the wrecking people or
others and is indisposed to work on his
own judgment, except in smaller de-
tails.
Captain Sigsbee was on board the
United States lighthouse tender Fern
until , o'clock this afternoon He
waited for the Spanish divers. but they
did not appear. Captain Sigsbee thinks
Spain has moral and international
right to make an Independent examina-
ton, and he viii give the Spanish div
ers such facilities as are possible.
Captain Sigsbee hopes the survey
steamer Bache will return to the Tor
tugas tomorrow or the next day with
all the Names wounded left here. anc
He also hopes 10 send on the Bache
hereafter all the remains of the dead
recovered In a condition making it pos
sible to place them in collins.
The difficulty experienced in recover
ing the bodies is not understood by
any but divers. The latter yesterday
worked for three hours trying to bring
out one body intact, and one of the
divers had a bad fall and several cot
their air tubes tangled. Even then
they could not extricate the remains.
The principal efforts of the divers
now are directed toward clearing the
upper wreckage, smoke stacks. decks.
guns, patches. bridges, cranes and
sratings. Then. if not before, all the
dead can be removed
La Lucha" publishes late this even
ing, an official dispatch giving an ac-
count of a battle in the province of
Puerto Principe. in which the insur-
gents are said TO have lost 1S1 killed
and wounded.
According to the dispatch the battle
| took place February 18th and 10Th in
and near the Santa Inez and Hinojoe
Hills. The Spanish force, which was
! under the command of General Jiminez
Castellanos, numbered 2.400 infantry
and 400 cavalry. The insurgents
numbered 5000. The insurgents left
efghty-seven dead on the field Among
the killed We're Colonel Rodriguez.
Commandant Roccio and other officers.
According to the dispatch the Span
| iards lost one officer. Lieutenant Po-
rajo, and seven soldiers killed. and
three officers and seventy-three soldiers
wounded. The Spanish troops are
said to have captured many weapons.
large quantity of ammunition and
thirty-four horses