The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1898-03-15
THEORIES OF THE EXPLOSION.
An Unnamed Expert Gives His Reasons
for Believing in an External Cause.

vana anything in refutal Of Captain
HeraIS statement of Yesterday regard
ing the views of the Spani>h Court at
Inquiry as TO the Marine disaster. How
ever, an American officer. who i an ex-
pert. says in effect. and his words are
worthy Of weight. aS he knows absolutely i
OF What he i talking:
Il am a graduate of the torpedo
school. and have studied the effects of
torpetlOeS or mines from observation AMI
experiments.
"A torpedo exploded ut a depth OF SIX
feet would throw a column Of water one
hundred feet into the air: at twelve
feet deep. ten feet IN the air, and at
thirty feet would hardly raiSe Il small,
wave. \ d%etonator Of gun cotton II.
the open air makes a mark its own size
III steel or blows stone 80 fragments. II
the water Il torpedo itself would not
be felt at any great distance. 1t re-
quireS the resistance Of Il solid body
and would he ,lissipated in water or
mud. This diSposeS Of the wave theory
and the affecting .. the shore or boats
IN the harbor."
AZ to tie hole in the Maine tho ex-
pert III question makes the most impor-
tant statement that the Maine drew %
to 80 feet at the time of the explosion
and bad about ten feet Of water below
her bottom 10 the surface Of the harbor
mud. On the port side, where the Uni
ted States divers are now at work.
there is at present forty-Seycn feet OF
water. May not this be the hole which
Captain Fcral says could not he found
If it Is. TIE hole was more than seven
feet deep when the explosion took place.
and has been greatly filled With mud
since. As to the finding of the fish. the
United States Court of Inquiry has not
seen Il solitary fish since work hogan on
the wreck. The bodies received from The
Maine have not been touched by fishes.
Some of the fishermen in Havana teS-
tilted that there were no tish inside the
harrison. the waters being too foul for
them. Some times they come part WY
in during the day but all so not IT
night.
Further. as to the alleged discoveries
Of Spanish divers reported t. Captain
Icral, five American divers have been
working on the port side Of the wreck
I'M average of seven hours cach per day
for nearly three weeks in 4 space fifty
feet long and twenty feet wide. The
SpaniNh divers have never been inside
the wreck at all. neither have they
ever been on the port side. deyoting the
short hours which they have spent IN
der water to the star-board side for
ward and outside the hull. Recently. to
their own surprise. they brought up two
cans of ammunition for the SIX inch
guns. not exploded. They droppe th"m
back when the light Of he surface
showed they were ~uneXplodei and what
their nature was. Further Che Spanish
divers often go doWn only long enough
to wet their suits and then come up
and hide behind Il blanket on the barge.
where they sleep or rest for a couple of
hours and then 90 ashore md report
that they cannot soc anything III the
mud and water. They could not have
found the ram Of the Maine, since they
have not been in the locality Of that
part of the wreck. They nave no 10
Gated the turret with the ten inch guns.
though the spot has been pointed out
by Captain Sharp. in charge of the
wreckers where there is only sixteen
feet and should be twenty six feet.
This spot is outside the hull on the
star-board side. 1t is probable that the
turrct is there. partly buried IN the mud.
All of these facts are known by the Uni
ted States Court of Inquiry. having been
elected in the examination Of those III
a p~o>ition to know. The eNper inter
viewed by the correspondent expresses
the lRl1tl llldl inc AIdlut - w
by what is known as Il Newport torpedo
station torpedo or something of the sam"
nature. This engine of destruction $
the Joint product of the labOrs Of Com
mandcr Mclean. now in Of
the torpedo station at Newport. and
Senior Lieutenant Holman. Ordnance
officer Of tho Maine at the time of the
explosion. The Newport torpedo can be
planted from Il small boat. and the eN-
pert believes that this one WAS exploded
by being struck on the side of the Maine
forward of amid ships as she wung to
her mornings. He thinks this NOR"
likely than that wires were laid from
the shore. as the wires. If laid, for any
length Of time would sink deep in the
loose harbor mud. 1t would be singular
if it should prove that the Maine was
blown up 10y Il torpedo III the invention
Of whicll one of Der principal officers.
Lieutenant Holman. bore a notable part.
All of the above statements of fact
and SurmiSes come from authority upon
which the court depends for much of its
evidence. and is given to the c~orrcspon-
dent without reservation except as to
the the name and rank of the glver. The
expert further believes that the Destroy
ing mine was made up Of four torpedoeS
OF thirty-siX pounds each Of wet and
dry gun cotton. or III pounds in ali.
This amount would have been ample to
blow the entire forward part of the
Maine clear over to s%tarboard as I'M
doubttdly was done.
In the Judgment of the correspondent
the United States Court of Inquiry IS
fully aware of the views which the
Spanish court will proInul gate and has
also made Il careful investigation on the
same lines 50 us to be able either to re
flute or confirm the Spanish statements.
y. story is current here, but is not CON
tirmed. that Captain Sampson has been
advised from Washington that President
Mckinley is ready at any time to receive
the courts report and that Captain
Sampson replied by q long CIPHER cable
gram to the Secretary Of the Navy.
CAPTAIN Sampson is not looking well,
and Il good deal of anxiety IS felt lest he
is seriously i'll. The doctor on the
Montgomery however, thinks such fears