The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1898-02-23
THE MAINE BLOWN UP.
A TERRlRlE DISASTER in TIE Has
8OR OF HAVANA.
ore OF the Finest vesssls in tie United
States Navy Destroyed, and Many OF Her

was blown up ana Cotally oe-
stroyed in the harbor OF Havana en-
Tuesday night week ago. The ex'
plosion occurred urdar the mems
quarters in the forward part Of the
ship, and the desth list is two hun
dred snd sixty out Of crew of about
three hundred and fifty. Most Of the
men were asleep when the explosion
took place, which accounts in some
measure for the fearful loss Of life.
An hour after the explosion the bow
of the once great hattleship was under
wster snd only 8 part Of her stern
could be seen. TIE explosion which
shook the city of Havana from one
end to the other. created the widest
excitement. All the electric lights
were put out by the shcck. Fire en-,
gines rushed madly from one direction
to another, and no one knew for Ger
tain from which direction the expIo
sion came. The cause Of the disaster
is unknown, but is now being investl,
gated by board Of naval officers
Consul General Lee, who was at the
Hotel Inglaterra, recaived a telephone
message from General Blanco telling
him that the Maine had been blown
up. General Lee fastened to the pal
ace, where the cabinet quickly assem-
oled and orders were given the otf-
GERS and crew of the Spanish battleship
Alphonso XIII, to aid in the rescue of
the Names crew. Ali the officers
were saved except jenkins and Merritt,
who are missing.
One officer, whose name could not
be learned said of the explosion:
81 was in my bunk. When got
on deck 6re had started forward.
There was good strong breezs. The
call for all hands on deck was prompt
" obsyed and the men and officers
were perfectly cool. All possible ef-
forts were made to check the fire, but
without avail. The flames spread fast
and several explo sions occurred. Mag
sZines were bust open and explosives
were thrown overheard. In half an
hour it was APPARENT that nothing could
save the ship"
A Spanish naval officer said that
Captain Sigsbee was the last man to
abandon the sinking ship and that he
remained alongside the wreck IS long
as it was possible to do anything IN
the work Of rescue.
The disaster is remarkable, in that
only two officers lost their lives and
these were of junior grades. They
were Lieutenant Friend W Jenkins
and Assistant Engineer Darwin +.
Merritt. The former was unmarried,
but leaves 8 mother and sister. The
latter, it is thought, also was unmar
ried, but the department was unao
Yised concerning his family.
James Rowe, the ships cook, was tce
least injured OF any that were rescued.
When asked how it happened, ne
said:
"I don't know. I turned in my
hammock St S o'clock, and heard
three bells strike. 7 don't remember
anything more till l felt myself turn
ing Overland over, and falling heavily
upon the deck through 8 mass OF
smoke. ! got on my feet and worked
nv way on deck. When I got there
the superstructure deck was dipping
under water, and I jumped overheard
to keep from being drawn into the
suction. I was picked up by boat
from the Spanish man-ofwar. -Four
more were picked up by the same
boat. They were Daniel Cronin, a
landsman; Charles Bergman, boat
swain; Albert John, seaman, and
Bloomer. g landsman.
The following cable dispstch was
received from Consul General Lee by
the State Department st Washington
Wednesday night:
s.Hsvana, Feb. 16.-Pfofound scr
row expressed by government and
municipal authorities, consuls OF for
eign nations, organized bodies OF sIl
sorts and citizens generally.
Flags st half mast On governor
generals palace, on shipping IN har,
Dor and in city.
Business suspended and theatres
closed.
ssDead number about $50. Officers
quarters being in the rear and sea
mems forward, where explosion took
place, accounts for greater proportion
al loss of sailors.
'sFunerel tomorrow at 8 Q. N. Off
GERS Merritt and Jenkins still missing.
Suppose you ask that naval court
of in ouiry be held to ascertain cause
OF explosion.
Hope our people will repress ex
citement and calmly await decision.
(Sicned) LEE"
TIE ILL FATED SHIP.
The Maine was looked upon as
warship that would give 8 good &C
count of herself in snv situation. She
was built at the New York navy yard
and since entering into active service,
on September II, 1895, has been con-
tinuously st work. She was also
steel armored batlleship and was
equipped with two 10-inch barbetis
turrets. She was SIS feet long oy 5S
feet beam and had displacement OF
{, 6S2 tons. Her draft was 81 feet
inches, which allowed her 10 enter
Hayans harbor without trouble. She
was equipped with twin screw Ver!lcai
triple expansion engines, which drove
her at the raie OF l7:45 knots an hour,
and she was thus able to make the
distance between Key West and Ha-
vans in four hours. She had maxi
mum coal capacity Of S54 tons. Her
sides were protected by II inch, her
turrets by inch and her barcetis BY
70 and 10 inch armor. She was arm
ed with four 10 inch guns in turretS,
six inch breech loading rifles. seven
6-pounders, eight 1-pounders and four
Gatlings. Tne Maine cost $3, coo, Geo
in round figures.
The following is list Of the officers
Of the Maine, with their addresses as
far as obtainable at the navy depart
ment:
Captain Charles D. Sigsbee, Wash
iueton.
Lieutenant Commander Richard
Wainwright, Washington.
I;n,,tnnant q z Enlrnon Cnl;fnr