Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1898-02-25
ACCIDENT THEORY WANING,
Divers Find Evidence of Two Explosions
on the Battle Ship Maine.

copyright by James Gordon Bennett
1891 Special to the Baltimore Sun.
Havana, Via Key West, Fla.,) Feb
22.-The further the inquiry into the
causes which led the Maine disaster
proceeds the more remote appear tbs
chances that any evidence will he dis
covered to show that the Udited States
battle ship was destroyed by accident.
| an able to give you the investigation
made this morning by divers. Those
who penetrated into the forward part OF
the wreck found that the whole forward
end OF the ship, from point Just abatt
the forward turret, had been twisted
fifteen or twenty degrees to starboard
That part OF the vessel was a wilderness
OF debris and curled and twisted plates,
The sharp. jagged edges OF some Of the
plates added danger to the difficulties oil
the divers, getting life lines into a
tangle and fraying the cords. and. in one
instance. almost cutting through the
rubber which supplied the diver with air.
Americans in Havana have been
quietly notified by COnsul-General Lee
that it might be well to take their fami-
lies to place OF safety. These precau-
tons were taken in view of the fact that
there is strong suspicion that the yol I'M
teers and Weylertes have been inspired
to create trouble in case the Maine in
quiry proves that the catastrophe was
due TO design.
THEORY OF THE EXPLOSIONS.
One important discovery made was
the position of the cOrpses found in the
wreck. one hundred of which were float
ing about the torn compartments. A full
score of these were examined by my in
formant. All OF them were in ham
mOcks, and all had the arms curved up
ward as il they had been startled by
some sudden shock OF danger and were
in the act of reaching up for their ham
mock hooks to swing themselves on deck
when death came, This seems to con-
finn what has already been said about
there having been two eXplOsiOns-the
first startling the men into the act Of
arising from their hammocks, the other
dashing the life out OF them while they
were in that position.
before lnc tApio1iOh NiiS tSh-i"N"
magazine was located on the starboard
side forward and beneath the forward
turret. What is left Of the magazine
seems to have been driven toward the
port bow in a diagonal and upward de-
rection. The siX-inch magazine, which
had its location IN the port side OF the
ship forward, was hur ed in a direction
directly opposite to that OF the ten-inch
magazine.
One of the copper cylindrical tanks
for the six-inch magazine was found by
the divers in the wreck of that structure.
The ten-inch magazine has not been
closely examined at this writing, but
such inspection Of as was made leads
nv informant to believe that big pile
of twisted wreckage that lies about the
top of it is composed of unexplOded ten
inch Charges Ny informant believes
that the six-inch magazine was exploded
by the first shock that was felt. and that
there was another explosion in the ten
inch magazine. Though | questioned
him very closely. l could gain no idea
as to whether the curvature OF the plates
indicated that there had been an outside
explosion. He could net tell me az he
had made no examination in that direc-
ton,