The Monmouth inquirer., 1898-03-31

dents. as if the plating had been pulged
in between the frame from outside IN.
The court asked the size Of the two
dents. Mr.. Powelson replied they were
about 21a feet long and bulged in about
six inches.
Continuing, witness said the divers
up to the night before he was then on
the stand had not been on the OUTSIDE
of the ship. The mud was too deep LOT
them to walk on the bottom.
What is the condition Of the star
board turret 2" witness was asked.
''To my knowledge it has not been
found, sir" was the reply.
He understood something had been
found under the place where the turret
formerly was, but its exact character
had not been determined.
What impression is produced upon
your mind by the reports so far as you
have quoted them?" Ensign Powelson
was asked.
From reports alone or from the ap-
pearance of the wreck?"
Either from such reports or from
the conditions which you believe to ex-
ist."
.'The impression produced upon me-"
replied the witness, sis that an explo-
sion took place well to port of the mid
ship line and at point in the length
about opposite the coming tower"
Explosion on the Port Side.
Referring to his notes made of things
on the Maine, Ensign Powelson stated
that the arc of the engine room tele-
graph and the shaft of the steering
gear coming down through the armored
tube was bent from port to starboard.
The port side of the protective deck
was covered with a greasy deposit, the
starboard side being comparatively free
from it,
The forward smoke pipe hatch be-
tween the main and superstructure
decks did not show signs of the internal
pressure of gases.
On the main deck forward of the con-
ming. tower where the fore and after
angle bulb beam was located, the plank
in some way, because the diver tells me
/ that there was bulge in plates be-
tween the two frames, and such force
as that would be cushion pressure.
$50 the plates in that part of the ship
not having been broken in, this explo-
sion may have occurred aft and the
frames forward of the transverse armor
being weaker than they are aft, the
ship might have been lifted up there by
this cushion pressure from further aft
1T struck me" continued Mr.. Powell
son, Speaking Of the same part of the
vessel, chat the mine there could not
have been very close to those plates
that lifted up, because as | say the
plates are not so much damaged or bent
in form of a v and raised up vertical
( distance.
1T seems to me that the mine was
somewhat removed and the pressure
came through the water which produced
that cushion sort of pressure"
Ensign Powelson further testified: e
sent Olsen down the piece Of keel, the
vertical keel, to make further explora.
tions in the region of the 10-inch mag.
azine. He went down to where ths
keel became horizontal at frame %
walked aft about rs feet and climbed
ever lot of wreckage consisting oi
plates and bulkheads standing upright
The upper ends of these plates were
ragged, and he crawled over them tt
what he thought was part of a boiler
He could not give definite details, but
he thought it was boiler. A little afte,
this he walked out to port, clear of the
ship into the mud. He was at this
time forward of the break of the shir
at frame Il. Returning about 10 feet
in he found wreckage He examined
the plate and found it curved as if il
were part of the ship. It pointed to.
ward the starboard bow, but 1t was sc
dark he could not distinguish the color
All the edges of the plating We're rough
The compartment seemed to be about
2ik. or 8 feet wide. Forward from this
point he found a 6-inch tank. 1t was
intact and was sent up. 1t proved te
be full tank. He found lot of broker
tanks split up on the seams. and ir
one tank, the cover of which had holes
in it, he found lot of mud, which was
| brought up and which looked like dis.
solved powder There was any quantit,
of similar mud in the same place. The
mud around the tanks was black that
of the harbor is gray"
Gunner Smiths Testimony.
Gunner's Mate Smith described hi.
first descent, which landed him in thu
10-inch shellroom. The shells were ther.
in good order, most of them nose UP
| but some toppled over by the shock OF
the explosion. which had wrecked tn,
woodwork of the magazine and blowr
the aft bulkhead over from port to star.
board. He crawled over this bulkheae
and down behind it found a 10-incf
powder tank bent and dented but mo-
exploded. It was intact, with powder
and cartridge bags
On his next descent he went cowr
from the port crane, following the sids
of the snip down Till he struck plates
that were blown from port to starboard
inboard.
He followed these plates down till he
came to the 6-inches in the sings USED
! for sending them out Of the shellroom
They were lying with their noses point
ing to starboard. The forward part o'