The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-03-29
CAPTAIN sIGsBEE's STORY.
Commander of the Maine Describes
the Ships Destruction.

the Ships Destruction.
Captain Sigsbee in testifying before
the court of inquiry, said that he as
\ summed command of the Maine on April
! 10 1897. and that his ship arrived in the
harbOr of Havana the last time on Jan.
"A. 1898 The authorities at Havana
! knew of the Names coming, Consul
! General Lee having informed the au-
thorities, according to official custom.
| After he took on an official pilot sent
bv the captain of the port Of Havana,
| the shin was berthed in the man-of-
war anchorage off the Machina, or the
! Shears, and, according to his under
| standing. it was one OF the regular
| buoys of the place. He then stated
that he had been in Havana in 1872
and again in 1898.
He could not state whether the
Maine was placed in the usual berth
! for men-of-war, but said that he had
| heard remarks since the explosion,
using Captain Stevens temporarily in
command of the Ward line steamer
| City of Washington, as authority for
! the statement, that he had never
! known in all his experience, which
covered visits to Havana for nve or six
years. a man-of-war TO be anchored
! at that buoy; that he had rarely known
merchant vessels to be anchored there.
and that it was the least used buoy
| in the harbor.
In describing the surroundings when
first moored to this buoy. Captain
Sigsbee stated that the Spanish man
Of-war Alfonso XIII was anchored in
the position now occupied by the Fern,
about 25O yards to the northwest and
westward of the Maine. The German
ship Griesenau was anchored at the
berth now occupied by the Spanish
man-of-war lie Caspo, which is about
400 yards about due north from the
Maine He then located the German
man-of-war Charlotte. which came
into the harbor a day or two later,
which was anchored to the southwark
Of the Names berth about 400 or 500
yards.
NIGHT OF THE EXPLOSION.
In describing the surroundings at
the time of the explosion, Captain
Sigsbee stated that the night was
calm and still. The Alfonso XIII was
at the same berth. The small Spanish
dispatch boat LIE Caspo had come out
the day before and taken the berth
occupied by the German man-of-war
Griesenau which had left. The steam
er City of Washington was anchored
about 200 yards to the south and east
of the Names stern, slightly on the
port quarter.
The Maine coaled at Key West. taxi
ing on about $50 tons. the coal being
regularly inspected and taken from the
government coal pile. This coal was
placed generally in the forward bunk
ers. No report was received from the
chief engineers that any. coal had been
too long in the bunkers, and the fire
alarms in the bunkers were sensitive.
The regulations regarding infiamma-
bles and paints on board. Captain Sigs-
bee testified. We're strictly carried out
in regard to storage. and that the
waste also was subject to the same
careful disposition. AS to the situation
of the paint room, he fixed il as in the
eyes of the ship" just below the berth
deck. the extreme forward compart-
ment. The inflammables were stored
in chests. according to the regulations. |
and when infammables were in excess
of chest capacity, they were allowed
to be kept in the bath room Of the
admiralis cabin.
Regarding the electric plant of the