The Red Cloud chief., 1898-04-01
FINDINGS Of THE COURT
SENT TO CONGRESS.
THE BLAME NOT FIXED.
s'gsboe aud Ills Mon Fully Exoneratsd,
Gut the Responsibility for tho Disas-
ter IL Not Piaced-As Had Reeu
Anticipated, the Wreck Of tho
Maine Was Occasioned iIy
y Floating Mine.

WAsmrSGroS, March Q o-The fol-
lowing is n full text OF the report of
the court of inquiry:
United States Sh p Iowa, First Rate Key
West. Fla, Monday, March 81, 1853 After
fuil and mature consideration of all the
testimony before 1t, the court fnds as fol-
lows:
I That tho United States battle shin
Maine arrived In the harbor of Havana,
Cuba upo the twenty NTH day OF January.
1898, AMI was taken to buoy No =, in from
i've and a half to six fathoms of water, by
the regular government pilot.
The United States consul general at Ha-
vana had notified the authorities at that
pace the prcviouS evening of the intended
arrival of the Maine.
THE DISCIPLINE EXCELLENT.
.. The state of discipline on board the
Maine was excellent AMI all orders and
regulations In regard to the care and safety
OF the ship were strictly carried out
All am ammunition was slowed away in &C
cordance with instructions, and proper
care was taken whenever ammunition was
handled.
Nothing was slowed in any one of the
magazines or shell rooms which was not
permitted to be slowed there.
The magazines and she'll rooms were al
ways locked after having been opened; and
after the destruction of the Maine the
KEYS were found In their proper plasc in
the captains cabi1. everything having
been reported secure that evening at =
o'clock.
The temperatures Of the magazines and
shell rooms were taken daily and reported
The only magazine watch had an undue
amount of heat was the after ten-inch
magazine and that did not explode at the
time the Maine was DESTROYED.
Tn torpedo war heads were all slowed
In the after part OF the ship, under the
ward room. and neither caused nor partici-
pated In the destruction of the Maine.
The dry gun cotton primers and dcton-
ators were stowel in the cabin aft and re-
mote from the scene of the explosion.
SPECIAL CARE WAS TAKEN.
The waste was carefully looked after on
board the .:ainc to obviate danger. Spe-
cial orders In regard to this had been given
by the commanding oficer.
Varnishes. dryers, alcohol and other com.
bustibles of this nature were slowed on
board the main deck and could not have
had anything t. do with the destruction of
the Maine.
The medical stores we're slowed aft
under the ward room and remote from the
scene of the explosion.
No dangerous stores Of any kind we're
stored below In any OF the other store
rooms
AS TO THE COAL BUNKERS
The coal unker were inspected OF
those bunkers adjoining the forward mag
azines and shell rooms four were empty,
namely: B3, ia, B5. BIG. AIS had been In
use that day ma A16 was full of New River
coal This coal had been carefully inspect
ed before receiving 1t on board. The
bunker in which It was slowed was access
sible on three sides at all times. and the
fourth side at this time. on account of
Bunkers Bt and B6 being empty. This
bunker A16, had been n inspected that day
by the engineer officer on duty.
The fire alarms in the bunkers were In
working ordtr and there had n-ver been a
case of spontaneous combustion Of coal on
boari the Maine.
AFTER. BOILERS WITH Low PRESSURE
The two after boilers Of the ship we're In
use at the time OF the disaste :, bI. for aux
fhiry purposes only, W tn a comparatively
low pressure of steam and being te rded b.
a reliable watch. Those boil RS could not
have caused the explo ion of the shi The
four forward boilers have since bee found
b. the divers, and are In a fair condition.
On the night of the destruction of the
Ma n everything had been reported secure
for the nj hit. at = o'clo k. by reliable per-
sons, through ths proper authorities, to the
commanding offcer. At the time the Maine
was destroyed, the ship was quiet and.
therefore. least II ,blc to &C ident caused
by movem ntS from those on board.
8. The destruction of the Maine occurred
at 9:4o p m of the 18th day Of February,
1898 In the Harbor of Hav Cuba being
at that time moored to the same buoy to
which she had been taken upon her arrival.
There were two explo 'ion> of a distinctly
different character. with a We y short but
distinct interval between them, and the for
ward part of the ship was lifted to a marked
degree at the time of the frs. explosion
II FIRST EXPLOSION LIGHT.
turc OF a repor like that of a gun. while
the second explosion was more op n, pro-
longed and of gr ,at.r volume. This second
explosion was, in the opinion of the court,
caused by the partial explosion of two or
more Of the forward magazines of the
Maine.
Condition OF the wreck:
4-The evidence bearing on this being
principally obtained from divers did not
enable the court to form a definite conclu-
sion as to the con it,on of the wreck. al
though 1t was established that the after
part OF tie ship wa. pra tically intact and
sank In that coalition a very few minutes
after the destruction of the forward part
The follow, ng facts in regard to the for
ward pa I OF the ship are, however. estab'
iishcd by the testimony:
WHAT THE MAGAZINE EXPLOSIONS DID.
That portion of the port side of the pro.
tective deck which extends from about
frame 3 I. to about frame Al was blown up
aft and slightly over 10 starboard. folding
the forward part of the middle super
structure over and on top ut I lie after part
This was. in the op.n,on of the court,
caused by the partial explosion of two ,r
more OF the forward magazines of the
Maine.
8. At frame II. the outer shell of the ship
from a point eleven and one-haif feet from
the middle line of the ship and six feet
above the keel when In its normal position,
has been ( reed up So as to be now about
four feet above the surface of the water;
therefore about i%hirty-four feet above
where 1t would be had the ship sunk amin
jured. The outside bottom plating Is bent
into a reversed v shape, the after wing of
WI CHI. about fifteen feet broad and thirty
two feet In length (from frame II To frame
2a), Is doubled back upon itself against the
continuation of the same plating extending
tor ward.
At frame eighteen the vertical keel Is
broken in two. and the nat keel bent into
an angle similar TO the angle formed by the
outside bottom plating. This break Is now