Connecticut western news., 1898-02-24
BLANDIN'S NARRATIVE.
A Lieutenant of the Maine Gives .
 Graphic Account of the Disaster.

Graphic Account of the Disaster.
 Key West. Feb. 2t.-I.ieutenant John J. Blandin of Baltimore. one of the Maines survivors, who is at the Key West hotel. gives a succinct account of the disaster. saying that not until now had he been able to recollect the se- auence of events in the awful ten min- utes following the explosion. Lieuten- ant Blandin was on the Trenton at the time of the terrible disaster in Samoa in March. 1889. when American and German vessels lost PA men all told. Lieutenant Blandin said:
 "I was on watch. and when the men had been plped below. I looked down the main matches and over the side of the ship. Everything was absolutely normal I walked aft to the quarter deck. behind the rear turret. as is al- lowed after o'clock in the evening. and sat down on the port side. where remained for few minutes. Then. for some reason 1 cannot explain tn myself now l moved to the starboard side and sat down there. 1 was feeling bit glum and. in fact. was So quiet that Lieutenant J. Hood came up and asked laughingly if I were asleep. I said. No: l am on watch Scarcely had l spoken when there came a dull. sullen roar. Would to God that I could blot out the sound and the scenes that followed.
 Then came a sharp explosion; some say numerous detonations. I remem- Der only one. IL seemed to me that the sound came from the port side forward. Then came a perfect rain of missiles of all descriptions. from huge pieces of e cspent to blocks uf wood. steel railings fragments of gratinss and all the debris tl, k.- ,l lrf ia hnh la in fnIn sion. l wus stiuck on the head by a piece of cement and knoo kea down. but was npt hurt and g"t to my feet in s moment.
 Captain Slgsh~e Was Cool.
 Lieutenant Hood had run to the poop. and I supposed. as followed. he was dGzed hy the shock and about to jump overheard. 1 hailed him. and he answered that he lad run to the poop to hell lower the beats. When l got there. though scarce minute could have elapsed. I had to wade in water to my knees. and almost instantly the quarterback was awash. On the poop found Captain Sigsbee. as cool as if at a ball. and soon all the officers except Jenkins and Merritt joined us. The poop was above water after the Maine settled to the bottom. Captain Sigsbee ordered the launch and gig lowered, and the officers and men. who hy this time had assembled. got the boats out and rescued number in the water. Captain Sissos-y ordered Lieutenant Commander Wainwright forward ta see the extent of the damage and if anything could be done to rescue these forward or to eN- tineush the flames. which follow ed close upon the explosion and burned fiercelN es long as there were any com bustibles above water to feed them.
 Lieutenant Commander Wainw right on his return reported the c.tal and ayyrui character of the calamity air. Captain SiFsh-e gave the last sad Or- der. Abandon sh;p.' to men Uverwhelm- ed with grief Indeed, but calm and ap- parentiy unexcited. Meanwhile four l.oats from the spanish cruiser Alfonsd NTI arrived. to be followed soon by two from the Ward line steamer City of Washington. The two boats first lowered from the City of Washington were found to he riddled with nying debris from the Maine and unfit for use Captain Sigsbee was the last man td leave his vessel and left In his own gig "I have no theories as To the cause ef the sSrleSisn. l cannot form any