Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1898-04-01
A Great Hole In the Mud.

On the fifth day Gunner's Mate Smith
was recalled. He told of three trips down
in diving dress on Feb 20. During one of
these he located the break In the keel,
where the ships back was broken by the
explosion. He there found a hole in the
bottom of the harbor about seven feet
deep and seven feet in diameter. The
mud in the bottom of this hole was harder
than elsewhere, and one did not sink over
Is inches in 1t. In this hole he found tin
about 20 by 10 inches. There was a
place in 1t with big, square hole where a
gasket had BEEN" he said, "and l sent it
up to Mr.. Powelson."
The importance of this testimony caused
1t TO be gone over and over again, but ad-
ditional questions only served to point out
more clearly that abreast of the six-inch
shell room the whole side of the ship had
disappeared from the harbor bed to water
line, and the edges of the rent were turned
inward. Further, the 10-inch magazine
had not exploded.
Commander Converse on Explosives.
Commander G. A. Converse of the navy
was called as an expert on the nature and
effect of explosives. After a long descrip-
ton of the effect of torpedoes, he was
asked what his experience was in the case
of the explosion of submarine mines; as to
what became of the mine. He replied
that they were almost invariably disrupted
and lost, blown up, and pieces of them
we're rarely found. His experience did
not allow him TO remember a case where
he saw any considerable pieces remaining
from a submarine mine or its iron case af-
ter its explosion. On one or two occa-
slons small fragments of cast-iron thrown
into boat indicated complete demolition
of the case containing the explosive.
Later on in his testimony he said that
he had never in his experience seen any
interior explosion that was possible to
produce the effect shown upon the Maine.
"Do you think that necessarily there
must have been an underwater mine to
produce these explosions?"
indications are that an under water ex-
plosion produced the conditions there"
was the reply, with the further statement
regarding the imposslbility in his opinion
of an internal explosion causing the
Names wreck.
Lieut.. Holman.
Lieut.. George Holman, who performed
the duty of navigator and ordnance officer
and was In charge of the electric plant
said: "The explosion was precisely SINH
lar TO many other submarine explosions
that have heard, except that 1t was on a
larger scale. A submarine explosion al
ways gives two shocks, one transmitted by
the water, the other, Immediately after
ward, the atmospheric shock. The lights
were put out at once. My first impression
was that the ship had been attacked. !
called TO the rest: I'VE have been tor
pedoed. Get up on deck"
The examiner referred to Holman's
large experience in matters of explosives,
and asked his impression of the whole af-
fair. He said: "My impression, not yet
verified by divers findings, is that very
heavy mine went off under the Names
bottom. The noise produced by heavy
mine would be great in itself, and adding
to the second explosion would make the
two practically one and the same explo-
sion. From the noise alone, could not
tell whether the magazines also went off.
Saw the Vessel Rise.
Louis Wertheimer, a tobacco dealer of
New York, who was a passenger on the
steamer City of Washington in Havana
harbor the night of the explosion, testified
that at the moment of the explosion he
was in the stern of the Washington and
when the explosion occurred. 81 heard a
report" said Mr.. Wertheimer, land at an
interval of anywhere from five to Is sec
onds following the first report, came a
great explosion. In the burst of flame
which followed clearly aud plainly saw
the vessel rise up In the water apparently