The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1898-03-29

piodeu, while what others nave seen
were not exploded, u
After tho Judge advocate a iSsd Mr..
Powelson what he deducted. When qties-
toned further ns4to what he RETARDED
as the cause of the Injuries. Mr. Powell
son said.st.o on thc bottom forward where
that frame was thrown up II would
seem to me the force was communities
ted some distance. through the water.
because II was lifted up instead OF being
battered In. II was n force that was
cushioned In some way. because the
diver tells there was n bulge In plates
between The two frames, and such o
. force as that would be a cushion pres
sure. So tho plates in that part OF the
ship not having been broken In this ex-
plosion may have occurred aft, the
frames forward OF the tranyers being
weaker than they are aft. Thesship
might have been lifted up there beithis
cushion pressure from further aft. y
1T struck ME. continued Mr.. Powell
son. speaking OF the same part OF the
vessel, that the mine there could not
have been very close to those plates
that were lifted UP because. as / say.
the plates are not so much damaged or.
bent In the form or a v and raised UP y
vertical distance. II seems to me that
the mine was somewhat removed, and
The pressure came through the water
which produced that cushion sort Of a
pressure" 3iss
Ensign Powelson was recalled on
March Is and explained how he got the,
data for his sketches which played such,
an important part In the work OF the
court. He said he sent divers down at
various points along the line OF the keel
us 1t lay broken and twisted on Nthe
harbor bed. Then he got in a boat aud
located the points on the keel by a lead
line. On the wreck he established sta
tions at the main mast, the port crane.
the smoke stack and so forth and from
these bases he would get the bearing by.
angles OF his lead line as II rested on
the keel and other points OF the wreck
age under water. Thus he was able to
plat a map OF the wreck both above and
below water that was Mechanically
correct. By comparing this with the
original plans of the vessel Il was pos
slble to tell Just how much and In what
direction any, part OF the Maine had
been distorted by the explosion without
relying on under water estimates by
the divers. ~ Z
After infinitely describing the bot
tom plates with their green coating OF,
paint and the other marks by which
they were identified Powelson stated
that they must have been blown up
ithirty-eight or thirty-nine feet 10 reach
their present position.
Beside the bottom plates. Powelson
found some pipes from the bottom COM
partments lodged In the angle of the
bottom plates that protruded above the
water. The berth deck over this bot.
tom compartment was also on top Of the
wreck and twenty feet forward of the
plates. while this section OF the main
deck had disappeared. The diver who
had been working for Powelson on this
informed him he had
found the ammunition for the siS-inch
magazine pushed over to the starboard
side. ~
He also described the reports madetto
him by the divers which were after
ward directly testified to before the
board March 5. 81 sent Olsen down
the piece OF keel, the verticle keel, to
make further explorations in the re-
down to where the keel became shori-
zontal at frame 80. walked aft about
twenty-five feet and climbed over a lot
OF wreckage consisting OF plates and
bulkheads standing upright. The upper
ends ofthese plates were ragged and he
crawied over them to what he thought
was part of a boiler. He could not give
definite details. but he thought 1t was a
boiler. Atl!ttle after this he walked out
to port clear OF the ship. into the mud.
He was at this time forward OF the
break In the boat at frame Al. Returning
about ten feet he found the w-eckage.
He. examined this plate and found II
curved as II 1t were a part OF the ship.
1t pointed toward the starboard bow.
but II was SO dark he could not dis!
tinguish the color. All the edges Of the
plating were rough. The compartment
seemed to be about two and one-halfi
or three feet wide. Forward from this \
point he found a six-inch tank. 1t was
intact and was sent UP. 1t proved to be
q full tank. II