The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1898-03-29

| around the American consulate.
!
| ers. They had once thought they had such
a fire, but it WAS trom leak in an ex-
| haust pipe from the ice machine.
Chaplain Chidwck OF the Maine WAS In
! his room on board the night o. the occur
renee. lie said: IL heard a loud report
| aid everything az once became dark. The
! lights Vent cut and there was crashing
| sound OF things falling. | rushed oil deck
and saw the captain giving his orders.
| After trying to cheer IN the men who were
! crying out in the water for help, was or
| dered by Lieutenant Ju..n 10 get into a
I boat, which did
| Louis Wortheimer, tobacco dealer OF
| New York, who was a passenger on the
| steamer City of Washington, IN Havana
| harbor the night Of the blowing up OF the
| Maine, aud who. at the moment OF the eX-
| plosion was IN the stern of the Washing
| ton looking directly at the batteshtp. SAID:
| II heard a report and at an interval OF
| about fifteen seconds came a second eN-
| plosion.
| Sgmond Rothschild. one of the passen-
! gers on the City of Washington was an
! eyewitness to the explosion. In company
with Mr.. Wortheimer he was on board the
| City Of Washington on the night of Feb
ruary Is as she sailed into Havana harbor.
He was on the stern of the ship. which
was astern and ON the port side of tho
| Maine. The vessels We're about 100 yards
/ apart. He said he was naturally inter-
! osted in the Maine, and had taken POSI-
| tion where he could get good look az her.
! Just as he had taken his eyes off her TO
move his chair there was a sound like a
| cannon shot in the darkness He tmme-
| diately looked towards the Maine He saw
/ the forward end of the vessel rise, he
thought, couple of feet out of the water.
| An instant later came q second distinct
| explosion. There seemed to burst from
| the interior of the vessel forward a dun
| flame, and the air was instantly filled with
! flying debris. The vessel launched back
| in the water after the force OF the first
defamation that had lifted her bow. and
quickly began to sink forward. In less
than a minute her bow had disappeared
| There was no doubt about the two explo-
sions, as about twenty seconds interven d
between them The boats on the Alfonso
XIII promptly went to the assistance OF
| the Maine. 81
| Captain Frank Stevens of the City Of
! Washington testified he was standing
amidships of his ship where he could look
| towards the Maine when she blew up. He
heard dull. muffed explosion and com
motion as though 1t was under the water.
! followed Immediately by terrific expio-
sion lighting up the sky and filling the
air with missiles. which fell all around
him. He felt trembling of his shin at
the last explosion on the Maine. The-e
was n decided interval between the first
and second explosion. He was not stand
ing where he could see the Maine lift
Naval Constructor j. b. Hoover appear
| ed as n witness March g. His testimony
was very technical. describing the vario
parts of the ship by number Of frame and
section Summed up II was that the boz
fo,r off 6r ,1nto If oil .
of the explosion, the decks over them and
the protected deck had been turned over
and forward revolving through an angle
| of 90 degrees. The siX-inch magazine was
just below this deck, as it originally stood
| Commander G. A. Converse of the navy
| summoned as witness testified he had
made study OF. the nature and effects OF
| explosives. After n long description OF
| the effect Of the torpedoes lie was asked
! what his experience was In the case Of the
explosion OF a submarine mine, He cx-
| planned that they were almost invariably
ruptured aud lost.
| When asked IL a submarine mine ex
! ploded under the bottom of ship and
/ containing enough explosive TO completely
| destroy that part of the shin would be
/ similarly demolished, he replied that the
! violent explosive would cut hole in the
ship. blowing cut the part that was cut
| In small fragments, Being shown sketches
81 tts forward magazines and asked II the
| explosion or partial explosion would leave
! the bottom OF the Maine in the condition
! Il was shown in the sketch. he stated that
! the distortion Of the keel OF the Maine was
| TOO far forward and too remote from the
magazines 10 have been caused by their
| expicsicr. He w9s II the opinion that the
rending Of the plates on the bottom Of the
| Mime uld be produced by the explosion
| Of a submarine mine containing large
amount of the lower explosive gunpowder
! a. similar not In contact with the ship.
but scme distance below IT, perhaps on the
tottcm.
Continuing he said he never in his ex-
rer,erce saw any interior explosion that
was POSSIBLE to produce the effect on the
Maine.
40 ynu think II was necessary 10 have
been under water 10 have produced that ef-
feet on the Maine?'
al can see no other way" was the repiy.
Amer a statement regarding the impossi-
bility In his opinion Of IN internal expio-
SIGN having caused tho Maine wreck, his
tte.irnonv wa~ closed
I.ieptenanf Commander WAINWRIGHT tes-
lifted that the regulations IN regard 20 H1
palpis and inflammabler and ell Other
precautions were strictly carried out OF
board ship.
Every possible care was taken TO avoid
accident. All visitors were scrutinized be-
fore being allowed TO come on board shlD