El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1899-02-01
BLOWING UP THE MAINE.
Captain Charles D. Sigsbee's
Story of the Explosion.
PRAISE FOB PRIVATE ANTHONY.

He Did His Whole Duty at Great
Personal Risk Captain siEsbee's
First Impression Was to Order q
Measure Against an Attack Which
He Expected Would Follow the Ex-
About an hour before the explosion !
had completed report called for by Mr..
Theodore Roosevelt, assistant secretary
Of the navy, on the advisability of con-
tinuing to place torpedo tubes on board
cruisers and battleships. then wrote a
letter home in which I struggled to
apologize for having carried in my pock-
ct for ten months letter to my wife
from one of her friends of long stand
ing. The cabin mess attendant, James
Pinckney, had brought me about an
hour before civilians thin coat, be-
cause Of the prevailing heat had TAX
en- off my blouse and was wearing this
coat for the only time during the cruise
In the pocket found the unopened and
undelivered letter. Pinckney, a light
hearted colored man, who spent much
Of his spare time in singing, playing the
banjo and dancing jigs, was for some
reason in an especially happy frame Of
mind that night. Poor fellowl He was
killed, as was also good old John r.
Bell, the colored cabin steward, who
had been in the navy 81 years.
At taps C'turn in and keep quiet"),
ten minutes after 8 O'Clock. laid down
my pen to listen to the notes of the
bugle, which were singularly beautiful
in the oppressive stiffness of the night.
The marine bugler, Newton, who was
rather given to fanciful effects, was evil
IDENTIFY doing his best. During his pauses
the echoes foated back to the ship with
singular distinctness, repeating the
strains of the bugle fully and exactly
A half hour later Newton was dead.
Twas inclosing my letter in its envel-
ope when the explosion came. The i'm
preston made on different people on
board the Maine varied somewhat. To
me in my position, well aft and within
the superstruoture, it was a bursting,
rending and crashing sound or roar of
immense volume. largely metallic in
character. It was followed by success
sion of heavy, ominous, metallic sounds,
probably caused by the overturning of
the central superstructure and by fall
lurching motion of the vessel, list to
port and movement of subsistence
The electric lights, of which there were
eight in the cabin where I was sitting,
went out. Then there were intense
blaokness and smoke.
The situation could not be mistaken.
The Maine was blown up and sinking.
For a moment the instinct of self pres
ervation took charge of me, but this was
Immediately dominated by the habit of
command. I went up the inclined deck
into the starboard cabin, toward the
starboard air ports, which were relieved
somewhat against the background of
the sky. The sashes were out and the
evenings were large. My first intention
was an escape through an air port, but
this was abandoned in favor of the more
dignified way of making an exit through
the passageway leading forward through
the superstructure. l CROPPED my way
through the cabin into the passage and
along the passage to the outer door.
The passage turned to the right near the
forward part of the superstructure.
When the turn was reached, some
one ran into me violently. 1t was Pri-
vate William Anthony, the orderly at
the cabin door. He said something apol-
ogetic and reported that the ship had
been blown up and was sinking. He
was directed to go out on the quarter
deck, and followed him. Anthony has
been pictured as making an exceedingly
formal salute on that occasion. The
dramatic effect Of a salute cannot add
to his beroism. If he had made a sa-
Lutte, it could not have been seen in the
blackness of that compartment. An
thony did his whole duty, at great per-
sonal risk, at q time when be might
have evaded the danger without ques-
tion, and deserved all the commenda-
ton that he received for his act. He
hung near me with unfagging zeal and
that night until the ship
was abandoned.
I stood for moment on the etarboard
side of the main deck, forward of the
looking toward the i'm
mense dark mass that doomed up amid
ships, but could see nothing distinctly
There remained for a few seconds in
asked Anthony for the exact time. He
replied, "The explosion took place at
9 :4O, SIR" 1t was soon necessary to re.
tire from the main deck, for that part
of the ship was sinking rapidly. then
went up on the poop deck. By this time
Lieutenant Commander Wainwright
and others were near me- Everybody
was impressed by the solemnity of the
but there was no excitement
apparent Perfect discipline prevailed.
The question has been asked many
times if believed then that the Maine
was blown up from the outside. My
answer to this has been that my first
order on reaching the deck was to post
sentries ahout the shin 7 knew that the