The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1903-04-23

American officer, n few nrinSfes. nefof,
the beginning of the proceedings, whethel
the explosion could have been caused b!
a torpedo, Notwithstanding the .einphati,
expressions of public opinion, which i'm
nrediately rejected this superstition Il:
absurd. and which was corroborated by
arguments easily understood by every
naval officer. l thought it expedient t.
direct the investigation along this line, OF
account of the facility of obtaining suffi
cient data to show the external actor
during the moments following submarin,
explosions, which are so peculiar in theil
character, and so well known to all who
have witnessed them and studied them il
their effects.
The North American man. of-wal
Maine, of 6,6S2 tons displacement, mad,
of steel, 31S feet in length. 81 feet bean
and % feet in depth, having double en-
gines of 9.293 indicated horsepower
launched in New York in 1890, entered
this port on the 9th of January of thi.
year, and anchored at buoy No. 4 (see the
part of the plan at folio 10D. The
undersigned has heard unof!icialIy the
reason of the arrival and stay in these
waters of the irOnclad in question. Fol
this it was sufficient to call to the mind
the royal order of Aug. II. 1889. which
permits in ordinary times of peace the
entrance of foreign squadrons and single
vessels into our ports without any other
restrictions than those prescribed by the
ordinances Of the navy, and that OF
obedience to the police regulations estab.
lished in those ports.
Taking the said buoy No. locally
No. 1. but No. ) on Chart 307 of the
United States photographic ofIicel as the
center. the depth of the bay varies. with
in radius of 100 meters. from 80 to &c
feet. with bottom of loose mud. The
Maine. when she came in. drew % feet,
and the depth of water at the place where
she sunk is 81 feet at the bow and 80
feet at the stern.
ION the night of the sad occurrence the
Spanish cruiser AlphOnso MI was an
chored mt buoy No 3. and the naval steam
transport Lagaspi at No. =. distant 140
and 240 meters, respectively, from the
said buoy No. 4.
AT the moment of the explosion there
was no wind. and the water was very
smooth, as it usually is in this bay ut that
hour.
1.-The rise of the tide in the harbor is
one and half feet and the high tide on
that day was at p. m.
Before proceeding to the consideration
of other data | think it well to recall to
your EXcellency's enlightened mind the
phenomena which accompany the eXplo-
sion OF submarine mine, meaning there
by what is known under the generic term
of torpedo. and leaving aside all that can
apply exclusively to n subterranean mine,
Oh account of the utter impossibility that
such mine could have been prepared
without batteries Ielementosl, or even
with batteries, without the knowledge of
the authorities and of the public generally.
'T'he ignition of the torpedo must nee
esSarily have been produced either by col
iision or by electrical discharge; and as the
state of the sea and wind did not allow of
any motion in the vessel, the hypothesis of Il
collision at that moment must be rejected,
and we must consider that of an electric
current sent by a cable wirel from a
station. but no traces or signs of any
wire or station have been discovered.
The phenomena observed in submarine
explosions are as follows: When the
ignition takes place, the explosive sub
stance is converted into a gaseous one
and forms bubble, which. owing to its
ascensional force, tends usually to rise to
the surface in a vertical line. producing Il
defamation more or less loud in proportion
to the quantity of explosive material en-
ployed and the depth at which it is placed.
and accompanied by column of water,
the hight of which is likewise in proper
ton to the two circumstances mentioned.
AT the same, time a certain quaking
ttrepidacionl is noticed on the shore,
which varies directly in proportion to the
amount of explosive matter used, its
greater immersion. and its nearness to the
bottom: apd, besides, a very peculiar
shock is observed against the sides of
vessels, which varies according to the dis
lance, and which, owing to the incom-
pressibility of the water. does not, accord
ing to experiments. diminish in inverse
proportion to the square of the distance.
Another important phenomena, to
which great weight should be attached in
this case. Oh account of the peculiar
nature of the harbor, is the presence of
dead fish on the surface [of the waterl
usually caused by the rupture of the
natatory bladder.
1.-The action of torpedoes on vessels is
very variable, and depends, besides. on the
resistance of the hull which it strikes, the
quantity of the explosive matter, and the
distance.
NO known case has yet been recorded
where the explosion of torpedo against
the side of vessel has caused the eX-
plosion of the magazines.
As is seen by the plans diagramsl
there was nothing but powder and shell in
the forward magazines of the Maine.
1T appears from the examination of
witnesses:
Don Julio Peres Perera, naval Lieu
tenant of the first class, states in his depo-
sitiOn that he was in his sheers-house
casa de la ,machina ], about 400 yards
from the said vessel, when. about 9:35
p. m, he saw an enormous blaze of fire
arise toward the zenith and to n great
hight. followed by terrible explosion.
He adds that almost the whole of the iron
clad was covered by thick smoke, that
the illumination was almost instantaneous
distinguished. and that an infinite num-
Der of colored lights passed away into
space. The moment after the explosion
all was dark until, a little later. the awful
scene was illuminated by the brightness of
the fire. which was certainly caused by
the explosion.
1.-The witness says that other explosions.
apparently of shell, followed, which con-
tinued until = o'clock in the morning, at
which hour the fire began to diminish.
THE witness saw the bow sink n few
minutes after the explosion, and he asserts
that there was no column of water, nor
the least movement in the water mar
and that there was no shaking of the land
on shore.
The other dispositions of witnesses con-
firm the description of the explosion given
by this officer, and they all agree that they
noticed no movement in the water and
that they felt no shock of the water, al
though some of them We're on board ves-