The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1905-03-29
CUBANS BLEW UP
THE BATTLESHIP
Maine Mistaken For One of the Span
ish Vessels.
GESSLER ROSSEAU'S STORY
MYSTERY OF HAVANA HORROR
MAY BE SOLVED.

Al EW YORK, March 2S-That the
~ battleship Maine through an error.
was destroyed by a. bomb of his
manufacture. was the statement made
by Gesslcr Tiosseau in the Tombs prison
today Rousseau was convicted yester-
day OF having sent explosives to the
Cunard line pier this city, in May, 1908.
lie made the following statement to-
day.
For several years while the Cuban
patriots were struggling against Wey-
lcr. I watched the contest with deep in
forest and sympathy. ] decided Ia 20
10 Jacksonville and do what / could to
assist the rcVolutiouists- L started
from ST Louis. where J had been living
during the early part of 1897
Made Two Deadly Machines.
Before taking a train for the south
] got together the material for the con-
EtUctiou of two exploding machines OF
tremendous power, SO arranged that
fhcy could be wound UD and left i'm -
selected place, with the certainty that
they would go off with terrible dcstrUc-
1iou with "a few hours.
AT New Orleans l rented a room
aud put the boxes together, after
which i went on to Jacksonville. There
] became acquainted with n party of
Cuban leaders. who were planning a
1libustcTing expedition They had en-
gagged the Destroyer. n small vessel. to
take them To Cuba along with a num-
bcr of American and European adveu-
tUrcrs who were anxious to strike
blow for Cuban freedom.
Has List of Names.
several or the leaders OF the party
are men NOW we'll known, and I will
not mention their names, although [
have among my papers a list OF them
Bill
Il suggested TO them that they use
my machines TO destroy Spanish war
ships IN the harbor OF Havana and i'm
other ports on the coast of the island
They readily seized upon the idea, and
when the Destroyer sailed with the fill
bUSterCrs they took my two machines
win them
1T was my intention to Eo along
with the party so AS to direct the work
or sinking the Spanish ships, but they
diSSuadcd me. urging that 7 could be of
greater use in Jacksonville preparing
other machines If the first proved sue
CcsstuL
Machines Sent to Cuba.
ct was planned to have some mem
bers or the revolutionary party Join
the Spanish navy so as to get the ma
chimes aboard IT that failed. IT, was
decided 60 fasten ono of tho boxes 10
q.
for I had fixed my machines 50 that
fhcy could be exploded under tho
water.
That was late I'm the fan of 1897. The
next spring the Maine was destroyed.
only one of the men i'm the secret
Of the machines ever returned to- Amer
81. I saw him some time after the
war with Spain had begun.
Fatal Mistake Was Made.
tic told me he had nothing to do
with the boxes after reaching cuba,
but had been told a mistake had been
made
The man who had been entrusted
with the task Of destroying a Spanish
vessel attempted to fasteu "A box dur
5uE the night TO one of AIfouso's war
ships. and Numbered into blowing up
The Maine.
81 was told that the man. immc-
6iatcly after learning Of the error he
had made. committed suicide
~ toSSeau said ne had attempted to
blow up the statue Of Frederick the
Great i'm Washington because he did
not wish 10 see the statue of "a king
g. America. He added that he was not
AN anarchist or a nihi'iSt. and that ne
had made no effort to supply exploding
suachiucs to the Russians.