The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1905-03-29
MAINE BLOWN UP
BY HIS MACHINE
RoSseau Says He furnished the
Mysterious Mine
WAS DUE TO AN ACCIDENT
Party of Americans and Europeans
Went Over With Intention of
Blowing Up Spanish Vessel
and Made 4 Rlunder.

New York. March 2S.-That the battle
ship Maine. through an error was destroy
ed by a bomb of his own manufacture,
was the statement made by Gessler RIOS
seau in the tombs prison today. r 9sseau
was convicted yesterday of having sent
explosives to the Cunard line pier, this
city, in May 1903. He made the following
statement today:
For several years while the Cub1u pa
triots We're struggling against Weyler, l
watched the contest with deep interest
and sympathy. I decided to go to Jaeix-
sonville and do what could to assls. the
revolutionsts. l started from st. Louis
where l had been living during the early
part of 1897.
Before falling train for the sou,h, |
get togeth r the material for the con-
structon Of two exploding machines of
tremendous power, SO that they wouiu
be wound up and left In selected place
with the certainty that they would go off
with terrible destruction within a few
hours. At New Osieans l rented q loom
ard put .he boxes together, after wkie h
l went to Jacksonville. There l be-
came acqu.. iht,d with a party of Cunan
leaders VIII were plsnning f1llbusSsring
expedition. They had engaged The De-
stroyer, a sn al vs. sell to take shem to
Cuba along with a number of American
aid European Adventures who were anx-
sous to strike a blow for Cuban freedom.
Several OF the i Z ders of the pa ny al e
nen now wei, il owr, and ] will not mon
ton their LANES. although | have among
| nv paltcrs "A list Of them all
Mats the Suggestion.
81 suggested to them they use my ma
chimes to destroy Spanish war ships in
tile 1arbor of Havana and in other ports
o. the cast of the island. They uadly
seized upon the idec., and when the De-
stroyer sailed with the flibustere.s they
took my two machines with them.
1T was my intention to go along with
the party 50 as to direct the work of
sinking the Spanish ships. but they dis
suaded me, urging that | could be of
greater use in Jacksonville in preparing
other machines IL the first proved success
full
1T was planned to have some members
of the revolutionary party join the Span
ish navy so as to get the machines aboard.
If that failed 1t was decided to fasten one
of the boxes to the hull of the ship under
TIE water line, Tor nau constructed the
machine so they would be exploded under
the water.
THAT was late in the fall of 1897. The
next spring the Maine was destroyed.
"Only one of the men in the secret of
the machines ever returned to America.
I met him some time after the war with
Spain had begun.
Told of the Mistake.
Tile told me he had nothing to do with
the boxes after reaching Cuba, but had
been told a mistake had been made.
1.-THE man who had been intrusted with
the task of destroying a Spanish vessel
attempted to fasten box during the
night to one of the Alfonso warships and
Numbered into blowing up the Maine.
II was told the man, Immediately after
learning the error he made, committed
suicide"
Rosseau said he had attempted to blow
up the statue of Frederick the Great in
Washington because he did not wish to
see the statue Of a king in America. He
added he was not an anarchist or a nihil-
ist and that he had made no effort to
supply exploding machines to the Rus
SLAMS.