Saint Mary's beacon., 1911-04-13
From the Baltimore Sun.1

from TIE Baltimore Sun.
Havana. April 9-In the driving
OF the last few interlocking steel
piles Of the last of the 20 csissons
forming the inclosing wall OF the
huge basin. or cofferdan, surround
ing the wreck Of the Maine, the first
stage in the great work ofexposing,
and ultimately removing. the shat
tered remains OF the battleship sunk
in the hsrbor of Havana on TIE night
OF February Is. 1893. has just been
brought TO a successful conclusion.
FILLING THE BIG CAIssoN.
The second stage of the work, that
of filing the caissons as fast as they
n ~ere completed. with mud, clay and
rock dredged from the harbor bot
tom. has been going on for some
time as fast as circumstances would
permit. and now that the ring OF
caissons is completed the project is
beng pushed for Ward with the ut.
most rapidity. It is expected that
the filing Of the caissons will be
completed by the end OF April, and
after that the second and most in
teresting stage of the work-that of
pumping out the great basin and
leaving exposed the hull OF the bat
tleship in precisely the condition
she was on the morning after her
destruction, 13 years sgo--will be
proceeded with. First however.
q heavy timber platform will be
erected on top of the caissons en-.
circling the basin to serve as astage
Of operations, and foundation for
cranes and other apparatus for use
when the work of disman tling the
wreck is begun. It will also serve
as temporary resting place for the
dead OF the Maine as fast as the re-
mains are recovered.
SEARCH FoR HUMAN REMAINS.
As soon as the wreck is fully ex-
posed the work OF exploration In
search OF human remains will take
precedence ofevery other considera.
tion. Ii is practically certain that
when this stage of the work is reach.
ed United States man.of war will
be ordered to Havana and will lie
close 10 the wreck to receive the
bodies as fast as they are recovered
and transport them to their final
resting place.
After that will come an exhaus.
live scrutiny OF the shattered wreck |
o. experts. who, in the opinion of |
engineer officers. will be able to de-
'ermine beyond ell future question
precisely the character OF the agency |
whereby the destruction OF the
Maine was effected.
FINAL STAGE Or TIE WoRK.
frooaoly many months will elapse
before the final stage of the work.
be extraction and disposition of the
be begun. So far the
'lans are merely tentative, svery.
hing depending on what the wreck
'roves to be. Il is known that tbe
onward part Of the ship, about one.
bird OF her length. is practically
detached from the rest, and in 10
battered that it will have to be ex.
rscted piecemeal. When the after
art has been stripped as far az
ossiole OF all heavy weights, in.
luding the two turrets, weighing.
18th their pairs OF 1O-inch guns.
bout 200 tons each. it Is hoped that
will be possible to build o bulk.
cad across the shattered end, fioas
he bulk out Of the basin. to be sunk
All probability hundreds Of fathoms ,
eep in the straits Of Florida.
Finally will come the extraction
the thousands of steel piles com.
oslng the 20 caissons and the dred.
ng OF the material with which
icy were filed. The work may NOT
completed before the end OF
% year.