The Daily Missoulian. [volume] (Missoula, Mont.) 1904-1961, 1911-04-10
TO RAISE
bATTLESH|P
MAINE
CREWS ARE NOW AT WORK Fill.
ING IN cAlSsoNs SUR.
ROUNDING THE HULL

Havana. Monday. April 3.-In the
driving of the last few interlockin.
steel piles OF the last of the 20 caissons
FORMING the enclosing wall of the huge
basin or cofferdam surrounding the
wreck or the battlcship Maine. the
flrst stage in the work of removing
the shattered remains of the warship
mas been brought 10 a successful con-
eiusion. The work was Accomplished
win rapldity and Its progress was nn-
marked by a single mishap or hitch
nntil the Introduction of the final nile.
Which failed TO interlock properly with
those on either side. This gave rise
10 rnmor that the stability of the
caisson was endangered. but examIna-
ton showed that the trouble resulted
from the pile being slightly deformed
by an accidental blow from the iron
bucket of dredge working alongside.
The extraction and replacing of three
piles served TO repair the damage.
The second stage OF the work, that
Of Filling the calssons. as fast as com
pleted. with mud clay and rock dredged
from the harbor bottom, has been go-
ing on for some time and now that
the ring is completed. Is being
pushed forward with the utmost ral-
pldity. The steam drcdge Norman
Davis. loaned 10 the government by
the Huston Tumbo Dredging company.
and the United States army dredge
Barnard are dumping hundreds Of
tons of material into the caissons.
To Soon Expose Hull.
II liz expected that the filling Of the
caissons viii be completed by the end
of April and after that the most in
terestng stage OF the work--that OF
pumping out the great basin and
leaving exposed the hull of the bat
tleshp precisely the condition she
was on the morning after her destruc-
tion 10 years ago--wlll begin.
AS guarantee OF the security Of
tho retaining wall around the basin,
1t is probable that rlprap VIII be
dumped around the exterior of the
ellipse Of caissons before the pumping
begins.
The wreck itself vii have to be
carefully watched as the water level
falls, there being some danger that.
as the support of the water and the
mud In which IL rests is Withdrawn,
the hui may careen. just as ships have
known 10 do in drydocks when insult
ficiently secured.
As soon as the wreck is fully ex-
posed the work of exploration In
search of human bodies will take
precedence. 1t Is practically certain
when the stage of this work IL fin
ished a United States man Of war viii
be ordered 10 Havana and viii lie close
to the wreck to receive the bodies as
fast as they are recovered and trans
port them 10 their final resting place.
Examination by Experts.
After that Will come am exhaustive
scrutiny of the shattered wreck by
experts who. In the opinion Of ensi-
neer officers, viii be able To, deter
mine beyond all question precisely the
character of the agency whereby the
destruction of the Maine was effected.
Probably many months will eiapse
before the final stage of the work
the extraction and disposition of the
wreck, II is known that the forward
part OF the ship, about one-third of
her length, is practically detached
from the rest and is so shattered that
1t viii have to be extracted piece
meal. When the after part has been
stripped as far "a possible of all
heavy weights, including the two tur-
rets, weighing, with their pairs Of 10
Inch guns, about 200 tons each, II is
hoped 1t Will be possible to build
bulkhead across the shattered end and
float the hulk out Of the basin to
be sunk. and in all probability hun
dreds Of fathoms deep in the straits OF
Florida,
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