The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1912-03-23

THE MAINE 4 MEMORY.

Hulk of Historic BattIeship Find
4 Everlasting Resting Place in sa,
\ phire Waters Of the GuIf-Gun
I Boom Requiem as Gallant OF
Vessel Goes Down.
\ Under lowering skies and in
heavy, tumbling sea, the old battle
ship Maine, resurrected after fourtee
\ years burial in Havana harbor. las
Saturday plunged, with colors flying
\ to her everlasting rest 500 fathom,
deep in the sapphire waters of th.
\ gulf. The sinking of the hulk wa.
\ carried out precisely as planned
marking the end of the great worI
begun more than year and a hal
ago.
\ Decks Covered With Flowers.
4 Her decks covered deep with flow
ers and palms, and a great Ameri
Il can ensign floating from the mast
where the main mast formerly stood
/ the Maine, toWed by the United
States navy tug Osceo1a, was taken
to sea on her last voyage. On deck
] 1llstood Captain John O'Brien, famous
asleas Dynamite Johnny" skipper of the
4 f1l1Dusterlng steamers Dauntless and
Three Friends, acting as the Maine
last pilot. Minute guns were fired
by the cruiser North Carolina. the
scout cruiser Birmingham and the
batteries of Cabanas fortress until
; the ships which conveyed the his
toric fighting vessel had cleared the
hafbor of Havana
AS the wreck passed the American
squadron, the crews manned the
rails, the marines presented arms.
and the scarlet-coated bandsmen on
the quarter deck played the national
anthem, while the minute guns
doomed requiem.
Silence to Last Spot.
Passing out of the harbor no sa-
lutes We're fired, the flotilla, headed
by the Maine, proceeding in silence
with flags at half mast. The course
was due north, so as to keep the
wreck head-on to the heavy sea.
At 4:35 O'Clock. three-whistle
blast from the North Carolina, fol-
lowed by one gun, announced that
the three-mlle limit had been crossed.
Ihe American cruisers took up posi-
| Ton to the eastward of the wreck,
the Cuban warships moved to the
| westward and the accompanying
vessels were grouped to the north
and south. Meanwhile the Wrecking
crew Went aboard the hulk and made
ready to carry out the arrangements
for the sinking, which consisted of
opening numerous valves in the bot
tom, operated from the deck, the
large sluice ways In the bulk-head1
and Vail the doors in the two per-
manent bulk-heads remaining in the
ship.
Guns Boom Requiem.
AT S o'clock another whistle sound
ed from the North Carolina and an
other gun was fired. The crew in
stantly threw open the valves and,
with Captain O'Brien, jumped aboard
a tug alongside, which steamed a lit
tie distance away. Then all eyes in
the great fleet were fixed on the
wreck, the crews of the warships
lining the rails. All was silence, but
for the wash of the heavy seas.
For ten minutes no change was
visible in the trim of the great, rusty, I,
battered hulk, which pitched heavily
as the huge rollers struck her. Then
she began sinking at the bulk-head
end. Soon the waves began to wash
over her deck AS she remained ,
pitching, each moment settling deep
er and deeper, the stern rose. In a :
few seconds the hulk was almost :
vee1gal, showing first the propellers :
and then the full keel. The next mo- /,
ment there was flash of blue and
white, as the great ensign flying from :
the mast struck the waves and dis !
appeared, simultaneously the decks !
were blown up by the air pressure !
and with incredible velocity the =
Maine plunged down, leaving no trace =
save flowers tossing On the surface =
Of the sea. The silence was broken !
by whistle blasts from the whole fleet,
which was the only salute. Ten min b
ltes later the Cuban flagship, Hatuey, =
fred farewell national salute to the :
squadron, to which both cruisers re- !.
'lied, then shaped their course for n =,
Norfolk, :,
Great Hulk at the Bottom. =
Twenty minutes elapsed from the y
opening Of the valves until the vessel l.
disappeared. This was exactly as n
damned. The depth where the Maine ;. =
'lunged is estimated to be not less =,
han SOC fathoms, and on account of 9 9
his and velocity of the gulf stream -, -
is believed she did not reach the n
'ottom until carried miles to the n
lorth and eastward.
A Steer with a Family Tree. -
On the demonstration train that is D D
oW touring the state, one of the in =
eresting animals exhibited is N
eyen-eighths grade Hereford steer, a .. ..
irect descendant of one of the first r
nimals immunized from Texas fever = =
4 1897, the year that the experiment ..
tations Of Louisiana, Missouri, and =
'e1as, working conjointly, discovered =
le blood inoculation method of i'm II
lunizing cattle from fever. This an :,
\