The pioneer press., February 24, 1898, Image 3

About The pioneer press. (Miller, Hand County, S.D.) 1893-190?

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LOSS OF THE MAINE
( MTKI» STATES nATTI-ESHll*
II 1.0" A I I* IX HAVAXA
IIAKIIon.
4-
>m
fw» Ho nil red ami Fifty-Eight «f
Inch' Siiiii'm Brave Sailor I.imlm
a Terrible Death—Caune of
the
(fr} , mill Only Investigation l»y n
4'ourt of Inquiry I nn Delerniine
4'onllletlng Thearlea Are Ad
vanced anil Suspicion of Treach
<ry Hinted at—Spanish Authori
ties EipreM Regret.
Havana, Feb. 17. —Tin* I’nlted States
cruiser Maine was blown up In Hav
ana liarlnir, lndween 9 and 10 o’clock
Tuesday night. Of the crew of .T»4
officers’ blue-jackets mil marines, only
jiU have Ihm'D a(*4*oll iited for. 'i'ltis
means that lio't iwrlshetl in tin* fright
ful explosion. which ton* the stout bat
tleship to sltreds and shook the city of
Havana from end to end. Many of tin*
survivors are suffering from painful
wounds.
Wild excitement and still wilder ru
nors tallowed the concussion of the ter
tilde Mast. The explosion shattered
windows and electric lights and threw
the city into a tumult of excitement,
such as it has rarely witnessed beferc.
Crowds that had gathered in public
plan's dispersed in quiet order and
other kinds gathered, to follow a mo
ment later at the hotels some leader
who knew no more where he was going
. to
tour
uni
i re
:hey
*hnn they. Fire engines cam** bound
'UK down the narrow streets from no
" n ** know where and going no man
»aew whoro. All the populace turned
and tin* throngs gradually trended
toward the water front, but for half an
u;)ur or more no one in the midst of
tlwt jostling, pushing. half-crazed
t'rowd know aught of
i
Thf tnfnl Trust'd)
tfat lay just beyond. The stre*ts Itc
<amo congested. and ono had a hard
task to force his way through. The re
{J )l t was first that tho arsenal liad
•own uj>, and then it was said that tho
Spanish man-of-war hail torpedoed tho
Maine. And this was whilo tho nion of
*"** Alfonso XII. won* struggling in
tin* work of rosono. The Ward Lino
stoainor (’ity of Washington and tho
cruiser won* tho first to roaoh tin*
i *' v ne. and tholr orews did all that
Hiree bonis front tho Maine won* there
*n fa t, there won* more boats to
P''k up swimmers than there were
•*’Ur.n*ers to Ih* ploked up. Some of
J “ survivors wen* brought to the land
' p - plaee there and turned over to the
uroti eti, who carried the wou tided on
, rcteliers to hospitals. Others were
“°u»»it alongside the Pity of Wash nff
"n. and still others were earrled on
b 'li lr, l Hie Alfonso XII.
Hu* wrei'k took tire and burned the
night through. When broke the
lerun, pitying dawn, dark wreaths of
jnioko were iII eurling upward from
e shapeless mass. At sunrise alt
iri ill'* harbor were at half-mast.
riif Xt-rra In Wnaliiiiulon.
Hashington. Feb. 17.—The appalling
. !J r ‘‘ of the disaster and the grin ity
ne siiuat.on that would arise should
'Miration give a 1m sis for the undor
. nt °i suspieion of treaehery and
II piny that ran through all minds.
'* a Sf >ln*ring efTeet upon public men
•dl shades of politieai opinion. Fill*
cri expressed their opinions with
T ,: r V. •'•pproached for Inter
mnni'f 1 rvor Vwhere there was ade
tail-/" n I ,,v <*«tlKrttlon and full de
- is. in the light of which lhe horror
justly ho Viewed.
mar • IV i ,,,y undoubtedly sum-
Jurii'v* V * ? *‘ n *' n, l opinion of the ma
in ,„'*!! i th V navnl sports in tlnding it
of ti. * '* now b> state tie* cause
nri> n '' ,,N inietlon of the Maine. There
ttoHt number of theories, but
Stakes't/ U m ,m ‘ a <*hara«*ter that
by « V i,sv *° P rov ‘* or upset them
Bet*reu.!!s investigation by a diver,
•terw * y •'ong has taken immediate
taW__ '* this investigation. He
to IrmTi'l A<lmlrnl Hlrurd at Key West
PWn* a board of nnval officers to
ihSJnnM "vt; °T loy
& i 1": «*••«« i.-« t i. ?>r w t Jlli* m,vv
♦i. ' l;,n in tin* ease oV
of*”ii'ivmi' Vf 1 ' 1 ’ 11,, ‘ •*•'«** innjoritv
I Il'pV. ill.ll-MMI t.» till'
, llllf ' M'losion resulted from
• pou u„mm,s nnhustionofanml bunk
r th,. ovorlio.iiiim of Iho iron ,
'*"• boil..is anil tlio may
li i , of a holler,
tliouyli tlio last Ih.siry tin.ls little sup
port.
riti' .lispositimi of tlio, survivors
‘ npt. Pickens. acting chief ( ,f tlio tinv
igntion bureau, lias arranged for as
wi ll as ooulil Is. from this distance.
I In- wounded sailors in tlio Havana
Hospitals, on th.. Spanish flagship and
elsewhere. When not in condition to be
brought back to Key West will be
carefully looked aft. »|« by fara
Hut ton, who has been given esirte
bi.itn he to buy any and everything
necessary, food, clothing. delicacies
and hire tin* nnrsos and pbvsieinns.
'1 In- wonnrod aiile to get across to Kej
Wist will lie taken Hire of in the nin
line hospital there. Tin* sound sur
vivors will be unaltered in the snare
army barracks there.
As for the Maine herself, notwith
standing discouraging reports from
I.lent. Hood as to her condition, the
navy department will make the effort
to raise her. They say they are bound
to remove the hull from the small har
bor in any ease, and it may be as easy
to raise her as it would !>e to destroy
tile hull and machine *• by the use of
divers and dynamit it is lielieved
that this work <*an .«st lie done bv
private wrecking corporations, and ne
gotiations are air ady afoot for placing
the contract, based. on work bv the
day. at an estimated cost of $-00,000.
New York, Fel». IK. The Herald cor
respondent at Madrid says: Yesterday
all tin* political asperities were swent
away in the general wave of sympathy
at the fate of the poor fellows of the
Maine who have lost their lire* and
those who suffer from their wounds.
Karly iu the afternoon telegrams
that came from F»pt. (Jen. Blanco and
tin* harbor master at Havana were at
once forwarded to Minister Woodford,
accompanied by a letter expressive of
deep sympathy from the minister for
the colonies. Senor Moret. in the name
of all the tncmliers of the government.
Almost simultaneously the Spanish ad
ntiral called at the legation In the name
of the minister of marine and tin* of
ficer* and men of the Spanish navy to
express extreme sorrow at the news of
the disaster.
Havana. Feb. IK. (’apt. (ien. Blanco
has sent to the Spanish charge d'af
faires at Washington a cable message
mdk \ ii:w ok >i \i\k. showim; i*o\vi>i:h mauaxim’.. hoii kr Hooim
on behalf of the colonial government,
requesting him to tender to I'resident
McKinley the eoudolenees of the cabi
net upon tin* terrible disaster that de
stroyed tin* United States warship
Maine, requesting him. moreover, to
"tender our profound sympathy n* tin*
American government and assurance
of how deeply we regret that this port
should "lie the witiu*ss of such a tre
mendous ni-eldent to the American
navy."
A number of messagit* were received
nt the state department from foreign
govcrnni'-'Ots expressing regret in con
W'
THK lIII\KI> W llt-SHII* HUM:
Spunlsli *»>ni|inlti»
>V • • - mmm
noetion with tlio Maine disaster.
WnltliiK ilh- lnveatlKiitlon.
Washington. Fel*. 18. —'Pin* govern
ment has settled hack into a waiting
attitude in respect to the terrible
Maine disaster in Havana harbor. The
great shock caused by the news lias
given way to a calmer and more Judi
cial state of mind. aud. realizing from
the events of the day that the cottrt of
inquiry is tint sole* dependence in the
search for the cause of the Maine’s
loss, the naval ottieials are now re
signed to await the results of that in
quiry by a ciAirt named by the navy
department. No telegrams came and
all that could be gleaned was a denial
of some absurd story or other that had
crept into print or become current gos
sip. All the news of the day came in
(the late afternoon in the shape of (’apt.
■ Sigsbee’s report of the authorization of
the funeral of his dead sailors and ( Jen.
bee’s graphic story of the terrible
struggle for life In the dark hull of the
Maine. The officials of the nary de
partment devoted tin* day to the effort
j to correct the lists of living and dead;
to answering frantic telegraphic ap
peals from relatives of men on the bat
■ ileship. and last, but not least, in nteet-
I ing with unwavering courtesy and pa
I lienee tin* exacting demands ti|H >ll
their time of the press representatives.
•luirU Work of Ollli'cra
Havana. Feb. 18. The Maine, at the
time of the explosion, was at anchor
| about live hundred yards from the ar
senal and sonic two hundred y'.irds
i from tin* floating dock. The explosion
| put out the street lights near the
j wharf and blew* down telephone and
j telegraph wires in that vicinity. The
i first explosion is said to have lteen
caused hy over six hundred pounds of
gun cotton, and the sulrsequent expin-
siou is alleged to have been caused i*v
shells and cartridges.
Lieut. Wainwright., of tin* Maine, was
lialf-uudn'ssed at J*:4.“». and was smok
ing iu his cabin, next to that of (’apt.
Sigsbee. it is said, when the explosion
occurred and put out the electric
lights. Wainwright then lit a match
and went to (’apt. Sigslwe’s cabin. The
captain, it appears, had been thrown
from his Is'il but was uninjured. They
both went on deck and gave orders to
tlood -,."*00 ] you mis of gun cotton which
was aboard. The order was earrli*!
out. but the men who fulfilled it never
returned. Havana, however, was saved
f 11*111 a still more terrible explosion.
\ii\nl OUii'crM Kept II ii *• > <'on | ro
il let Iti k Them.
Washington. Feb. I*o. The feature
of the day at the navy department was
the large number of rumors of war like
tendency that came to tli" attention of
K
the officials ns requiring attention, and
iu every ease contradiction. So
formidable had grown the list that
President McKinley decided to make
the following statement regarding the
Maine, which was given out by his sec
retary:
Uaupon Information now In Ills ponswsnton.
the president believes that the Maine was
blown up as the result of » n aeoldant. If it Is
found that the disaster was not an accident
prompt and decisive step# will be taken In the
pre ml ecu The finding of the naval court will
develop the cauae. and until that ta submitted
nothing will be done.
\\ \ III.IKK. 11l MOHS
Secretary I.one. at the close of office
hours, issued the following statement:
ftrally no Information has besn received linos
• 'apt. Sigphw'x first dl*|Mtt<;h addlnx anythin*
to <>ur knowlo,!** of tho disaster All we
know Is that the Maine blew up. There is
abundant room for xjieoulatlon in all reports,
tint no oonclusion can he arrived at until an
examination lias heen made by the divers and
more fa< ts obtained. It la a simple fact to cay
that such a thin* might happen by design, or
It might happen by accident. As yet there is
no indication of design. Therefore my im
pression has been all along, and I rather
think the general opinion preponderates in the
>arue direction, that
It Must llnve Been tecldenlnl
i
A- the cabinet meeting to-day the matter
. was not discussed except as any body of men
iatr about an event of that kind, and most of
j that talk referred to the terrible loss of life
and a sympathy for the sufferers. It certainly
was a very kind thought In the president to
'end flowers to the families of ('apt. Hlgsl»ee,
’of the executive officer. Walnwright. and of
I the lost seamen whose residences are In Wash
ington
' Von may say absolutely that there has been
tin secret cabinet meeting; that nothing has
taken place in the cabinet that the public have
not heen Informed about: that the whole. [>o)lcy
! "f this department has been to give the public
all the dN|ratches: that the department has no
i more Knowledge on the subject of the cause of
j the disaster or even of the circumstances at
; tending It than have the public, and that the
report that f’apt. Sigsbee had warned the de-
I partment that the Maine was In danger from
, submarine mines or torpedoes is utterly with-
I out foundation, no such reisirt ever having been
re, e|\*d from him or anybody else.
Tin- secretary also denied briefly and
comprehensively wil l rumors that he had
r |tiest«d the chi-'f of police of New York
to guard the Vizcaya, and that he had
sol*-.-ted Constructor Bowles to go to Ha
vana and raise the Maine. The last work
of the day for him was to consult the
representatives of the wrecking compa
nies, who probably will have charge of
, this work, and endeavor to arrange for
j both of th« m to work together so as to
I se itre the use of each peculiar plant and
to save time. The secretary, when asked
i.wlaa.
what was the department’s estimate oj
■ the conduct of (’apt. Sigsbec in the terrf
I hie situation in which he hud been placed
j replied :•
I think 1 express the feeling of the presi
dent. as well as my own. when I suy that (’apt.
tflgstoec has conducted himself as an ottioer ot
our navy should. He was the last to leave his
ship when she went down. His dispatch to me
that night was so complete. Since then i have
thought of no question of fact to ask him
which Is essential to the situation and which
he could answer, which is not covered by tha.’
dispatch. Its tone, too. is that of a discreet
and level-headed man who realised the im
pression any word front him at that time woul
have on the public mind. Nothing Is liarde*
than f.>r a naval officer to lose his ship, so that
1 have great sympathy for him. I await, with
confidence, further rept % is.
I (tiring the (lit y the department was
in receipts of a number of telegrams
from different parts of tin* country
asking in behalf of the relatives of the
dead sailors that their remains Ik
brought hack to the United States foi
interment. While no decision lias y«'i
been readied formally upon the appli
cation of the Spanish government for
authorization to examine the wreck of
the Maine to ascertain the cause of the
lli;vs \M> OFKK KHS' (|( AHTl.lt*
explosion the officials seem inclined to
regard this request as one that could
not properlv be n fused, and it Is likely
that each government will make an
investigation of this character eon
cum ntiy.
Kicliemciit nt tt Innipeg.
Winnipeg, Feb. 20. -The excitement
regarding the silver galena hud at
Austin. Man., east of Brandon, is on
the Increase. The scene of the find
near the tow n has all been staked out
and prospectors are looking over the
adjacent cvuaUj.
NOBLE LIFE ENDED
FRANCES E. Wll.l.AnD DIES AT
XEW VOItK.
The President of the W. C. T. IT.
Suet umba to Anemia. From
Which She Han Been a Sufferer
for Venrs—An Attack of Urlppe
Brought on the Final IllneMa
\\ liioh Hastened the End—The
Body Will Be Taken to Her Home
at Ex atikton. 111.
Now York, Fob. 10. Miss Francos
IS. Willard, president of the W. C. T.
l\. died shortly after midnight thin
morning at Hotel Empire, this city. At
the bedside of Miss Willard at the
lime of her death were her niece,
Mrs. \\\ W. Baldwin; Mrs. L. M. M.
Stevens, vice president of the W. C.
T. I'.; Miss Anna M. Gordon, Miss
Willard’s private secretary, and l)r.
Alfred K. Hill. Miss Willard had
been ni for about three weeks. Dr.
Hill made the following statement:
‘•.Miss Willard had suffered some
years with profound anemia, and on
several occasions had been given up to
die. Last summer she seemed to take
nil a new lease of life and gained in
weight and strength so that she went
through her convention work at Toron
to and Buffalo, which was most ardu
ous, and came out much better than
was expected; but on her arrival, live
weeks ago. she was much prostrated
and readily took the grippe, which at
tacked the stomach, liver, intestines,
and. later, the nervous system. Til©
disease progressed favorably, and, in
many respects she bail greatly im
proved when the fatal issue came ami
overwhelmed the nerve centers. There
was no cancerous degradation of any
organ as has been stated.”
There will be funeral services In
New York city and, later In Hvanstap,
HI.. Miss Willard’s homo, where the
body will bo taken.
Francos E. Willard was born in
< ’hurehville. X. Y . Sept. 28, 1539. She
was graduated at Northwestern Fe
male college, Evanston, 111.
ItllTiXt; IX ARKANSAS
Aloh lltirniiiK nml Otherwise De
stroy ing Property.
Little Bock, Ark.. Feb. 19.—Rioting
has been resumed in Lonoke eountv.
A mob has been at work for the past
several nights in Crooked Creek town
ship burning anti otherwise destroying
property. Nearly (‘very school house
in the township has boon burned and
other public property destroyed. The
grand jury, which lias Just adjourned,
says in the reiwirt: “We have math*
special efforts to investigate and ferret
out the depredations and outrages
committed against some of the colored
residents of the town of Isinoke but
regret to state that our efforts have
bo, it without success, and we are ortin-
I oiled to refer these matters to the
next grand jury.”
SI’.IZF THRU!
Forciui Scaling V* phm»lm Reported
In Amrrlrnn Water*.
San Francisco. Feb. 10.—knformu£fl»n
was received by Collector
that a Canadian scaling vessel watt
s -en off I‘rake’s bay and that she Was
violating tiic scaling regulations by
iK'ing in American waters.
I’he collector at once sent orders to
tin* captain of the revenue cutter Hush,
which is in the bay. to leave for
Pinko's bay and if he found that the
sealer was in American waters
overhaul and seize the vessel and
bring her to this pert.
Ot T TO SE A
Ire I irrin 200 Ftshn men of Fin
land Out to Sen.
Copenhagen, Feb. 19.—A dispatch re
ceived here from Holsfngfora, snv»
that a tract of ico on the coast o/ the
Gulf of Finland broke adrift, in a snow
storm and was carried to sea with
tisliermeu and several horses.
l.ndlen Wonld Vote.
New Orleans. Feb. 19. A body of
ladies appeared before the suffrage
committee of tin* Constitutional con
vention and urged that the franchise
be extended in some shajie to them ir.
the construction of the new constitu
tion. They were given a respectful
hearing, but the sentiment of the
members of the convention is against
woman suffrage and the movement has
but little chance of succeeding.
Itn> Ing \rw Gann.
London. Feb. 19.—The Chronicle an
nounces that both the German and
French armies are busily replacing all
held guns with new quick firearms nt
an enormous expense. The paper
says both governments have guarded
the secret wonderfully well. The
German rearming will lie completed by
the middle of tills year, and the
French before the cud of 1899.
Verdict Affirmed.
Philadelphia. Fob. 19. — The United
States court of appeals has affirmed
the verdict in the case of John I).
Mart, who was convicted of aiding
the steamer Laurada in a filibustering
expedition to Cuba. The sentence im
posed was two years imprisonment.
Vtctorlonft Still Accronnd.
Port Sa'd, Feb. 19. The British bat
tleship Victorious, which, on Feb. It
went ashore outside the bar here, is
still aground. t
Miner Killed.
Sparta. Minn., Feb. 19.—An Austrian
miner named Frank Slatterapas was
killed by a cave-In at tha Genoa mine
here, lie was unmarried.