Show MAINE Naval Officers Theory as to the Dis Disaster Disaster DIsaster aster In Havana Harbor The Century The Maine was destroyed by the ex explosion explosion of a mine and this mine was probably an Improvised affair a wine cask with about pounds of ordinary gunpowder and buoyant buo ant fitted with any kind of a mechanical contact fuse a bottle of sulphuric or other strong acid arranged f so 10 o that when struck by bya b ba a vessel the acid would Ignite and es ex explode the mine This cask could have been fitted with a chain and anchor so that the mine would float fleat ten feet teet above the bottom and twenty feet be below below below low the surface of the water I believe that doubtless such a 1 mine had been placed about thirty feet ahead of ot the Maine then lying l at the buoy riding rid In to the trade trad winds as usual in that har bar harbor harbor bor her so that when the ship should swing she would strike the contact mine and blow herself up The Maine was wan in the act of ot swinging at the time she was destroyed The plausibility of raf orthis this is by all ail the circum circumstances circumstances circumstances stances of ot the time and place The trade winds prevail in the harbor of or Havana and ships head to 10 the wind but the trade winds fail fall once ii J 1 every four or 01 six weeks and ships that bad had been heading northeast swing around and head southwest Such was the case that evening in Havana In our civil war the confederates de destroyed d destroyed more vessels of ot the Union navy by just such improvised mines they the destroyed by gunfire and history hl shows that up to the Spanish war there had been more ships pg destroyed de tro d by tor torpedoes torpedoes torpedoes and mines since their invention than by guns Anyone with a smattering knowledge of these facts could have risked rigged such a mine and ana fitted it with anchor or stone to serve eryc as act a an anchor anchor anthor chor thor and could have placed it at prop proper er en depth and position 1 ahead of or the Maine alne without having been observed by those on board Merchant vessels did not lot so go o along alongside lIon side wharves in Havana but anchored southeast of ot the wharves Cargoes were transferred to and from merchant ships by large lighters that sailed S across the bay The Maine and nd other otner lay la at buoys in ih position so that these lighters passed constant constantly ly I day and night right night across aro s their bows and anel one one man could easily have hae sailed Ills his h lighter with his mine the shore across the bows of at the men rien until directly head ahead tat if the Maine when he could have dropped The whole affair and have left It thee to todo todo todo do its work when the Maine should swing around to head southwest |