Nothing was stowed in any one of the magazines or shell-rooms which was not permitted to be stowed there.
The magazines and shell-rooms were always locked after having been opened, and after the destruction of the Maine the keys were found in their proper place in the captain’s cabin, everything having been reported secure that evening at 8 P. M. The temperatures of the magazines and shell-room were taken daily and reported. The only magazine which had an undue amount of heat was the after ten-inch magazine, and that did not explode at the time the Maine was destroyed. The forward boilers were wrecked by the inner explosion.
The torpedo warheads were all stowed in the after-part of the ship under the ward-room, and neither caused nor participated in the destruction of the Maine.
The dry gun-cotton primers and detonators were stowed in the cabin aft and remote from the scene of the explosion.
Waste was carefully looked after on board the Maine to obviate danger. Special orders in regard to this had been given by the commanding officer.
Varnishes, dryers, alcohol and other combustibles of this nature were stowed on or above the main deck and could not have had anything to do with the destruction of the Maine.
The medical stores were stowed aft under the ward-room and remote from the scene of the explosion.
No dangerous stores of any kind were stored below in any of the other store-rooms.
The coal bunkers were inspected daily. Of those bunkers adjacent to the forward magazine and shell-rooms four were empty, namely, “B 3,” “B 4,” “B 5,” “B 6.”
“A 5” had been in use that day, and “A 16” was full of new river coal. This coal had been carefully inspected before receiving it on board. The bunker in which it was stowed was accessible on three sides at all times, and the fourth side at this time, on account of bunkers “B 4” and “B 6” being empty. This bunker, “A 16,” had been inspected Monday by the engineer and officer on duty.