The fire-alarms in the bunkers were in working order, and there had never been a case of spontaneous combustion of coal on board the Maine.
The two after boilers of the ship were in use at the time of the disaster, but for auxiliary purposes only, with a comparatively low pressure of steam and being tended by a reliable watch. These boilers could not have caused the explosion of the ship. The four forward boilers have since been found by the divers and are in a fair condition.
On the night of the destruction of the Maine everything had been reported secure for the night at 8 P. M., by reliable persons, through the proper authorities, to the commanding officer. At the time the Maine was destroyed the ship was quiet and, therefore, least liable to accident caused by movements from those on board.
EXPLOSIONS.
THREE. The destruction of the Maine occurred at 9.40 P. M., on the 15th day of February, eighteen hundred and ninety-eight, in the harbor of Havana, Cuba, she being at the time moored to the same buoy to which she had been taken upon her arrival.
There were two explosions, of a distinctly different character, with a very short, but distinct, interval between them, and the forward part of the ship was lifted to a marked degree at the time of the first explosion.
The first explosion was more in the nature of a report, like that of a gun; while the second explosion was more open, prolonged and of greater volume. This second explosion was, in the opinion of the court, caused by the partial explosion of two or more of the forward magazines of the Maine.
CONDITION OF THE WRECK.
FOUR. The evidence bearing upon this, being principally obtained from divers, did not enable the court to form a definite conclusion as to the condition of the wreck, although it was established that the after-part of the ship was practically intact and sank in that condition a very few minutes after the destruction of the forward part.
The following facts in regard to the forward part of the ship are, however, established by the testimony: