Government pilot to buoy No. 4, to which she was moored in from 5-1/2
to 6 fathoms of water.

The state of discipline on board and the condition of her magazines,
boilers, coal bunkers, and storage compartments are passed in review,
with the conclusion that excellent order prevailed and that no
indication of any cause for an internal explosion existed in any
quarter.

At 8 o'clock in the evening of February 15 everything had been reported
secure, and all was quiet.

At forty minutes past 9 o'clock the vessel was suddenly destroyed.

There were two distinct explosions, with a brief interval between them.
The first lifted the forward part of the ship very perceptibly; the
second, which was more open, prolonged, and of greater volume, is
attributed by the court to the partial explosion of two or more of the
forward magazines.

The evidence of the divers establishes that the after part of the ship
was practically intact and sank in that condition a very few moments
after the explosion. The forward part was completely demolished.

Upon the evidence of a concurrent external cause the finding of the
court is as follows:

At frame 17 the outer shell of the ship, from a point 11-1/2 feet from
the middle line of the ship and 6 feet above the keel when in its normal
position, has been forced up so as to be now about 4 feet above the