time of
peace, not a vestige remained. In its place was the blackness of
desolating death, marking the spot where two hundred and sixty-six brave
men had gone over into the Beyond.

The total loss to the government as a result of the disaster was
officially pronounced to be $4,689,261.31. This embraced the cost of hull,
machinery, equipment, armour, gun protection and armament, both in main
and secondary batteries. It included the cost of ammunition, shells,
current supplies, coal, and, in short, the entire outfit.

The pet of the _Maine's_ crew, a big cat, was found next morning, perched
on a fragment of a truss which yet remained above the water, and near her,
as if seeking companionship, was the captain's dog, Peggy.

Consul-General Lee cabled from Havana on the afternoon of the sixteenth:

"Profound sorrow is expressed by the government and municipal authorities,
consuls of foreign nations, organised bodies of all sorts, and citizens
generally.

"Flags are at half-mast on the governor-general's palace, on shipping in
the harbour, and in the city.

"Business is suspended, and the theatres are closed."

On the afternoon of the seventeenth the bodies which had been found up to
that time were buried in Havana with military honours, two companies of
Spanish sailors from the cruiser _Alphonso XII._ acting as escort.

A board of inquiry, composed of Capt. W. T. Sampson of the U. S. S. _Iowa_
as presiding officer, Commander Adolph Marix as judge advocate, Capt. F.
E. Chadwick, and Commander W. P. Potter, all of the _New York_, was
convened, and on March 28th President McKinley sent a message to Congress,
the conclusion of which was as follows:

"The appalling calamity fell upon the people of our country with crushing
force, and for a brief time an intense excitement prevailed, which in a
community less just and self-controlled than ours might have led to hasty
acts of blind resentment.

"This spirit, however, soon gave way to calmer processes of reason, and to
the resolve to investigate the facts and await material proof before
forming a judgment as to the cause, the responsibility, and, if the facts
warranted, the remedy due. This course necessarily recommended itself from
the outset to the executive, for only in the light of a dispassionately
ascertained certainty will it determine the nature and measure of its full
duty in the matter.

"The usual procedure was followed, as in all cases of