Question

I was enclosing my letter in its envelope when the explosion came. It was a bursting, rending, and crashing sound or roar of immense volume, largely metallic in character. . . . The electric lights, of which there were eight in the cabin where I was sitting, went out. Then there was intense blackness and smoke. Read Captain Charles D. Sigsbee’s account of the sinking of the USS Maine, given in 1899. This is a reliable source mainly because

Answer 1

it was written by a person who was on board during the sinking.

Answer 2

This is a reliable source mainly because it was written by a person who was on board during the sinking.
Captain Charles D. Sigsbee is one of the rare people who actually survived the sinking of the ship, so he was able to write about the events that occurred there and then. This is why the writing is reliable, because it came straight from the source.