The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1839-06-21 00:00:00

THE DIVERS AT BLACKPOOL.

An operation of great interest to the visitors at Blackpool
and Lytham is now.going on, and will probably be continued
for some weeks, in the recovery, by a party of divers, of part
of the cargo of the Crusader, a vessel which was wrecked on
the Hore Bank, near the mouth of the Ribble, in the tre-
mendous storm of the 7th January last. This vessel left
Liverpool on the previous day laden with a general cargo
for the East Indies. The crew were all saved, and our readers
will remember the account we gave at that time of the plun-
der by the Fylde wreckers of part of the cargo which was
washed on shore. A portion of the vessel still remains to-
gether, deeply imbedded in the sand, and at low water part
of it is visible ; it was ascertained by the examination of a
diver that a good deal of the cargo was still there, and the
party now at work are engaged by the under-writers to re-
coder it. In the course of the last fortnight they have suc-
ceeded in getting up a considerable number of bales both of
cotton and silk goods, &c. Two small vessels are moored
immediately above the wreck, containing the necessary appa-
ratus for the divers, and for hauling up the goods ; there are
three divers, and not less than thirty men in attendance upon
them for the various purposes of working the air-pump,
attending to the signals, and hauling and stowing the goods,
&c. The head of each diver is covered with a helmet of thin
sheet copper, large enough to admit of an easy motion of the
head, and capabl of containing between six and eight gallons
of air. The helmet comes pretty far down on the breast and
back, and has in front two eye-holes, covered with glass,-
protected by brass wires. The copper helmet is attached to
a waterproof canvass jacket, by means of rivets, so tightly
fixed that no water can be introduced to the body of the
diver. The junction of the helmet and jacket is stuffed, so
that it may clasp the shoulders of the diver firmly. A leather
belt passes round the diver, to which are attached two
weights—one before and the other behind—each weighing
about 401bs. These weights are attached in order that the
diver may descend with facility ; but in the case of any acci-
dent occurring when he is at the bottom, the belt is fastened
with a buckle in front, which he can instantly unloose, and
rise to the surface after the dropping of the weights. The
diver is supplied with fresh air by means of a flexible water-
proof pipe, which enters the back of the helmet, and com-
municates with an air pump, wrought above in the vessel
from which the diver descends. The tube passes under the
left arm of the diver, and, turning upwards, enters the back
of the helmet, being so contrived that the fresh air is made
to impinge against the glasses, which, in a great measure,
prevents their being dimmed by the moisture of the breath.
From the back part of the helmet, there is likewise led au
eduction pipe, to allow the escape of the breathed air. In
order that the diver may give notice to the 'attendants at the
top, when he requires a hook, tackle, bucket, or any differ-
ence in the supply of fresh air, he is furnished with a signal
line, which passes under his right arm. That he may be as
comfortable as possible under water, he puts' on two suits of
flannel, above which he has a complete dress, in one piece of
Mackintosh's waterproof cloth. The waterproof dress covers
the body entirely—the only apertures being at the neck and
wrists. The opening at the neck comes well up, and is tied
round tightly with a bandage ; which contrivance, together vvith
the pressure of the air in the helmet, prevents the water from
entering the helmet, and the wrists are, likewise, tightly
bound with bandages. The diver is thus enabled to remain
for five or six hours at once under water, all the while per-
fectly dry, his motion being rendered quite steady by heavy
weights attached to his shoes. With this apparatus the divers
may now be seen daily, at the wreck of the Crusader : they
plunge into the water, and, shortly afterwards, bundles of
twist, bales of goods, &c., externally blackened and torn, are
drawn up from the sea. The situation of the diver is known
by the bubbles on the surface of the water. The work is evi-
dently very severe, and the divers come up much exhausted.
—Manchester Guardian.

APHORISMS.