Lynchburg daily Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1852-1861, 1854-06-06
Horrid Death of a Sub Marine Diver.
fErn,n thu RneaI, RonuhIio I

We learn that Mr. John Tope, one of the di-
yers employed by Messrs. Wells, Gowan q Green
in their operations on the Lake, lost his life
while experimenting with submarine armor,
few days since. The circumstances attending
this lame ntabe casualty as related to
us by Mr., Green, are substantially as folows:--
1t appears that Mr. Tope was DESTROYS of testing
a sub marine armor preparatory to commencing
operations on the wrecks which the company,
design raising this summer and on Friday after
noon last in company with three others started
from Cattaraugus Creek in small vessel of IA
bout twenty tons burden and proceeded some
distance from the shore where the water was a.
bout forty feet deep. Mr. Tope descended into
the water three times The first and second
time he went down some fifteen or twenty feet,
each time signalzing TO those above 10 raise him.
In both instances he remarked that the foul air
did not escape fast enough to allow him to breathe
freely Previous to going down the third time
he detached the spring from the valve which al
lows the impure air 10 escape from the helmet
and desired the men who held the signal line to
observe carefully when he should reach the bot
tom (some forty feet and be prepared to answer
his signals lie then entered the water and had
descended about thirty feet, when those above
thought the armor felt unusually heavy. The
signal line was Immediately jerked to ascertain
whether anything was wrong, but receiving no
answering signal, the diver was Immediately
raised from the water.
On opening the hemlet, the unfortunate occu-
pant OF the armor was found to be quite dead,
presenting IA h6rrid spectacle blood oozng from
his eyes, ears, nose and mouth. Detaching the
spring from the escape valve prevented the air
from initiating the armor below the neck of the
divers and when it is rocollected that Mt the
depth OF thirty feet the pressure of the water is
equal to -tteen pounds to the square inch,
there mG. have been pressure of at least
ten tons upon the lower extremities of the diver;
and this tremendous pressure forced the vital
fluid to the head, bursting the blood vessels and
thus causing immediate death. Not more than
a minute and half had elapsed from the time he
entered the water to the time he was hoisted up
on the deck of the vessel The pressure of the
water upon the lower part of the armor, ON his
two previous trials caused slight rush of blood
to the dives head, causing dizziness, which
he imagined was produced by foul air, and he
insisted upon descending from the ape-valye,
which he said would allow a free current OF air
to pass in and out of the armor; but moments
rejection will convince any one that this alone
was the cause of the melancholy casualty. The
apparatus he used en- this occasion was in com
pete working order, and one of the most perfect
ever manufactured
The deceased was a diver of five years. expo
rience on the Atlantic sea board, and recently
came here from Boston, where he leaves a wife
and four children to mourn his loss. Those who
were with him during the day say that he ap-
peared to have IA premonition that some catas-
trophe would happen tn him, but could not be
dissuaded from trying the experiment., in which
he acted on his own responsibility, Mr.. Green
being in this city at the time. The accident at
the wreck of the Erie last year, when Madnonald
lost his life, was similar to this, though the vic
tim in that case had but little experience d-