The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1854-08-27
Prom the Barno DsmocruH, Aug. "a.
THE REMAINS OF THE STEAMER ERIE.-EFFECTS
Oh WATER on IRON

THE REMAINS or THE STEAMER ERIE.-EFFECTs
o. WATER or IRON.
For thirteen years has tie engine o. s fre-oousumed
steamer laid the bottom Of Lake Erie Portions Of the
machinery almost unaffected hy the water The start
in-har for instance good the lower part Of il
looks fresh The Walkngbem s but little touched by rust
in places the water has acted al all Portions Of
the condenser sso qHiis fresh IL VIII sound strange
for say that after thirteen ysars soak Of the
nuts o. the machinery turn feethe grease having been
preserved the threads Of the screws The water has act
ed with unequal effect different kinds Of iron pair
Of tOngs for example and seelyard, look only If
posed 10 mid-autumns usage. A sub-and-tWist double
barrel gun Of German make bonecoInbed and tuH Of
holes Another doube-barrel gun seemingly English, Is
not nearly much injured. Casron has stood the bath
better than wrought Of Some Of the heavy cast
ng could be used agan to-day Had they laid in salt
water instead Of fresh thus long they would have been
tally destroyed Most Of all the engine-work and most
Of the tools and utensils belonging the crowd Of nmi
upon them The frame Of the walkng-beam sti has the
blue scales and blush tnge given TO wrought iron by in
tense heat--by burning, called
curious effect Of the beat is exhibited by three watches
recovered from the wreck They all stopped about the
same meat 10 O'Clock 40 minutes The crystals melted
down and united with the dialsthe sodered them
selves together the POINTS Yet the pressure Of water
upon them at the depth Of 90 feet 50 great that
they filed with the fluid, and hold il tight within
them deposite has taken place which seems to have
closed the fine passages through which the entered
knives and forks scissors and every conceivable iren
ticle in German Norwegian household out
prOfuElOn- Fire and water have marked
them all The Of oow-bell in Office is how
ever quite good the cearness Of It's ring though being
somewhat abated by its thirteen years drowning The
chief injury after all done the iron work and the
iron portion Of the cargo Of the steamer by fire and
by Masses Of plates soldered together
by intense heat and bundles Of wire and sheetron
welded together.
Much gold and silver coin as we have recently stated
found upon the floor Of the steamer and between her
tber ech side Of the keson She was badly broken
forward when raised and thirty feet from the bows
aft taken ashore Point Albno and searched The
first parcel Of veanc pieces there found and close
by the fracture induce the belief that less OF
the coin have fallen out into deep water and been
lost This part Of the wreck afterwards lowed out into
the lake and dropped. The portion out the Ma
rine railway astonshes body with the spectacle Of
great steamship actually burned down IN the water 10
within foot of the kesOn in three places She
almost as thoroughly burned down she would have
been if she had been on dry land instead Of in rolling
Even the depth Of sITy-ine feet there has been
such action in this deess body Of water Lake Erie that
the wreck is covered with blue clay in places foot
thick AS she lies the industry Of the wreckers takes the
California shape Hoes worked between the tnbers fetch
up mingled of enders broken crockery clay scraps
Of iron sand and rubbish Of all sorts 1t is lifted into
long mauyhalnbered goldwasher and thoroughly wash
ed with thrown from forcing pump Silver, gold
lead copper and iron shot fall to the bottom and
fully gathered
The Erie has been raised by a COMPANY composed Of
Mann, Vail Co. Of this city and Mr. Gowen Of Boston
The diving apparatus the submarine Of Wells
Gowen. Two schooners and stean-lRg employed
in lifting the wreck heavy framework Of wooden tim
Der little wider than the Erie rugged up and made
fast aa the mainmasts Of the vessels and stretching
from TO the other similar erection made right
aft their torTnass very heavy compound iron blocks
attached IN the centre 10 each Of these frames and the
lifting power applied by eapstans from the decks OF
each Of the srhooners But the scientific and delicate
work done under water and by of the indis
pensabIy necessary arnor by which Mr.. Gowen makes
really amphibious animal One of the Nantucket
Collins, believe the superintendent OF the opera
tions at the scene OF the memorable disaster.
How horrible that cslanity-how inexplicable! IL
memory serves correctly, $40 human beings
persisted iearfny in the alternative Of grave in the fire
In the deep How stirred the sympahes Of this
citFl How wild was the excitement here-and how for
weeks sckened and shuddered the ghastly
panies Of swollen burned and dshgurcd corpses that
laid in ranks upon whRrves and upon The beach
May like disaster again happen upon this beauti
ful wateri