Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1854-08-25


of life. A company has recently raised the
remains of the unfortunate vessel from the
bottom Of the lake. We copy the following
particulars, in relation thereto, from the Bu6a-
70 Democrat.
The Remains Of lic Erie.
For thirteen years has the engine of this
tire-consumed steamer laid at the bottom of
the lake. Portions Of the machinery are al
most unaffected by the water. The starting
bar, for instance, is as good as new. The low
er part of it looks fresh. The walking beam
is but little touched by rust. In places the
water has not acted on it at all Portions of
the condenser are also quite fresh. 1t viii
sound strange for us to say that after thir-
teen years soak, some Of the nuts Of the ma
chinery turn freely-the grease having been
preserved i'll the threads of the screws. The
water has acted with unequal effect on differ
ent kinds of iron. A pair of tongs, for eX-
ample, and steelyard, look only as if exposed
to mild autumn's usage. A stub-and twist
double barrel, of German make, is honey
combed and full Of holes. Another double
barrel gun, seemingly English, is not nearly
so much injured Cast-iron has stood the
bath better than wrought, of course. Some
OF the heavy castings could be used again to-
day.
Had they lain in salt water thus long in
stead of fresh, they would have been totally
destroyed. Most of all the engine work, and
most of the tools and utensils belonging to the
crowd Of immigrants upon the il-staTed
steamer, show the action OF fire upon them
The frame Of walkingbe beam still has the blue
scales and blush tinge given to wrought IRON
by intense heat-by " burning, SO called.
A curious effect of the heat is exhibited by
three watches, recovered from the wreck
They all stopped about the same time-at 10
o'clock, 10 minutes. The crystals melted
down, and united with the dials-the cases
soldered themselves together at the joints
y ct the pressure of the water upon them at
the depth Of 60 feet was so great that they
filled with the fluid. and now hold it tight
within them. A deposit has taken place,
which seems to have closed the fine passages,
through which the water entered.
Axes, hoes, spades, forks, rakes, cow-b bells,
hat-irons, knives and forks, scissors, and ev-
cry conceivable IRON article in use in a Ger
man or Norwegian household, came out of the
wreck in profusion. Fire and water have
marked them all. The tone Of a cow-bell
now III our Office is, however, quite good, the
clearness Of its ring, though, being somewhat
abated by its thirteen years drowning. The
chief injury, after ALL done the iron work land
to the iron portion of the cargo of the steamer,
was by fire and not by water. Masses Of stove
plates are soldered together by intense heat,
and bundles of wire and sheet-iron are weld
ed together
Much gold and silver coin, as we have re-
Gently stated, was found upon the floor Of the
steamer, and between her timbers on each
side Of the kelson. She was badly broken
forward when raised, and some thirty feet
from tbfab off Oh och, NJ
Abino and searched. The first parcel of five
franc pieces was there found, and so close by
the fracture as to induce the belief that more
or less Of the coin must have fallen out into
deep water and been lost. This part of the
wreck was afterwards lowed out into the
Lake, and dropped. The portion now out
near the Marine Hallway, astOnished every
body with the spectacle of great steamship
burned down III the water, to within foot OF
the kelson, in two or three places. She il al
most as thoroughly burned down as she would
have been if she had been on dry land, in
stead Of in a rolling sea.
Even at the depth of W feet, there has been
such action in this tideess body of water,
Lake Erie, that the wreck is covered with blue
clay, in places over a foot thick. As she lies,
the industry of the wreckers takes the Cali
fornia shape. Hoes worked between the tim
bers fetch up a mingled mass Of cinders, broll-
en- crockery, clay, scraps of iron, sand and
rubbish of all sorts. 1t is lifted into a long,
many chambered gold washer, and thorough
ly washed with water thrown from a forcing-
pump. Silver, gold, lead, copper and iron
shot fall to the bottom, ard are carefully gath
cred.
Tie Erie has been raised by Company
composed of Mann, Vail & Co., of this city,
and Mr.. Gowen of Boston. The diving ap-