The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1856-07-13
The Raising OF the Safe OF the Atlantic
Facts and not Fiction.
From the Cleveland Herald, July s.

From the Cleveland Herald, July 81
Our readers were several days since highly amused
by the fanciful relation Of the Detroit Advertiser, OF
the raising of the safe Of the steamer Atlantic,
sunk in 1862, This morning we were favored with
an interview with E. p. Harrington, OF Westfeld,
N. Y. the successful rescuer of the safe, who gave
the items OF the occurrence which, II IL be devoid
of wonderful meetings with beautiful ladies y md
children IL, nevertheless, very interesting and
true. Mr. Harrington has had three years expert
ence as diver, and during the past winter has been
engaged on the Mississippi, in hig business. Asso-
ciated with him In this undertaking were Martin
Quigley and Charles o. Gardner Of Chautauque,
New York, and William Newton, OF Detroit.
They proceeded on the schooner Fletcher to the
locality of the steamer Atlantic, which lies about
three miles from the extrame point OF Long Point.
They arrived there on the 18th OF June, and that
day was used In preparation. On the 10th, Mr..
Harrington, encased in Wells & Gowen's sub marine
armor made his first descent. The armor Is made
of two layers Of canvass and one OF india rubber,
the rubber occupying the middle. II is loose and
flexible and of course resisted no pressure. From
in front Of the mouth proceeds tube composed
of nine alternate layers Of canvas and rubber,
with a copper wire cooled inside to prevent col
lapse. This In flexible too, and being ~ long as
the depth TO which the driver goes, and the upper
end being in the open air, secures proper respi-
ration. The aperture is this Of of an inch in
diameter. A wreckline had previously been dropped
and rested against the side Of the steamer:
Dressed az above described, with leaden shoes,
and with lead weights attached to his body, amount
ing 10 24S pounds, with rope around his waist,
by which he could be raised to the surface, and
check or signal line In bis hand. the adventurous
diver commenced his first descent. He was gov
erned by the wreck line and struck the promenade
deck about forty feet aft the stateroom where the
Express Company's safe was. which was In the
third stattrooTa ait the wheel house on the arboard
side. lie remained on deck but one minute. After
descending from fifty 10 seventy feet, depending
upon the cearness ofthc air above, all Is dark to the
diver and he is governed entirely by feeling. The
romantic sights recorded by the Adrertissr are
therefore without oundation. The greatest caution
az To ,nangling lines must therefore be used, and
Mr.. Harrington went each time outside OF the
stanchions, moving, as he advanced, bus wreck
line, so that with each dive he advanced
nearer the stateroom. The second dive he
was three minutes upon deck; the third four, the
fourth seven. On the twentieth he made four dives
utes. 10. do, and the next eighth six, at which
time be reached the state Previous TO this he
had all the time been cropping about, and twice was
on the hurricane deck and once near the main deck.
The twenty-frst he made seven desccnts times re-
spectiycly 4, 6, o, 3, g. and minutes and during
which he was busy in breaking In the room window,
and breaking down the woodwork on the side and
below H. and succeeded at last in getting line fast
TO the ring In the lid Of the safe, but finding the
al erture be had made too small 10 allow the passage
OF the safe, assembled to await till the coming day.
ON the twenty second, the sixteenth dive, being the
first that day he was on deck seven minutes during
which time be sawed through the casing and panel
work and tried TO break IL of with his hand, but
could not. The seventeenth he was on deck nine
minutes, in which he fastened line to the wood
work, and by IL the men above pulled II on The
eighteenth and last descent, he was ON deck
eleven minutes, and during II he succeeded in
fastening line TO the end ring OF the safe, and help
ing il out Of the aperture II raised TO the deck
Of the schooner. The perilous work was done, and
the adventurous men, upon opening the sale, or
rather iron chest q by is, by 10 inches in size,
ound themselves the poesessors OF about Is 900 in
gold and s3l 900 in bills, small portion OF which
we're useless from the action OF the water and nsol
vency q banks, and six watches, two OF which were
valuable gold ones The chest contained papers for
which the American Express Company paid o hand.
board side being l75 feet, and the water on her
starboald leo feet deep. The safe was about LIS
feet from the surface. Upon her deck Mr.. III.
found n slight sediment OF three or four inches
in depth. He could, we have said above,
see nothing and encountered nothing but the wood
work chains, glass and the chest. The water was
very chilly, and Mr.. VI = hands were 20 numb that
he could not by mere feeling distinguish glass from
wood. IL was only by the formers breaking that
he knew lie material. He thinks his strength when
below not more than onetenth that he has when In
the open air He suffered but little from pressure,
exccpt two or three times, when such the rush
of blood ~ the head that he says he saw bright
| flashes in his helmet like electric sparks"
We have been thus accurate from justice TO Mr..
| A.. who has thus accomplished q feat never before,
We believe successful. He Ia candid fair spoken
shoId have 10 misrepresented the matter TO the edi
| tors OF the Detroit ddrsrfisr. lie In now In the
city and has been requested by many curious per-
/ sors 10 make an exhibition ~ his manner OF pro-
ceeding from the steamer Ocean, and may yet do Il
4 al lptute day.