The daily press. (Cincinnati [Ohio) 1859-1859, 1859-05-31
THE OCEAN DEPTHS.
A DIVERS TALE.


mounds, but TO the adept in the civilized modo
Of diving, who, in his protective armor, may
remain submerged for hours, and wander, with
| impunity, for miles along those unknown re-
| gionS far below the sea--to him are laid open
| the horrors Of the watery creation, and he may
| gaze upon such scenes as Arabian story tells us
were presented to the fearful eyes Of Abdallah.
| To him the most thrilling occurrences of the
upper world seem frivolous; for, in his memory,
he retains thoughts that may well chill the
| soul with dread. t.. ..... .''.
am diver-a diver from choice--and
am proud of my profession. Where Is such
! courage required as is needed here2 II Is moth
| ing to be soldier q diver, however--but
fOrbear. will tell my story, and leave others
to judge concerning it.
| An appalling sbip-wreck occurred, not long
ago, upon the widest part Of the coast of New
foundland. The tidings of this calamity reached
the ears Of thousands; but amid the crowd Of
| accidents which followed in quick succession,
| 1t was soon forgotten-not by ne, however.
| We found that the vessel had sunk upon
spot where the waters depth was by no means
great, and that daring man might easily
| reach her. it.-,aH \ r.rHr1
She was steamer called the Marmion,
| and had been seen going suddenly down,
| without an instant's warming, by some fish
errnen near by. She had undoubtedly struck
q hidden rock, and had thus been, in one mo-
ment, destroyed. .,-s, ,,s a... 80, 300
| / spoke to my associates of the plan, and
they approved it. No time was lost in ma
king the necessary preparations, and short
time beheld us embarked in our small
| schooner for the sunken ship. There were
six of US, and we anticipated extraordinary
! success. '' rr'f
| ] was the leader, and generally ventured
1 upon any exploit in which there was uncom-
mon danger - not that the others were cow
| ards; on the contrary, they were all brave
men, but / was gifted with coolness and
presence of mind of which the others were
destitute. As two persons were needed in
order to explore, the Marmipn, had selected
as my companion q young fellow whose
steadiness and dauntless courage had several
times before been fearfully tested. ..i &.
t was o calm and pleasant day, but the
| southern and eastern horizon looked deceit
| full. Small suspicious clouds were gathered
there, i'll of aspect, and " sneaking fellows,
| regular hang-dog fellows" as my comrade,
Rimmer, remarked to me. Nevertheless, we
were not to be put off by little cloudiness
SO deep was the water that no vcstige of q
ships mast remained above the surface, TO
point out the resting place of the Marmion.
We were compelled, therefore, TO select the
scene of-operations according to the best of
our ability Down went the sails of our
schooner, and Rimmer and l put on our
| diving armor. Wefixed our helmets tightly,
and screwed on the hose. One by one each
| clumsy article was adjusted. The weights
wero hung, and we were ready. =. 81
| att looks terrible blackish, Berton," said
Rimmer to me. o." t'"ea rHt
"0h," I replied, gaily, otis only little
install rightg' ari
"Ah, He uttered low exclamation, which
sounded hollow from his cavernous helmet
"All ready" / cried, in loud voice, which
| they, however, could not easily distinguish.
Then making proper sign, was swung over
| the side. ..-- D.. 49,, ..'-.. .
Down we went, I first, and Rimmer close be-
hind me. 1t did not take q long time for US
| to roach the bottom. Wefound ourselves upon
what seemed broad plain, slOping downward
toward the south, and rising slightly toward
| the north. Looking forward then, dim,
black object arose, which our experienced eyes
knew to be o lofty rock. -.,,al ...t ..Is
I motioned to Rimmer that we should pro-
| ceed there. ....-,. tl...... I'D. .......
l cannot tell the strangeness of the sensation
felt by one who frst walks the bottom of tho
| There q thousand objects, fitted to excite as
| tonishment, even In the mind of him who has
dared the deed ahuudred times. All around us
| lay the plain, covered by water; but here the
eye could not pierce far away as in the upper
air, for the water, in the distance, grew Opaque,
and seemed to fade away into misty darkness.
4 There was no sound, except the incessant CUR
| gle which was produced by the escape of air
from the breast-valve, and the splash caused
by our passage through the waters. We walked
on Mt good pace; for this armor, which seems
so clumsy up above, is excellent below, and
offers little Inconvenience to the practised
| wearer. dYgg .sia.i. .rit...r.. ..l 5ssssf
Fishes in crowds were around us. Fishes Of
every shape met our eyes no matter where they
| turned. They swan swiftly by us; they sported
in tho water above us; thoy raced and chased
one another in every direction. Here shoal
Of porpoises tumbled along in eulmsy gambols,
there grarnpus might be seen rising slowly to
the surface; hero an immense number of
smaller fish flashed past us; there some huge
| ones, with ponderous forms foated in the water
laEily. Sometimes three or four placed them
selves directly before us, staring at US, and
solemnly working their gills. There they
would remain, till we came close up to them,
and then, with start, they would dart away.
| All this time we were walking onward along
the bottom Of the sea, while above US, like
black cloud in the sky, we could see our boat
slowly moving onward upon the surface of the
water. And not more than a hundred yards
before US, we could see the towering form of
that ebony rock, which had at first greeted our
eyes from afar. As yet We could not be certain
ehoO thio was tno pidoc WnoT0 Jno Mdfml0n n0Q
struck. But soon round, black object became
discernable as we glanced at the rocky base.
Rimmer struck on my arm, and pointed. 1
signed assent, and we moved on more quickly.
few moments elapsed; we had come nearer,
TO the rock. The black object now looked
like the stern Of vessel whose hull lay there.
Suddenly, Rimmer struck me again, and
pointed upward. Following the direction of
his hand, looked up, and saw the surface of
the water all foamy and in motion. Therewas
momentary thrill through my heart, but II
passed over, We were in dangerous posi- ition.
storm was coming on.
But should We turn back now, when We were
30 near the object Of our search2 Already Il
lay before US. We were close beside it. No,
would not. l. signalized to Rimmer to 20
forward, and wc still kept our course. 1at's 4
Now the rock rose up before us, black, rug
ged, dismal. Its rough sides were worn by
the action Of the water, and, in somo places,
were covered by marine plants and nameless
ocean vegetation. We passed onward, we
elambered over a spur, which jutted from the
cliff, and there lay the steamer iiHi 80 B \
The Marmion--there Ishs lay upright, with
everything still standing. She had gone right
down, and had settled In snoh o position,
among the rocks, that she stood upright here,
Just as though, she lay at her wharf We