The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1867-05-15
A Submarine Boat with Ten Men
!, ION the Bottom, Of the Sea. 6

ION the Bottom Of the Sea. 4
The New York Herald's Valparaiso
correspondent sends the following;
"a After theTbombardmenty of Nalparai-
so, and while the Spanish fleet was at
Callao, a German residing at Valpar-
iaso coDstruetedla submarine boat for
the,purpose of applying torpedoesS to
the bottoms of the Spanish fligates.
The boat was about forty feet long and
was, propelled. bya screw worked by
hand, So confident was her builder. in
her efficiency that at the first expert
ment in the bay he took with him into
the boat his son5 and eight. friends.-
After sailing about aafew moments on
the surface, the boat was madeto sink
[ without the precaution of having the
cables attached for use in case Of acci-
dent, or even "a buoy to mark the spot
where she went down., Several hours
elapsed, and the boat failing to reap
pear, the spectators crowded on the
mole began, to fear that all was not
right, and as the day passed away, the
conviction became general that the adj
yentqrops party had gone to the bot
tOna lLateli in the afternoon the mail
steamer from Panama came in andfired
a gun near thejspot where the boat had
disappeared. - m az
AsEtle small boats iwere passing to
and from the steamer with passengers,
etc., bubbles were discovered rising
upon the surface. Of the water where
the Submarine boat was last seen; and
as those came up at regular intervals
in small numbers it was supposed that
the party was still alive, and hearing
the steamers gun, and knowing that a
great many boats would be going to
and fro,f was signaling for . help by
ejecting air. A diver belonging to one
of the English men 1ofswarlIwas at lonce
sent down, and after half jan hours
anxious waiting he returned with the
intelligence that the boat WAS on the
bottom, in 36 fathoms of water. Chains
and cables were Immediately attached
to the boat, and repeated efforts were
made TO raise her, 2butI without. avail,
her bottom seeming to have been suck
ed into the oozy bed of the sea and be-
coming firmly fastened. All night and
the next lday'until afternoon the bub-
bles kept coming up, like signals
sometimes 7not3 appearing for half AN
hour at d time, ond then suddenly
rushing up for a;few seconds with great
force. The feelings of the apopulace
] assembled to rescue the party from
their! terrible fate may. be imagined
> but what must of been the reflections
of the men during those awful hours. a
/ the bottom of the bay, Knowing, al
they did, what little hope there was fo
B them. doll l-NAJSl$J
e They could have heard the diver
t working on the sides of their boat at
taching the chains, and perhaps felt th
! strain, as the, cable, drew. taut; but a
to time sped away without their bein,
raised, despair worse than death mus
! have taken possession Of them. Doubt
less they tried to signal through tn
7; sides Of their boat to the diver ham
r mering outside, but he in his diyin
dress could hear nothing. The aper
d turelto the interior was 80 small tia
III but one person could pass through it a
e a time, and, that very slowly so that
: an attempt was made to escape by tina
/ means all would inevitably be drown
! ed. After many hours of laborious e1
e fort to raise the boat the hosting ma
:, chinery broke, and the attempt wa
! necessarily abandoned. About tn
! middle of the afternoon of the secon
= day, the bubbles commenced CROWN
u fainter and more rare, and before SUI
down entirely ceased. The boat sti
= lies where it went down, and passel
=, gers arriving by the steamer are tol
y by the boatmen, as they row towar(
= shore, the painful story Of those te
. mems fate, and efthe familiesrwhe sti
=, 70 mourRlin Valparaiso for their fathe
as and brothers in their iron coffin at Il
n bottom of the sea. 34-J.,SS u. -i4.-s-