The Fairfield herald. [volume] (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1849-1876, 1867-05-08
Heriis Of Sub Earino Exn,ora,;ons--
Thrilling Narrative

raise, and while the Spanish feet w,,
at CaBao, Il German residing =, Val
paraiso constructed n submarine boat
Tor The purpose Of applying torpeaoc.
! to the bottom of the Spanish irigatcs
The boat was forty feet long and wa,
propelled by 4 crew worked by hand
SO confident was her builder in he,
efficiency that at the first experiment
IN the bay, he took with him into th,
boat his son and eight friends. Ate,
sailing about on tho surface few
moments, the boat was made to sink
without the precaution Of havn. the
cables attached for use in case of ac-
cidcnt, or even a buoy to mark the
spot where she went down. Several
hours elapsed and the boat failing to
return, 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
adventurous pnrty had gone to the
bottom. Late in the afternoon tn,
mail steamer came in from Panama
ana frod gun near the SPOT
where the boat disappeared.
as the small boats were Dass;nr ~
ana from the steamer with passen-
gers, etc, bubbles were discovered
rising upon tho surface o.; ;'.n y,at,;
where the submarine boat was last
seen; and ~ they came up II REGULAR
intervals in small numbers, il was sun
posed that the party was still alive,
and hearing the steamer; gun, end
Knowing that Z great many boats
would be going to and fro, was >i~nal-
Fthl. for help by c;ecting ar. 4 div
er belonging to Que Of thc I!ng.isb
Men-ot-"ar was at once sent down.
aud after an hours anxious wait;rt
he returned with the intoli!,:cncc ,lnt
the boat was on the bottom, in 33
fathoms Of watcr.
Chains and cables were immcdiatc-
~ attached to the boat and raneatcl
efforts were made to raise her, but
without avail, her bottom seeming 20
have been sucked into the oc2v bod Of
tho sea and become firmly listened.
All night and the next dav, until
afternoon tho bubbles kopt com.
ing for half an hour at timd,' -:
then Suddenly rushing up for few So
conds with great force. The feeling
Of the populacc assembled to rescue
the party from their terrible fate may
be imagined but what must have
been the reflections Of the men during
those awful hours mt tho bottom Of tho
bay, knowing as they did, what little
hope there was for th'am.
They could ,,Ne heard the divers
working on the sides o! thcir boat, At
lachins the chains, and perhaps felt
the strain as the cables drew taut:
but rs the time sped away without
their being raised, despair worse than
death must have taken possession Of
them. Doubtless they tried to signal
through the side OF their boat to The
diver hammcring outside, but in his
diving dress could hear nothing. The
aperture to the interior was 81 small
that but one person could pass through
it at a time, and that very slowly, 50
that if any attempt were made to cs-
cape by that means all would incvita-
bly, be drowned.
After many hours OF laborious CT
forts to raise the boat the hosting ma,
chinery broke, and the attempt was
necessarily abandoned. About the
middle of the afternoon Of the second
day tho bubbles commenced growing
fainter and more rare, and before sun
down entirely ceased. The boat still
lies where it went down, and passcn-
gers arriving by the steamer are told
by tho boatmen, as they row toward
shore, the painful story of those ten
mems fate, and of the females who
still mourn in Valparaiso for the faith
crs and brothers in the iron coffin at
bottom of the sea.
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Vhn Now Vnnl TnannnI nf G1n, ~ o,.cn