The Tipton advertiser. [volume] (Tipton, Cedar Co., Iowa) 1856-1962, 1868-09-17
TIPTON, IOWA, SEPTEMBER II, 1868.
The Diver in Boston Harbor.

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r. The Diver in Boston Harbor.
Small beads Of white foam are still left
on the waves from the eastcrly storm of
two days before; the water had wonder
full. colors, which darted and changed
naomentarily, amber, and green, and
blue, all alive with light. On such days
one Is glad that there were once born
Hindoos, who said that round the feet of
the mountains rolled oceans of golden
butter. clear sugar-cane juice, foaming
white milk, aud sparkling red wine. 1t
appears SO stupid to call 1t only salt
water. ""@fhin.n 'sst4 H4 .ttp.ts,,s
AT last somebody cried out, "There is
the vessel, and there is the diver on
deck" .--.a e.. 3...
| We pressed to the edge of the boat; In
= few moments we were alongside; there
he was, and after all he looked, at first
sight, like nothing but q medium -sized
man in white ovcralls. He stood In a
passive attitude, under the hands Of two
men who were apparently buttoning his
overalls on at the shoulder. Buttoning
indeed! Presently we saw that the
overalls ended in an iron rim or yoke
round his neck, and that the men were
screwing and screw.ng and screwing
him in by dozen firm iron screws with
heads like faucets. He had a we'll shap-
ed: resolnte face; and clear gray eyes,
which twinkle6 when we asked ques-
tions., The overalls were made of two
thicknesses of stout canvas, with a layer
of india-rubber between, fastened tight
at the wrists and ankles by india rubber
bands. Next he drew on huge red
stockings, very ragged. These were on
ly to protect the canvas dress, which is
very costly, from being torn by the
rocks.
Then came the shoes; they stood at
my feet; and I, feeling as If were po-
litely assisting Mt the ROBBERY of some
briny king, stopped to pick up one and
give 1t to him. He smiled. At the first
careless lift of my muscles it no more
stirred than il it hal been nailed to the
deck. 1t was, say, No. II or IL, aud the
sole was Of solid iron, an inch and a half
thick. It was all could do to raise it
with one hand. Next went on the belt
the life preserver, as they called it. 1t
was eight inches broad. made of thick
squares of metal, looking like common
electric pile. Divers life preservers,
it seems, are built for the sole purpose Of
keeping their heads under water. The
only thing now left for him to put on
was the helmet If said the iron pot, it
would give better idea of the article
which two men lifted up and put over
his head, screwing it firmly to the rim
Of his iron yoke. At each side was q
small grated glass window, and to the
back was fastened a long gutta percha
pipe, which communicated with two air
pumps on deck. This was his breathing
apparatus. The mouth of the pot, per-
haps six inches in diameter, came in
front of his face.
He had now stepped off the deck, and
was standing partly in the water on q
q ladder swung at the vessels side. One
Of his costumers leaned over with the
lid to the pot, and held it just opposite
the opening. "Start up the pumps" he
called, as he screwed it on, and at that
instant man at the air pumps began to
turn wheel by which the air was forced
through the gutta percha pipe. In an
other instant the diver was gliding down
the rope, and in one more only few
bubbles Oh the top of the water told
where he was. .......
He had looked less and less like hu-
man being as the process had gone OH,
and when the top of the pot appeared
again above the water, and the figure
below it clambered up the ladder, and
bent itself clumsily over the edge of the
deck, to he unscrewed, 1t was hard to
believe that he could be anything but
some newly caught monster.
We crowded round him. When the
helmet was taken off, he looked little
exhausted, aud breathed for some Sec
oAsOS VIVA ooAAC CAOIVs uaU OeCU
under the water only few moments to
see If everything were ready for the
blast.
"Do the fishes and things down there
look at you much?" said l.
Yes, they come sailing round pretty
close, and if there is anything bright
they'll make dive at it. Sometimes
they nibble at the screws If they shine;
aud the little perches bite my fingers
sometimes" he said, showing q scratch
on his finger.
"Can you look up? Do you see the
SUM-"
II can't see anything out ofthe water,
and only see great bright spot on the
surface of the water where the sun is;
but it is light enough"
"And do you really walk about down
there just as they do here?"
Eyes, unless lose a shoe of; and then
l can't stay on the bottom minute; my
- a.. = l. n