The Conservative. (M'connelsville, Ohio) 1866-1871, 1868-07-23

Nv. vet the business of of6g into deep wstsr
and remaining there for hours, must be OK
posed Co perils knayn 10 no other calling.
The divers dress Is composed of a rub
Der cloth garment, covering his body and
limbs entirely, with the exception III his
hands, which are bare. u is clanlped by
bolts and screws to b copper yoke, resting
upon the shoulders. The copper helmet is
giobulur about "A inches high and foot
In diameter, and is screwed tightly to the
yoke. It has three glass Windows, about
four inches in diameter, out Of which the
diver can look by turning his head. He
receives ain through an inch tube Of thick
rubber. made expressly for this use. About
200 feet in length Of this air tube are used
one end connected with the air pump. The
air enters the helmet in abundance, the
surplus passing out through a valve, which,
working with a spring, yields to the pres
sure within, but allows no water 70 enter
The diver has leaden weights Of 20 pounds
each hung upon his breast and back, N
wears shoes with leaden soles, weighing IA
pounds each, to sink him to the bottom Of
the lake. Under all this dress he wears
double "thicknesses Of wooden drawers,
socks. and shirts, coats and cap to keep
him warm. forat the depth of twelve faith
OIIlNs lhE ANnAIgANNAAN VI AhN MNNNA 10 AAAAA
Of cold springs The life line" Is now plac-
ed around his waist, and by it he is let
down to the water and disappears from
view. Each diver has his Tender. who
sits on the ships rail with the air tube in
one hand and the air line in the other At
signals agreed npon, the 'tendei' calls
out now and then to the engineer more
air. 81 'less air, or other orders as TO the
letting down of augers, ~Cye-bolts, chains,
or casks, on tackle to raise heavy weights
from the wreck to the steamers dock.
The divers 90 down in the morning at
seven o'clock. and work till dinner time;
after which others take their places until
night
When we were there, ono diver. Mr..
Reynolds, was engaged undor the guards
OF the Morning Star boring into the plnnks
of her hull with on inch auger, and put
ting in iron cyc-bolts, n row Of which arc
put in all around, and to which arc 10 be
fastened the casks TO be used in raising
her. He worked at this on a platform laid
on the muddy bottom for three hours
without coming up. At a signal he was
drawn up, had q talk with Capt. Curtis,
and went down for two hours more. The
other diver, Louis Bou1iette, o French
Canadian, was engaged IN sending up
freight from the main deck. At his signal
the tender sings out TO the men ut the
hosting apparatus hoist away, and then
comes up hundreds Of bars OF mon, OF kegs
Of mills, reapers, machinery, barrels Of
sugar and molasses, or crates Of CrOcBeiy.
He sends up in q large ron tub let down to
him hundreds Of articles difficult TO fasten
to n line, guns, the contents OF the kitchen.
and once the wallet Of a drowned man
which he had picked up. Twice the divers
have discovered aud sent up bodies found
lying upon the deck Of the star.
You can see whereabouts the diver 10 at
work, rs the water directly above him is
almost white with the mir bubbles rising
from the escape valve in his helmet.
We had a curiosity to know the sensn-
tons ola diver when in great depths. He
says that nj a hundred feet depth, the pres
sure Of the water is great upon his body
and limbs. He sometimes has bleeding
from the nose on first going dovn. He Is
very cold at 70 feet below the surface, but
comes up on the deck and gets more COM
Portable. he can sec short distances in a
bright day, with the surface smooth.
Under the guards OF the sunken steamer,
it is as dark as midnight. Capt. Curtis
wanted n diver to examine the seams under
the guards 10 sec il they had been strained
open. II was too obscure to see without
some aid. The diver cast about for means.
The new submarine lantern was not at
hand He found a mirror in the ladies'
cabin which he held at such an angle as to
reflect the light from above into the dark
ness under the guards, N made the exam
nation by this means thoroughly. The
submarine lamp invented by Fuller is an
alright lamp, supplied with mir from the
surface through n tube.
The missing of a sunken vessel is done
by sending down hundreds Of casks filed
with water. These are placed bung down
wards alongside, and fastened TO chains
rove through eye-bolts inserted in the hull
by the diver. The air tube is inserted in
the bung, and the imitation drives the wa
ter out. The boilers ore also filed IN the
same manner, and when sufficient mir has
been pumped into the casks and boilers,
their buoyancy overcomcs the weight, and
lifts tie whole 10 the surface. There are
many interesting phenomena connected
with this business, and the opportunity Of
observing them is q rare treat.