The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1868-07-21
CuTiou> Facts about Divers Then
RISKS und their Discoveries.

\ good diver will earn about el
day, and will he in lolerably .cgular
employment. This applies only to
deep water divers il they are working
in shallow water The wages are but los
10 lbs per day. The more adventurous
and success FIJI of the divers are 10y no
means content with mere weekly wages,
but make special stipulationS for extra
risks in which case the remuneration
generally takes the form of II percent
age upon the value OF whatever is recov-
cred In some eases, rs may be sup
posed, they obtain large sums of money.
tWithStandin" the facts that the di-
yers do not usually constitute shining
lights in tcetotal societies tWhrn At work
however, they are eX necessitale ah-
stemiousl, and also that they are eN-
posed to great personal risks, they are
usually long-liNcd and commonly pres
ent the appearance, quite an exceptional
appearance, We may say, OF hale and
hearty men. John Hall, one of the
most celebrated of the cOniraternity,
lived to eighty; and Whitstable can at
this moment produce men who may he
said to have shaken fins with sharks
any time these fifty years.
The old divers are fond of recOunting
| the glorics of their craft, and are espec-
tally impressed with any information
a. to the fate of the vessels of the Ar
mazda. This spirit has been fostered no
| less by the successes of William Phipps
! IAN ancestor of the Mulgravcs, who in
| 1867. recovered goo, 900 from wrecks
sunk off the coast of Hispaniola and
for which he was llnightedi than 10y
the good fortune of John Gam of Whit
stable. This old diver was many years
employed on the Galway coast, and used
To pass his evenings in public house
| frequented by fishermen. One of these
men, repeating tradition which had
| long existed in the district, told Gam
| that one of the Spanish vessels had been
wrecked not far from that coast, and in
| tmated that he himself could point out
the spot. Gam having finished his
special job, made terms with the fisher
man, and they We're both out for many
weeks dragging the spot indicated for
any traces of the wreck. They were at
last rewarded by coming upon obstruc-
! tions with theirgrapnels. Gam brought
| out his diving apparatus, and sure
enough the truth of the tradition was
vindicated by the finding of number
| of dollars, which had originally been
packed in barrels the barrels, however
had rotted away and left the gold stack
ed in barrel-shape. With the money so
recovered John Gam built at Whit
stable, his native place, row of houses
which TO commemorate the circun-
stances, he called Dollar Row,
4 amusing anecdote is told in which
the sacred hunger of pernicious gold
just escaped being satisfied. \ couple
of divers had been engaged to bring up
the treasure from a Spanish ship and
after recovering what they thought suf-
ficient for the principal in the transac-
ton, they determined TO do little bus
mess on their own account. They told
him. therefore, that all the money had
been removed G;:. he persuaded them
To make another search, to which they
We're obliged To consent 10 save appear
ances. To amuse themselves while
they We're, in the original sense of the
word, amusing their employer, they
80 runs the story-hegan Ia play pitch
and toss at tAe bottom of the sea with
the coin stlll remaining in the wreck.
One of the coins in the process of toss
ing disappeared, aud after time the
men came up and solemnly declared
that nothing remained below. The
employer, however, happening to 60
behind one of them. discovered a coin
sticking in his belt OF some part of his
dress. This was the missing coin. Such
evidence as this was conclusive against
the divers. The principal therefore
, dismissed them, obtained other divers
and recovereda great deal more money
: Such story, it is true, sounds apoehry
: phal, but II is told and believed 10y
divers.
, A vexatious but somewhat laughabl,
incident transpred during the work ol
the foundations of New Westminste
: bridge. 1t Is said that curiosity wa
: aroused by the small quantity of worl
} done by those who We're sent down II
! the bell, and 1t was nj last discoyere,
that in place of working the men use,
9 to amuse themselves by playing cards
| and considered themselves much ny
4 grieved that they were not able tosmoke
1 After this the contractors had the mel
4 equipped in diving dresses, which pu
= an end to card-playing at all events
IA The divers, too, are fond of relating In
e cases in which large sums have bee