The Republican journal., 1869-09-16

And opening his vest he showed the pre-
cious relic, suspended from his neck in Il lit
tie satin ba@.
WHAT A DIVER SEES, FEELS AND THINKS.
| Foremost among the bold divers of the lakes
| is John Quinn, 4 resident of Detroit. He
| furnishes the Free Press of that city the fol-
lowing interesting sketch; and from a long
and varied experience, eminently qualified to
tcrics of which we have spoken, and with a
little help to polish up his words, he says:
1t is a strange business, this diving. The
danger fascinatcs some, but the peril is never
for a moment lost sight of. Iput on the he'll
met for the first time more than ten years ago,
and vet ! never resume il without q feeling
| that it may be the last time I shall ever 90
| down. OF course, one has more confidence
after a while, but there is something in being
| shut up in an armor. weighted down with a
hundred pounds, and knowing that Il little
leak in your life pipe is your death, that no
diver can ever get rid of. And do not know
that should care to Danish the feeling; for
the sight of the clear, blue sky, the genial
sun and the face Of a fellow man, after long
hours among the fishes, makes you feel like
| one who has suddenly been drawn away from
the grasp OF death. | have had some narrow
escapes while pursuing my strange profess
siOn every diver has, OF has been unusually
lucky to escape them. | think the most dam
gerons place / ever got into was going down
to examine the propeller Comet, sunk off
Toledo. In working about her bottom, got
my air pipe coiled over Il large silver from
the steven hole and could not reach it with
my hands. Every time | sprang up to remove
the hose my tender would give me the ''slacl,''
of the line, thus letting me fall back again
He did not understand his duties, and did not
know what my signals on the lifeline meant
1t was two hours and half before | was re-
licved, and there wasn't a moment that was
not looking to see the hose cut by the ragged
wood. It's strange feeling You have down
there. You 60 walking over 4 vessel, clam
boring up her sides, peering here and there
and the feeling that you are alone makes you
nervous and uneasy. Sometimes, a vessel
sinks down so fairly that she stands up on the
bottom as trim and as neat rs if she rode on
the surface. Then you can go down into the
cabin, up the shrouds, walk all over her,
Just as easily rs Il sailor could if she were
still dashing away before the breeze. Only
it seems so quiet, so tomblike; there arc no
waves down there-only a swaying back and
forth of the waters, and a see-saWin@ of the
ship. You hear nothing from above: the
great fishes will come swimming about, rub
bing their noses against your glass and star
ing with a wondering look into your eyes
The very stiffness sometimes g ives life 4 chill
You hear just a moaning wailing sound. like
the last notes of an organ, and you cannot
help but think of dead men floating over and
around you. | have been down especially to
rescue the bodies of those drowned. About
four years ago, the propeller Buckeye, belong
ing to the Northern Transportation Company,
went down in the river St. Lawrence, in
scventy-eight feet of water, and it was known
that Il mother and child were asleep in their
stateroom at the time of her sinking The
father begged of me and offered me a GOOD
deal of money to take out the corpses. and
though dreaded the work, at last consent
ed. | had been all over the wreck two or
three times, and knew Just where the state
room was. The door was fast locked and
waited a good while before bursting it open
OF course, dead person couldn't harm YOU
Even inlbroad day, on shore, and with people
around you, don't you know that the sight
and presence of II dead person brings up
solemn thoughts andnervouS feelings? KNEW
how they would look, how they were floating
around in the room, and if the father hadn't
been looking so wretched above, there was
no money to tempt me in there. But, at last,
| got Il crowbar from forward, and, not let
ting myself think, gave the light door blow
that stove it in. The water came rushing out,
the vessel just then lurchcd over toward my
side, and out they came, the woman first, her
eyes wide open and hair trailing behind, and
in her left hand she held the hand of tie child
knew how they would look, but screamed
out and jumped back. Her face was fcarfully
distorted, showing how hard death had been
met. and the eyes looked through the green
waters at me in a way that made my flesh
creep. The child had died easily, its little
white face giving out no sign of terror. 1t
was good while before fastened the line
to them and gave the signal to haul up and |
felt so uneasy that | was not long in follow
ing. This is one of the drawbacks to any
feeling of curiosity a diver might otherwise
have, | never go down the hatchway or the
cabin steps without thinking of a dead man
floating about there. When the Lac Ia Belle
sunk on St. Clair Flats, the engineer was
caught in the rushing waters, and no trace
was ever found Of his body. His wife came
to me, hearing that l was to go down to the
wreck, and ask me to find the body if posi-
BILE. l remembered this when went down.
and went cropping through the engine-room
in momentary expectation of encountcrine
the body. l looked so long without finding
it that got nervous, and had started for the
ladder to go up, when | felt something strike
my helmet and give way and q chill went
dancing over me as thought the dead body
was at hand But on reaching up, / found
that had run against the+fire hose, the end
OF which was hanging down, and that what
| so dreaded was still hidden beyond nv
sight.
A diver does not like to 90 down more than
hundred and twenty feet at that depth the
pressure is painful and there is danger of in
ternal injury. l can stay down for five or six
hours at time at u hundred and fifteen or
twenty feet, and do good deal of hard work.
In the waters of Lake Huron, the diver can
see thirty Or forty feet away, but the other
lakes will screen a vessel not ten feet from
you.
Up here you seldom think of accident Or
death, but hundred feet of water washing
over your head would set you to thinking. A
little stoppage of your air pump, a leak in
your hose, careless action on the part of
your tender, and the weight of mountain
would press the life out of you before you
could make a move. And you may ''foul''
your pipe or line yourself, and in your haste
bring on what you dread. l often get my
hoe c%o Al,