The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1870-05-24
At TIE Bo1ToM OF TUE SEA.
Thrilling Adventures Of a Diver VINO
Visited tho Oneida.

On the oath day OF teortlaIy INC ooi,oT
steamship w sf Aroosiook, with Charles and J. s.
fnmgee. practical and experienced divers from
San Francisco, went to where the Oneida nes
In % faeto water. After the usual prepara-
lions had been concluded, and, Dy sounelne,
II mad been aseertalned that the. deck OF tne
Oneida was 103 feet beneath the surface OF tne
bsy. after every caution had been given, to
esght strong sailors to keep the air pump coz.
stsntly In motion, and allow not an instant OF
time of stoppage to occur, as thereby depended
fhe life of the bold diver; after Charley Lousee
had been heImeted and shnt from the an, e6r
'cept that supplied through the slender tuoe OF
cofled rubber, with lifeline aI9uha ms ivy Tya
and IsC;od bless yeu" from all aboard, ne was
dronped over the side aud slowly disappeared
IN the blne waves, while nervous tremor
shot through our frame as We realized the lear
FIJI risk undertaken by that man VINO was
seeking for truth In over one hundreo iee' Vi
!. AWAY to the leeward, borne by tide and
wind, came floating bubbles to the surface
.iifestpnals from below. The men at the pump
were iaboring manfully, but becoming fatigued,
attempted to change for fresh hands, ana mere
was a stop. 'tGreat God you will murder my
: ebrothert Quick for Heavens sake, quick !"
AND as the men recommended the revolutions
of the airIpump, the elder Lougee, with oianen-
ed face and trembling lip, gave signal on tne
life,line below, For an instant there came NO
rssbonse, and the face Of thaterother seemed
"a faFn to marble; but then we saw two quick
motions froinEthe kdbmarine station, and knew
it Was the welcome signal of "all right" ana
then Louges turned to the men at the wheel,
who came SO. near sending both below, ana
saiiSr,y said: VMy only brothers life depends
ppon your efforts in keeping that pump IN mo-
i.:ttion- stop again at your peril r Ihe calm iaee
aasain, and with Lieutenant Tanner close oy,
j. .they kept at work until stepped by orders rom
-TnI1pae.ssr =, i,. n .=72t .C -, 30
when we were on the deck OF
] that .ssand-pan," counting the tedious mo-
ments which heightened TO half an hour, Cnal-
ley Lougee was searching tae vaelHs 1ast a. same
! the signal for ssurface," and Instantly the NE
line was put In motion; slowly came the coll
ing hemp and rubber on deck; ana at last,
sway tn the deep blue waves, came IN elgns
the diver shrouded aad panopiied IN weird
feached Minister DeLong sword and lacquer.
ed boz, then was hIs helmet loosened, and our
. party crowded around to hear OF the gallant
ahip. Among our party we're many OF the sur
viyors OF the Oneida; among them were WI
liam Crowninshield, CaptMn Clark, Master
Yates, and DR.. James Suddards, VINO were IN
tensely excited to learn the uangs, tho s-ot
seventy feet was quite clear,,as the sungaye
excellent light, and although my supply OF ar
was once checked for an instant, reached the
y deck of the ship Just astern Of the mzzen-
9 mart. and close BY the mess-room hatch; the
tide was ebbing quite strong, and was COM
PEELED to. hold to the lines from the rigging TO
:: feep from being swept forward. frst exam
tfied the side Of the ship; she was cut from tne
mizaen rigging (at an angle OF about l0rty
: degreesJ across the whole stern OF the snip,
hertimbers, far below. the water-nne, Deing
!, ,crmhed and broken, the captains cabin cut In
1.-TWO. the wheel and stearing gear all carried
: away and, In fact, the whole side and END OF
i the shtp1 stove In and cut away. Inc snip
southwest, and sits. uprlgne On
the bottom, and Is making sand Slowly. ,aio
down on the deck and peered over tne proken
end into the cabin, but did not dare trust my
air-line In contact with the jagged jumpers.
THE gums and armament, except one, are al III
Mace aft; but did not go forward, as 1 was
afraid of ENHANCEMENT In the rigging. iulI- m,
ing 30 !CrowniRshield, ne said Your evE
dence. which read. described almost e4actiy
the injury, except that she was cut deeper man
YOU could have known" Lougee expressly
the belief that it win be impracticaDle 10 raise
the ship, but that the splendid oattery, per
sonal effects, &C., can be saved IL tne GOVERN
ment sees proper, =, tho uv,no
Ia Verified, and the memory OF the deao Wltn-
ont stain,, for the position OF the snip as
found. and the positions OF both the Oneioa
and Bombay, as testified to by the navigating
, o1ficers, show that It was impossible for tne
captain OF the Bombay to have ever seen tne
I red lieht Of the Oneida, and that the order OF
ssport yeur. heIm,n by Captain Eyre, was
wrong, and the .'starboard, hard a-starDoard
OF. Master Yates was right-Corresponden
Sacramento Bee.