Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1871-07-07

The Housatonic lies in thirty-six
feet Of water, just over the bar, six
teen miles from the city. She rests
on hard shell bottom, and lies
northwest by southeast, upright on
her keel. The water out here is
beautifully blue and clear, and the
divers prosecute their work with
much less difficulty than at the Wee
hawken. Her deck, mast and rig
ging have all been eaten away by
the worms, and little else is now
left of her but the huge black hull.
Her propeller, shaft, chains and an
chors, and large portion of her
machinery, have been hoisted from
her by the machine, and also of the
smaller guns composing her arma-
ment. The rcst-of them were taken
up by the government several years
ago. The government has buoy
planted about 800 yards southeast
Of this wreck, which enables the
wreckers to guess;sretty closely as
to her Whereabouts. To render the
matter certainty, however, Capt.
Soames, when he leaves her to come
to the city, marks her position with
buoy fastened to the centre of her
hull. About twenty feet south of
the wreck of the doomed ship lies
the hull Of her destroyer, the Con
federate Torpedo Boat.
She has been visited by the cap
tain, who reports her to be lying
bottom upwards, and seemingly in
good preservation. There is no
holes in her hull, and the wings of
her diminutive propeller, now up
permost, seem to be in good run
ming order. She did her work eff
fectually. In the hull on the port
quarter of the huge ship is a jagged
hole large enough to drive a car
riage and pair through. Tie heavy
oaken ribs and thick planks are
are blown in with tremendous pow
er, and the Housatonic must have
gone down with but little prepara-
ton. Her diminutive but dangerous
foe met with similar fate, and the
two now rest in silence, side by
side, at the bottom of the sea.
Under the waters the divers see
curious things, and make curious
acquaintances. Near the surface of
the water on his way down, the
diver sees sharks Of enormous di-
mentions, which seem afraid Of the
curious monster thus intruding on
their domain. The sharks are never
seen at the bottom; they keep their
distance; but the small fry at the
bottom are much more sociable.
These swim around the diver in the
most Indifferent manner, and, with
a curiosity truly feminine, insert
their noses in every oritice in his
submarine armor. Their particu-
lar amusement is to pry into the
glass eye, and at times they are as
troublesome as the mosquitoes are
to us land-lubbers. All varieties
and immense quantities of these
small fish feed around on the shells,
and their curiosity renders them
easy victims to the lnsinuations of
hook and bait. At night the phos-
phoresccnt sparks in the clear blue
water out at the Housatonic light up
the depths in a wonderful manner,
and the diver enjoys the illumina-
ton, though he has not much time
for admiring the beauties Of nature.
He stays down six hours, or less, as
his work renders it necessary. In
rummaging about the ship the cap
tain discovered several bottles Of
Rhine wine and ale, a bottle of
which might have been seen in good
preservation few days ago at the
store Of Mr.. E. Z. Bedford in
King street. He also brought up a
globular brass lamp and several
metal mountings from officers
swords. The captain and his craft
are now bound for the Housatonic.
where, if the weather be propitious,
he expects to take in heavy cargo.