The Manitowoc tribune. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1866-1878, 1871-09-14
was afraid those at the pump might, by

the knob of the cabin door. L was for
few moments entirely cut off from my vi
tai supply"
Il saw / had but second between
life aud death. Dashing towards the door
just as those overhead were swinging me
from my feet, / succeeded In Selling the
handle, and. with all the force which des
peration gives to man who knows how
very near he is to death, / succeeded in
wrenching the handle, and then | felt a
swift current of air sweep over my face.
| believe lost consciousness at the bless
ed element poured into my lungs; at all
events, | breathed my second breath on
the deck of the boat which foated on the
calm sea, and glistened in the blessed
light OF the sun like vast mirror OF mol
ten silver or geld"
why do you follow profession that
has so much danger in it p | asked.
The diver looked me in the face, and
with a sof. smile on his own, said:
why does the drunk lard knowing the
misery that follows, steep his soul in
| liquor? Why does the gambler, with the
| him, spend his days and nights at the
gambling table, wasting his fortune?
Why does the soldier delight in scores
of blood and daring and why does the
seaman wrecked hundred times, still
follow the sea? There is one word that
will answer all these questions. That word
is-fascination. [ am fascinated. |
, know how very dangerous is my calllngs
and yet l cannot forego it. Strange, it
is not ?-this fascination and yet [
never put on this helmet without shud
der-without faintness, so to speak. at
my heart. In half an hour hence-as
soon, that is, as the tide serves-I shall
be a hundred feet beneath you. and alone
with dead men and sea monsters; but
when | again stand by your side, will
experience an ecstasy that has never been
yours. You cannot feel the rapture that
will then be mine, drinking in the light
as L drink in the air-looking around me
on the soft, still water, and the yerdant
earth so widely-ay, humanity, different
from the world that stretches out almost
to illimitability beneath the ocean. This
is my fascination. [ dread and yet l love
my profession.
''Of that lifeless woman and her ba-
bies p | again asked. You said it was
horrible-a fearful sight What of them?
Tell me. -
Il should have said rather, a sad,
dreary sight," said the diver, as, with
half closed eyes, he looked out over the
sea that, in long, unbroken waves, rolled
toward the shore. No; I shall never
forget that woman, and the babies that
even in death chung to her body. And
yet | know not why | should remem Der
this woman and her offspring more than
other dead women and dead children |
have met with in the waters, fatho ms
deep"
1T was this, perhaps, that impressed
the scene more particularly On my mind:
In the winter Of 1857, we had a terrible
storm off the coast. and while the waves
were raging In the fury OF the driving,
shriekjng winds, the schooner Night and
Day, from St. Thomas-with cargo of
oranges and lemons, and with a woman
and her twin babes as passengers, to-
gether with two of the crew-was lost off
the coast, just outside of the Hook"
Besides the cargo, the passengers and
the crew, there were mary thousand dol
lars In treasure on board, and it became
an object of some moment with the I'M
derwrlters to save the specie. [ was di-
rected to explore the schooner. [ found
her lying partially on her side in twelve
fathoms, the hull entirely sound and,
on returning, so reported.
wv lille awaiting the decision of the
board as to the propriety Of raising the
vessel to the surface and pumping her
out, strange gentleman-evidently
relgner-Wearlng sad but sweet ex-
preston on his dark face, came to me and
inquired if ! had seen the bodies oftbose
who had gone down with the schooner?"
Il answered that [ had not-that |
had been on the deck for only few min
utes, near the waist, my attention being
principally directed to the outside of the
hull, to ascertain if she could be raised
from her bed"
''The stranger hung his head for few
minutes, as if he were bordering some
subject OF moment, and then said
Sir, my wife and children-twins,
and babes-were passengers in the Night
and Day."
YES" [ replied. ''The captain of
the vessel, who succeeded in reaching the
shore, said there was a woman and two
babies in the cabin when it went down
L did not explore the bold Of the vessel,
sir, L again remarked"
''Mr. Jackson" said the stranger, sit
would be some little comfort to me, if |
| could see my wife and children again,
| and then give them Christian burial
Will you help me? am not rich, sir;
but if thousand dollars will compensate
you for the trouble, they are freely
yours"
L looked at the man, and then [
thought of my own dear wife and chill
dren, and answered: :"
Il need no reward, sir. [ will do
for you as [ would be done by. [ only
hope | may succeed in bringing the bod
les, OF your lost ones to the light Ct the
| SUM- -.-
Il put on my armor,' continued the
| diver, land leaping into the sea, was pres
emily on the deck of the schooner |
! passed directly to the cabin, and finding
the doors closed, labored to open them.
/ That, L found, was impossible, with all
my ztren~th-a man has ten times the
| force in the water he can command on the
land-and SO [ posed directly to the
skylight. Through this [ dived into the
room. | could not see more than three
or four feet in front of my armor-plate of
glass, and so L had to grope for the dead.
have an instructive dislike to the touch.
] even through my armor, of CORPSE
! Something rubbed me on the shoulder.
L shranS back. and putting forth hand
elutched garment. Then there was
dense cloud. 1t came between me and
the faint light. 1t was the body of the
woman. | felt for the arms. In each
there was firmly held and closely pressed
to the bosom, the body of babe. 1t was
an easy task to push these-the corses of
the mother and her children-to and
thro ,sh the skylght to the deck above.
There, with the stronger but DETECTED
light, L could read the horror, the agony
IN dying, that yet rested on the woman s
distorted countenance
Fastening a rope to the head, l sig
naifpI thnSn tho h.,n4 !,