The Lincoln County herald., 1873-05-07
Down Among the Corpses.

From the New Ycrk SUM-
HALIFAX. April 1O-Capt. Merritt Of
the New York Wreckiug Company has
taken charge Of the wreck oftbe Atlantic,
and Captain Sheridan, the great Nova
Scotia wrecker, is acting under his In
structons. The bodies Of persons 10 the
cabin were rlainly seen yesterday, and ap
effort is to be made to get at them BY
cutting through the side of the ship. AS
the vessel lies Oh her side i, is extremely
difficult to get into the saloon. The
manner Of diving here Is primitive. But
for the spars Of the broken Atlantic a
person knowing nothing Of the wreck
might think that the men in the group
of rowboats were hauling in fish They
take no unusual interest in theil work,
and body or bale is steadily hauled up
aud borne away to the store house or
the graveyard. There is the diving boat,
in which is made fast the air pump.
worked by two men. This toat is lashed
to one of the spars Of the Atlantic.
Parallel with it, at about a distance Of
six feet, lies another boat, in which are
the men who haul up the bodies. The
diver puts on most Of his dress in the
schooner, which lies about two hundred
yards from the wreck. Over his ordinary
attire he pulls first thick Jersey, theu
be secures his feet and legs in halt
dozen pairs OF thick, long woolen socks,
aud over all he draws a nondescript fan.
mel garment. Thus fortified against the
cold, be crawls into his water proof dress,
and looks like turtle with human
head. From the schooner he is rowei
to the boats. There he completes his
toilet. He puts on an enormous pair Of
boots, with double soes, one of leather
and one of lead. Two heavy fat lead
weights are hung over his shoulders, the
helmet is screwed on, the lifeline attached
to the neck plate, tie sheath knife bel,ed,
and the curious looking being is ready TO
explore the green waves below.
GRopINo IN THE DARK.
He lifts himself heavily from bis seat,
disappears over the side Of the boat. and
slowly is lowered twenty feet to the wreck.
lie walks on the upturned side Of the
Atlantic till he reaches a point from
which he can enter the hatchway. Into
the hatchway the black object disappears
Divers have strange life. Captain
Sheridan is the most experienced diver
Of this coast. The first time be went
down into the wreck for bodies he met
sight that would have appalled, less stout
hearted men. lie entered the cabin. In
corner stood almost straight the form
of woman in her night dress. The
hands were open and the arms extended. |
AS Sheridan opened the saloon door the
still water ripped, and the arms of the
dead woman moved up and down. As
be moved forward, the water became more
agitaied, and the dead body, still upright,
slowly and with wavering hands, foated |
toward him. He moved aside to let it |
pass, then passed rope around the mid
die, guided it through the cabin door,
gave the signal and it was hoisted. One
of the divers at work on the Atlantic told
that as he was passing along in the steer.
age he was struck twice on the helmet
Looking up he saw dead body The
agitation Of the water had caused the
corpse to move. The vessel is full Of
broken timber, Of twisted and jagged iron
plates, and Of bales and boxes, and beds
scattered among which lie the bodies of
men and women. The work is q danger.
Gus one, even for experienced divers,
for the securing Of body or bale raises
a liquid mass Of filth, which obscures
the vision and makes search difficult.
The after hatch is still
NEARLY FULL OF FEMALE BODIES,
that section of the steerage being set
apart for single women.
The divers have never, except on Sun
day last, endeavored to get at the bodies,
when they could just as easily send up
bale Of goods. Captain Sheridan has
been working for forty per cent of the
net value of goods saved, and his men
must of course look to his interests A
body is worth nothing, while bale of
silk may be worth Thousands of dollars.
There is, therefore. no inducemt for
diver to send up body. Personal effects
are exempt from salvage, SO that body
with half u dozen gold watches and |
Thousands of dollars in bank notes and
gold is worth as little to the diver as that
of the poorest stowaway. On Tuesday
only one body, that Of a steerage passen.
ger, was recovered.