The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1875-08-19
A piving-Bell Adventurs.

| board the sloOp of war Virago, one of
| our midshipmen touched me on the
| shoulder and said that Lieutenant
| Courtney wanted to see me.
" have heard that you are some
| thing of a naturalist, Mr.. Vincent, F"
said the officer, smiling.
" No, sir, I replied, ono naturalist ;
but take an interst in"
" o well, never mind, said the lieu
tenant. Have you seen our diving
bell ?"
eyes, sir"
He then told me that he wanted me
to go down under the sea with our
boatswain, Jones, to look for curious
fish, which on the previous day had
been pierced and killed with pike.
In form, he said the fish resembled a
serpent about thirty inches in length,
and had upon both sides of its neck a
pair of singular appendages, something
| like wings. Its most striking pecu-
| iiarity, however, was one eye, greenish
in color and situated in the top of its
head. On being struck by the pike,
| the creature had rolled over, apparently
| dying, and then had gone out of sight
1 think" continued the lieutenant,
6 that such q curiosity is worth secur-
ing, and have picked you out to go
| with Jones, believing that you are in
terested in natural history"
1 bowed acquiescence, and went away
| to make preparations.
The diving bell was soon on deck,
ready to bo hoisted and swung over the
side. II was a little damaged, but
| neither Jones nor I anticipated any
danger.
We were presently in our places,
singing out "All right /" when the bell
began slowly to descend.
Down, down, lower and lower. We
glanced around us on all sides, but saw
nothing of the strange fish. Curious
looking specimens of the finny tribe,
however, greeted us in many directions,
We could see the sword-fish dart past,
with its long, protruding bone weapon ;
! the globe fsh, the sun. fish, the moon
fish, the balloon-fsb, and the spiteful-
looking shark, swept through the clear
green waters, almost brushing the
diving-bell with their tails and fins.
The air was becoming somewhat i'm
pure, so we opened the stop-cock and
let it ont, feeling a moment after fresh
supply sent down to us through the
India rubber pipe or hose secured to
the top of the bell.
Jones was about touching the signal
cord to intimate our desire to be lowered
still further, when we felt a sudden
jerk, felt the bell going down rapidly,
and, to our horror, realized that the
rope by which the bell was suspended
had parted from the hook to which it
was attached.
Away went the pipe at the same mo-
ment, and we only saved ourselves from
instant destruction by stopping up the
aperture with a thick handkerchief !;
otherwise the water beneath must have
filed the bell in a very short time.
We heard the water roaring and
gurgling around us as we descended !;
our descent, however, became every
instant slower, until the confined air in
the bell kept us suspended about two
feet from the bottom of the sea.
The air in our floating prison now
became almost unbearable, not only
from its being so densely compressed,
but also from long confinement.
Terror stricken, we glanced at each
other. Jones' eyes, protruding from
his head. looked blOodshot and tinged
with very strange green color, while
his dusky skin seemed to shrink like
shriveled parchment but the most
startling change in his appearance was
the sudden apparently supernatural
look of his visage. A man of fifty, he
seemed at least thirty years older.
Presently his teeth began to rattle in
his head, his form was bent almost
double, and he threw his arms around
in agony, as if he were clutching at
something.
How horribly useless this pantomime
seemed to me He wanted fresh air
to clutch at air What mockery !
MV H. oocVNa1
,'the Lord have mercy on us What
shall we do ?"
What could we do? I could only
stare at him, stupid with despair.
The air in the bell became more and
more sitting. The boatswain flew to
my side, and grasped hold of me in his
extreme agony.
I endeaVored to speak, but only q
hoarse rattle in my throat obeyed my
will. My brain began to whirl, and
gasped hard for breath. A terrible
oppression was on my lungs. The
bOatswain had now released me. 1
staggered against the side of our prison
in a helpless state ; my senses seemed
about to desert me.
Gradually to my confused sight, a
dark, red cloud mist seemed to float up
all around the bell. Ny head felt as
though it would burst. Terribly op-
pressed, I fell upon my knees, and
should have fallen into the sea, but Tor
the bOatswain who now held me.
Then all began to grow dark. With
a superhumau effort I half raised my
self and looked around me, feeling like
one cropping in the dark. Bewildered,
and full of the most agonizing pain, 1
became aware that something was sway
ing up and down before my sight; up
| and down IN that red mist, mingliDg
with the water. I made another effort
"a great effort to comprehend what it
was (this swaying thing, and at last
did so understood that it was a hook
attached to the end of a rope, lowered
to us from the deck of the Virago, 60
far above.
"pn dash open the lens this was
a glass in the top of the bell-gasped
the bOatswain then you stand by to
hook it on the inside"
just managed to hear the words and
they strengthened me with a wild hope,
though was still so bewildered that I
| could scarcely now see the swayiug hook.
The bOatswain's arm was before my
! eyes. With one blow of his huge fist,
dealt with the remains of his great
! strength, he shivered the lens.
There was a roaring sound it was
! the upward rush of the water into the
| bell as the air escaped.
There was no time to be lost. ] thrust
my arm through the aperture, and drew
| In the hook quickly attaching it to the
top of the inside of the bell The next
moment the water came bubbling over
| the head of the boatswain and myself,
and that was the last 1 remembered of
| what transpired.
When L recovered my senses I found
myself in the steerage, with the ships
| doctor bending over me.
d" A narrow escape I" were his first
words.
"Where is Jones ?" 1 exclaimed.
Here, replied feeble voice and,
rising, beheld the boatswain in a bunk
| under me.
" He had a narrow escape than you
had" said the doctor. 1.-THE thumb
of his right hand was bitten off by a
shark, which made spring for it as we
pulled you both into the cutter after
the diving bell was hauled to the sur
faoa.p