Wilmington journal., 1875-07-30
THE DIVERS DRY.

'sTo be caught in tight place, with
twenty fathoms of water above, and a
stiffness, as of death about you, a
slender cord YOU only means OF com
munication with tho Sc above-to be
caught in tight place, L say, under
those circumstances, is about enough
to craze man outright / can tell you
sir"-and the old diver leaned back in
his chair, and fixed his eyes thought
fully on the roaring fire before which
we were seated-"I can tell you, sir,
it's often toss of a penny with us.
when we once get among the timbers
of all old wreck, if we ever come to
the surface again!
II remember b pretty tight fix 7 got
into when we were diving into the
Conqueror, up the Sound, of the Con-
nectIcut shore. She was coming in
from the Mediterranean, after thr, e
years, cruise with the 'middies,' and
went down in gale in sight of home,
with every sonl on board. 1 was
young then, and anxious to be sent
down into her, for the sake of the
reputation it would give me, for
reputa ton meant money, and money,
you see, was the only re son Nettie and
L were deferrlng our marriage. You
can understand how matters stood, and
how glad l wa: when III rec.ipt of
orders to make the first dive into the
| old mau- of war.
| 1.-The sea was running pretty high as
1 was carried down IN my heavy
'armor' from the deck OF the steamer
to the float along side, where the ropes
by which to haul me up aglin were
| fastened on; the india rubber tube,
through which [ was to be Supplied
with air, was adjusted, and 1 stood
listening to my final instructions before
being put Overboard.
Now, dear boy, said my old friend
and instructor. Lott, the famous deep
sea diver, who came forward to close
the little glass window Ill my he'll
| met, take good care OF yourself, and
don't stay long below. The currents
are swift and treacherous about here:
ana Keep an eye to your ropes, or
they II get tangled. Now, then, good
by. old fellow, and good luck to you;
and with pleasant smile he closed the
glass door before ny eyes, and fas-
tened over 1T the protecting wire net
ii g.
They bore me up in their arms to
the side of the float, where the hun
greed!ly opening their foaming frothy
jaws to receive me.
81 dr. upped into the waves with a
splash, sinking swiftly down through
the brilliant sunlit waters, which,
though rough and bOisterous at their
surface, suddenly grew calm as I pass
ed below. glanced up at the sun,
which appeared as a great ball of fire,
but, growing smaller and smaller as [
sank lower, it finally seemed like the
tiny red spark of a candle, and then
faded from sight. L noticed that the
waters We're lit by a pale greenish
haze, much like the effect of moon
light in light, drifting fog; but those
observations were cut short by my
realizing that [ was near bottom, aud
looking below, L found myself over a
bank of tall, thick sea-weed,
knowing that if L were once en-
tangled i'll them, they would hold me
there for ever, pulled the single-rope
violently, and my descent was checked
just as my feet touched the treacher-
GUS grasses. The tide bore me slowly
along and passed the m turning me
around again and again in the eddies
and making my head so giddy that was
heartily glad when / cleared the bank
and stood at last upon the bright
sandy bottom. The shells and gravel
on the bed of the water were most del
lcate and beautiful in formation and
exquisite in design, but so tender that
even shells crumbled at my touch.
81 hurried on with the current until
saw before me what judged to be
the CRATE wooden walls of the Con-
queror, but on nearing it found it to
ha IF FIJI
combed from end to end, and in and |
out among the little arched halls of |
those fern-covered chambers the fish |
were chasing each other playfully or
hanging idly in the water.
Passing around those rocks, came |
upon mass of tangled rigging, and !
few steps further brought me to the |
man-of-wsr half buried where she lay,
in the drifting sand, her spars and top
masts crushed and splintered upon her |
decks; her sails and rigging hanging |
over the side and resting upon the !
broken bulwarks.
'Great caution was necessary lest [ |
should become entangled among the |
ropes or caught under the shifting
timbers, and makingm my way slowly to !
the companionway, sent up the signal: |
''3-'-'23- ''7-.'(I am about to
enter the vessep-'I shall be in danger
Play out rope freely and give me
plenty of air,
81 made my way to the lower deck,
aud found myself IN the forward cabin. i
1t was very dark, and [ groped about |
for the doorway, knowing that once in
the main saloon, the deck-hghts would |
enable me to see more distinctly.
''Clearing the rubbish and drifting
sand from about the doorway, / burst |
it open, and was about to enter when 1 |
paused, to summon courage before |
entering. A moment, and my nervous |
the door, showed it back against the |
full silence was upon everything-a |
silence as of death. was alone, at the
bottom of the sea, in the saloon of the |
Conqueror, and close about me were |
postured, like grim sentiuels set to |
watch me in my work, the officers and |
crew of two hundredf !
'Yes, there were the iil-fated men, |
there as they stood when death over
took them on that awful night, VII en- |
they were hurried from their Eerths |
on the alarm that they were sinking. |
Before they could reach the stairway,
the mighty water had rushed in upon |
them, and they died where it had met
them, at the threshold
"The eddying waters carried them
here and there through the cabin, but |
still so close, were they one to another.
that had to part them now and then
to reach the aftercabin, and more than
one turned, as l slowly passed along, |
and followed III the wake / made be-
hind me. Their faces close against my
helmet, and it Mortified me to notice
that they all wore still upon their feat
ures the impression of the terror that
had come upon them in death.
.You mustn't think me heartless if
/ say went at once to my work, for
we divers constantly go through such
scenes; and [ knew well enough, be
fore I went down, that they were
awaiting me there. I felt it as keenly
as you would. sir; but 1 was sent down
to do certain things, and L had to
IL Of |