Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1877-09-12
Sponge Diners.

Just yet, please, Hilary, bOWlng gallant
", rs was his wont, to the bright face
beside him; 4" let these sagacious young
people, so ready to challenge their ell
ders, answer if they can; to them do
with emphasis address myself-Now
who. Of this small household crowd, can
speak advisedly touching the home
place. growth, and uses of my text 2
And he held aloft a lovely new sponge.
=, Town the green tremoulus walls of water,
repeated Bertha, with swapping eyes,
81. iIions of millions, thus from age to age,
With simplest skill and toll nnweariablc-'
Laid. touch by touch.
These amazing cdifices
Hilary the less added this, changing a
word or 50 to suit the demand.
Correct, thus far, my ~wiseacres.
Now we will let Aunt Hilary speak"
And again he paid homage to the gentle
lady.
Yes, Bertha and my namesake know
where these busy builders exercise them
selves with cunning craft in the erection
upon lodges and ~sea-crags Of their
small sufficient homes beautiful, too,
in our eyes, since i'll every point Of de-
tail and completeness we recognize the
Masters hand. To us only the frame
work is revealed; to divers alone-the
stalwart men who fcarlessly grope their
way among rocks and reefs-is it given
to see iii their beauty the manifest
mystery Of their peculiar growth and
c%unningly poised Judgment III the silent
chambers Of the sea. The real life has
all passed away long before the skele-
tons we find so useful are brought to
market.
"Sponge-diving is Il very serious and
really dangerous business, yet the men
Of many families follow tue employment
during the season for it year after year,
inheriting, no doubt, a decided fondness
for the p%erilous enterprise, a spirit OF
adventure withal splicing the sober real
tiles of heavy work. To supply the
worlds great market many thousand
divers address themselves to the labor.
They must be ~able-bodicd, muscular,
agile, stern of purpose, strong of will,
else nothing could allure them to such a
strain of nerve and physical adroitness
They never 90 out alone, though
they often descend one by one into the
dim strange solitude of the depths be-
low. Six or eight men will 20 out in II
boat; the diver whose lot ii is to precede
his comrades withdraws from them, sit
ting for q while alone either ut the stern
or bow of the light craft; n slab of white
marble, weighing usually twenty-five
pounds, lies beside him. This is the
anchor or ballast, as circumstances may
determine, and to it is attached II rope
of the desired length and thickness
tone-and-a-half inch). A few moments
pass in silence; he then lays aside his
clothing, and end,lvors, by eXpectorat-
ing freely, to clear the passages of his
lungs, initiating them aitcrward, thus
oxidizing his blood highly 10y "A repcti-
ton of deep Inspirations, Ten or fifteen
minutes are thus absorbed, in which no
n speaks; his companions, however,
are watching with intense interest. Pres
emily he feels that the moment for leap
ing has,come, he hastily catches up the
marble slab, crosses himself d~evoutly.
utters Il word of prayer, and p~lunges
into the waters, descending at II rapid
rate.
While going down, the marble is
held at arms length directly in front of
the head, offering in this position but
little resistance, and ut the same time
serving rs Il rudder. Standing room
nee secured, the stone Is placed under
n arm, and the diver may creep about,
crawling or walking rs the case may
demand, under overlapping rocks or
-. l,tAAAlf ,.,,l.r -. ..-..
time husily crowding into the huge hoop
mouthed bag hanging from his neck all
the spougcs he reach. He must
hold firmly to the stone-it il his only
safeguard-and the rope tied to it, the
connecting link between him and his
fellows watching with almost breathless
interest his slightest movement, for
while he Is at work IN these gardens of
the deep, they, with swift apprehension
of pos Utilities of danger, are holding
with strong hands to the cord. lcngthen-
my or shortening. as may be Signalcd
from below, and the instant the signal
Is given for return they pull with all
their strength To pull him up. 4 few
seconds delay may be fatal: at best,
great suffering follows for a few min
uteS; and often the men, thirty fathoms
It may be above the sponge paths, find
their co-lahorer more dead than alive
when he reaches them.
"A heavy blow from his nostrils To
eNpcI the water and exhausted air shows
at once that he is conscious and can
breathe. \ few r~e-aSsuring words are
then gently spoken, and lis said that
nothing nj this critical momcntso much
inspires courage H. the tones Of the hui
man voice. The diver is quickly envel-
oped IN warm garments, and rest and