The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1877-1885, 1878-11-07

l1cltS IulCA anu WEIGHS from tel 10
fiite n pounds. This heavy weight Is
rendered necessary to counterba.ance
the ponGerouS helmet and breastplate,
which would otherwlee prove to,
much for the bearer. The weight of
the entire suit Is over 100 pounds, and
yet with the increased pressure OF the
water on all sides. it is comparatively
light.
All being ready. Coolan mods 10 Lis
assistants his face glass has been
screwed. aud he can only ~corfmuni-
cate with those outside by signs and
begins to descend. The air is whiZZing
into the back of his iron head piece at
a tremendous rate, as he numbers
heavily over the side and lets himself
down into the water. Both hands
clutch tightly the lifeline. down
which he descends, while two men
stand over him, one holding the line
and another paying out the air pipe.
Thes. are called tenders" the bust
ness being to respond TO the Signals
and look out generally after the wei
fare OF the man on the bottom. On
their promptness and efficiency the
divers safety and often his life de
ponds. \ green or careless tender is
worse feared than a small school of
sharks.
For thirty-fve feet or more Coolan's
course is unobstructed. Then he
strikes the maintOp>mast of the sunken
vessel. Down this he crawls carefully
in the dim twilight. avoiding the yards
and tackle which still hang from the
masts. The scene is ghostly enough
for one of Victor Iiugo's novels. The
%brigantine lies on her side, imbedded
in the firm, hard sand, with her masts
and yards raking at an angle of say 80
degrees from the perpendicular. From
the slanted yards hang The tattered re-
mains of sails and rigging, streaming
idly downward in the quiet water, like
moss trailing from limbs of dead wood
Down upon the silent deck, among the
pilot fish and sea bass, the diver holds
his way. The fish urk about the de
serted decks in schools, and require
blows and strokes with the divers
knife to drive them away. The latter
weapon, a rough looking blade, yet.
withal, sharp as a razor, is carried
Slung in n leather sheath "a the side.
4 big, striped fish known as the hinge
collect about the ~hatchway in q thick
school. Coolan draws his knife. slices
one of them in two, while II rest
scatter.
All is black darkness in the hold of
che suuken vessel, and many minutes
pass before everything IS ready for
hosting. The hides, which constitu-
ted a large portion of the cargo, are
packed over and above the wool. and
these have to be dragged off before the
more valuable commodity can be
reached. At length a big, dirty, white
bale, strapped with iron, and weighing
out of water some 800 pounds, is dis
engaged from the debris and dragged
to the open hatch. Into the mouth Of
the latter. and just visible in the dark.
gray light, daugles the end O.. a rope
tackle, which is seized and made fast
10 the bale. a certain number Of jerks
on the rope signify Hoist away" and
slowly and quietly the big bale rises
toward the surface.
From two to three hours is the usual
period Of a divers work. The fatigu-
ing employment, the labor of carrying
about the immense weight Of the suit,
and the constant pressure from all
sides are terribly ~exhausting. None
but men of the strongest constitutions
succee ed at the business, and even then
it is thought to lessen their lives. In
the present case two or three bales in
the morning and as many in the after
noon are considered a fair days
work.
The next ..spell' under water is
taken by Rufus Peterson, Coolan's
mate. He is thinner and many pounds
lighter than the other, aud at first
sight would appear hardly capable of
bearing up the immense weight which
is laid upon him. Long years of prac-
tice in the Mississippi and Mexico and
in South America have made him per-
feet, however. and he buckles or the
marine suit with as much ease as
though it were buckskin. He disap-
pears below the bubbling waves, and
in fifteen minutes the Tightening OF the
falls and a jerk on the life line tell
that another bale is "hooked.'
On deck, the wool is subjected to a
thorough examination. Notwlthstand-
ing its eight months s%ojourn under
water, the %glistenirg fleece is found to
be as fine, as soft, and a. flexible as
ever. This is due to the thick, only
residuum which permeateS the I'M
washed wool, and forms IN etfectual
protector against the salt water. Had
the cargo been washed before ship
ping. it would now have but little
value.
What is the chief drawback of a
divers life :" was asked of Coolan, as
the latter rested on the deck after his
labors.
"Well, | should call it the c
tainty. For instance, you go down
into ninety or ~ hundred feet OF
water, with nothing between you and
the surface except that little air pipe.
If it should break or leak. or get cut,
it is all up with you. As long as that
whizzing noise al the back of the he'll
met keeps up, you are all right; but let
n thing to do, to make tracks oIt of
there
..u.,o vo, ava,. bod II brooL with