Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1879-08-06
NO. 1873.
miscellaneous.
A DIVERS Dreadful DEATH.

James w. Jenkins, one of the most daring
divers OF the country, left his home at No.
III West Sixteenth street early yesterday
morning 10 g0.to work at recovering an
anchor lying seventy-fve feet under water
ut the bottom ofthe ship-channel between
Governors and Ellis islands. 1t was an
anchor lost from the ship Barbarossa at
the time Of her collision with the steamer
Italy and had been discovered only the
other day by crew of grapplers who
were fishing about the harbor for sunken
treasures. Jenkins, who was in the en-
ploy of these men for the occasion. had on
Tuesday afternoon spent two hours below
the water cropping his way in the mud
around the great piece Of iron. hut had
been obliged to return to the surface be-
fore he succeeded in attaching the chain
Whcrcwith it was to be raised.
well take an early start aud get il up
in the morning. he said As the men
We're going home Hugh Began, who for
long time has been Jenkins's assistant,
reminded the diver that there were one or
two ''weak-looking place. in the rubber
air-tube ofhis diving suit. ''Yes, Iknow."
replied jenkins, land as soon rs this job
is over III fix it.N
The party, consisting of the diver, Bo-
gan, old John Reardon, Il veteran in the
graphing business Edward Netticutt,
Joseph Westhall and Peter Connolly. left
the Battery at 6 o'clock in two large row
boats and an hour later jenkins went down
the ladder at the stern of one Of the boats
and disappeared under wate. "lIe had
not had more than time to reach the bot
tom, says Began, when there came a
sharp report aud knew that the air-tube
had burst. There was seventy five slack
feet of this pipe-whch is $50 feet long
coled in the bottom of the boat. but knew
Just where to look for the break. Keep
the pump going, shouted to Connolly,
and then telling Netticutt to hold his hands
tight over the break in the pipe Reardon,
Westhall and began to pull the man up"
Began spoke calmly, but there was
in the mans stern, bronzed
face rs he said, Il began to pull. that
told the story of the hauling more vividly
than words could have done. The man
was down seventy-five feet, ~ he continued,
land he had two hundred and fifty pounds
of metal on him, beside being himself II
the weight As his head came above
W '''i saw tHiouSh titt StdsS vi HCl-
met that he was bleeding to the nose and
ears. smashed in the glass, but it was
no use. think he was alive at this mo-
ment, for his foot felt for the round ladder,
but his head fell forward. and when we
got him into the boat he was dead"
"llow long do you think you were in
pulling him up9'
My God, man. replied the great
weather-beaten fellow. dashing his sleeve
across his eyes, chow can | tell? We
all can say Began who
is diver explained that death was prob
ably not caused by the length of time the
diver was without air rs much as it was
by the frightful pressure upon his body OF
of the collapsed suit The suit that Jen-
llins wore was made in one piece and was
inflated by means of the same tube which
supplied him with breathing air.
The badly of the suffocaied man was
taken to his residence, the permission OF
the Coroner having been obtained. Jen-
kins leaves wife and one child. He is
is spoken of in the neigborhood, where he
has lived for nearly seven years, as
sober. industrious, hard-working man,
who was kind to his family and very much
liked by all who knew him. For long
time he was in the employ of. the Coast
Wrecking Company, and since then has
been diving in all parts of the, country.
lie was employed in the building of the
Poughkepsie Bridge and of the Battery
Dier - Nelr yOrL lporI1