Lewiston teller. [volume] (Lewiston, North Idaho) 1878-1900, 1880-07-09
On The tcean's Bottom.

How does it SEEM" said q Boston
Hcrald reporter the other day to
George w. Townsend, diver of 90
years experience, ''to go down into the
water, fathom after fathoml" "Well,"
was the reply, "the first time a mon
goes down he is apt to be considerably
scared on account af the pressure. If
man is lowered too fast, it will kill
bin. Divers are seldom or never
killed hy drowning, but by an unusual
pressure. A diver could cut a hole in
the lower portion of his suit withou,
danger of being drowned as long as he
stood erect, for as long as the air is
supplied by the pump, the water could
not reach his mouth In deep water
the pressure is very great, and usually
a diver can descend as deep as he can
stand the pressure. You see we are
in a vacuum, There is no pressure
parceptlhle to us on the copper helmet
about our heads. The pressure is all
upon the lower garments, and, if it is
too great, it drives all the blood in the
body to the head, and the result is
death
| have seen mtA killed in this way
whose heads were fairly split open and
whose eyes were driven from their
sockets A more horrible death could
not be imagined, and | and almost all
other divers have escaped it. When
the diver is 10 f ct down the pressure
to the square foot is $3.50 pounds; at
30 feet, 1880: at 50 feet, 81. $50
pounds; at 70 feet, 43,75o pounds:
at 50 feet, 5G, 250 pounds; at | 10 feet,
$3.50 pounds: at 130 feet, 81 250
pounds; at $50 feet, which is the
greatest depth to which ! have de-
scended, 1880 pounds; and at l60
feet, 100000 pounds. Divers seldom
descend over 70 feet, and rarel, as
deep as that. Under the water the
! ears feel stopped up, hut sometimes
we can make ourselves understand hy
putting two henlets together and
shouting, bat then it doesn't sound
louder than all ordinary whisper. a
man wso went down for the first time
would be likely to 81 5nal to come up
alter fee' ng the prt5ura in the ears,
which is very unpleasant until vou are
; used to it"
Glow about tue fish; do they ever
molcst you3'
"Very seldom You see, we make
it q rule not to disturb them We
know that they are in their element,
aad we are not in ours. AS for sharks
we don't care for them. They are
cowardly, and easily frightened OF
We are much more afraid of the bari
coasts, Il surface fish, with teeth three
inches long Talk abiut fish, why one
can't have any conception of them un.
til he has been under the water and
seen them OF all sizes and all the colors
of the rainbow. The noise made by a
school of fish sounds under the water
like the rumblings of thunder. One
OF the greatest curiosities in this line
was the Jewish fish | eneountered a
few years ago while Il wing in the Bay
, of Comana on the coast OF Venezula.
The fish are from six to fifteen feet ill
length, and have large mouth with
small teeth. The jew fish have a
great de,l Of curiosity more than any
woman | know of-and used to eve
Us while we were at work. We were
little afraid of them at first, but
found that they would not harm us.
suppose you hove heard Of the elec-
tric eel, which has tlo power to give a
shock equal to any battery. When
we were diving at the West Indies one
OF our divers received a shock from an
electric eel, and for time he seemed
almost para!yzaI. Mules and other
animals when fordins streams in this
country oftcn.rec i've u shock.