The New Bloomfield, Pa. times. (New Bloomfield, Pa.) 1877-188?, 1881-09-06
Under the Water.

GEORGE w. TOWNSEND, a we'll
VI known submarine diver, has been
interviewed by representative of the
Boston Herald. He said 1.-THE first
time man goes down he is apt to be
considerably scared on account of the
pressure. If a man is lowered too fast it
will kill him. Divers are seldom or new
er killed by drowning, but by an une-
qualed amount of pressure. A diver
could cut hole in the lower portion of
his suit without danger of being drown
ed so long as he stood erect, for as long
as the air is supplied by the air pump,
the water cannot reach his mouth. In
deep water the pressure is usually very
great, and diver can descend as deep as
he can stand the pressure. You see we
are in vacuum. There is no pressure
perceptible TO us on the copper helmet
about our heads. The pressure is all on
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. L
have seen men killed in this way whose
heads were fairly split open and whose
eyes were driven from the sockets. A
more horrible death could not be imag-
ined, and l and almost all other divers
have narrowly escaped it. When a di-
yer is ten feet down, the pressure to the
square foot is $3.50 pounds; and at 80 feet,
1880 pounds and at so feet, 81 $50
pounds at 20 feet, $50 pounds at 80
feet, 56,250 pounds; at 10 feet, 68,760
pounds at 130 feet, 1850 pounds at
$50 feet, which is the greatest depth to
which have descended, 93,750 pounds;
and at 100 feet, 900 pounds. Divers
seldom descend over 160 feet, and rarely
as deep as that Under the water the
ears feel stopped up, but sometimes we
make ourselves understood by putting
two helmets together and shouting,
but then it doesn't sound louder than an
ordinary whi sper. Al man who went
down for the first time would be likely
to signal to come up after feeling the
pressure In the ears, which is very un-
pleasant until you are used to it."
How about the fish do they modest
your
"Very seldom. You see we made it
rule not to disturb them. We know
that they are in their element, and we
are not in ours. AS for sharks we don't
care for them. They are cowardly, and
easily frightened off. We are much
more afraid of the baricotas, a surface
al, x.,tt Ia t,,n Nal
about fish, why, one can't have any
conception of them until he has been
under the water and seen them all sizes
and colors of the rainbow. The noise
made by school of fish sounds under
the water like the rumbling of thunder.
One of the greatest curiosities in this
line was the Jew fish L encountered
while diving in the Bay of Cumana, on
the coast of Venezeula. The fish are
from six to fifteen feet in length, and
have large mouth, with small teeth.
The Jew fish have great deal Of curios-
ity-more than any woman L know of
and used to eye us while we were at
work. We were little afraid of them
at first, but found they would not harm
us. / suppose you have heard of the
electric eel, which has the power to give
a shock equal to a battery. When we
were diving at the West Indies one of
our divers received shock from an
electric eel, and for time seemed almost
paralyzed. Mules and othex animals,
when fording streams in this country,
often receive severe shock.
" 1t depends how clear the water is,
whether it is dusk or not. have been
down 20 fathoms where could see to
read the finest print, and l have been
down 10 feet where you could not see
your hand before you. 1t is not very
pleasant exploring a wreck, especially
where there are bodies, when you are in
utter darkness. We got used to those,