The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1883-05-19
THE BOTTOM OF OLD OCEAN.
The Interesting Experiences and Adj
ventures of o Diver.
How Engines of Destruction Were Planted
in Peruvian Harbors-TwO Hundred Men
Blown Up with Torpedo.
Interview with H. H. Ballard.

ent of the He'll Gate affair, and thought
should like the business. 1 went down in
his suit twice. The first time l remained
under water twelve minutes, was pronounced
a success, and, purchasing divers outfit,
have followed it ever since. 1 shall never
forget my first impressions after 1 had
put on the suit and started down. As
you descend all is darkness; you see abso-
lutely nothing. The sensation is of a
bursting roaring, rumblng sound, which
rattles through your ears and makes your
brain whirl. 1t is caused by the air entering
the helmet, or shell, as it is called from the
| pumps. The flexible air-hose has to be
| strong enough to bear pressure of twenty
| five or fifty pounds to the square inch. The
| drum of the ear yields to the strong external
pressure the mouth opens involuntarily, the
| air rushes in the tube and strikes the drum,
which snaps back to its normal state with
sharp pistol crack, Reaching the bottom,
world of splendor is opened up, which the
diver, clad in his close-ftting rubber suit,
peering out of his dead-eyes views with won
der and establishment Huge fish and briny
monsters float about glancing askance at
this moving invader of their domains. Tiny
fish crowd up and nibble the fingers and
toes of the diver and other more
timid ocean inhabitants shoot off out of
| sight. Sometimes the water is light blue,
then again it changes to bottle-green. II
the tide is moving all objects seem distorted.
Perhaps the sun shines upon the water and
then all above is pure golden canopy, while
around and close at hand are tints and SHIN
mering hues, including all colors, which are
| elegant beyond description. The floor of the
sea rises and falls like golden carpet, inclin-
ing gently to the surface. The wreck of
ship seems studded with emeralds glittering
in lines of gold; piles of brick appear as crys-
tails ladder becomes silver every shadow
giving the impression of bottomless depth.
Shells of every description lay scat
tered about, and huge cuttle-fsh lay
every variety of mineral substance lay scat
tered about, with sometimes here and there
a grinning skeleton, whose bones are strewn
balf-covered with sand or seaweed. The cave
of Aladdin in the Arabian Nights is no
grander than the bottom of the ocean off
some of the South American coasts"
you were in South America then?'
ooh, yes; off the coast of Peru and Ecua-
dor. l was employed by private parties,
whose names 1 would not mention, to plant
torpedoes in the harbors of Eriqua, Eiqueka,
Callao, Wynnillis, Aucon, Toquopella and
Arrequepa. These harbors protect, you
know, the great guano, iodine and saltpeter
interests of Peru, and it was to prevent the
| Chillian vessels from entering these harbors
and destroying or stealing Peru's wealth that
was engaged. We sailed from New York
and, after voyage of ninety-seven days in a
sailing vessel around Cape Horn, reached our
destination"
why didn't you cross the Isthmus at
Panama?'
"Oh, no; we had munitions of war, and, I'M
der treaties with the United States. would
have been prevented Our ship was loaded
with the most deadly implements of destruc-
ton"
''Did the torpedoes work?'
II shall never forget the explosion that
witnessed at Callao, which is the seaport of
Lima, about nine miles off, and possessing
one of the finest harbors in the world. l had
sunk fish torpedo, as it is called, in the main
channel, and the engineer, noting that a
great many merchant vessels were entering
the harbor, feared that the wrong parties
might be blown up, and was ordered to
take 1t up. did so, and placed it in the
arsenal About this time a CHILEAN trans
port landed 800 cavalry horses a few miles
distant, and lay out on the outer edge of the
harbor. A drunken sailor with some war
experience offered his services to
the Peruvans to blow the transport up, and
| he did it in a most hellish manner. Taking
the torpedo from the arsenal he put it in a
common yawl, and so arranged it by the aid
of floats that as soon as the cargo from the
yawl was discharged the torpedo would ex-
polde. He repaired to the market and loaded
the yawl with every variety of fruit to be
found in the market. Bananas oranges
pomegranates, vans, and every variety of
tropical fruit, piled high up above the waters
edge. Then procuring small tug he steamed
across the harbor, near to the CHILEAN trans
port as if he were crossing the harbor with
load of fruit. The CHILEAN transport fired
blank, and the yawl was cut lose. Boats
| from the Chilan transport Immediately shot
out to secure the prize 1t was brought up
alongside, and the fruit unloaded The fish
had nibbled at the bait. Then came the most
| terrific explosion l ever heard. 1t seemed as
if half the harbor had blown up. The vessel
was complete wreck; not soul escaped and
over two hundred Chiians were blown to
pieces and drowned l saw some of
the bodies that came ashore and they were
| all disfigured beyond recognition, all black
ened, the eyeballs were burst open. and the
flesh cracked as if by the conclusion. do
dot think a more hellish piece of work was
ever devised. But it taught the Chilians
lesson. They kept out of the harbors of Peru
where we had put torpedoes, and they did
not banker after any more boats laden with
! fruits"
"Did you not fear the sharks in your div
ing expeditions"
SThat is a subject about which there is
great deal of humbug. Old sailors with lots
of idle time on their hands love to spin yarns
about the ferocity of sharks. The shark is a
cowardly fish. He never attacks one unless
you provoke the quarrel. l have met thou
sands of them, and had them swim all
around me- with their horrid, CLASSY. death
like eyes glazing at me, and their huge
mouth under their belly swapping as though
it was ready to swallow me. The noise that
the air makes roaring into the shell fright
ems them and then they see that the man is
moving about At Callao harbor, which is a
regular sharks nest, went down forty feet
or more, and met lots of these ocean devils,
but none of them offered to modest me- At
first l thought it very dangerous, as the
slaughter-houses at Callao project over the
water, which, of course, the sharks are
greedy after. The shark has to turn onto his
back before he can strike you and were at
tackled by one l should lie down on my face
at the bottom of the ocean and be perfectly
safe The most yoracions of all tie shnrk