The St. Charles herald. [volume] (Hahnville, La.) 1873-1993, 1883-09-01
DOWN IN A DIvING.BELL.


Deep Sea Diving Experimental Veteran
Diver in the Briny Deep Who Found His
LOng-LOst Wife in Sunken Hulk-A
Queer Life on Land, and a Queerer Life
in the Sea.
He was a queer-looking man, with
shaggy eyebrows overhanging sharp,
bright eyes, set deep in their sockets, a
prominent nose, sallow complexion, a
slow, shutting gait, a lank, bony frame,
slightly stopped with the burdens of
some fifty odd winters and summers.
He was wandering, apparently quite
Rimlessly, among the sailors who fire.
guent the warf in front of the Lumber
mans Exchange, at the end of Franklin
Itreet.
"Who is that manP" Herald report
r inquired of lake shipper, with
whom he had observed the stranger in
onversation few minutes before.
l'"That-that's Holmes, the famous
eean diver. He lives in the East, but
understand he's on his way to the
Rcific coast just now to manage diff
cult job of raising a valuable cargo,
hich went down during the April
Drms near Seattle. He's man who
uld tell stories which would make
ur hair stand on end, if he had mind
I'm go and see him, then," said the
porter.
few moments later the twain, the
lorter and the old sea dog, were
ted comfortably in u cool place, the
eze playing with the scant crop of
/ on Mr.. Holmes head. While sip
Y cooling beverage the old diver
9tually filtered out "reminiscences,
slt in the proportion of one to every
tbler he emptied.
It's queer business, he said, land
items the queerer the longer you're
IN The way l got into it was this:
l s born In Little Rhody,' not far
tn Newport, nearly half a century
as In my young days followed the
serlng trades, and I've been to most
eY country and climate on the globe
Brazil as well as on the African
GSCoast, in the East Indies and in
Oh. On a British vessel l was for
so time in the opium smuggling
trt I've visited nearly every port
ONE Mediterranean shore as we'll
as the Black Sea. Well, being back
no one day from long trip, there
waconsiderable talk over slave
yes which had been pursued by a
CRU, and had been scuttled and sunk
in Rport harbor a number of wears
agtHow the rumor started / don't
kn{ but anyhow the papers at that
timbout '52, told long yarns about
thealth that was hidden in the YES
SELL gold dust and ivory, and so
fort A proposition was made to me
to gown in diving bell, which had
Justine into practical use about that
timSnd investigate the hulk. I had
alwibpen good diver and could hold
my 18th an awful long time. But
lackexperience as practical diver.
Wei undertook the job for good,
rounlm. This was the means of nv
leaylseafaring and engaging in the
profon of diver. AS said before.
it's aeer calling, and one never gets
usedit 1t isn't for the fun l do it,
it's fhe money earn. l own fine
littlem and cozy cottage in Rhode
Islanot for from Woonsocket, and
havepuple of thousands in the bank
allie by diving. Besides, own
a conte outfit, and that is worth con-
siders money. Married and chill
drenell, yes, and no. You see, the
way { was this. After married,
my yS wife didn't like my trade and
my Habsences from home, and she
ran OF 1857 with an old shipmate OF
mine the gold fields of California,
while Is attending to a job on the
New ey coast. She took all the
moneyh her had saved up for her
and QUO children. l heard nothing
of her number of years. 1t was in
1868, v 1 had to go down to save the
mail abe cash freight of the Ante
lope, asenger clipper vessel running
between Francisco and New York,
that haundered in a stormy night
near CHatteras on her trip East.
was theving in my armor suit, that
being n more handy and expedient
than thl. was down in the cabin
cropping way to the safe when O
corpse fast in my armor. 1t proved
to be a ans body. She was poorly
dressed, had nursing inner arms.
The bodated face down in the wa
ter, but Earring myself away from il
the faceed almost beneath my eyes,
and mete with CLASSY stare. II
was myhie's face, my wife's. II
gave mewful turn, down there I'm.
der the y and for moment fell
faint. Hhad the body hauled up tc
tbs surfand afterward had it buried