The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1883-07-11
THE LIFE OF A DIVER,
BLOWING UP TWO HUNDRED CHILL
ANS WITH A FISH TORPEDO.

lHE LIFE Uf A DIVER.
UP TWO HUNDRED CHILL
ANS WITH A FISH TORPEDO.
Sncakng Sharks and n CuttIelsh Assnssin-
nted with II Crowbnr---Thc Hidden Tren
sures ofthe Vastly Deep.
Mr.. Harry II. Ballard, of New Or
leans, INT of the eighteen marine or
salt water divers of the United States,
has been induced to relate to a Cincin-
natl Inquirer mar many interesting
facts and adventures of his strangely
ventureSOme and adventurous life.
"Ies, it is a queer business, ocean div
ing" he said. Il got into its ONE five
years ago. Malethea acquaintance ofthe
son of the superintendent of the Hell
Gate affair, and thought | should like
the business. | went down in his suit
twice. The first time l remained I'M
der water twelve minutes, was pro-
nounced a success, and, purchasing a
divers outfit, have followed it ever
since. l shall never forget my first
impressions after | had put on the suit
and started down. AS you descend all
is darkness; you see absolutely moth
ing. The sensation is of a bursting.
roaring, rumbling 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 he strong enough to bear a 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 involuntaril.v, the air
ruslcs in the tube and strikes the
drum, which snaps back to it's normal
state with a sharp pistol crack. Reach
ing the bottom a world of splendor
is opened up, which the diver,
clad in his close-litting rubber
suit, peering out of his dead eyes,
views with wonder and astonish-
mcnt. Huge fish and briny monsters
float about, glancing askance at this
moving invader Of their domains.
Tiny fish crowd up and .nibble at 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 a
bottle green. If the tide is moving
all objects seem distorted. Perhaps
the sun shines upon the water, and
then all above is a pure golden canopy,
while around and close at hand are
tints and shimmering hues. including
all co!ors, which are elegant beyond
description. The floor of the sea rises
and falls like a golden carpet, inclining
gently to the surface. The wreck OF a
slip seems studded with emeralds
glittering in lines Of gold; piles of brick
appear as crystals, a ladder becomes
silver, every shadow giving the i'm
preston of a hottomless depth. Shells
of every description lie scattered about
and huge cuttlelish lay fast asleep in
the ocean bed, while every variety of
mineral substance lay scattered about,
with sometimes here and there a
grinning skeleton, whose bones are
strewn half covered with sand or sea-
weed. 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,
them"
"Oh, yes, off the coast of Peru and
Ecuador. l was employed by private
parties, whose names | would not
mention, to plant torpedoes in the
harbors Of E.riqua, Callao, Wynnlllls,
Aucon, Toquopella and Arrequeppa.
These harbors protect, YOU know, the
great guano, iodine and saltpeter in
terests of Peru, and it was to prevent
the CHILEAN vessels from entering these
harbors and destroying or stealing
Peru's wealth that l was engaged. We
sailed from New York and, after a
voyage of nincty-seven days III a sail
ing vessel around Cape Horn, reached
our destination"
"Why didn't you cross the isthmus
at Panama."
con, no; we had munitions OF war,
and under treaties of the United
States would lave been prevented.
Our ship was loaded with the most
deadly implements of destruction
Did the torpedoes work"
al shall never forget the explosion
that | witnessed ut Callao, which is
the seaport Of Lima, about nine miles
off, and possessing n of the finest
harbors in the world. l hal sunk a
fish torpedo, rs it is called, in the main
hanncl, and the engineer, noting that
great many merchant vessels were
ntering the harbor, feared that the
wrong parties might be blown up, and
l was ordered to take it up. l did SO,
and placed it in the arsenal. About
this time a Gillian transport landed
1900 cavalry horses a few miles dis.
tant. and lay out on the outer edge OF
the harbor. A drunken sailor with
some war experience offered his ser
vices to the Pcruvians to blow the
transport up, and he did it in a most
he!lish manner. Taking the torpedo
from the arsenal, he put it in a COM
mon yawl, and so arranged by the aid
of floats that as soon as the cargo from
the yawl was discharged the torpedo
woull explode. He repaired to the
market and loaded the yawl withIevery
variety of tropical fruit, piled high up
above the waters edge. Then procur-
ing Il small tug lie steamed across the
harbor, near to the Gillian transport,
as if he were crossing the harbor with
a load of fruit. The CHILEAN transport
fired a blank, and the yawl was cut
loose. Boats from the CHILEAN trans
port Immediately shot out to secure the
prize. 1t was brought up alongside,
and tie fruit unlcaded. The fish had
nibbed at the bait. Then came the
most terrific explosion 1 ever heard. 1t
seemed as if half the harbor had blown
up. The vessel wasa complete wreck:
not a soul escaped, and over 200 Chilli
ans were blown to pieces and drowned.
| saw some of the bodies that came
ashore, and they were all disfigured
beyond recognition; all blackencd, the
eyeballs were burst open, and the flesh
cracked as if by the conclusion. 1 do
not think a more liendish piece of
work was ever devised. But ittaught
the Chilians a lesson. They kept out
of the harbors of Peru where we hal
put torpedoes, and they did not banker
after any more boats laden with
fruits"
Ibid you not fear the sharks in your
diving expeditions:"
THAT is a subject about which
there is a great deal Of humbug. Old
cn;Lu.. .rith lots Of die time ON their