The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1884-08-21
THE COLUMBUS.
Progress OF the Work OF Raising the
b Steamers Hull.


steamers Hull.
The worlS. oi raising the hull OF the steamer
City Of Columbus (pieccmcan is being pushed
mpilly tTwanl by wrccking party from the
Boston low noat Company, and ii is thought
that before the had weather OF the tall months
most o. il will have been secured, The wok
is done BY " gang OF divers and bargemen,
we'll equipped wroekng lighter, furnished
with stean, hoisting q pparatus, being securely
IN hored directly over the sunken hull, Much
difficulty was ut first experienced in keeping
the lighter securely anchored and two ooo'
pound anchors were lost, owing to the tre-
mendous run of tho tide and the hevy sea
which oit,n prevails at this exposed point,
Now four anchors, weighing halt ton each,
arc used aud are found to answer tae purpose.
The lighter is conveyed by the tug Elsie, and
although i, is intended that tho wreck sh Ill not
be elt unles, the sea is unusually heavy, or
full cgtgo of iron cured, everything
is kept in complete readiness ito
run a n moments notice. Work has pro-
crossed very mcthodicaly, and the hull, from
the stern to the smoke stack, has been raise :.
Work is u wp ogre sing On the mi lship ana
after sections 81 the sm?. When work was
commenced, the divers found that the forward
part OF the steamer had entirely collapsed, and
this portion was first lined, The balance Of
save for tho washing away of the wood work,
us il was the morning She struck Her boilers
will be the next things raised, and then her
engines and machinery. Some portions OF her
cargo are still m hcr, notably many cases OF
pork and barrels of potatoes. These ofcourse,
are useless, and will he left to rot where they
are. Tho iron work If the ship was found TO
be so strong that resort to blasting was had in
order to get the iron in proper shape for hand
ling, and this del ca'e work is performed by tho
divers, dynamite cartridges being used. These
cartridges are stored IN n magazine on tho
beach ut Gay head, and when wanted are
brought oil haskctiul at q time, They are
waterproof, six inches in length and an inch
aud n half in diameter, ard in most oilhe wo'k
the cartridges are used These cartridges are
tied To n common hath, and the electric
wire, disconnected from tho battery
is placed at tho end of one, the eSplo.
sion oflh one exploding the other two The
diver then goes below, lays the lath on the iron
he wishes to break, places weight on 1t to
keep it in place, and comes to the surface
The wire is then connected with the battery,
the current completed, and tho explosions takes
pnce Tho depth Mt which the explosions
take placa (about As fecD is so great that
there is very little noise. the water bubbles and
ioams n little, hut the grand racket which one
expects is ab ent, the shock to those on the
lighter being inlinitesimal. Just before the
C arge is exploded, the cartridges remaining
ON the ligh er arc carefully lifted up in order
that no shock may come to them. The gentle
ness with which thes cartridges are cared for
would put to shame the good housewives ut
tention to her blsket of eggs. The explosion
never fails to crack the iron plates, but strange
rs it seems, the piece OF iron which is placed to
hold the cnrtrid o in place is never disturbed
IL n,sl nat
up. Another curious thing about the cxplo-
sion is that the fish killed by the sh ok do not
rise to the surface, but rem in dead and shat
tered at the bottom of the sea, Some weeks
since, as Mr.. Peillips, one OF the divers,
was feeling his way on the bottom,
after an eXplo ion, he saw large
tautog slowly moving along, apparently
dazed. Quick as thought he abbed the fish
by the tail This sudden attack startled the
king of the deep, and he started for Coney
Island Mt tremendous gait, but the diver was
too much for him, and giving the haul-up signal,
he came to the surface with scven-pound fish
in his arms alive and kicking The sea about
the wreck is full of fish, and they swim and
play around the divers without the slightest
| symptoms of fear. About every day some sad
memento of those who went to their deaths on
the steamer are brought to the surface by the
| divers, and the hold of the lighter il filled
with strange odds and ends. Nickel plated
| ware, fittings of the steamers cabin, boots and
shoes, bits OF brass, an old rifle, and, saddest of
| all, articles of wearing apparel, mostly female,
evidently belonging to those VIII, persisted.
| Among the curios brought upby the divers was
| box full Of Indian arrow and hatchet heads,
strange looking stones of all shapes and sizes,
| one Of which was marked "New Mex Nat
| His" What could these stones be doing on a
Florida ound steamer? 1t is to be hoped that
some one reading these lines may be
able to identify the collection. The box
was so waer-soaked that it fell to
pieces upon reaching the alr. Some of the
larger stones were also marked, but the wash
of the sea had defaced the writing Enough
could be made out, however, to assure one
that these relics were from the pueblos Of
| Mexico. child's stocking and bit of n
| dainty coral chain are also among the articles
| picked up. The divers report several trunks
as being in the ships hold, but they are so rot
| ten that they cannot be lifted. One trunk was
open d by the divers and found to contain. be-
side ladies' wearing apparel a complete set of
carpenters tools, and in their journeys o and
fro, most of the tools have been brought up.
The fate which dashed this splendid ship on the
rock off the Devils Bridge has naturally aided
the Indians of Gay Head, and, before the season
closes, their stock OF worldly possessions will
| be considerably added to by the pennies gath.
| cred from the pockets of curiosity seekers who
| crowd the excursion steamers which make trl'
weekly trips TO this out of-the-way spot Bits
| of wood and iron from the Columbus have q
heavy mercantile value here, and those who
desire genuine relic should purchase now, fol
| by next season rail fences and loose nuts from
| the country carts will be made to do duty as
| cro,,, Tho cf,