The Press., 1884-01-24
A DIVERS "REMINISCENCES.

ROsel Downer, diver and submarine be- holder of the manner of strange things. has family name that fits him so neatly that 1t was not improbably made for him. When out of water and out of work he is to be found most of the time at his mod est home near the foot of East Huron street, Chicago, looking fondly at his div ing "rig" and acting generally like a fish out of his element. For Rosel Downer is a man of two ideas, to wit |: To support himself and wife and little dog, and to make his name familiar to fresh water tars as that of man who ill skill and daring in plying his trade took no odds from any man. His life of late years has not been all romantic Is has been merely the in- dustrious following out of his early form ed wishes. He has not seen
 "A thousand men that fishes gnawed upon; Wedges of gold, great anchors, heaps of pearl, lnestimable stones unvaued jewels,
 All scattered In the bottom of the sea ;''
 But with his cunning hand he has redeem ed to industry many tons of the baser met als, and he has passed through many chair breadth. 'scapes." For the last eight years he has "woo'd the shiny bottom of the deep" with a true lovers fidelity. Of the perils he has passed ho will talk willingly. greatly because the recouutal brings back to him the life to which he is attached, and from which he is forced to abstain when there IS poor crop of wrecks.
 II have been Tn some pretty tight boxes, and l can tell some things about my trade that are not generally known" said MT. Downer to the reporter. ''I suppose mine is risky business" he continued. "but it isn't half so bad as people generally think l krIow of nothing could work SO cheer fully at, and its dangers never enter my. head. I always hankered after it, though l never came to it till eight years ago. Whenever I broached the subject, wife and mother leagued against me and si- fenced me with rattling fire of protests. So never got further than mentioning my dearest ambition until finally made bolt and bought myself ''rig." Wen,I would have sold that ''rig' dirt cheap not many hours after I got it. Why? Be- cause made my first trip without know ing any more about the business than you do. Every fledgling shrinks from going after his first dive, for he has suffered a pain that you land -lubbers know nothing of. Take two sharp peucils and force them steadily ill your ears, and you will have pretty fair idea of the pain that shoots through the head of diver the first time he's lowered. He gets used to 1t in time, and doesn't feel it much unless let down over fifty feet, and then it comes a-shoutln. Once at the bottom you can stop 1t in jiffy by bending over, setting your teeth and swallowing air like hog, through your nose.
 "There's one thing we can't get used to. though, and that's the precipitation. You can't wipe 1t off, and it feels as If thou sand flies were crawling over and feeding on mans face But itching aside, I would as soon have air pumped to me as blown to me. It doesn't use man up, either for the time or for good. To-day | ana m better health thaa-4 over was before.
 s'I've rubbed pretty close against eter- nifty, though, several times. was work ing on the Yazoo river last year, in con nection with the New Orleans, Texas & Louisville railroad bridge. Twas lowered through four-foot hole in the center of casing, to knock the boards off from the bottom that had been put on for the con- venience of launching. The top of the casing is solid, you know, except the man. hole, and the bottom hollow, so that 1t can settle down on and close section of piling. When I signaled to be pulled up. l found the hole covered by loosened board. I signaled them to stop hauling, but the lubbers kept on. There was bob bing from top to bottom, and at every bob expecting the water to rush in through & busted head piece. Finally they quit and got out. Another time, when gutting the F. F. Parks in the Detroit river, the schooner Theodore Voges ran into the scow Hero from which was working and carried away her fore and main rigging. The men rushed from the pumps to cuss the captain of the Voges, and was left for four minutes to try air in every stage of contamination. Finally they returned to the pumps. and was pulled up as limp as dish-rag. The stiffness of those four minutes was simply deafening. I have been in the water fourteen hours and came up almost as fresh as I went in. I think can stand water as deep and as long as any man on the lakes."