The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1886-01-06
LIFE UNDER WATER.
AN OLD ENGINEER RELATES SOME OF
HIS ExPERIENcEs-WHAT THE
cHINkMAS SAW.

Life under water monotonous,
eh? Well, / guess not. AT least
don't find it so. I've been there IA
wears of and on, and have always
managed to find enough TO occupy
nv time and attention"
The speaker was an engineer on
one Of the great ocean steamers, and
as he made that remark to a report
er. while standing on the pier before
has vessel. he readjusted his loose
blouse WITH an awkward jerk, and
rave his head confident twitch.
A fellow needn't let time lag on
him anywhere if he only bas his
ewes open" be added. " Now, TO
some il would seem almost unbear-
able to watch the continuous throb
of the machinery of a large steamer,
and hear nothing but the everlast-
ing click, click of the piston-rods
and levers, but TO me they all sound
like music. I've become partly
dulled add insensible TO them, but
even now often sit still and watch
and listen TO their never-varylng
beats with that sort of satisfaction
which a musician feels when he
runs his fingers mechanically yet
skillfully oyer the keys OF his IN
strument. His satisfaction arises
from the fact that he has the instru-
ment entirely under his control,
and mine comes from a similar
cause. With touch of my finger !
could propel thousands OF tons at
almost any speed through the wa
ter, or send hundred lives into
eternity. Indeed, / feel that / am
the sole responsible party on board
for the lives of the passengers, as 1t
remains with me TO keep my ma
chinery in such perfect condition
as TO withstand any ordinary sea or
rough storm.
And again, take pride in keep
ing everything around me shining
like FURNISHED gold. If a spot of
grease or dirt gets on the rods or
handles Of any part OF the machin-
ery il cannot escape my notice long
! 20 over every part Of the engine
room twice a day, and rub the brass
and steel rods with as much pleas
ure az though | owned the steamer
myself. / sometimes amuse myself
bv keeping a record of the number
OF miles we run an hour and COM
pairing il with the records of previ-
Gus trips. have on q book in the
engine room a curious table of dates
and figures, which shows TO me the
exact time for every mile made by
the different steamers which | have
engineered across the ocean for the
last fourteen years. If anything
more than usual occurs | jot it down
opposite the date, and SO make a
sort of diary of it. 1t speaks vol
umes to me, and recalls many inter
esting memories. For instance /,
was looking through it the other dav
and j found opposite November 10,
1875, reference to a visit from Chi
namen. The incident was recalled
TO my mind in a moment, and l
laughed heartily over it to myself.
This is what it meant. One day
while living in port we were visited
by several Cinnamon, who were anx-
ious to inspect the ship. They were
an ignorant set, and had never seen
any machinery worked by steam.
The Captain was good-natured iei-
low. and allowed them to come be-
low, although they experienced some
doubts as TO the adyisabilitY of so
deing. They were very timid, and
it took some time for me to convince
them that the machinery was harm
less. Finally l got two of them to
come close to the heavy driving-rod,
which you know on large vessels is
an enormous piece of iron. Sud
denly, without warning, it gave a
start forward, and, accompanied by
a loud puff of steam, leaped fully
ten feet above our heads. Angry at
my assistant for letting on steam
without my knowledge, / turned TO
sneak to him, when my attention
was attracted toward the stairway
The last two Cinnamon of the party
were making frantic endeayors to
jump up hall a dozen steps at time
The rest had disappeared, and be.
fore l got on deck the whole crowd
had got into their boat and started
for the shore. No amount of per.
suasion uldsever get them to re-
turn to that ship, which they claim
ed was alive. 1t was a mean trick
but it has afforded me many good
laugh since