Wichita eagle., 1888-03-25
THE RIVERS BOTTOM.
WHAT A DIVER SAW UNDER THE
WAVES OF THE HUDSON.

Slime-Scme Of the Sfshts-Broken
Wires, Pipes, Sewage. Etc.-A Dead
Man.
In New York city, near the Brooklyn
bridge, and visible from the promenade OF
that great viaduct, is loft which has
long been favorite headquarters OF the
professional divers who do business along
this part of the Atlantic coast. The Place
is well furnished, cozy and supplied with
ell the latest ideas in submarine WORK.
Every day it is visited by the divers, who
come for new orders for work, to obtain
assistance upon some hard task, or to pro-
cure supplies for their peculiar calling.
One afternoon while party OF friends,
chiefly newspaper men and divers, were
chatting over the news of the day, one Of
the more popular subaqueous toilers
entered who had been absent some time
from the city. He Joined in the CONVEX
sation, and afte- nearly every member OF
the party had related some experience,
said: Il do not recall any exciting episode
in my career at the present moment, but
only the humdrum Of my daily career.
suppose, however, that it may interest
outsiders and SO / give the story of days
work. Last fall one of the ocean steamers,
in approaching her pier. lost valuable
anchor and chain cable through the care
lessness OF drunkenness of some seamen
on board The captain Of the boat was an
old friend and he sent for me 70 recover the
property II was not much OF a Job, but
business was slack and was glad to get
it. We got everything ready and went to
work day or two afterward, about II
O'Clock in the morning We anchored our
boat. got the pump ready, adjusted my
armor and down l vent. You have
an idea that the water IS clear
like the air, but you are away off. 1t is
dirty. very dirty. Ordinarily you can see
about ten feet from you in any direction
sideways Over your head it is glare.
Underneath it is as dark as cave With
an electrical lamp, the best invention yet
made as far as our trade Is concerned,
Won can see twice as far, but it is just
like standing by camp fire in the woods
at night time. It makes the surrounding
darkness all the darker. l reached the
bottom of the Hudson and began walking
around The floor of a great river is not
like Broadway, nor even the beach at
Coney Island 1t is great mass OF ooze
or slime, into which you sink sometimes
to your knees, sometimes to your waist
and sometimes over your head. You do
as much work by feeling as by seeing.
This day I struck q lot Of commonplace
things, but under water they interested
even me. One was a mass of telegraph
and telephone wires from New York to
Jersey CITY. Some were whole and some
were broken, probably by the anchors OF
small vessels that hove to over night
just above. 4
out Just as if they had been pulled so by
main force. All Ct the wires showed the
effect of their SUBJ uergence. Some were
half rotten, other were beginning TO
decay or rust. Every one had something
attached to it. Little snalls, oyster ellis,
eel, grass, raAs and other water
logged matter from the Aand were few
of the things attached to the wires. Fur
Their on came across the O pipe through
which the Standard Oil con. 'pany pumps
petroleum direct from the Oil wells OF
to the great rA nnerles IN
Brooklyn and Williamsburg .'he pipe
was stronger and more accuratel,T made
than the ordinary gas and water PHI res we
see in the city. Yet l thought tn at II
some craft got the fluke of its anchor I'M
Ter it and pulled quite hard then it woa ia
break short and cover the harbor Wit
crude petroleum. There is a great deal
IF wood lying around the bed of the river.
Contrary TO public opinion, wood is not
lighter than water. Full of air it is, of
course, but when water soaked or logged
{ nearly always sinks. Its weight is SO
close to water, though, that it doesn't
work its way down into the fine dirt and
mud of the bottom For this reason it is
very apt to deceive amateurs and novices.
There is another thing that divers see
lnder the Hudson, and that is that the
liver is being filed up through the folly
II ignorance of human beings. The great
sewers never stop throwing their vile con-
ents into the slips. Every steamer, from
Jug to ocean greyhound, drops it's ashes
,yerboard. Every vessel does the same
With its sweepings and refuse. Then the
COWS, which ought to carry the ashes and
,arbage of this city far away, save time
md trouble by dumping them in dark
lights into the Hudson.
There are not very many fishes in the
North river. There may be, but we divers
Ion't see much Of them. Probably they
ee us first and give US wide berth
hose | meet most are cells and little
liners, or minnows. IL, however, we
AIRY one of those new fashioned mean
escent lamps it acts like a jack lantern !
4 eel spearing. and brings shoals of fish
round. They are horribly rnintelligent,
nd after studying fellow five minutes
nd swimming off they will Immediately |
eturn and begin cycling him again, as if |
hey had never seen him before. We
ever mind them, as they are harmless,
nd couldn't be caught by US even if We
esired to get good mess Of them when |
{ work
'sThe most unpleasant thing q diver |
an meet is the dead body Of q human /
eing. 1t is a popular deIusion that all |
rowned men come to the surface after |
everal days. Probably they would if /
hey were left alone and were not attacked |
Y wharf rats, cells and fishes. But in the |
hudson they are always attacked in this |
ray within an hour or two after they are I
ubmerged. Once attacked that ends it.
he breaking Of the skin difuses some
hing it may be a scent around, and then
travels for that body to get q
luare neal Long before decomposition
is so cut and riddled that what gases
re formed have 10 chance TO accumulate
nd initiate the walls of the abdomen We
ivers never touch bodie. in this state, be-
suse it brings the worst luck possible.
There is very little romance or beauty |
bout a divers life. The white sand
caches and coral floors, the brilliant
Jlored fishes and the exquisite forests Of
re sea that the reading public never
-eary of in jules Verne and other lying
'riters do not exist. Il is cold. DARK,
lthy and dead. The first time you 90
own there is novelty and excitement