Thomas County cat. [volume] (Colby, Kan.) 1885-1891, 1888-05-17

of the water. It was invented in
Switzerland by q native of that coun.
try named Bauer, who spent . small
competency in having it patented and
in trying to bring it into use. but he
died a disappointed. heart-broken
pauper. leaving others to reap the
benefit of his invention"
"Can you breathe as freely in your
diving dress as you can out of it?"
"Yes. indeed. When ten or twelve
fathoms under water my breathing is
as wholly devoid of effort as it is when
am walking about on dry land. You
know that by means of an air-pump.
worked by two men. the diver is sup
piled with air. Through hose this
air passes into the back of his helmet
and near its place of entrance is a
spring valve for its escape This
valve can be controlled by the diver.
but he usually sets it before going into
the water and seldom disturbs it after
ward. The pressure Of the air being
greater than that of the water. a sur
plus of the former readily escapes.
When this valve is not sufficient,
the diver can open in his breast
plate a similar spring valve. in
tended only for such an cmer-
agency. He can also. regulate the
amount of air pumped to him
by signals upon the air-hose to the
men engaged in pumping. One pull
upon the hose means more air; two
pulls, less air, and two pulls and a
shake. i want to come up These
signals on the air-hose are generally
used by all divers. but each one of us
has his own private code of signals on
the lifeline, which is always fastened
to the divers waist and by means of
which he is drawn up out of the water.
These signals each diver writes down
very carefully and gives to the man in
charge of the lifeline. BY means of
these we can send up for tools, ma
terial, etc. When alengthy commune
cation is to be made we send up for q
slate and write all we want to say.
1t is just as easy to read and write
under water as out of it. One can see
very plainly. all objects being greatly
magnitied."
'.Does diver have any unpleasant
sensations while at work?"
''None. save a drumming in the
ears. and this will some times destroy
the hearing if the diver remains too
long below. Four hours-two in the
morning and two in the afternoon,
constitute a days work. and if the
diver restricts himself to this limit
there is little or no danger of his be-
coming deaf; but if he goes much be-
yond it he is pretty sure to injure his
hearing l once remained under water
for nine hours and as a consequence
completely lost the use of my left ear
for three months. during which time 1
suffered agony with ear.aches.
Eventually, however. my hearing be-
came normal again. Aside from this,
the sensations are delightful and l
feel just as well. happy and contented
at the bottom of the sea as ever can
under any circumstances.
While engaged in raising the sunken
schooner Dauntless in Kingston,
Jamaica. on the 18th day of August,
1880. l became SO disguised at the
of the men above in answer
ing my signals that I took book
which found in the captains cabin,
and sitting down read it for nearly an
hour. l once knew a diver, Tom
Brintley by name, who though thor
oughly competent man and good
fellow. was little too fond of stimu-
lants. On one occasion he went down
with a pretty good cargo of spirits
aboard. and the men above not know
ing his condition. became seriously
when several hours passed
by without their receiving any signals
from him or any response to those they
made to him. Another diver was sent
down to look for him. and found him
lying on his back at the bottom of the
ocean. sixty feet below the surface.
fast asleep
What is the greatest depth ever
descended to? Well, about ninety
feet, and it takes me about three min
utes to 60 down that far"
Must not . diver be q practical
ship-builder. also2"
"Oh. yes; the diver who could do
nothing but dive would be of very
little use. He must be both a ship
and boiler maker as we'll.
that he may repair sunken ships.
The hole must be patched and the |
water pumped out before q ship can
be raised"
"Sharks? Ihave often seen large
schools of them. They would advance |
to within a few feet of me, and would |
then stop and look at me in apparent |
wonder. as though trying to make out !
what manner of strange creature they
were gazing at They are . most |
fish. however. and the slight
est menace on my part would frightcn