Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1889-10-07
JAY Eff BEE
Tells Of Seine Famous Aquatic
Exploits.
How Joe Seckabaau Shot The Piseaiiqlis
Fails.
Wonderful Fsats Of tbs Native Divers
N the Sandwich Isissda4
JAY EFF BEE

! The hanaireds Of men, women and chill
dren that have obstructsd the covered bridge
{ during the past week and twisted Themselves
into all conceivable shapes In order 70 catch
glimpse Of the heimetei diver nov EN-
ployed smoothing up the river bottom. to re
/ csiye the pier foundation of the iron strue-
ure that will soon span the kennebec, Or
looked questioningiy at the automatic figure
on the raft that fur aishes the oscilIstory mo-
ton necessary to provide Air and life 10 the
man that labors beneath the surface, can be
readily excused for the curiosity manifested
and the hats lost ia the semi frantic endeavor
for a good chance to look have an
idea that aquatic exhibitions Of any kind.
draw = crowd, and have always thought 20
/ since Joe SocksbAsin went over Piscatzqais
I Falls in birch canoe for twenty-five dol
| lars and pint Of shiskey Joe lost the
twenty-five dollars out of his shirt pocket.
bat remarked stoically "dlont care,
got big dlink anyhow"
| Joe's meritorioas performance drew
crowd, the crowd drew . good many corks
and very few drew a sober breath As recol-
! lect IL.
| Paul boynton draws fair salary padding
about in an imperviabis suit Of rubber at
one. comfortable and safe. man leaps
from brooklyn Bridge and il he survives is
I drawn into the show business or IL killed his
relatives drew the insurance money The lit
tie barrel with fool it, that was fshed out
Of the water after q successful scoot over
Niagara the other day is already in demand
at plump salary and have every reason to
believe that when carry out my pet project
of floating upon my back. from Augusta tn the
sea, bearing upon my upturned stomach n
Royal Eight Cover Clarion nine burner Ker-
osene Stove in full blast, with II patent fried
cake mandatory combination attached,
and distribute gratuitously Illuminated
circulars and Hapjacks, alike to the
needy and the unneedy that the
shores Of our own grand river will
be dapped with an eager throng and that the
susceptSe diminntive youth will turn out in
one great migratory accompaniment as far as
Ilslloweli.
As diving seems to interest us just now
will, with your permission, tell of something
| have seen in that line.
In the employ Of Foster Brothers CT Homo
lulu, Sandwich Islands, vas a native whose
duty it was TO investigate She condition of
ship bottoms and report to his employers.
| have seen him carelessly tumble of the
wharf with sheet of copper under his arm,
his month full of nails and moment later
heard the deadentd thump Of his hammer as
he fastened the copper in its pace. 1t was
said he had been known to nail on sheet of
copper at one dive but | am inclined TO
doubt his, As il would require the driv ny Of
f,rty or fifty rails and would be llule
risk for the two minu es that he has been
known to stay under.
! While laying al anchor in karakskos Bay
in D~hyhee | VS. er uitt d To ,iu ths
native II hing feet consistii of over fifty
ean'i,s, that struck down the coast intent o.
obtaining the raw material "a IN with "poi
by rich aud oor- species of gar" al
most homeless AMI nearly transparent, gem
orally ten or twelve inches in length, are
considered grea, deIicacy, and ii was re-
ported that they had been discovered few
miles away IN great quantities. We soon
found them in about four or five fsthoms of
water. The bottom was black with EN-"
A fine meshed net over three hundred feet in
length and perhaps ten feet wide, loaded at
the bottom with heavy stones at intervals Of
twenty or thirty feet, was dropped over
board, the canoe being padded in a circle at
t.. time 40 that the ends nearly met As the
last fake was thrown out.
Now came the fun. Overheard plunged
forty or fftv stalwart fellows and taking
D
was weghted-quickly drew it into smaller
circle. being plainly visible as they walked
on the rocky bottom of the little bay, or
came to the surface for moment to breathe
N sinking back again to their work, which
/ resulted in several barrels of the slim, sill
very "gsrs" at the first haul. In three hours
they bad taken all that were needed. The
women and children were there and several
of the females went TO the bottom aud helped
purse up the net, see ming more dexterous if
any thing than the men. These fish are very
nice ana juicy when eaten nav with little
salt | never tried one cooked
10 this same barber q four barrel -ca.k of
pork was acc dentaliy lost overheard. A
deep sea lead with a buoy attached wa i'm
nedistely dropped over it and marked four
teen fa,homs strong. An old man and his
son, professional divers, agreed to get it
for twenty dollars. From the shore they
brought large rocks weighing perhaps two
hundred pounds each. The first trial was
f,iure owing to their not understanding the
bitches ard running bowliues that some of the
men told them was the only sure way to u axe
the cask fast. Procuring larger rocks than
before. the younger man took the whipped
eni Of whale line b. tween his teeth, tum
bied out Of the canoe and with the stone in
bis uutstretched bands, was carried straight
d wn out of sight. The old man fol-
lived few seconds later, his brown
body sppes airing smaller and smaller as it
Mas ru he'd t.~srd the coral, eighty
tour feet from the surface Of the bay.
10 Just iorty four seconds came a tug at
the L4vy the ssLal agreed upon-and a
steady pull quickly proved that the job ~ss
a good one. The old man came to the sur
face first, and away beneath the water could
be seen the son rising by his own buoyancy
and without kick or a motion of any kind.
lie broke water with broad grin of satisfsc-
ton overspreading his swarthy countenance,
seeming none the worse for his ninety sec
onis without breathing.
At ilo on the windwsrd side of the same
island a skow load of pork and moiasses in
barrels was cspsized in six fathoms of water,
as it was being taken from the shore to the
ship. The natives were paid well to try to
recover it, but after repeated efforts said
twas impossible and the ship sailed for the
northern seas. They say the ksnaka girls
were noticed to be unusually sweet for a
year afterwsrd. and the crater of klnea
was creased 80 thoroughly that a terrific
eruption followed. proving conclusively that
the provisions lost. were either found after
the departure of the vessel or that they got
mixed with the internal working of nature
by some undiscovered, underground and un
known passage.
jar Err BEE.
l. l.