The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1892-02-25
SUBMARINE COMPANIONS
Denizens Of tho Deep Curious as
to the Mission Of a
Diver.
Swarm Around Him In Myriad
Schools, Putting q Stop to
Ills Work.
Device to Involve Them In n Family Fight
and Then blew Them Up With
Dynamite.

f AAN AAO ~ sbpsA ~
Dynamite.
Los ANGELES. Feb. 24.--H. M. Hartman,
recently discharged from the cruiser San
Francisco at San Diego, upon the sxpira-
tion of seven years. service. ia in the city
and tolls an interesting story of his ex-
periencs NJ a diver while investigating tho
wreck Of the Blanco Encalada. Hartman
il a Pennsylvania. % years old. He has
been on several United States ships and has
seen exciting scenes of action. He was on
the China station during the Franco
Chinese war, and was in Samoa on the
Trenton when that unfortunate vessel and
several others were wrecked by a hurri-
cane. FL
During tho troubles in Chill he enlisted
with the insurgents and WAS SUCCESSFULLY an
officer on a torpedo boat, lieutenant of ar
tillcry at ths battle Of Acacalgo river, u spy
against Balmacsda and commanded two
pieces of artillery at the hattie of Piacilla,
which opened the way to Valparaiso. He
Was wounded, and after recovery was taken
back in the American service.
Hartman was engaged in diving on this
insurgent vessel, Blanco Encalada, SUM by
tho Admiral Lynch in the harbor OF CAL
dera. The Lynch and the Balmaeeds gun
boat Condell cana together in ths harbor.
It was at night and during an armistics DO
tween the c%ontending parties. Ths Blanoo
was lying in the harbor with her guns nm
shipped cleaning up.
AZ soon a. the Lynch rounded the point
<E 1.~I ok khA ranv1th of thu 1arhAr she
sent ! torpedo at the Blanco. The torpedo
struck tbs Blanoo amidships, three fsst
under the water line and directly on the
line with her engine house. The torpedo
was seven feet long, charged with forty
pounds of gun cotton. equal to about 19o
pounds of giant powder. Thu Blanoo was
an iron vessel, covered with fourteen-inch
stsel armor, yet the torpedo tore = hole
2Ox12 feet in the vessels side.
The ship sank in four minutes, and 212
men went down. Most Of them were in
their berths asleep. Some spran9 into the
water, but the Lynch inhumanly turned
her search lights on the struggling mon and
One month after, tho insurgents then in
possession Of the port employed Hartman
and an Englishman, also . diver, to go
down and measure the hole and determine
the chances Of raising the vessel. Divers
equipped with incandsscent lights were
lOWeE6O VpO0 tAO oulbS WAICu WAh LYNX IN
nins fathoms of water. The ship was lying
on her port side. She had sunk in { field
of sea grass growing ten feet high. Tho
waves had washed great avenues of white
sand through the grass to various pats of
the vessel.
Almost everywhere were arms, legs, heads
and trunks Of human bodies. Many of
these the fish had eaten clean Of the flesh,
only ths skulls and bones remaining. The
fssh that still remained intact was soft
and Mushy and whom touched would fall
away from the bones. Many bodies were
found whole, the men having met death by
drowning.
In the starboard rigging stood the sksls-
tons Of two mon with the bones Of their
hands still clenohing the r%atlinea. Ihs
whole scene was horrible and revolving be-
You'd description. The greatest obstacle in
the work was the fish. There were millions
of fish and cells everywhere. They would
shoot through the water, and, magnifed by
the water and tbs glass OF tho divers he'll
met, and Iefisoting the rays Of the electric
light, they looked like thousands Of blades
of polished silver.
Wherever Hartman would lay his hands
upon the deck they would come in contact
with a Shiny eel. The cells would wrap
themselves about tho diyer.' legs as they
into frequent contact with dissolving
human flesh, afforded a variety of sense
tions not frequently met with by even a
diver.
Among these fish were numerous sharks.
These were with difficulty kept away from
the divers. With one Hartman had q
battle. Tbs suit OF a diver is 80 shotted
IA to keep him at about an equilibrium in
the water. With a slight motion he can
easily rise. As he goes over the bottom
he rarely touches ground. A diver is also
provided with a Weapon Of defense against
ravenous fish, in the shape Of an electric
pole six feet long and covered with rubber,
except at the end. which is a steel point.
Bending in & largo curve over this point
is a hook, with a ball on the end. The
point and ball are positive and negative
pollen of an electric current. which is fur
by wire from a dynamo on the yes
sci. When a shark approaches too close to
the diver the end of the pole is thrown
against him and the current passes from
the point through the fish to the ball. The
fish receives a violent shock, which NAV
either stun or kill.
Hartman saw an enormous man-eatino
shark slowly approaching him and slovly
o%pening and shutting his enormous jaws.
When within striking distance the pole was
against him. The shock stopped
him and ne remaincd under tho influence
for several minutes, then recovered and
slowly on again. 1t was rereatsd
ths same result the third timc. Hart
man dropped underneath the shark and
while he was yet motionless ripped with a
knife along the holly from the gills to the
tail, leaving his intsstines to fall out.
This revived him. and he proceeded to
splash about so violently that tho divers
were drawn out of she winter. An effort
made to clear the fsh AWAY before
diving. A hook was baitsd and
thrown overheard, and the shark was 0
A hole was bored in tho tail of
The shark and a sharpensd graphing iron
to it. The shark Immediately
went below and joined his friends. Ho
slashed HIS injured toll about and soon
had q number of his companions ripped
about tho sides with the graphing hook.
They IN turn attacked him. and the fight
soon became general. so that there was
CONN otion.
When the fight became interesting a dv-
cartridge was sent down from the
ilvers' boats and exploded by electricity,
The result was that fish, manglsd shark
human remains came up out of the
water as though a volcano had broken loose
Town there. When all subsidized the divers
vent below and recommended work NJ
ish were found then. They had all besn
irlven away and they rsappearsd no more
hat day.
The divers secured oil the guns upon the
'easel and all the ammunition that had not
'esn water damaged. No attempt was
made to get the machinery or ANYTHING
Use at that time, guns and ammunition bee
required by the insurgents more than
else. Hartman did not believe
: was possible to raise the vessel, but il il
Understood that shs is now being taken to
pieces a. far AZ possible and will ha ra;..a