Audubon County Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Audubon Co., Iowa) 1885-1894, 1892-10-13
DIVERS AND SHARKS.
Novel Electric Apparatus to Shock tn
Monsters of the Deep.

Novel Electric Apparatus to Shock tho
Monsters of the Deep.
II. NJ Hartman. recently dis.
charged from the cruiser San Fran.
cisco at San Diego. upon the expira.
ton of seven year service tells an
interesting story in the San Francisco
Chronicle OF his experience as diver
while investigating the wreck OF the
Blango EncGlada. Hartman is a
Pennsylvania % years old.
During the troubles in Chilli he en-.
listed with the insurgents and was
successfully an officer on a torpedo
boat lieutenant of artillery at the
battle Of Accalgo River. spy against
Balmaceda and commanded two piece:
Of artillery ut the battle of Ilacilla,
which opened the way to Valparaiso
He WIS wounded and after recovery
was taken back in the American
service.
Hartman was engaged in diving on
! the insurgent vessel. BIanco En- eal-
ada. SUM by the Admiral Lynch in
the harbor OF aldern.
One month after the insurgents
then in possession Of the port, EN-.
ployed Hartman and an Eugllshman
also Il diver TO go down aud measure
the hoe and determine the CT ances oil
raising the vessel. livers equipped
with incandescent lights were lower
ed into the ship which was lying in
nine fathOms of water The ship
WAS lying upon her port side. She
had sunk in a field Of sea grass grow
ing ten feet high The waves had
washed great avenues OF white sand
through the grass to various parts oil
the vessel
Almost every where were arms legs,
heads and trunks of human bodies.
Many of these the fish had eaten
clean of the flesh only the skulls and
bones remaining. The flesh that still
remained intact was soft and mushy.
and when 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
| skeletons of two men with the bones
Of their hands still clinging to the
! ratlines. The whole scene was hor-
! rible and revolving beyond descrip.
tiOn. The greatest obstacle in the
/ work was the fish. There were mil
| lions Of fish and cells everywhere.
They would shoot through the water,
and. magniGed by the water and tho
glass Of the divers helmet and "a
! ilecting the rags 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 Shiny eel The eel.
would wrap themselves about the div.
er's legs as they went along the deck.
This and coming in contact with dis
solving human flesh, afforded a vari
! ETY. OF sensations not FIRE lucntly me-
with by even diver
Among these fish were numerous
sharks They we're with difficulty
kept away from the divers. With
one Hartman had Il battle. The suit
! of a diver is so shOtted as to keep HIN
at about an equilibrium in the water
! with sight motion he can easily
rise. As he goes over the bottom h,
rarely touches ground. A diver i,
also provided with weapon OF de
! Tense against ravenous fish in the
shape of an electric pole six feet long
and covered with rubber except a
/ the end which is steel point
Bending in a large curve over thi:
! point is a hook with bali on the end
The point and ball are positive anC
negative poles of an electric current
which is furnished by wire from
! dynamo on the vessel. When sharE
| approaches too close TO the diver The
end OF the pole is thrown against hin
and the current passes from the poin
through the fish to the ball. Th,
fish receives u violent shock. which
may either stun or kill.