Blackfoot news. (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1891-1902, 1894-10-13
sloo a - OF rnE eooM.
Made the Biggest Wages Eyer Paid oa
tbs Vest Branch.


Made the Biggest Wages Ever Paid o.
this West Branch.
81 must tell you how we got ahead
OF the professional divers who were
in hilliamsport, Penn, in the 1889
flood, The Pennsylvania railroad
run a lot of loaded freight cars up
their Linden branch the day OF the
food and put them on the Linden
bridge 20 anchor it, Some OF the
cars were loaded with steel made the
very day before at Johnstown. The
whole lot went through the bridge
TO the bottom OF the river and the
railroad company asked us II we
could get il up We agreed to do
the job for $lj ton. but they
thought the price was too high and
hired two divers at s25 day, to say
nothing OF the extra crew they had
TO assist In the operation OF rowing
them about, letting them down and
up and pumping air TO them After
working two weeks the divers re-
covered two tons Of steel and some
barbed wire.
Il was beautiful steel, in long.
thin bars. for making knives. forks.
cutlery. etc, but when they got it
up il was found TO be dirty with
sand, which they failed TO remove
before raising H. and they had bent
and twisted it all out of shape The
railroad company was disguised.
They came TO US again and told US
TO go ahead. saying they would lend
as their divers in the bargain.
We told 'em that we didn't
want their divers. but they sent
EN- anyhow. and we didn't object, OF
course. but sawed wood. At o'clock
in the morning six OF US took the
steam pile driyer--as the boom com.
pany had no use for il that day
and went TO work The cars were
down in sixteen feet OF water.
AS we prepared to drop 10 a
chain 70 get hold Of the sunken cars
inc divers arrived. One OF them
began 70 put on his suit, aud said:
QUICK as ] get this on Ill go down
with your tackle. Get your chain
ready ! stepped OF and went 70
the bottom When / came up that
chain was securely fastened TO one
end Of the car The diver b. this
time had his rabber suit and brass
shoes on. and he yelled for the chain.
} says, The chains on the car now
You never see a fellow so done out
as he was. The divers fooled around
there few hours, and then went
back 20 town.
We'll We had all that steel-for-
ty-three tons Of It 49, straight and
clean on the bank where the railroad
people could load il on their cars
by o'clock that night How did
we do III This way After | got the
chain under one end OF the car. as
told you. we raised her with our
steam pile-driver till that end stood
At about forty-five degrees, and held
her there. Then we did the same
thing 70 the other end. and had the
car on the level hut still under water,
so that we could stand on her with
part Of our bodies out OF water The
steel was covered by abouS two feet
Of sand. This VIC shoveled out. then
raised the car still more and lifted
the steel bars out on our fats
That's pretty good days work, :"
said the reporter. making a mental
calculation. ''Forty-three tons at
SO ton would be S6I5 for you six
men or over 500 for each man for
days work. That's probably the
best wages ever paid on the boom,
Is IL not2n
''Ies. said Gundrum. "but at the
rate the divers were working, a ton
week they would have been at it
fortythree weeks How much would
that be at $50 day for the two
divers, not counting their assistants? ?"
just $4,000"