Southwest-sentinel. [volume] (Silver City, N.M.) 1883-189?, 1895-07-23

a Ria Eani i,ut nrassip sot4A Va,
sFan Tells y Espsrlsncss iie ava othss
nivsln IIayo Hnd-A Close sbavo-Hnffy
Hand qn ere ootan's notion.
- suppose you sometimes eoo some
fearful sights in wrecks. said q ~
porter 20 3 veteran deep son diver.
Eyes, but you cot used 20 'em when
y0u have been IN the business long.
When J FIRST started diving, 4 was cant
down 70 report q wreck Nobody wna
supposed TO have been drowned when
Che vessel won't down, bot when I won't
into the cabin tho nrst thing I saw wac
the body Of o man seated ot the table.
The water was very clear and maenifod
him until he looked about four times
his natural sire Ills hand was nrnn the
shoulder Of q little boy, who was sitting
on his knee ft was my hrst experience
W.th dead bodies. and it gave me s
shock Now I don't mind EN- az all
Most Of the tales you hear about groups
Of depi people sittin round quite natural
in q cabin are Hes A body wiiirise uft-
er being in the watcr.a couple Of weeks
and be found floating up against the
ceiling When they have their iegs un.
der a tablo, they sometimes sit RIGHT
where they are until their bodies decay
away, because they are held down by the
table, which is usually screwed to the
floor.
"An English diver I know once had q
pretty nasty experienced with sharks. He
was diving in a wreck which had been
loaded with live cattle When she had
been down at the bottom for a month
or so, the bodies Of the cattle becnme
light and hoatcd up against the hatoh-
ways. AS soon rs he started tho after
hatch, the cattle began to float nj and
up 20 the surface Of the water. The To-
cality was infested with sharks, and
they soon begun 10 gather round the
hafchway. grabbing tho cattle as they
came out aud following them up to the
surface, lighting among themselves
Some Of the cattle had been tied, and
they doated ont Us far as their fopos
would allow Tho sharks gathered round
them and began to tear them to pieces.
Pretty soon they began to fight. and poor
MarSh-that was his name-was afraid
20 90 up for fear no might be attacked
and afraid to stay down becauao one
snap Of a sharks mouth would have
severed his air hose in o twinkling. he
gave the signal to be hauled up IN o
hurry and went bin among the school
Of sharks and through them. In going
through a shark snapped at him and
took of his right hand, so that ho had
to give mp the business.
What's the nnrrowest escapo you
ever had?"
well, about the closest shave that 1
remember was when / was putting some
Oh a steamers bottom while she
was in dock 1 took some Plates down
with me and did some work ON one side
Of the hull, after which l wanted to put
some plates on the other side. The ves-
sci was about three feet of the bottom.
I crawled underneath, dragging some
plates after me. When Thnd been work
ing for some time. / noticed my afr was
getting short, o I went 70 try to get
under tho keel again to be hauled up. I
found tho steamer nearly on the bottom
and squeezing my mir hose between her
keel and the ground. The tide was Civ
ing out. and she had gradually sunk nm
ell she VIVA almost aground. / had for
gotten all about the tide, and when /
pulled the hose / found IL would not
bulge an inch. / can tdil you scared is
word Tor how / felt
"lf the bottom had been soft, It would
not have mattercd so mech, but Il was
rock, and the hose was gripped like a
vioe There was nothing to do but wait.
If she fell any lower, the Dir would bo
entirely shut on, and 1 would simply
have to die You can bet / shall never
forget those few minutes when / was
waiting to see whether sho rose or fell.
My head folt as though It was bursting
and my noso and ears began to blood
Presently / felt the air getting a little
fresher. l took heart, and soon she be-
gan to rise with the turn Of the tide.
was plenty Of time for me to get
my nerve back before she was high
enough of the bottom for me to crawl
! didn't get it back, however,
but Just stood there trembling until
squeeze undor her bottom and give
AAo ntHhAA " bt AHhAcA up EOA MrcA5
that | was a sick man, and my
hearing has never been right since.
Sometimes. especially in tropical wa
tiers, the bottom Of the sea Is a lovely
4 have seen q forest Of kelp and
seawcod gently waving with tho tide
which looked like falryland The dim
light and the bright colored fish darting
about make IL look all the more beauti-
full 4 bit Of seaweed on land docs not
amount to much, but II you see a regu-
lar forest Of II growing it looks very diff
IF you stand stiil for a minute, the
fish will swim all around you and ex-
anime you just as a lot Of human beings
would look at some strange animal At
the slightest movement they whisk their
tails aud not q living thing is to DO seen
1T takes the life out Of a man some
how. diving does, and / never knew q
diver who did much smiling They are
rather grave, sober faced men. -
New York Tribune
/