Southwest-sentinel. [volume] (Silver City, N.M.) 1883-189?, 1895-10-01
ARE SAD FACED MEN.
THIS IS WHAT ONE or The CRAFT
SAYS or DEEP SEA DIVERS

a ne, That I.n1 Esaetiy Joiir-A vse
eran TELLS % Erpsrisnoes We and Other
Drver. nave uad-A Close s~have-rairy-
lana 81 M Oceans bottom.
II suppose you sometimes see some
fearful sights In wrecks" said q 70
porter b . veteran deep sea diver.
"Yes. but yuu get used 70 'cm when
you have been en- The business long
When I first started diving. I was sent
down 10 report q wreck Nobody was
supposed 20 have been drowned when
she vessel went down. but when I went
into the cabin tho first thing I saw was
tho body Of q man seated &C the table.
The water was very clear and magnihed
him until he looked about four times
hia natural siEa His hand was upon the
shoulder Of a little boy. who was sitting
on bis knea Il was my irst experience
with dead bodies, and Il gave me q
shock Now / don't mind EN- At all
Most Of the tales you hear about groups
Of dead people sittin round quite natural
"a a cabin are lies A body viii rise aft
CT being In the water q couple Of weeks
aud be found floating up against the
ceiling. When they have their legs I'M
der q table, they sometimes sit right
where they are until their bodies decay
away. because they are held down by the
tablo. which is usually screwed 10 the
door.
IAN English diver I knew onoe had q
pretty nasty experience with sharks He
was diving In a wreck which had been
loaded with live cattle When she had
been down at the bottom for q month
or 20, the bodies Of the cattle became
light and noatod up against the hatch
ways "A soon as he started the after
batch. the cattle began TO float out and
up to the surface Of the water. The 10.
calty vas infested with sharks, and
they soon began to gather round the
hatchway, grabbing the cattlo a. they
came out and following thom up to the
surface. fighting among themselves
Some Of the cattle had been tied, and
they hoated out as far as their ropes
would allow. Tho sharks gathered round
them and began 60 tear them to pieces
Pretty soon they began TO fight, and poor
Narsh-that wa his name-was afraid
20 60 mp for fear he might be attacked
and afraid to stay down because one
snap Of y sharks mouth would have
severed his air hose in a twinkling. He
gave the signal 10 be hauled up In a
hurry and went biz among the school
Of sharks and through them IN going
through . shark snapped at him and
took Oh his right hand. . that he had
70 give up tho business"
What's the narrowest escape you
over hsd7"
"Wsll, about the closest shave that /
remember was when l was putting some
copper on q steamers bottom while she
WA In dock ! took some plates down
with me and did some work on one side
Of tho hull, after which / wanted 20 put
some plates on the other side. The YES
sci was about three feet on the bottom.
I crawled underneath, dragging some
plates after me When Ihad been work
ing for some time. I noticed my air was
getting short, 90 I went to try to get
under tho keel again 10 be hauled up. ]
found the steamer nearly on the bottom
and squeezing my air hose between her
keel and the ground The tide wal Civ
ing out and she had gradually sunk nm
Gil she was almost aground 1 had for
gotten all about the tide, and when l
pulled the hose / found Il would not
budga an inch. I can tell you scared is
no word for how l felt
"H the bottom had been soft, Il would
not have mAttered 80 much, but It was
rock, and the hose was gripped like a
vica There was nothiBR b do but wait
II she fell any lower, the air would be
entirely shut OF, and I would simply
have 70 die You can bet ! shall never
forget those few minutes when / was
waiting to see whether sho rose or fell
Ny head felt a. though Il was bursting
and my nose and snrs began to bleed
Presently I folt the air getting q little
fresher. / took heart, and soon she be-
gan TO rise with the urn Of the tide.
There was plenty Of time for me 70 got
my nerve back before she was high
enough Oh the bottom for me TO crawl
under. ! didn't get IL back. however,
but Just stood there trembling until ]
could squeeze under her bottom and give
tho signal to be hauled up For weeks
after 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 n lovely
sight / have seen a forest Of kelp and
scaweed gently waving with the tide
which looked like fairyland The dim
light and the bright colored hsh darting
about make II look all the more beauti-
9ul A BIT Of seaweed on land does NOT
amount 10 much. but II you 500 a regu-
lar forest Of It growing It looks very dif.
ferenk
IF you stand still for 4 minute, the
AAh win swim all around you and ex.
anime you Just as a lot OF human beings
would look at some strange animal Al
the slightest movement they whiek their
tails and not a living thing Is to DO seen
"It takes the life out Of q maj some.
how. diving does. and I never knew
diver who did much smiling They are
ell rather grave. sober faced men. -
New York Tribune
HEAVY ssrnoa.