Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1895-10-24
UPTO DATE BUILDING
A DIVER AT WORK IN THE CENTER
 OF NEW YORK CITY.


 countered--An Experienced Diver Is Elm ployed-Novel Sight Fer New Workers.
 Sixth avenue, between Eighteenth and Nineteenth streets, New Y York city, is in the minds of majority of the inhabitants of Manhattan Island, entirely dissociated from divers and ships carpenters and oth- CT things connected with the sea- For nearly an hour the other afternoon, how ever, diver was at work there, and in the evening, under a flood of electric light, a gang of ships carpenters and ealkers were engaged in duties intimately connected with affairs maritime.
 All this activity was occasioned by New York's lost riyulet, which in the ancient days was known as Bestevaar's creek, or kill, and latterly and until filled in sever al generations age as Minetta brook or Minetta water
 It was never a considerable stream, but tradition says it was beautiful little waterway, which sung over pebbly bed and wound in and out through cool, wood ed glades, fertile fields and rich pasture land.
 Minetta water has often given trouble to builders in the sinking of foundations over it's course. It is very much in eyi- dence at the present time and has proved a vexatious problem for the contractor who engaged to make the excavations and erect the pier and shafts for the mammoth dry goods building of Siegel, Cooper & Go, which is to cover about one-half the entire block bounded by Fifth and Sixth avenues and Eighteenth and Nineteenth streets.
 Along the Sixth avenue front of the pro
 c1.. Q afternoon, crowd of several hundred per sons gathered to witness the novel sight of diver attired in full costume, with weighted boots and enormous helmet, from which an air tube extended, disap- bearing through huge caisson of 13 inch timber, at the bottom of which rested a coffcr dam, filled, it was said, with water to the depth of at least ten feet The div CT who is the only man who has ever made such descent on Manhattan Island proper, is John O Brien, who assisted in setting the enormous eaissons upon which rest the piers of the Brooklyn bridge.
 O'Brien remained under the water for nearly an hour, emerging at times to as sist in removing from the bottom of tho eoffer dam powders and rough stone, which had prevented the continuation of the work He was assisted by four men, who were provided with the paraphernalia for a divers operations, an air pump to force oxygen below the surface and signal lines and grippers to attach to and assist i'll removing the Instructions.
 Among those who watched the opera tions were MT. Cooper, one of the gentle men for whom the building is to be erect ed, and Superintendent of Buildings Con stable. who has taken lively interest in the progress of it's construction.
 After the diver had succeeded in clear ing out the greater portion of the material which had impeded the progress of the work the gang of ship carpenters and calk- CTS took possession oflhe caisson, and pro- eeeded to complete tIgkFsprk of re-enforcing its interior with tSsx5sneh blanks and calking the seams witMtow to make it air tight. This work continued during the afternoon and until late hour in the night. The eaisson itself is a huge affair, probably 10 feet square within and about 220 feet deop.
 The difficulties encountered in attempt ing to sink the pier shafting to support the new building were very great. The bed of the Minetta stream was first uncoy- cred at the site, near Sixth avenue about month ago. No difficulty had been tuCDuHtefeU ClS6WnCfB tDtI lbtf bn6 HllSHb- eenth and Nineteenth street corners. The most troublesome spot of all is very near Eighteenth street, adjoining the building owned by Andrew Soubirous at 294 Sixth avenue.
 Contractor after contractor has engaged to secure solid foundation, only to give it up in disgust.
 The hole formed by the borings at Eight npnth ctpaat occuroI,lnta1 xxatar f.apidlv The continual pumping out of the water and the sand had the effect of causing tho building at 204 Sixth avenue to settle. The owner, Mir. Soubirous, then wrote to Stu perntendent Constable of the building de- partment and said that his property would be ruined if the pumping process con tlnued. Thereupon it was decided that the only possible thing to do was to sink q caisson.
 The sinking of the huge box is an inter- esting process. The top is inclosed and an air valve affixed. For every 21 inches that It tdescends the pressure of condensed air is Increased one pound. The air pressure and pumps control the water while men work Ng Within the caisson excayate below.
 The adding of pig iron and stone forces .he eaisson down, and its immense weight holdS back the shifting sand. When 1t touched the bedrock, it was filled up with concrete to sustain the pier shaft
 The little stream which has occasioned ali thls immense labor, delay and expense was formed of two branches, which united ~ ~ a point near Eleventh street, between hth and Sixth avenues The easterly arm found it's source near Twenty first sereet and Broadway, and the westerly in marsh which covered the site of Sixth
 avenue between Seventeenth and Nine
 soeneh streets. The limo of the easterly
 1al,ch ran nearly parallel with Broadway
 7 apout Fifteenth street and turned to the
 paehwest to the point of confluence with
 N westerly arm. The united stream %'s'eo and turned, flowing across DOT on oI the present. Washington square, on U VI way to join the Hudson near the foot ia zam ssst nose Was a Plucky Runner. 1ot