The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1896-05-03

NOI nave OGEL III lllt OtAStAlCSS AolAS-
When l first started diving. was sent
down to report a wreck Nobody was
supposed to have been drowned when
the vessel went down, but when / went
into the cabin the first thing l saw was
the body of a man seated at the table
The water was very clear and magnified
him until he looked about four times
his natural size. His hand was upon the
shoulder of a little boy, who was sitting
ON his knee, 1t was my first experience
with dead bodies. and it gave me a
shock Now l don't mind 'em at all
Most Of the tales you hear about groups
Of dead people sittin round quite natural
III cabin are lies A body will rise aft
er being in the water couple of weeks
ard be found floating up against the
ceiling When they have their legs un-
der a table, 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
IAN English diver knew once had a
pretty nasty experience with sharks He
was diving in 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 became
light and floated up against the hatch
ways. As soon as he started the after
| hatch, the cattle began to float out and
up to the surface of the water. The To-
/ cality was infested with sharks, and
they soon began to gather round the
hatchway, grabbing the cattle as they
came out and following them up to the
surface, fighting among themselves.
Some of the cattle had been tied, and
they foated out as far as their ropes
would allow. The 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
TO go up for fear he might be attacked
and afraid to stay down because one
snap of sharks mouth would have
| severed his air hose in a twinkling. He
gave the signal to be hauled up in a
hurry and went bitf among the school
of sharks and through them. In going
through a shark snapped at HIM and
took off his right hand, so that he had
to give up the business. -
What's the narrowest escape you
ever had?"
well, about the closest shave that l
remember was when was putting some
copper on a steamers bottom while she
was in dock. 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 tie other side The yes
sci was about three feet off the bottom
| crawlcd underneath, dragging some
plates after me When | Ihad been work
ing for some time, noticed nv air was
getting short, so | went to try TO get
under the keel again to be hauled up.
found the steamer nearly ON the bottom
and squeezing my air hose between her
keel and the ground The tide was Civ
ing ut, and she had gradually sunk IN
til she was almost aground l had for
gotten all about the tide, and when
pulled the hose found it would not
bulge an inch. can tell you scared is
no word for how felt
If the bottom had been soft, il would
not have mattered so much, but it was
rock, and the hose was gripped like a
vice. There was nothing to do but wait
If she fell any lower, the air would be
entirely shut off, and 1 would simply
have to die You can bet l shall never
: forget those few minutes when l was
waiting to see whether she rose or fell.
My head felt as though it was bursting
and my nose and ears began to bleed.
Presently | felt the air getting a little
. fresher. l took heart, and soon she be-
gan to rise with the turn of the tide
There was plenty of time for me 10 get
} my nerve back before she was high
+ enough off the bottom for me to crawl
under. | didn't get il back, however,
but Just stood there trembling until l
could squeeze under her bottom and give
the signal to be hauled up For weeks
after that l was a sick man, and my
hearing has never been right since.
, Sometimes. especially in tropical wa
tiers. the bottom of the sea is lovely
sight l have seen a forest of kelp and
T seaweed gently waving with the tide
I which looked like fairyland The dim
light and the bright colored fish darting
! about make it look all the more beauti-
. full A bit of seaweed on land does not
, amount to much, but if you see a regu-
lar forest Of it growing it looks very diff
ferent
D If you stand still 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 Al
I the slightest movement they whisk their
tails and not living thing is TO be seen.
1t takes the life out of a man some
; how. diving does, and l never knew &
+ diver who did much smiling They are
all rather grave. sober faced men -
New York Tribune