Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1896-08-31
ROMANCE OF SEA DIVING.
MANY EXCITING EXPERIENCES
FALL TO THE LOT OF DIVERS.
One Diver Recovered n Girls Jewels
and Married Their Owner-Lost
His Leg But Won Wife.

L T
~ h furnished l. ma material .,,.. often
dramatist, but the romantic
! developments which from time to time
/ come into divers actual experiences
parallel anything told in works of fic-
tion. The deep sea diver trusts prov
erbially to his luck; he never knows
what he may have to contend against
when the sky has faded from sight and
the waters have closed above him,
and fascinating indeed are the stories
that he occasionally brings to the sur
face.
Divers romances, however, are net
always unpleasantly sensational, The
luck is sometimes of brighter order,
as in the case of q native of Cork last
year. Employed as q diver by the
Ocean Salvage Corporation, he was
sent out to help Tighten passenger
vessel that lad gone down in the
vicinity of Sandy Hook. While hack
ing a way through some debris on the
lower deck, his axe struck deeply in
metal casket, which he stuffed into his
belt for subsequent examination. 1t
turned out to be q case of valuable
| iewelry belonging to young Ameri-
can lady, who had survived the dis
aster, and whose father counted his
dollars by the thousand. Restoration
being made, the diver received
handsome reward for his trouble. But
the bit of romance began here; there
is sequel that is uncommon out of
novels. That chance meeting brought
about a mutual liking between the
two, and, three months later, heiress
and lucky diver walked from the altar
arm -in-arm.
Even more interesting, in similar
way, was the experience of a diver,
who, having the misfortune to lose
leg in one of his submarine exploits,
won wife and fortune as compen-
sation. The lady, widow, was a resi-
dent of Ceylon, and stock of very
costly dresses had been ordered by her
from Parlsian firm. These were con-
veyed by steamship as far as Colombo
and then transferred to small trading
vessel to be taken farther along the
coast. On nearing its port, however,
the trader collided and sank and the
lady was all but incousolable. There
happened to be a British transport
waiting in the vicinity to repair dam
ages, and diver on board volunteered
to make an attempt to recover the
mourned apparel Armed with axe
and graphing hook, he went down
and succeeded in extricating the chest
| l.,
fastened the connecting cable to his
waist, and prepared to ascend; and
upon emerging from the hatchway,
was spellbound at seeing the dreaded
form of shark lowering expectantly
IN his path to the surface. The creature
had evidently been attracted by an in
stinctive idea that dead bodies would
be released from the wreck; and
showed no intention of going away
unsatistied. The diver gave himself
up for lost to stay below much longer
was impossible, and the moment he
moved the shark might make rush
and sever air tubes and life line.
Finally, desperation and exhaustion
impelled him to give the signal, and
he was hauled swiftly toward the sur
face. Not quite speedily enough, how
ever the shark seized and shipped off
his leg at the thigh just as he went to
scramble up the ladder. The dresses
were recovered, but the Divers life
and reason hung in the balance for
long time; and the end of it was that
the lady marked her appreciation of
his loss and pluck by falling in love
with and taking him for husband.
A very thrilling submarine romance
was that which took place off the
coast OF France few years back. A
cargo vessel had foundered unaccount-
ably within sight OF port, and cou-
pie of divers were despatched below to
report as to the cause of the dis
aster and the prospect of raising
the goods, A. representing the firm
of insurance brokers who had insti-
tuted the investigation, and B.
acting for the owners and captain. A.
reached the bottom first and found
himself on a bed of white sand. Pres
emily, as he flashed his electric light
to and fro, he made out the i'll fated
mass of timber resting upon q cluster
of crags, which he climbed at once. A
conscientious inspection of the hull
showed him what he had half sus-
pected; design had been at work, and
there was an anger hole through
which the water had evidently rushed
and brought destruction. He turned
to point this out to his companion,
when the latter suddenly clutched him
by the waist, dragged him down again
to the sand and murderously tried to
break the glass in his helmet. Believ-
ing that he had to cope with mad.
man, A. made..a fierce fight for life ;
they rolled over and over on the white
sand, which went up in clouds about
them. However, he was worsted, and
lost hold upon his line it was cunning
alone that saved him from an awful
death. He feigned a swoon then. as
B. gave the signal and went to ascend,
caught him by the legs in fast grip,
and 80 was hauled up with him. Once
on deck he really lost his senses, and
| 1t was some time before he could tell