The Coeur d'Alene press. (Coeur d'Alene, Idaho) 1892-1907, 1897-04-17
RECOVERING suNkEn rREAauRE
Remarkable Achievement by TIVE
Annfrnlinna Ilirara -.

Remarkable Achievement by Two
Auatralinn DiVera.
The perIls Of a submarine diver are
freshly hronght-to mind by the recent
remarkable achievement OF two Aus
trallans named Arthur Briggs ana
Michael May. In 1853. tive English
divers recovered treasure from a YES
eel which had been sunk In twenty
three fathonis-13S feet--of water. Al
that depth the pressure Is enormous.
and Il has been thought that no one
would have the courage to 80 lower. or
going. be able to survive. Briggs and
May established a new record" how
ever, their work being done at a depth
of twsnty-seyen and a half fathoms, or
1GS feet.
The brave Australians sought the
treasure Of a steamer which. about q
year age, struca On submerged reef,
the night after che left Sydney. In her
specle-tank were ten boxes of gold.
Equipped In dlVing-suits specially
made to bear an extraordinary strain.
the two men took turns In descending.
Their lrst act was to carry a guide-line
from their steamer. moored directly
overhead. to the wheel-house of the
wreck. Another line was made fast TO
the chart-room. from which the specie
tank opened.
To descend to the wreck, hand over
hand, down the gulde-line, took from
six to ten minutes II the slightest
sea" was running, the line swayed
so violently with the motion Of the
steamer that It was almost impossible
TO maintain ones hold.
A diver was exhausted by the time
the wreck was reached. Even then he
had to fight the ocean currents, which
were there very strong. At times he
would have to hold on to something
with both hands, to keep from being
swept away.
A big shark had taken up his home
on the steamers deck. He was neither
vicious nor timid. Unfortunately.
though. he was curious, and Briggs
says that he often had to kick the great
FISH to make him move out OF the way!
II was May when the divers located
the wreck. Not until August, 50 IN
friendly was the weather, did they ap-
preach the object Of their search. They
blew open the door of the chart.roon,
with dynamite-much to the consterna-
ton Of the shark-and thus gained ac-
cess TO the speeie-tank.
But this was dark, and the boxes
containing the gold could not be found.
Briggs procured an electric light In
closed in a strong, water-tight globe.
He was so unwise as to turn on the
current before he started. BY the time
he had reached the wreck, he was sur
rounded with myriads OF fish, attract.
ed by 1t, and could not see more than
a foot in any direction! After that the
light was not turned on until the diver
had entered the chart-room. The fish
would not pass the doorway, and the
diver escaped their company.
On a memorable day, late In August.
Briggs succeeded in lifting four Of the
boxes OF gold from the specle-tank to
the chart-room floor. 1t was on that
occasion that the record" dive was
made. Briggs remained at the bottom
for fifteen minutes and nineteen Sec
onds.
As soon as Briggs came to the sur
face May went down, and succeeded In
netting tha hryest box. which contain
ed 5000 soverclgns, 50 that 1t could
be drawn mp. On the following day.
Briggs sent up four more OF the boxes
of gold.
In all seven boxes were recovered,
containing nearly 1900 soverelgns,
about $4,000.