The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-03-20

/ what he was saying. His lips were muir
muring: Recover the bodies of our sailor
| boys. There's a woman waiting for every
| one"
As I sank my attention was attracted to
| large number of small fish that seemed
| to fill the water az though in school.
| They were of all varieties and i actually
could feel them beneath my feet as l sank.
| The water instead of being thin and light,
was thick, and l pushed my feet down
ward as through a dense mass. The fish,
as quickly noied, were Of the very small
! kind which make the life Of a diver miser-
| able. But this time they did not annoy me,
for they were after greater game beyond.
Some were beautiful others ugly Hid
eous sculpins flashed around me, grinning
and blinking. Huge eels that looked like
big snakes, twined themselves around my
legs. Grabs and Holsters were there also,
claw!ng about my divers suit, and little
fish came toward me with open mouths,
vociferously. In the lot were tiny sword
fishes with VndevelOped swords, and there
were queer looking creatures with horns
and wing-shaped fins. Others had beaut-
ful flying tails and there was one big kind
that had only one eye in the center of the
head. None OF these were over three feet
long. but many, having bright green and
bright blue scales, looked larger.
AS l sank a little deeper 1 saw what at
whole, as though waiting to become water
fit, and bobbing around the water like
corks upon a sinker, were loaves of sea-
bread, chunks of meat and cans of sailors
food. Many of the cans had burst and were
half filed with water and half with food.
They formed veritable cages into which
the fish swan, never to come out until
suffocated by a fresh supply of fish, greedy
to share the feast
Onah par
aboard the Maine the day before for next
days dinner, still fresh and hard-a tooth
some morsel for the fish. ! saw a banquet
in mid-ocean, with water on all sides of it
and the fish as guests. 1 could have sig
nailed then for my helpers TO hold the
ropes and suspend me in order to watch
them for their capers were marvellous and
beautiful. Two shining fish with double
tails were pulling on opposite ends of what
might have been a sweet potato. for it was
yellow, and they were greedy. One of the
biggest fish had stuck his cartlaginous
sword through square of salt pork and
was hurrying it away TO some sea-cavern-
ed cellar.
But knew 1 must not pause there. There
was greater work beyond. AS I sank to
the depth of the Maine l found myself
suddenly facing great hole, while under
meath my feet were boards and sheets of
iron, as though laiG out for platform. /
quickly signalled for the boat above to
stop, and stood there for a minute and sur
veyed the scene before me. 1t was pitch
dark within, and my most powerful hand
electric light could not penetrate the awful
recess.
l knew that l must walk inside and
throw the light here and there before
could know the secrets of the depths.
1t was my belief as soon as ] saw 1t that
the Maine was blown up from some exter-
nal cause, but of this 1 determined to re-
port nothing as my, work was with the
brave souls that persisted within. But the
Maine was bent in and you could plainly
see it was, as though she had been shot in
the side with flying shell.
Did l say it was dark? Not quite The
sea flashed with light on every side, for
the phosphoreScent crabs were there, and
the seafans made golden, green and pink
hues. These gave out blue scintillations
= Other queer fish which / had not noticed
before sent out light green glow. Every
animal seemed to be light giver, and the
twinkle they shed as they hoated in and
out of the wreck was so weirdly suggested
that 1 could only think of miners cropping
in darkm with the lights upon their
helmets.
But there was work to be done. Cutting
into the wreck / threw my light ahead and
examined each point. IL was an awful
sight. 1 saw detached arms and legs and
skulls ripped bare of hair. 1 saw bodies
that were drowned by the water and bod
les that were not drowned at all, but held
down by great pieces of piling wood.
Mechanically, with the instinct of div
or, l reached for the first man at hand.
He was japanese. His features were mu-
tilated, but l could catch the race cast
took him in my arms and started out with
him. but he doubled up strangely, and
found that he had been Quilted from the
rear. A great hole was in his back and it
was empty ribs that l was carrying. 1 laid
the poor fellows head tenderly on my
shoulder and took him UP to the surface;
then went down again.
AS / approached the wreck this time
saw something moving inside. A strong
fear took possession of me. Could any liv-
ing being have survived the blast and the
water? Could any one have been imprison-
ed by freak of dynamite In an air-tight
water-tight compartment, now to work his
| way out after many days?
As 1 came nearer, for the object was in
| the inner ROOM l was startled 10 see it
was that most greedy of ocean monsters
| a shark! He had in his teeth body and
was swimming rapidly toward the door
| took up an axe, resolved to recover that
sailor or die In the attempt. The shark
| saw me and turned toward me. l waited
for him with uplifted ak. When he was
within ten feet of me 1 aimed blow which
struck him in the side. and great yellow
ish streak of shark blood followed the ak
| handle.
He gave a queer gulp. which l could
hear and dropping his victim, fled with
swift strokes of the tail / carried this
man above. He was in worse shape than
the other poor fellow, but l got him up to
a soldiers burial.
The rest of the horrible story YOU know.
OF the bodies recovered, the currency saw
ed and the machinery rescued. / was there
when they found the cipher book OF
the signals Of the United States navy, and
saw the valuable articles placed in the pos.
session of the captain.
l worked on the Maine sixteen days
steadily. and only save up because I was
too tired to work any longer
John Wall, Florida Diver.