The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-06-05

is scraped clear Of the barnacles and
seaweed and rank growth that accumu-
lates there during a sea voyage, and
is then treated to new coat of paint,
she energies from the dry dock as clean
and fit as when she made her maiden
voyage. The submarine divers are able
Only to scrape away the barnacles and
Seaweed, and even then they are so
handicapped by the heaviness and I'M
hardness Of their dress that 1t is i'm
possible to do the work in any but a
clumsy and incomplete way.
TRAINED DIVERS.
But good or bad, the diver has be-
come a necessary part Of the ships
crew. Many warships carry one or
mora trained divers, and to attain to
the rating of diver requires very spe-
cial qualifications. Before being sent
for training. the man applying has to
undergo an extremely rigorous medi-
cal examination, and is mercilessly re-
jected unless absolutely sound in wind
and limb, possessed Of an exceptionally
strong constitution, and, above all
without the slightest tendency to any
heart weakness.
Livery foot the diver descends, the
greater, of course, becomes the pres
sure, and at the deepest descent made,
namely 200 feet the pressure was as
1lUCH DIS elSHly-SlSA pOuHuS " uIiS
square inch. 1t is, however, only but
rarely, that it is necessary to go to
such depths as this, but even working
il shallow water most men suffer very
severely at first, and emerge from their
diving suit with racking head and a
bleeding from the nose and ears. In
truth, every time he descends the diver
takes his life in his hand, for anything
gcing wrong with the air supplying
gear would place him in a very hope
less position.
The diving apparatus in use in our
navy is a costly affair. The method Of
its working is simple A long coil Of
tubing supplies the diver with oxygen,
and by means Of a coil Of rope attached
to his person he can signal, by pulls, to
the surface and be raised when the
work is done. To descend, the diver
has. OF course, to be heavily weighted.
The weights carried on the breast and
back weigh some eighty pounds, while
the heavy leather boots with their lead
en- soles. weigh another twenty pounds.
The weight of the helmet, which is in
geDiously fitted with valves to allow
the vitiated air to escape, is no less
than forty pounds, and to this must
be added the weight of the rubber dress
itself, and the weight OF the heavy
underclothing worn by the diver.
WANTED IN A HURRY.
he Is not pTepOSSeSSiHS sight, lillS
monster with the huge head dress ard
the glazing eyes, but his usefulness to
the navy is immeasurable. He was
wanted in a hurry, and unfortunately
was not on hand when the Maine went
down into the mud of Havana harbor
He will be wanted in coming engage
merits to patch holes in the sides Of
var craft, If these wounds mercifully
15A snort of being mortal; he will as
sist in wTecking operations when it is
found necessary to go fishing for the
valuable portion Of a Spanish fleets
equipment after we have treated it as
Dewey treated the enemys fleet at
Manila; he will be ready to help a
United States vessel out Of a score of
unforeseen troubles that may arise
when the modern warship gets down
to fighting that is not all one-sided.
Theoretically, the submarine diver is
q formidable aid in operations against
the enemy. Whether or not he will
be so in practice remains to be seen.
The theorists assert that the diver can
he sent under water on dark nights to
sropc his way into the mined entrances
to harbofs and cut the wires connect
ing the explosives with the shore; or
they say he can attach mines to the
keels of anchored war craft and ex-
Mode the mines when he reaches safe