The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-09-02

during the trip. of which there are a
great many in Chesapeake bay. but
they were principally coal-laden craft
and of no great value. although with
proper w~reckage equipment the coal
would pay handsomely for its recov-
cry. One sunken vessel which was
boarded had about 1000 tons Of coal
aboard and also some valuable hoist
ing machinery. The coal will remain
good for years. but the vessels them
selves are being rapidly consumed by
the toredo-a small boring
that the timbers and planking are
quickly destroyed.
The crew discovered some timbers
of a vessel said to have been sunk 40
years ago at the mouth Of the Patux-
ent river. The portions of the timbers
above the mud had. for the most part,
been eaten away, but now and then one
remained in which the worms had only
eaten part of the way through. These
pieces were found to be almost as hard
as iron, thoroughly impregnated with
the mud in which the vessel lay buried.
BY probing IL was found that the bot
tom of the ship. which was entirely
covered with mud, was pretty sound.
The iron bolts which held the ship to-
gether were nearly all converted into
iron oxide. which was collected IN
Jumps at the ends of the bolt holes,
through which they were driven. A
great many oysters were found growing
attached to these timbers, and il
seemed to be a regular "solly growler."
or toadfishes' nest. one piece which
was pulled up had three of these fish
in il. When a diver is cropping around
and his hand comes in contact with the
Shiny surface of one of these big
m%outhed, strengthened fish, he pulls it
back pretty quickly.
Some experiments alsC were made in
cable finding. Mr.. Lake had hoped to
have the privilege of going on the bot
tom at Hampton Roads and picking up
the cable which connected with the
mines guarding the entrance. After
spending considerable time i'm trying to
get the consent Of the officers in charge
of the Notifications. the builder of the
Argonaut was finally granted the priv
ilege of going down, provided the boat
did not come nearer TO the mine cable
than one mile. As one Of them said,
You might accidentally sever il; then
there would be serious trouble.'
Mr.. Lake ecide to lay a cable for
himself across the channel leading into
the river. The boat was sub
merged and ran across and hauled the
cable into the diver's compartment with
a hook about -four and one-half feet
long. MIR. Lake said there is no doubt
that submarine vessels Of this type
could have been built that would have
enabled Sampson to enter the harbOr Of
Santiago without fear of the mines, and
the siege and blockade. instead of hang
ing on for the time it did. would. he
thinks, have been over much sooner,
and would have saved millions of dollars
n many lives.
The Argonaut excited much interest
wherever she went. In one country viii
lage some of the colored people packed
up their goods and started for the woods
when they saw her coming: at another
place off Gwynn's island the boat came
to the surface after running on the bot
tom for a couple Of hours and noticed a
small boat lying close at hand. The
sailboat hove to, but when the ArGo-
naut continued to rise above the sur
face and finally started to open the
conning-tower door, the other made for
the shore. and the last seen Of the man
sailing her he was running up the road.
1t was heard afterward from a neigh
Dor of his hat he said that he thought
the "devil' was after him 'suah."
The greatest length of lime of ON
continuous submersion on this trip was
10 hours and Is minutes, five hours Of
which time the machinery was not run
ming. nor was fresh air admitted into
the boat. The crews meals were cooked
under the sea with no inconvenience.
Even after such a long submersion the
crew was perfectly fresh.
The trip would have been voted a
great pleasure trip had tho boa been
enough TO have provided sleeping
for the crew. As it was. the
engine room, galley. operating room and
quarters We're all one. The beds
were white pine boards about II inches
wide. The trip was sufficient, however,
to demonstrate satisfactorily the praC-
.ticability of submarine boats for navi-
eating the bottoms Of oceans, rivers or
bays, and also to prove their habitable-
ness and se~aworthiness, either for sur
or underwater cruising. The Argo-
nau also proved its capability for cut
ting mine cables. Mr.. Lake stated that
the present system of protecting en-
frances to ports must become obsolete.
The Argonaut was not built as a sub
marine torpedo boat or cable cutter, and
has not the surface speed, nor just h
equipment for this work.
She could have been transported to
within a few miles of Santiago or Ha-
continued Mr.. Lake. and ! be-
lieve she would have given a good ac-
count of herself, n a vessel Of her type
properly equipped and of sufficient size
and speed and provided with torpedo
tubes. would be practically invincible."
Herald.