Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1899-02-16

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ments it caught so sharply against the
| perpendicular side of the hulk as al
most to snap its line; had there been
more than rag of the sail up, il would
have done so.
AS we needed alisthe time there was,
/ told Dorotea to turn around and gaze
upon the wonders of the vastly deep
while | got into that diving suit. II
! was just as well. however, that curios-
/ ity got the better of her before l put
on the helmet. or my appearance might
have scared her into fit The rig GER
tainIy made an uncouth monster of me,
but it didn't brighten her half so much
as did the idea of my remaining under
water in it. She chung TO me for several
moments, letting me kiss her as much
as / pleased, before / could bottle my
self up. Her nervousness was con-
tagious; but / impressed upon her
mind the necessity of keeping sharp
lookout for other proas, and showed
her how to signal with the line if it
should be necessary.
The descent was accompanied by the
same uncomfortable sensation that had
but, regaining confidence little more
quickly | carefully examined the
wreck with the electric lantern.
DREADED to use dynamite, lest ii might
dislodge the stern and send it crashing
down to unfathomable depths; but
there was no choice in the matter. 1t
would have taken all the afternoon to
cut through the coral and timbers So,
fixing one of the cartridges in q hole
drilled by the steel bar, arranged the
line so as to detach heavy sledge ham
mer which we had brought, and drop it
upon the mercury capsule.
There was considerable doubt in my
mind whether the thing would ex-
plode; but when / ascended to the proa
and, after padding a hundred feet
away, pulled the line, the doubt was
removed. Two or three square rods CT
water rose in a gigantic bubble. as if
from boiling spring, accompanied by
a rumbling which sounded very like
''un terremoto," as Dorotea said.
l lost no time in descending again
when the commotion subsidized, and
found gaping eight-foot hole in the
hull. For moment or two | hesitated
about entering. All the stories about
divers who had been caught and suffo-
Gated in old wrecks flashed through my
mind. But, finally, mastering courage
enough to crawl inside, began to in
vestigate. The space evidently had
been an afterhold in the galleon, for
it was filled with packages done up in
hides; they and their contents
were now hard as coral rock, but had
once been indigo bales, without doubt.
A number of them must have been
stove through the planking when the
galleon struck, for could almost stand
upright without touching the deck
beams overhead.
Cautiously making my way aft,
came TO bulkhead separating the
mold from a laZaretto directly beneath
the captains cabin. This | feared
would be solid, in order to prevent
communication from the forward part
of the ship; and so it proved. As it pre-
sumably fenced in the strong room, or
treasure chamber, there was nothing
to do but force an opening through it
without delay. Ut must be under
stood that even a diver who has spent
years at the business, and has an at
tendant pumping fresh air down to
him, cannot afford to waste an instant
of time or undertake anything requir-
ing violent eXertion while he is inside
of wreck. under water. The slightest
miscalculation, the displacement of
some heavy object, may cause him
1
entangled beyond the possibility of es-
eape.) l hated to use another cart
ridge; the chances were even that it
might blow the treasure into Father
Neptune's subcellar. But the effects
of the first explosion appeared to be
merely local. there being no indication
of radial splits in the coral incrusta-
ton; and that decided the question.
The sledge had disappeared, so the
shorter steel bar had to take its place
as an explosive agent. Calculating
that the force would be mostly inside,
descended as soon as the rumbling
had ceased; but the water in the hull
was still violently agitated, and the
current forced me back when | at
tempted to enter. After this had sub
sided. crawled into place so changed
in appearance that il made me feel
queer. The great Jumps which had
once been indigo were hurled in all di-
rections. mostly forward. In some
places they were piled even with the
deck timbers; toward the after bulk
head they were scooped away to
depth of six feet. and the planking be-
yond was completely crushed through,
leaving a large hole into the lazaretto.
was exceedingly careful where
stepped. but lost no time in crawling
in The moment had come al last when
our hopes were destined to be realized
or finally destroyed. | cast the light
slowly about the place. Along the
after side there were several tiers of
small boxes. piled ore above the other.
and there seemed r 2 have been N even
larger number rst the bulkhead;
but the ex1lcsia~ ga thrown them all