The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1900-04-08
INTERESTING CALLING.
The Work Of a Diver From Day to
Dav.
New York Evening Post.)

The Work Of a Diver From Day to
Day.
New York Evening Post.)
ihere are divers and divers. Some
reach their limit os efficiency at thirty
nye 1set below the surface. while 9th
rs VIII work at anywhere from seventy
20 e~.shty-five or ninety feet. One sort
VI diver does only the drudgery OF the
nldqe- He is merely put TO piling up
aocks or doing the plain work mapped
oot Tor him, where blasting has been
r2ne or deep foundations are TO be
tdld- This divers work differs little
rom that OF the bod carrier or coal
AeaFer ashore, only it is conducted
under water, and his movements are
SUmeWhat hampered by his heavy dress
Inc valuable diver is the one with
Judgment and technical knowledge. He
- sent down to scrutinize the abut-
Hehls OF bridges and e walls, and
me foundations of waterside struc-
tuteS and decide as TO whether they
Heeu repairing. He has mastered the
principles of building and stone mason
y before he undertook diving. The
uINef or first rank examines and re-
PAIRS vessels without docking, recov-
S suhken property, and constantly
OoeS work that demands fearlesSness
and persistence. He is educated and
awe to the value Of new inventions.
ne reauS the best journals on engin-
SeI1ng and scientific topics. and
watches all new developments with
keen interest
Inc large wrecking companies have
SoHaS"hat curtailed the opportunities
u the individual in business for him.
seIr- n paying undertakings, such as
the raising of a great liner or remOv-
ing OF Cnnan nplrofpnnf Nl-4,,o+so- 81
20 10 the organized companies, but
.here IS still much work that demands
INDIVIDUAL care and tact, and the diver
OF recognized ability is kept busy.
mere are several New York divers who
nave gained a competency in the prime
oI ne and have retired from business.
some or these are still to be found for
a rev hours each day at their old
u street offices, having set UP in
me boat business or some other water
! q occupation. They know the under
water ways of the harbor and rivers
ds Iamlilarly as their neighbors know
the city streets, n when there is an
accluenl or a new enterprise tina de-
niahoS divers services they amuse
themselves by planning the methods to
be pursued.
The divers and the divers attendants
working for the wrecking companies
are, for the most part, foreigners,
many Swedes and N~0rwegians having
in the calling. Every diver
mas a man TO dress him and atteid his
rope. There are hundreds of
such workers kept ready at a minutes
notce, night and day, to respond to
cdjAS. Inc divers who are in business
TOT themselves are most conservative
responsible. It is a business that /
appears to u in families, and the son
an expert diver nearly always trains
Lor the profession. Such a youth will.
the proper age, be entered at the
government training school for divers
az newport. After serving an appren-
tlceShlp in local waters he will go on
a voyage round the world in a United
vessel. Much knowledge is
handed Gown from father to son. The
latner Who has been successful is proud
OI ms trade reputation, and as much
AZ nome In the water as on land. In
sucn a family, living down in one of
sips by the East river, there have
oeeh three generations to wear the rub
Der SUIT The grandfather was an ex-
pert over In old Dublin port for years
before he knew this harbor. The
wrecks that he worked at and the OBJ
lects he rescued then were very diff
-erent from the ships and the contents
nat are rescued now. His old diving
bonnet n dress are kept as curiosS-
lies, and there is a picture OF the anti
luated diving bells in which his small
BOY, father Of the present diver, used
% De taken down to view the wonders
\ sea- The records Of this family
ire interesting. The old Dublin wreck
IT IS dead, but.his son is in active work
keenly Interested in the career Of
Oldest boy, to whom ne has given
very advantage and whom he has
to his favorite pursuit. The
Toung man enlisted in the late war.
lcraped he bottom Of the Indiana, and
IN returning to New York did similar
work on two captured transports.
On days when it is bitterly cold or un-
Usually windy the divers do not work,
ecause their attendants cannot stand
exposure. The weather would not
lincer h diver, perhaps. He would
lot feel the cold in his stout arrnor
lnder water. but for the man who
holds the signal rope and for those
urning at the air pump and attending
o matters on shore or on the divers
it is a serious ordeal. 1t is on
iuch days, when the master diver is
'ementing patches on his suit, or fixing
I'D his books by the hospitable Office
tove, that he can be prevailed upon
o relate his experiences. One spoke
# a recent trip UP the East rivers bed.
climbing owe cables that hang seven,
light and ten feet from the bottom.
trip was in quest of some al
wheels that had been lost off a hatboat.
There FER thiFty-four wheels missing.
They were valuable, and might be
anywhere between T~Wenty-third
and the Battery, so the whole
listance must be covered. The cables
lung so high that the diver might have
walked under them, but that would
ave interfered with his life line. So
le climbed over every one, and the
nan holding the signal rope in the boat
to exercise great care. There are
weird tales of dead bodies discovered
the diver in startling attitudes, and
ales Of hairbreadth escapes when the
refused TO work or the air gave
ut suddenly.