The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-07-23
SAYING GREAT WRECKS
Remarkable Work of Salvage Con-
panieS on Ocean Liner.
Famous Performances on Stranded
Stenmcrs-Tbc Case of the fcNsn.
on CherbourE-It Not often Hap
pens Tint Vessels Blown ashore
on Coasts Arc Not Saved.

DO you consider the operation o. raising
the saale. Main, and Bremen an eStTaor-
binary wrecking job?" was asked the pi es-
ident of a great marine undsrwriilg COM
pany by reporter.
Not in the least" was his prompt an
swer. The ordinary floating o. u ship
means nothing to the wrecking companies
these days. When the St. Paul was hauled
off The beach at Long Branch it was b.
leved by some TO be a most remarkable
feat of marine engineering. II certain y
was the first instance of leviathan bsing
saved on this side; but sslving of that KIND
is nothing in England. When the wreckers
have simply to get hauling lines oIt ard
pull away to float a craft it is 10 more re-
markable than an ant dragging a crumb- 1t
is a question of power alone.
In the case OF the Saale and her two sis
tiers, the stopping up Of all holes, the use
of pOntocns and immense cables and the
application of pumps capable of discharg ng
$500 tons of water per hour, comprise tha
operation under which the wreckers work.
II is only when the wreckess have TO build
artificial canals, blow up rocks with dyLa
mite, invent new means of suction and
buoyancy, that wrecing jobs become re-
markable in these days"
One of the most successful wrecking OPP
era;ions of recent years was done by
amateurs when the British warship Bon
aventure, attached TO the China station,
struck on the rocks last year; also, when
the Oregon recently stranded. The pumps
could no. make any impression on the
water in the lower holds. The captain had
a hole cut in the armored deck. From this
a-iet of water nine feet high came out. 4
screw-noZzle was fitted to the hole and
an effort was made to force in air with
the diving pump, which theoretically
should have been able to do il, but would
not The chief engineer then proposed put
ting in torpedo air service. With this it
would have been possible TO blow the
ship up so a safety valve made Of piece
of india-rubber tubing which would burst
If the pressure rose too high, was fitted
to the pipe.
In this way the water was forced out
through the two holes it came in at, and
the air bubbling out showed the divers
where the holes were under the damaged
sheathing. The ship was saved in this
way.
A famous wrecking job was that which
attended the stranding Of the steamer
Iowa of CherbOurg. She was bound to
the city with $50 passengers. Shortly after
stranding she careened and seemed TO be
lost altogether a London salvage COM
pany sent out an expedition and borrowed
various appliances from the French Gov
eminent dOckyard at CherboUrg- The
first thing to be done was TO raise the
ship in an upright position. A number
Of steel posts or masts were rugged up
vertically and at the top of each was
block and fall. The latter were attached
ship could not be budged. Three months
later the wreckers increased their power
and gear. and after pumping the vessel out
end making her alright she practically
lifted herself TO an even keel with the ris-
ing tide. The ATTEMPT that failed cost
$4,000, and the second and successful at
tempt only s15.OC0.
Another extensive wrecking Job was that
OF the Wick Bay, a British steamer, which
lay in thirty feet OF mud near Kings Lynn
for four years, battling all attempts 10 re-
move her. When. at last, she was raised
$3.50 tons OF mud were discharged from
her with pumps, the divers manipulating
the suction pipes inside the vessel.
The salving Of the Markomannia of the
Hamburg American Line, which stranded
at Savanilla, United States Of Colombia, |
was another gigantic task, and was per-
formed by an American wrecking com
pany. The vessel was tightly wedged in a |
valley OF coral reefs, which the wreckers |
had to destroy for a whole mile before |
they managed TO get the vessel off.
About year ago the well-known steam |
or Milwaukee was the subject for a re- |
markable wrecking operation. This vessel. |
one OF the largest cargo carriers in the /
world, belonged to Elder Dempster d Co. |
She ran ashore on the "Scaws' Of Cruden.
line Of half-hldden reefs on the Aber- /
deenshire coast One rock, thirty feet long
and eight feet high, was found by the
divers to be standing through the bottom
OF the vessel. The idea OF saving the
whole ship had TO be abandoned, and the
wreckers cut the vessels after end
from the main. hatch, which was some
fity feet forward Of the stokehold bulk
mead. This space included the engines and
boilers. The seyering Of the ship and the
breaking Of the rock in the bottom were
done by dynamite
The explosive was applied to the shell
plating. tank tops, deck and stringers, each
charge being spread over a length Of from
four TO six feet, the charges being varied !
in accordance with the thickness OF plate |
TO be cut, one especially troublesome one |
taking no less than 40 pounds Of dyna- |
mite 20 sever it. The ship was finally |
divided, the sound half towed to Wallsend- |
on-Tyne, where new bow was welded to |
me sttEus ana the Nes5el Is now making |
money for her owners.
The case Of L'Amerique. one Of the |
many French line ships that have met |
disaster. is another instance OF persever-
ance and ingenuity on the part Of the sal /
wage companies. This vessel went ashore |
at Long Branch. and it took nine months
10 float her. She ran SO high on the beach |
that the wreckers had to build a canal one
fourth of mile long to get her aloat
The NeTiio, which stranded on Sable ISL
and; the Elder. which went ashore at the !
Needles; the Atlas and Wells City. which
sunk in the North River, and the Austrian
Prince, which stranded at Curacao, were
also subjects Of famous wrecking opera
tons. In the floating OF the Atlas sixteen
chains OF = - inches we're used with eight
pOntoons and immense pumps
ut is very rare indeed" said the ma
rine underwater 10 those whose attention
these cases Of saving were recalled that
a big ship cannot be sayed."-New York
Mail and Express.
Dogs and Hot weather