Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1901-08-16


.',,nr.s of the Rothschilds and Van
,arbilts sink into msigniiicance-
r|ea,,h in gold. silver and precious
,,ones. in ships and cargoes.
wedges Of gold. great anchors. heaps OF
t,lriS. x
,..s,imaple stones. unvalued jewels,
IN I'm scattered III the bottom of the sea.
IN get to this vast treasure Is
onather matter. From first to last
r,,trsds of thousands of dollars have
hen spent in expeditions 10 rescue
sansen treasure. and usually the re-
rms either have been meagre or there
nave been no returns ut all. The per-
fiction of modern diving apparatus
has made the recovery of treasure lost
IN the ocean depths less infrequently
snccess than il used to be, but the
vast bulk of wealth which the sea
bods in its embrace will forever re-
main lost TO mankind.
nna of the most remarkable and sue
eessful attempts to recover sunken
Gold was that made not long ago to
vel the treasure from the wreck of
the Spanish steamer Alphonso MI.
This vessel was sunk in thirty
flthoms of water off the Grand
Canary. Thirty fathoms is $50 feet,
and il was not thought that divers
could live at such a depth. The Eng
Hsh firm which had contracted to re-
cover the specie, however. determined
, 10 try what could be done. They took
the best divers they could get To
Mace on the Cornish coast where the
;.. fat
the divers gradually were accustomed
10 great depths. and those chosen for
the final test who showed the greatest
amount of endurance in the work.
Finally an anchor with a rope at
tached was let go in thirty fathomS,
the rope being thrown overheard with
the anchor. Then the selected divers
We're sent down to bring back the
free end of the rope. This they did.
though the pressure was so great that
their helmets We're indented. 1t was
proved that men could live and work
thirty fathoms under the surface of
the. sea, and Alexander Lambert and
Two other divers We're chosen for the
adventure on the Alphonso MI
Lambert and his assistants sue
Ceeded in rescuing $50, of the $500, 900
in the strong room OF the wreck. The
room was under the third deck of the
steamer. and there was much trouble
in getting at it and breaking it open.
The divers, of course, could stay down
only few minutes at Il time in such
a depth of water and could work only
in calm weather. So il was SIX
months before they completed their
job.
The greatest depth to which Il diver
ever descended is believed to he -
fathoms-204 feet. This was accom-
pShed by James Hooper. who went
down to the sunken wreck of the ship
Cape Horn. off the coast of South
America. Hooper remained on the
wreck for spells Of twenty minutes at
a time. sustaining a pressure on ac-
count of the depth of IS pounds on
every square inch of his body.
Absurd stories have been told Of ma
tive divers. in strange parts of the
world. who descend over 20 fathom4
but no credence is placed in them by
people who know anything about the
science or diving. AS 4 rule divers do
not stay long below water. but there
is case on record of one diver work
ing for four consecutive hours on Il
treasure ship without coming To the
surface. and he rescued $250.Ooo in
specie. The name Of the sunken ship
was the Hamilla MITCHELL ana she
went down off Shanghai. having struck
sunken rock. She was split amid
ships, ana it was four days before
the treasure room. When he did he
stayed under water until Ne had sent
mp to his attendant boat all the specie
IN the wreck. When he discovered the
treasure room he found the dollars "
ing about in heaps. the worms nav
ing eaten the boxes in which they mad
been packed. After the treasure had
been saved from the sea it was nearly
lost again. for just as Ridyard was
completing his work Il fleet of Chinese
plrat" junks appeared ANA chased the
divefs' vessel almost into the harbur Of
Shanghai.
Many improvements have been made
CT late years in diving dresses. and a
dlNer IS able now to telephone to the
surtac" by means Of 4 little speaking
apparatus liked to his helmet. ana to
flood the depths of the sea with an
electric llght attached to his dress.
All the time ships which have nona
down or have been stranded on sunxen
reefs are being rescued by the appli
cations of modern methods. from the
clutches Of Davy Jones, that Unsuitable
monarch of the submarine d4ntbe
and sent to sail once more the hIue
paths of the sea- Lost anchors
chain cables and valuable carroes
also are gathered by the divers from
the ocean floors ana restored to til,
uses of mankind
remarkable case of salvage wa.
performed not long ago in conncctio,
win 10000 ton steamer which ha,
stranded on q sunker reef in the Re,
sea. The reef was uneven and wa
covered with fourteen feet of water a
hiSh tide. the rise and fall being onl,
ABOUT -four feet. The vessel was partl1
out OF water. \ heavy sea, which wa!
running when she struck and for tw,
months after. caused the steamer t,
bump and strain heavily and crushe,
up ttie bottom in some places for fiv
u SIX feet The nearest Wreckin.
S'e"fierS We're stationed in the Medi
m'fahean about 1000 miles distant
-h'e' OF these vessels We're sent to tn,
"dnded steamer Divers went dow
"''u We're engaged for about fly,