Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1902-08-27


4 second expedition went down, and
although not successful, brought back.
reports that furnished encouragement
for third, which started from. San
Francisco in October, 1863.
This expedition sailed in two schoon-
ers, Their. B. Potter, a former pilot
boat of seventy tons, and the Naiad,
a little craft of Thirty tons previously
used for collecting gulls' eggs fron
the Farallone Islands. There wera
ten men on each vessel, including div
ers and engineers, and there was all
the necessary apparatus.
The diving apparatus was put into
shape; the two schooners were moorfl
at safe distance from the breakers.
the air pump, with its attendant,
was placed in position on th' launch;
and one of the divers, in his submar-
Inc suit, dropped over the side, but
did not vanish. Since the water was
but four fathoms deep and clear as
crystal, he could easily be seen as he
walked along the bottom toward the
wreck. A stream of air-buhbles rose
behind him, and fish and sharks fled
from him in every direction.
AS he approached the wreck and
found shalloWer water with each step.
it was seen that the furious surf and
the undertow forced him by degrees
to stoop until he was crawling along
on all fours. When he was directly
over the wreck he began to employ
the ingenious apparatus to which the
adventurers locked for success.
This apparatus consisted of a brass
pipe, with nozzle two and one-half
inches in diameter, which was at
tached to five hundred feet of hose
leading to n steam-pump on board the
Naiad. A continuous stream Of Wa
ter, rs powerful MS that from fire
engine, was to be forced through the
lose; and this, it was hoped. would
roll the sand to such state that the
diver could grad Tally settle down into
it and lay hold of The treasure.
AS soon as he reached the place
where he was to work, the diver gave
the signal to start the pump.
After an hour Of expectancy by those
shove, the diver signaled to stop the
pump. and then came to the surface.
After being relieved of his helmet, he
drew in few breaths of fresh air and
reported:
Everything is all right so far, but
there is a lot more work to be done
than we bargained for. The sand has
accumulated so tha! where we expect
ed two or three feet, there are almost
six. Under this is the coal, and in it
we shall find the boxes of gold, if We
ever find Them.
"The experiment with the hose
worked WELL" he continued Il kept
playing the nozzle under and about
my legs, and sank three feet easily
But l tell you, there's danger for Il
diver in this thing. II the steam
pump ever stops working while man
is deep in the roiled-rp sand he will
be caught there sure, FOR the sand will
grow solid about him before he can
get out"
The men had not thought of this
before, but they at once saw the truth
of it, and arranged that every imagin-
able precaution should be taken to
keep the pump working.
Both divers descended on the second
day, but after considerable time. re-
appeared with no more encouraging
rews than that one of them had got
down into the sand to the depth OF
has armpits without discov ering any
thing. During the following week
the search went on with no. success
The divers found that the stream fror
the hose did not thin the sanu enough
to enable them to bend down III II
and grooe about their feet. The stream
{ made 8 hole fer them 10 piak In. but Il