The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1902-10-21
WORKS IN MUD
AND CANNOT SEE

YES. believe that diver gets 'i5 n
day Tor bis WORK down on tho bottom
~ the dock. but be- runs the r.sk Of
losing his life Fifteen times for every
dollar he receives" said a man on one
OF the new Bishop Estate wharyos yes
terday as he watched the bubbles com
ing up.
The water bubbles indicated where
diver was at work in thirty feet Of
water-or mud. for the tide rushing
into the new dock kept the water black
during the greater portion of the time.
A small barge was moored near the
bubbles, ard on this two men were
busily grinding away at the pumps
which supplied the diver with air.
Near the ladder which goes down into
the water iICm the end of the barge
sits a man with a rope in his hand.
The diver signals his wants on this
rope, and the man sitting there carries
them out.
The work being done by the diver Is
that of placing new copper sheathing
on the piles where it has been torn off
through driving them into the coral.
He has to do his work entirely by feel
ing, as it is impossible for him to see
through the mud. When he wishes a
piece of copper four inches square, or
any other size, to cover break In the
sheathing he signals the size up by
jerks on the rope. Then the copper is
cut and sent down to him. Nothing
can be seen of his work above the
water except the rising bubbles, and
all that can be heard is a dull thud
when he hurls his hammer in the mud
and drives a nail home" through the
sheathing and piling.
The diver employed Is one of the
oldest in Honolulu. He is, of course,
encased in divers armor, but 1t is re-
markable even then the length of time
he Is capable of staying under water
at his work. Sometimes he only stays
underneath the surface a couple Of
hours, but oftentimes he remains
under the surface for six or seven
hours. A rubber pipe leads from the
barge pump to his armor, and through
this the air Is forced. 1t leaves the
air-tight armor suit through a cap in
the divers helmet, and such force Is
used in sending the air through that
he has new air to breathe about every
second. After leaving the helmet the
air goes into the water with such force
that as it rises to the surface 1t stirs
the water up to such an extent that
one would imagine that a steamers
propeller was working down below
instead of man.
AS every pile has to be carefully in
spected and repaired by the diver, his
work in finishing the under portion of
the wharves will occupy some time.
Cotton Brothers big scoop dredger
completed its work this week. All OF
the dredging machinery, with the eX
ception of this one big dredge, has been
taken from the dock. The big dock
has been dredged all over to a depth
of thirty feet, and in some places it
has been scooped out to a depth OF
nearly forty feet.
Work on the wharves is now pro-
ceedlng at a rapid rate. The wharves
have all been timbered and men are
now at work laying the asphalt which
is to cover them.
A big gang OF laborers has been en-
gagged during the past few days in lay
ing a railway from the wharves to the
reclaimed flats OF the Bishop estate
back of the feed company's ware
houses. An engine and cars Ia to be
placed on this line and it is to be used
in transporting lumber to lumber
yards on the estate and goods to ware
houses that may be erected there.
Cars will be loaded from the vessels as
they are discharged at the wharf, and
all goods will be got out Of the way
Immediately. The new dock has a lot
OF frontage, the wharves are wide, and
the whole enterprise will be completed
in such a manner as to make 1t about
the best dock property in Honolulu.