Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1902-03-25

man saw his ship lifted from the hot
tom of river or harbor tn sail the seas
again.
| The demand for the work of the
wreckers increased and with it came
the need for better and quicker meth
DDS of raising ships or Of recovering
their contents. Inventors devised air
bags, derricks, power pumps and div
ling dresses, all for the aid of the
wrecker and the expedition of his
work. The result mas been the de-
velopment of the industry until feats
can be performed which would have
produced charge of witchcraft and a
bonfire a century ago.
Nowadays any sort of n wreck can
be raised anywhere. The wreckers
would almost undertake to raise the
earth II they could get a wire cable
around it. Harbor tugs, coal barges,
locomotives, 1erryboats, bridges,
houses, pocket books, trunks, battle
ships, yachts, freight cars, brick
barges, canalboats, sleepers, telegra phi
cables and anchors; in fact, anything
that can sink in water is regarded as
fair game by the wrecking companies.
One day they may be called to under
take the work of lifting a transatlantic
liner off the rocks; the next, they are
requested to send a diver down to re-
cover a woman's watch or are asked to
dispatch a derrick to rescue from the
bottom of the river an engine whose
driver has miscalcuated the strength
of freight slips bumper Most of the
wreckers' work is connected with the
raising of ships, but a great deal of
other tasks come to the mill of the
wrecking companies.
The method used to raise ships to-
day differs very little from that used
when the work first began to be de-
veloped. The exact position and con-
dition of the wreck is discovered by
divers, and then a number of powerful
derricks are towed to the spot. Some
of these monsters are able to raise a
dead weight of more than 400 tons.
When the tide is at it's lowest the
heavy wire cables of the derricks are
placed around the wreck and drawn
taut. AS the tide rises it's resistless
force raises the scows upon which the
derricks rest. Those who have ever
lifted heavy rock from the bottom of
a river will recognize the fact that
weight can be lifted under water that
cannot be raised above it. In the
same way the derricks, which would
not be able to lift a sixteenth part of
the wreck clear of the water, are easily
able to raise it from the bottom and
move it.
AS the wreck rises the engines of the
derricks are put to work to adjust the
burden until each is bearing it's proper
+lA &c kpp1
While the tide is at it's highest the
tugs are again attached to the scows
and they, carrying the wreck just clear
of the bottom, are towed into shallow
water near the shore. There, as the
tide sinks, the wreck is grounded.
Usually, when the water has receded,
enough of the hull is above water to
admit of repairs being made. This is
done, and then at low tide the derricks
are again brought into action and the
lifting proceeding is repeated next
tide. In this way vessel can be
fioated into any desired position for
repairs.
Occasionally a wreck is encountered
too heavy for the derricks. or 1t may
be that the ship is sunk in seaway
where the derricks cannot work. In
such cases recourse is had to enormous
alright bags, which are taken below
by divers and either inserted into the
hold of the vessel or attached to the
hull by cables. These bags are then
pumped full of air and. with the aid OF
the derricks are usually sufhclent TO
raise any sort of wreck. This was the
method adopted in floating the Cristo-
bal Colon after the Spanish war