The San Francisco call., 1904-11-21
DRACS RICHES
FROM THE DEEP
Many Articles of Value Are
Raised From Oceans Bot
tom by Giant Dredger
FIND PIRATES BOOTY
Repairs on the Boat Are Now
Nearly Completed and She
Will Soon Leave for South

The British dredger Mexico, Captain
Ross Kennedy, is moored at Mission
street wharf, where the machinists or
the Risdon Iron Works are busy MAX
ing extensive repairs prior to her re-
turn to Salina Cruz. Mexico. She re-
Gently came here after eighteen
months constant labor, dredging in the
harbor bottom Of that port, and will go
back to her work when the final bolt
of her massive and complicated ma
chinery is frightened up.
This bic floating machine was con-
structed on the Clyde eighteen years
ago from special plans. and was an
experiment in the way Of submarine
dredging. The experiment was a per-
feet success, for ever since the day she
slid into the water she has been busy
pumping UP the bed of the ocean
With her huge twentyinch suction
pipes. one on either side of the hull,
about 25O0 tons Of sand are drawn up
every hour This is deposited in the
great tank-like hold of the vessel. Then
the two pumping engines are stopped,
the pipes and anchors are hoisted and
the two propelling engines drive the
dredger out to sea There the tank is
opened, or to plainly describe the ope-
ration, the vessels bottom literally
drops out, and the tons of sand in
stantly slide down in the deep waters
Of the ocean.
MACHINERY'S PERFECT WORK.
The falling doors of the tank close so
quickly that very little water gets in
and the dredger returns to her work in
the harbor. OF course much water is
pumped in, but as the sand and mud,
by reason Of their greater weight, sink
to the bottom Of the tank, the water is
easily drawn back into the sea. If nee
essary, the matter taken from the sea
bottom can be pumped ashore simply
by lengthening out the great suction
pipes and landing the ends on the
beach.
This is all so easy. Just the turn OF
a little wheel and the work Is done.
At the spot where the dredging is to
take place, the vessel is anchored head
and stern, pipes are lowered in the
water. pumping engines are started and
the great fans that create the vacuum
which draws the oceans bottoms into
the MeXico's tank, begin to revolve.
Not an ounce of human muscle is eX
erted in this stupendous labor of lifting
the sea-bed to the surface. The pom
derous machinery true to it's design
moves unerringly in its grooves and the
work is performed.
Many strange things are brought UP
from the deep by the irresistible force
OF those great centrifugal pumps.
Shells. such as never come to the sur
face, are driven up by the current aS'
is the metal dropped overheard from
the ships of long ago. Often medals
and coins come up through the pipes
and the men on watch around the edge
Of the tank have found on the sand
pieces-of-e eight and other specimens of
the coinage when Spain was the treas
ure house and the mint of the world.
PUMPING A PIRATES TREASURE.
When the Mexico was dredging out
Vera Cruz harbor on the Atlantic coast
she anchored over the spot where q
pirate ship had foundered and gone
down long before. Among the swords,
Spear-heads and remains of musketS
were seen dropping into the tank many
coins. The pumps were stopped until
arrangements could be made to secure
this fortune that was flowing up to
them from the long lost and forgot
ten treasures in the deep. The crew
hung over the end of the pipe i'm
provised sieves and gathered in several
thousand dollars of gold and silver
coins before the lost store of some free
booter Of the Spanish Main was ex
hausted. One of the prizes Of the
dredger was a small iron casket which
when broken open was found to con-
tain several jewels, and letters, which,
however, had become so stained with
age in their alright case. were not
legible. In Vera Cruz harbor a large
number of cannon balls, which had
been shot at the American fleet by the
Mexican shore batteries, were pumped
up and presented to the historical mu-
scum.
The dredger is under contract to the
Mexican Government to deepen certain
harbors Of that country and after fin
ishing the work on the Pacific will re-
turn to the Atlantic side Of the re-
public. The magnitude of the work
can be estimated by he fact that the
vessel dredged in Vera Cruz harbor
continuously for seven years.