The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1904-06-21

eSsanca the air pump handles Whi1zed
ass,und Ike the ny heels OF an engine
when the belt slips OF and. with a hiss
that sounded like a snakes. the hose
came writhing and twisting TO the sur n
face, Before the tender uld yell for
help great bubble exploded light utl-
der him. Followed by q STRING OF small
ser ones. 5 Is u.
ell. we pulled up that life ,ine3nll
In one breath We got that helmet off
md pulled OFF his suit. we thought
him dead His eyes buiged out till
they looked like fingers, and his ear
drums were blown out like little bal
looms Around his neck. where the
heavy brass rim of the helmet struck
him. there was a livid black circle
which looked like burned wood. But
he CT, me out OF it Hes alive. but life
isn't much good to him NOW,
At depths less than sixty feet the
ord mary diver ca a work hour after
hour. but below that limit he must take
frequent rests. Four hours constitute
days work at all depths. Thus, at
seventy feet he works three-auarters
of an hour and rests fifteen minutes.
AT eighty feet. he works forty and rests
twenty minutes. Thus the ratio con-
tinues until ut 10 feet few divers can
work more tnln ten minutes
When a diver hns stayed down too
long, he does not suffer while still in
the water but a fter coming to the sur
face After protracted immersion
his organs do not react as quickly to
the lighter pressure. and the swellinss
from air pushing out through the It's
sues do not subside as rapidly.
Ordinarily the experienced diver as
he slowly descends does not notice any
sensations that are painful. He feels
n cracking of the eardrums, which he
relieves by keeping his mouth open
and swallowing frequently. BE does
not find it much harder to breathe un-
til he gets very deep, when the air mas
Il drov-sy effect on his senses. On ris-
ing after the usual .tstny down the
era ckInSs OF the ears begin again, ana
again they may be checked by sWal-
lowing. an act which forces air of the
same density as that outside through
the eustachian tubes into the chamber
behind the ear1rum. Unless Il man
has heart that is perfectly sound and
lungs that are especially strong he
should never don the divers nrnor.
Even with these he sometimes is CON-
PEELED to abandon. submarine work
after q year or two.
Another peril which the diver en-
counters is the "somersault.' Because
of the great weight of his helmet he is
likely to turn turtle despite his lead
soie1 boots. In Suda bay, island OF
Crete, a diver Of the British battleshlp
Hood lost his balance while at work
on sunken torpedo and hung for five
hours heels over head under some for
ty feet of water. He had tangled bis
lines with the hawser, which he had
attached to the torpedo and with which
his companions above were attempting
to hoist When rescued at last by
fellow diver he was found uncon.
scious. but alive. In another half hour,
however. he would have drowned. Be
cause the pressure of air had not been
sufficient water had leaked in and col
lected in the helmet. When he was
found the water had risen to within
quarter of an inch of his nostrils. In
tropical waters sharks menace diver
with such ferocity that he Is only safe
when working in a great cylindrical
cage.-New York Tribune.