Los Angeles herald., 1907-07-28

wreckers' work there is abundant oppor-
tunity for salvaging craft sunk in COLL
sion, This class of work and the getting
of vessels off of rocks constitute the most
difficult labors of the marine ambulance
men.
There is plenty of hard work for the
divers and, after all, the diver Is really
the most important man on the job, for
on his word rests the decision of the
wreckmaster. With a vessel lying in say
40 or so feet of water with hole in her
side through which an automobile could
be driven the first problem is to make the
hull watertight. This Is done In two
ways, one by building patch of wood
over the hole and the other by building
a cofferdam or wooden casing around the
injured section. In wooden vessels II Is
comparatively easy to put on patch and
cover 1t with canvas but an iron hull pre-
sents a different problem.
In the wreck of the steamship Eugene
Zimmerman, sunk in collision with the
steamship Saxona at Sault Ste. Marie,
the bow was broken and dented In to a
considerable extent. The vessel had been
beached In shallow water but the work
was nevertheless difficult. The wreckers
made a complete mould of the lndented
space and then built ashore a patch 32
feet long and 20 feet deep to At 1t. Tho
fitting was completed by divers and 1t
was not long before the great pumps
cleared the hull and the vessel aoated.
Compressed air is now Of the greatest
aid to the wrecker. and 1t was employed
successfully last November on the Allan
I.tH JoA
: on Wye Rock in the st. Lawrence river
for more than a year, held fast by great
jagged rocks through her bottom. The
vessel had been practically given up by
the underwriters and Messrs. r. o. King
and William w. Wotherspoon undertook
the work of salvage.
They determined to profit by the meth
cd of employing compressed air in build
ing the Pennsylvania railroad tunnel under
the East river and 1t is interesting to note
that one Of their employees, Richard Cree
don, was the man who had the unique ex-
perience of having been blown up through
East river by the bursting of an air
chamber.
The various holds of the Bavarian were
first cleaned and then thoroughly tim
bered 30 that the whole ship was made
series of air locks. in addition,
wooden tank was built beneath the en-
gines to support them and the whole
timbering was done with a view to al
lowing the entire weight of the vessel to
rest on the upper decks. Then, where
compartments could not be built, air bags
were placed and pumps installed on the
vessel were started.
The air drove the water from the ves-
sci and on November 1S, with high
tide, the great steamship hoated like a
cork. 1t was not long before she was safe
In Quebec harbor and has thus been given
a new lease of life.
The success of compressed air will no
doubt lead to its general adoption and
there is now little doubt but what, by Its
use, many a fine vessel that would other
wise be given up as lost will be reclaimed
by the tireless tollers of the deep.
A salvage that will ever be remem-
bered in maritime circles was that of the
freight steamship Scottish King" a task
that required not only skill and treless
energy but patience. The success of the
expedition, taking all things into consid-
Grafton, is regarded as the most notable
salvage on record.
The Scottish King" was bound from
Antwerp to Baltimore with a general
cargo &nd during the night Of November
18, 1893, while in a furious gale, she
missed her bearings and piled up on the
rocks of Seal Cove on the New Found
land coast. The seas drove the vessel
between two great rocks ana weuged ner
tightly, holding her BOWS as though In
gigantic vice, while the waves hammered
her stern until several plates were torn
of and the ship filled. The officers and
crew of the vessel managed to make their
escape but only after great hardship as
the weather was bitterly cold.
With the rising Of the sun and the
going down OF the gale the steamer,
which was but one year old, $50 feet
long, 4S feet beam and laden with nearly
5000 tons of merchandise. presented a
pitiful Spectacle and it was confidently
bee.nisaYyAd that she had come to her end
and that her original cost of $25O,oo0 was
a total loss.
An examination of the spot where the
steamer lay showed that reef running
northeasterly afforded protection from
ordinary storms and, thus encouraged, the
wreckers began the removal of her cargo.
After taking away as much as could be
reached the wreckers abandoned her to
her fate with the belief that the nrst