The San Francisco call., 1908-11-22
MEN WHO WORK AT
BOTTOM OF THE SEA
Divers and the Dangers of Va
riOus Kinds They Must
Guard Against

A great deal of water has run under
the bridge since in the month of June,
1774, John Day made his fatal debut
as a diver in Plymouth sound. Day. a
clever but ignorant millwright, had
laid numerous wagers that, confined in
a water tight box and provided with a
candle. food and drink, he would re-
main submerged at any depth for y
hours. His plan was that the box
should be fastened by screws from
within TO vessel subsequently
sunk. and that when the allotted time
had elapsed he should withdraw the
screws and rise to the surface. His
mad scheme was actually put into eX-
ecutiOn on June %, and Day, as might
have been expected, lost his life. Not
the least extraordinary part Of the af-
fair is that while he was warned how
the pressure Of the water would affect
his box. and greatly increased its
strength IN consequence. no one seems
10 have so much as limited at the dan
ger Of his death from want of air.
HOW THE DIVER DESCENDS
The diver who goes down today to
salve the contents Of a sunken wreck,
recover a dropped torpedo, or execute
some submarine erection or repairs, has
better knowledge Of the necessary
risks he runs, and the precautions by
which he may avoid all needless danger
at his work, than had poor Day. Science,
mindful Of the great increase of pres
sure brought about by every foot that
he sdescends beneath the surface of the
sea, warns him TO go slowly down the
stepladder that hangs from the ships
side or the dock wall and to pause
frequently as he does SO that he may
grow accustomed TO the increase by de-
grees. this means a man fit for the
work. 81 Of heart and free from opo-
plectic tendencies. passes with little in
convenience from the moderate pres
sure OF eight pounds per square inch,
which surrounds him at depth Of 20
feet, TO that Of SIS pounds, which he
must sustain after descending $50 feet
the greatest depth at which his work
can be considered safe.
once landed at the bottom Of the sea,
the diver has a host Of things TO bear
in mind. Weighted as he is with
brass soled boots, copper helmet and
often a treble set Of underclothing be-
low his diving suit OF twill and rub
Der, the tendency to rise is yet so
great that his powers Of action are
very limited. He can lift a compare
lively heavy weight with ease; the
attempt to pull down some trifiing
piece Of wreckage from overhead will
probably take him off his feet Read
ets OF Robert Louis Stevenson will
remember how, when dressed in full
deep sea costume he accompanied a
diver TO his work, the novelist was
able to hop with ease upon the summit
OF a rock some six feet high. But
descend again he could not; his com
panion hauled him or head downward
and propped him on his feet like an
intoxicated sparrow" Even for such
an apparently simple piece Of work as
drilling a hole in a rock or portion
Of a wreck, the diver VIII perhaps need
10 prop himself against a stone or
make himself secure by lashings TO the
object upon which he works.
THE GREATEST DANGER
The great danger against which the
diver must be ever on his guard is that
Of getting his air tube entangled in
the debris Of a wreck-no difficult mat
ter as he creeps IN and out of cabin. en-
gine room and hold, among a broken
and distorted mass Of wood and iron.
He may have been moving In one di-
rection. all unconscious that he is be
ing helped by a strong current, until
he presently attempts TO turn and finds
Il vain 1t is not the deep sea diver
only who runs this risk. Some years
since. a diver was at work in 20 feet
Of water repairing some dock gates.
His fob finished, he gave the signal 10
the boat above to close the gates that
he might see IL all worked well. The
rush Of many tons of water as the
heavy gates swung TO swept him be-
tween and through them. In flash he
realized that his air pipe would be
caught between the massive doors, and
b. the same moment saw his only
chance for life; he thrust his heavy
hammer head between the closing gates
and thus kept his pipe free till he
could signal for them to be reopened.
The old method of communication be-
tween the diver and his helpers at the
surface was by means of tugs upon the
line: but nowadays the telephone. or
perhaps a speaking tube, accompanies
the air pipe at his side. And though
many divers still work in the compare
tive darkness, both oil and electricity