The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1909-05-07

Convert it into a gigantic steel air bub-
bic and IL will raise itself-such is the
new theory and practice of saving ships
that 20 upon the rocks or 10 the bottom
of the sea. It is a comparatively new
idea. but IL mas worked where every other
means has failed tt was tried IN lSU9
on the great ulop-IOn baVaTian- Wnich
went onto the rocks in st. Lawrence
river and what the salvOrs could not DO
with an expenditure Of Sl50OO1. the glgan-
tic air bubble was able TO do 1t was next
tested on the 9.00-tOn Mount Temple. ana
IL was raised. Then it was tried on the
English cruiser Gladiator and the Ameri-
can gunboat Yankee with equal success
although the Yankee went down again
owing to a collision with one of the tugs
towing her Now il is proposed to add the
Republic to the list Of converted air bub-
bles. In this case il IS expected that
electromagnetic viii aid in the work
The air bubble method is perhaps the
cheapest yet found. The first thing to
be done is for divers to go down and
make the hold alright leaving only
room for the water to get out Then
gigantic air pumps are set to work,
pumps that are some million times larger
than a bicycle pump. There are valves
just Ike there are in the bicycle tire,
which will admit the air but will noJ
allow il TO esca De. As the air IS forced
Through a series Of trap doors the men
who are accustomed to working under
compressed air-COrrespOnding to the
''sandn0gS'' i'm Sub-aqueOus tunnelS-get
down into the hold and brace the ship in
every conceivable way so that il can
Withstand the tremendous strain that IS
to be put upon IL If the job is not done
right, Il will act Just like a defective
pneumatic tire. But if it is done right
there will be no trouble. When all the
water IS forced out by the air that is
pumped in, the ship will at once right
herself, just as a hollow rubber ball will
towing to haven of refuge begins.
It is a terrible strain on the new type
of wrecker. He knows not the moment
a storm may blow Up and find him down
in the hold with a dozen trap doors be
tween him and the top of the water.
There are telephones from the wrecking
tugs to the interior. and a lookout is al
ways stationed above watching for the
possible storm. But even with this pre-
caution there is still many a race with
death to the top Of the water
The first employment Of the COM
pressed air system of steamship raising
schooner had run 10 the rocks. After
many efforts TO get her off she was
sbandoned-Or rather sold to an enter
priSing adventurer. He bought a lot Of
tide was low filled the hold with them.
first having taken care to have each one
closed at the bung He shored them
down well so that they could not shift,
and when the tide next came along If
lifted the schooner clear Of the rocks.
The ingenuity Of this man netted him
enough to buy a good farm.
The next step IN the direction of com
pressed air salvage, as II is conducted
today, was the invention Of the came"
There is a large iron or steel barrel,
often B hundred feet in length by as
much as ten feet in diameter. Several
of these ''camels' are fastened to the
side Of the vessel. al low tide. IL IL is on
the rocks, or at any time if it is below
the surface. The water is then forced
cut Of them. and their lifting power be
comes equal to the difference between
their weight ana the weight of the wa
ter they displace. which is many tons.
one of the most unusual cases of Gus
cesSful salvage with compressed air,
happened in the case Of the Gladiator.
which was sunk in a collision with the
American steamer st. Paul. The Gladia-
tor IS rather antiQuated English cruiser,
but il was desirable to raise her. She
had sunk in way that made her lay
on her side The first problem was to
right her. Heavy apparatus in the shape
of steam winches and other equipment
was set up in concrete beds on the shore,
and after many a hawseT had been
parted, they were finally successful in
getting her on even keel Then came the
work of the divers, the sandhOgs and the
air pumps. 1t was not long before the
tale was told. and the Gladiator, sadly
disfigured, but still in the game. rose to
the surface and was successfully tOwed
into port
The St. Paul. which ran into the Glad
iatOr. has not always gone sCOt-free.
Some thirteen years ago she was on the
beach herself off the New Jersey coast.
The task Of getting her aflOat again was
placed in the hands Of Captain Israel
Merritt Of the great Merritt-Chapman
firm. It is said that this was the last
piece of work of which Captain Merritt
ever took personal charge. He has been
one Of the most successful salvOrs the
world has ever produced. and his ships
sail many seas in their work Of rescu-
ing shipping.
Oftentmes wTeckers are put to their
wits end to solve the unexpected prob