Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1910-05-27
Mistellaueous 8rad'na.
RAISING OF THE MAINE.
Diver Who Knows Says It Will Be a
Big Job.


They may be able to raise the
Maine, but it's going to be darn tough
job" said Capt. Louis SorchO of New
York, the great deep sea diver, who
government to go down in the wreck Of
that i'll -fated man-Cf-war Immediately
after it was blown up in Havana har-
Dor on February Is, 1898.
1--WE reached the harbor about six or
seven days after the ship had gone
down, and after receiving our instruc
tions picked out our places, with good
distance in between, so as to avoid any
danger of getting our lines fouled, and
also to cover a wide area.
Havana harbor has no cleansing
tide, merely rise and fall 1t is like
a huge basin, with a big niche on the
side of the rim, through which the wa
ter comes in and runs out
Deadly Germs In Harbor.
Now, the bottom of the harbor, in
those days, because of this, was mass
of mud and as the refuse and dirt of
the city was emptied there to a great
extent and there was no current to
carry the filth away the stuff settled at
the bottom. To judge how bad the
condition of the bottom of Havana har-
Dor was, called attention to the fact
that ships were not allowed to anchor
there, buoys being provided, for if
boat were to drop it's mud hook, when
it was pulled up it would stir up such a
muss that probably the way would be
paved for an epidemic. Steamers must
enter and leave with their propellers
moving only fast enough to provide
steerage way.
There were no formalities in going
down into the warship. Just as soon
as we were dressed in our divers suits
and had made sure of our air pumps,
we went over the side and down into
the blackest water l have ever work.
ed in during all the years l have been
diver
In Mud to His Shoulders.
The depth where the Maine lies is
thirty-one feet, and the pressure of wa
ter to the square inch about twelve
pounds. The dials on our air pumps
are marked so the men working them
can keep the air pressure regulated,
and We don't have to bother much eX-
cept with our work and the usual pre-
cautions for keeping our passage-wa
free and clear.
LAS soon as l reached the bottom
was up to the shoulders in that awful
sticky mud. My helmet was equipped
with the automatic valve, which can be
controlled by the diver, who, when he
finds he has too much air, can, by q
move of the head, open it, or vice versa
81 quickly shut off the air escape,
and the suit began to fill up like bal
loon: but even with this aid l had to
signal for those above to pull on the
lines, to help me in getting out of the
mud After this, except when we were
working on the solid decks of the
sunken vessel, we worked under an air
pressure of from one to two pounds
more than the depth called for, so that
we were almost floating instead Of
walking.
Could Not See In Dirty Water.
1T was impossible to see anything
in that water, and your hand held in
front of your face plate could not be
noticed. Everything depended on div
er's sense of touch. Although we were
equipped with the submarine lights,
they were useless and we abandoned
these after the first trip down.
Our first duty was to get the bodies,
and most of these were in the berth
deck, forward. 1t was an awful task;
many of them were floating up against
the roof of the deck, and these we
brought to the openings and allowed to
float to the surface.
AN odd thing about a person drown
ed is that before the time for him to
come TO the surface, he is raised by the
action of the body gases to position
almost standing, the feet barely touch
ing the bottom. Not being able to see,
We just CROPPED about with widespread
arms. and often / have experienced the
shock, though l knew what to expect,
of closing my arms around one of the
poor fellows who was in that peculiar
position.
Recovered 1872 Bodies.
FINALLY We came to the bodies of
the poor fellows who were caught in
the wreckage l believe l recovered
1872.
Then came the other work, and /
had time to notice things more. The
ship by this time was sunk in at least
ten feet of mud and the mole in her
bottom had SO filled up that it would
have been almost impossible to tell
where it was except through the breaks
in the decks above it.
Il will not attempt to say whether
the explosion was from the inside or
outside, but | do know that everything
was pointing upward, as if the force
was from directly underneath. 1t must
nave been terrible, for things were
blown all out of shape, and yet it is
that the magazines nearby
were not touched. 1t makes one hon
eStly think that if the explosion had
been in any one of the magazines, the
others must have gone too. | remem-
Der that we sent kcg after kcS of pow
der above. and some of them we took
from places where they must have been
blown. but they bnr" no evidence of
having been touched by fire, such as
must have been the case if the upheav-
al had been from the inside.
I'VE worked in the Maine nineteen
days, and during that time we noticed
tbot cba sank SeyprDl feet 1ppnpr i'm the