davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1912-09-15

dana ged vessel will rise looking not un-
like. Tor the time. a Moan Aih. lli9
method is rcsorted 10 when the decks OF
shin have not been strong enough 10
Withstand the pressure Of the oveiIyihG
water. should the matches be sealed ana
the water pumped out between decks
which otherwise would be the simplest
line of procedure. But none OF the lore
going methods are really what might be
termed the very latest thinS In the sal
wage of foundered vessels.
In 1906 the Allan liner Bavarian sank
in the st. Lawrence, and then the engl-
ncerirg and shipping worlds were treated
"a a novelty in salvage work. Two young
engineers. w. ". WOtherspoon ana Il. ~
King. proposed TO raise the ship by means
OF compressed air held or confined be-
tween decks. by sealing certain OF the
liners bulkheads and decks for that pur-
nose The time honored employment Oh
punps was abandoned, and an essentially
new way of raising submerged craft was
lnaugurated upon Il truly impressive scale
II is not necessary 70 go into the story
Of the Bavarian other than to say that
Nessrs Wotherspon and King confouhd-
cd their critics and established TOT al
time the practical value of their innoVa-
tion. Besides that, they showed their
method to be exceedingly flexible ana
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1912-09-15
THE FLOODED CAMEL" SINKS.

But the metal pOntOOB has still another
advantage The wooden one won't sink
when filled with water unless purposey
burdcned with some sort OF 81 deckload,
which would have TO be removed after
ward under water to restore its full lift
ing power. The "camel," on the other
hand, when flooded will sink readily to
the bottom, and i'm that condition can be
secured by wire ropes or chains close
against the sides Of the sunkcn ship.
Because Of their circular form In section
they can easily and chcaply be built 10
withstand water pressure al any workable
depth. In this they show another superb
ority over the pontoOn OF wood. Remen-
Der that IL was the helpful action Of the
tides that made the working Of the pom
toons employed on the Jose successful.
Now the rise ana fall of the tide Is not
necessary generally for the effective
operation Of "camels." The salvor is not
using the surface Of the water, as il were.
as base or point TO which he tries 20
draw the submerged craft, keeping his
pontoons there for that purpose.
When the great metal tanks or cylin-
ders have been properly placed and the
vessel TO be raised rests upon the CON
Meeting cables, then the wreckers force
the water out Of these cylinders 10y means
OF compressed air. As soon as enough
water has been thus expelled the camels
Iisc. bearing with them--if pumped ont
cnough--the wreck. Thus by a single
operation the submerged ship is lifted
bodily toward the surface, and it is not
necessary to wait from tide TO tide. ex-
cept so far as it may be needful TO have
a sufficient depth OF water TO tow the in
jured and heavier drafted ship to some
chosen point
A very notable case OF the employment
OF "camels" on a large scale was that OF
salying the British cruiser Gladiator,
which was run down by the transatlantic
liner st. Paul in 1908. After some fruit
less efforts the British Admiralty aban-
doned tine task and gave the work over to
a private salvage company. There fSere
two things to be accomplished: First, TO
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1912-09-15
4 - Rice Per,v FLAGSHIP by the Aid of the Novel Metal Came

living decks. as the vessel lifted, unless
some measures were taken TO release tn.
compressed air gradually. This has been
arranged for by Messrs. Wothe.spoon and
King very skilfully, and In this they have
added greatly to the effectiveness and
the adaptability of their salvage processes.
one can easily see that there are prob
ably occasions when the state Of the sea
would make II dangerous to have heavy,
nartly submerged vessel slung between
large pontoons--the humping and banging
Of them being mutually obstructive OF
hazardous In fact. on more than one occa-
sion, pontoons have had to drop their
lead for safety's sake and go back 10
their task when the weather favored
doing all over again work that might have
taken weeks.
Under such conditions the sclf-con-
tanned method employed when compressed
air Is used overcomes many Of these diff
culties and makes it possible TO do what
otherwise VOL prove pro,lp.live. The
case of the Yankee is proof Of this.
When that vessel was foated and was
heading for port the sea was heavy ard
the weather what the sailorman terms
dirty" The unskiIful handling of one OF
the towing craft caught her unawares,
and a big wave drove her violently
against the cruiser, with disastrous ef-
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1912-09-15

I capable of wide variations TO meet spe-
clal cases. Since then they have con
trlbuted 10 the successful salvage Of
large number OF other sunken craft.
Perhaps their most dramatic undertake
ing was that OF the United States steamer
Yankee, which went ashore OH Hen ana
, Chickens Reef, near Newport, X. l., and
which has yet To be brought again safely
] into port After the Yankee went down
! salvage was undertaken by number OF
! well known wrocking companies, and one
by one the work was abandoned By them
, IN despair
! The late John Arbuckle. who was never
ayerse 20 taking odds IN a business gam
BILE organized a wrecking company OF
his own, having for his technical advis-
ers Messrs. WothcrspOon & King Inside
Of one ana onc-half months after attack
ing what others had declared hopeless
task. he had the Yankee aiioat, In this
work the engineers employed their system
which they had used 10 such advantage
In raising the Bayarian. Men were taken
from the tunnel for this work. and the
ordinary ''sandhog' closed the decks
sealed some OF her matches and other
deck openings, I'm order TO make air,lsht
the everything decks which were 10 with
: stand the air pressure. In other words,
| the vessel was turned into diving bell
with the open end down. this end being
I the injured bottom of the ship.
The Yankee was hoated at . o'clock In
the afternoon. At II o'clock she was un-
| fortunately run into by one Of the towing
/ vessels and one of her 'tween-deck spaces
was flooded. The damaged compartment
happened to be that which contained the
vitality necessary air compressors. Five
hours later the Yankee settled again upon
/ the ocean bed. At that time Mr.. Arbucke
had no wrecking vessel with a compress
sive plant on board. The lack or this was
later remedied. In the case OF the Nero
a naval collier-that ship had her own
compressors aboard, and one OF the
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1912-09-15
position tha "Yarkee" WoTkoe',
about to decer,d ir,to the wreck

by the time that stage u the work was
reached, however, Mr.. Arbuckle had be-
come so imbucd with faith In the general
employment OF compressed air between
decks that he was reluctant to resort TO
pontoons or "cames,' as Wotherspoon q
King recommended for the stern. Ac-
cordiugIy. compressed air was tried, but
before it could lift the after body Of the
ship the air blew out an ammunition
hoist, the vessel again filled and settled
20 the bottom. Then II was decided To
employ pOntoonS. but the time set for
completing the whole undertaking had
passed before these could be put IN ser
vice, and further work was temporarily
suspended. During the negotiations TO
purchase the vessel Mr.. Arbuckle died
Since then his engineers have bought the
shin and are about to resume their at
tempt 10 refioat her. The fact that they
have purchased the Yankee Is proof OF
their pluck and Of their well grounded
belief that they shall certainly succeed
this time.
hoist taught the engineers valuable les
son, which they will now put to good use
In resuminR their work on the cruiser.
Forcing air into a sunken ship. /. e.,
into compartments between decks that
have been made alright, may sound fairly
simple to the man I'm the street, but the
engineer knows that there are some prob
lens Identified with this operation which
call for some pretty nice preparations. IN
a general way, and approximately. the
average man knows that the pressure OF
the water Increases one-half pound with
every added foot of depth below the sur
face. A ship that Is full OF water Is SUBJ
jected to equalizing pressures OIL the In
side and the outside OF her hull and like
wise upon all sides OF any submerged
portions. But this is not the case when
air displaees the waterlat different depths
within the craft
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1912-09-15
THE COUNTRY WEEKER.

State Engineer Curtis Hill, of Missouri
who took an automobile trip across wv
state and afterward admitted tha' ~
never dreamed there were such bad roau,
In the world, much less on the Mlssou''
cross-state highway, said In an Interview
IL was as ignorant Of the true eona'uOn
Of our roads as some of those COUNT
week children are ignorant OF farm NC
as ignorant. indeed, as the little giri ""V'
on her return from a country week h0"'
day. said:
~ wish We kept sheep, mother ~
that we could have fresh kidneys i''
breakfast every morning"
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1912-09-15

OF 200 tons The ship was lying NJ tho
bottom. over on one side. The big water
tight cylinders We're flooded and sunk
around the bows Of tho Gladiator, then
freed Of water so that they would lift the
ships head, and, as If on pivot, she
was swung around in line with the thread
Of the currents.
While some of the divers were placing
the steel hawsers under the ship and get
ting more of the sunken "camels" In
position TO raise the Gladiator bodily
others were employed building a wooden
cofferdam over the rent which the ST.
Paul had torn IN the cruisers side, and
all watertight doors inside OF the chip
were closed, 50 as further TO localZc the
injury. When these preparations were
finished, the pumps on the wrecking yes
sells were started and connected with the
inside of the Gladiator, and then the
"cames" were drained OF their water hy
compressed air and the 5,700-t ton cruiser
was lifted clear of the bottom on which
she had lain for months. After that, get
ting her into port and into drydock we're
fairly easy tasks. From the time the
salvers attacked their problem and the
ship was on her way to port-a vessel
quite three times as big as the Jose--was
a much briefer period than in the case
of the fruiter sunk off South Ferry. So
much for modern facilities.
Another way of raising sunken ships Is
TO incase them from their main deck up
within Il Watertight wooden bulkhead, or
fence. as the layman would call 1t, thus
virtually bringing the body Of the sub
merged craft up above the surface OF the
water. OF course. this cannot be done
successfully when the craft lies too deep.
When this cofferdam has been completed
and the holes I'm the ships bottom have
been temporarily plugged. then the pumps
are set 10 work, draining first the wooden
superstructure and then the true body of
the ship herself. When enough water
has been drained in this manner. the
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1912-09-15
The Trolley, Symbol of Modernism,
Penetrates Remote Places

Because of the splendid showing or the
trackless trolley in Austria, il Is no"
proposed to install similar conveyancss
or systems at several places here IN the
United States. The ease In establishing
lines OF his sort and their hexibllity OF
operation are points that give a good
deal of food for thought. The trolle!
systems of many parts Of the world
whero not controlled by the owners oil
steam railways--have made serious III
roads upon the estimated probable
revenue of the established trunk lines
and now the tracllless trolley comes |"
add gravity 70 that situation. The trohe.
is certainly an intrusive innovation ana
no part Of the world is now secure aSaihs'
It's visitation
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1912-09-15
THE NEW CATACOMBS.

But the trolley Is "a restless creation
of the present age and does not limit
itself TO girdlng tie earth from the
blistered tropics TO snow-cad mountain
peaks. II is now proposed TO build "A
subway In Rome for an electric railroad
reaching TO the seashore at Ostia. The
subway will start from point near the
Forum and run TO the st. Paul's Gate
at the citys limits. Like the Christians
of old, to avoid what remains OF the an
cient pagan city, the present system
Is to be a neighbor Of the Catacombs.
hut this is not all: Venice. too. is TO
nave a subway. Leading from ST. Mark 3
Place, the electric lire will run thence
via the subway to the point called Four
Fountains at the Lido two miles distant.
The primary purpose Is TO provide rapid
transit for the summer visitors. This
will be a hard blow to the sondolier!!
so far. the trolley has had 10 blaze Il
path and then TO hold to its steel-ribbed
roadway, but II is now In a fair way
to become Il comparative yagrant: We
are speaking OF the tvacaless trolley.
This innovation has been tried out In
Austria. The car is connected by a
flexible system of cables which permit
the car TO run OF any part OF the road,
to overtake other carriages, OF TO turn
anywhere, thus to accommodate itself
to all kinds of traffic conditions The
line now existing at Wedding. near
Vienna, has been doing excellent work
in the face Of tortuous. hiliy roads and
heavy traffic. A similar line at Gmund-
designed to carry A,Oo0 passengers a
year-actually transported In six months
Of service more than 1900 passengers be-
sides the malls and $50 sundry packages.
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1912-09-15
LEFT HAND CIGARS.

II isn't because the cigar is badly n'au'
that the wrapper sometimes comes W.
curled-it is because the cigar is lev
handed one.
Cigarmakers must be ambideAuous'
They cut the wrapper and leaf on tue
bias, rolling II from left TO right on ,'iV
filler, while the other piece Is rolled WIZ"
the left hand, from right to left
A nervous smoker, twisting and tw'rhns
his cigar, has no trouble with risn.
hand one; but II Il happens to be q 9e''
hand ono II Is apt to come undone.
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1912-09-15

space Immediately above-which Is sepa-
rated securely-the air pressure is less
but likewise equal TO the average OF the
outside hydcostatic pressure for the IN
terval between the two decks; and II n
third air space be employed, the same
method of balancing the two forces OF
air and water-the general pressure be ne
still correspondlngly less than that in
the two lower divisions-ls utilized once
more.
But this nice adjusting Of pressures Is
not all that the engineer has 10 bear IN
mind; he must see TO It that these con-
tending forces of air and water are equal
lied by reduction as the ship rises. Nat
urally, the water pressure grows less as
the craft nears the. surface, but the
pressure Of the confined air would re-
main constant. II il didn't burst the over
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1912-09-15
US Cruiser Yankee
aS,1ound on Her and
Chicken" reef. Oct 1908

means Of pontoons is to employ cylinders
of steel instead Of the traditional box
like structures of wood used In the case
Of the Jose In England, these NJ
tanks are called "camels' they might
with equal fitness be called whales" As
we have already said, these "camels," Tor
a given size represent far moro lifting
power or buoyancy in reserve than the
wooden pioneer. and they can he built in
bigger proportions and still he capable Of
fairly easy manipulation.
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1912-09-15
Hieold pAtsiuae
At4
HIca VatssgsS
AtA

Showing the different
strata Of air press ures
roO used IL, bringing q
Suy,ker vessel TO the
surface. Each cornpaTt
,ne,,t ia treatea as a.
u,lit. The pressures
are SkilfullY released
as the craft rises.
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1912-09-15
The Very Latest Thing in the Salvage OF Foun'
cered Vess Is Shows Striking Results and the
Meth d Is Great Advance on the Use OF
the mple and Slow Wooden Pontoon.

basin or depression in the river bottom
and it was necessary TO work her grad
ually up hill out of that hole 70 the
general level OF the riyeTbed This partly
explains the length of time taken TO get
the boat out of the channelway with the
facilities employed.
4 fur more effective way OF saving by
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1912-09-15
THE DIVERS DIFFICULT TASK.

II is very hard for diver 10 work
under water when the currents are strong
even though he be heavily weighted with
lead 10 give him firmer hold upon the
waterbed. The currents sweep against
his air hose and signal line passing 10 the
.,,rf,ce. and lie must drag himself against
this pull. Working under that pressure
and the pressure of the air supplied him
from the pumps above. he is soon e8-
hausted, besides being placed In more or
less peril lest his hose and line become
entangled with part Of the wreck. This
was especially the case where the Jose
sank. and the divers could operate only
for about thirty minutes at each slack
tide-not more than enc hour at best N
each twenty-four of the day. But there
was another unusual situation In the
case OF this ship; she had sunk into a
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1912-09-15

Of sulphur. IL matches can be made any
where they certainly should be made at
that ancient crater. Disappointed lovers
and other matrimonial aspirants please
take notice
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1912-09-15

swing the foundered cruiser around 20
that she would lie head and stern In the
direction of the sweep Of the tides n
sank with her broadside opposed 10 the
currents-and then to raise her 50 That
she could be towed into dock. inc
'camels" were loo feet long and 10 tec' IN
diameter, and each one had liftng force
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1912-09-15

SHORT while ago New Workers
" had something fairly novel TO
L "a interest them in the shape OF
suuken steamer in the East River near
south Ferry. After interfering with free
navigation Tor about five months the
Jose. a modest sized craft of something
like two thousand tons. was finally raised
Just clear Of the river bottom, so that
she could be towed away for complete
salvage, docking and repairing. Day
after day the wreckers toiled away at
their task without seeming TO accom-
plish thing The Jose had settled 10
the bottom and upon the ri' erbed she
seemed obsunately determined to re
main like an immense load OF lead. Ihe
salvage pontoons employed appeared TO
be quite unequal to the work expected OF
them. and after fully three months oil
continuous labor on the part OF the
diver. when they could work, and the
vyrccJSers. a net lift of eight inches was
the ultimate reward. However, this
proved sufficient TO clear the bottom, and
then q number Of sturdy ocean-goiES
tugs took the still submerged craft the
pontoons and the rest of the salvage out
fit in tow and slowly dragged the hetero-
geneous notilla down the harbor and out
Of the way Of regular traffic.
The whole exploit emphasized the lin
itations of the time-honored facilities
employed and showed how the utility
Of the old wooden pontoon had been out-
grown by the increased sizes of modern
shipping. y few years ago the Jose
would have been looked upon as q ship
of dignihed proportions. To-day she
ranks way down the scale Of ocean
freighters. But the wooden pontoon fell
behind the progress Of naval architect
urc-as q salvage agency-a good long
time ago.
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1912-09-15

lcCt 20 tNt idNdi NtsSti' luld5llit "AoN
would have been the greater hazard had
the Yankee been surrounded by pontOons
and held i'm sings Of wire rope. With
the lifting force within the salved ship,
as with compressed air. these dangers
under proper management Of helping
boats are very remote, and the retlodted
vessel IS not unduly strained by ner sIs-
pension.
IL is not well to say there Is nothing
new under the sun-at least new ways of
applying facilities OF ancient standing
But skill and technical cunning must be
! combined i'm putting them to usefu! ser
vice. II is safe TO say THAI there have
been q good many wrecks that could have
been satisfactorily refoated If this mod
ern system had been utilized.
Some years ago the steamer Richard
son was sunk at the entrance 10 Buffalo
Harbor. For over year the wreckers
with the ordinary facilities worked upon
her without success. Large sums OF
money were spent i'm an effort 10 brins
her 10 the surface, but she still remains
1t the bottom.
Again. the steamer Chatham, about 10
nately struck the corner of the jetty. She
crushed i'm her bow and speedily Hooded
forward, her nose sticking over the Jetty'
with her stern I'm the air. In this position
she finally slid inside Of the Jetty and
sank. Had she been pontooned forward
and kept I'm the position i'm which she hrs1
struck she could easily have been sdlved.
During Il hurricane many months after
ward she was washed of into deep water
! and the government spent the tidy sum
/ OF $4,000 I'm securing her removal
/ IL Is proposed 10 raise CommodoIe
! Perrys famous flagship Niagara, after
! her long rest upon the bottom Of Lake
/ Erie. Perhaps with the instruments
which the pneumatic salvage engineer las
/ developed this may now be entirely feas-
| ble II so. We shall have reason for pa
! trlotic rejoicing.
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1912-09-15
PASSING OF WOODEN PoNTooN

The reason the wooden pontoon has
passed its day of usefulness is that It
cannot be lowered below the surface OF
the water In a workable manner AND
further. after II has eXerted the measure
Of its lift OF buoyancy at low tide upon
the ship. it can only raise the vessel the
height the tide rises If the craft is deep
in the mud she IS apt TO remain there be
cause the pontOOns cannot buoy her clear
OF the bottom. Wooden pontoons are rel
atively more cumbersome and proper
tionately less efficient than metal tanks Of
the same outside dimensions, but with
thinner walls and a larger internal ca
pacity for either air or water, as the ser
vice may require at different stages,
The modus operandl OF raising a ship
by wooden pontoons is descriptively SIM
pie. Accomplishment, however, Is not so
easy. In practice the divers go down and
pass chains or wire ropes under the craft
To take her weight evenly, so that her
back may not be broken during lifting.
These sings are then attached TO buoyant
caissons. the caissons being first flooded
with water so that their remaining buoy
ancy IS just about equal 10 bearing the
weight Of these sings while themselves
remaining slightly above water. By pump
ing out the pontoons their buoyancy is
increased, and finally, when this is com
pleted. the wreck is raised a distance
varying with the tide.
II the bottom is thus cleared the saiv-
ors tow the boat into shallower water until
she grounds. this operation occurring In
the nrst instance preferably at low tide
50 as 10 give the maximum LIT. With the
rising tide the boat can be carried further
without shifting the status of things In
any way. AS the tide GIBBS the next time
the vessel being on the bottom-the ca
bles are kept taut by winding up upon
the winches. When the tide starts to
rise next, the water once more raises the
buoyant pontoons and their burden. These
operations continue until the ship is
locked or beached, where temporary re-
pairs can be made, as occasion demands.
However, not infrequently, the most diff
ijcult part of such an undertaking is that
OF getting the cables under the keel OF
the sunken ship. II is only fair to say
that this was the hardest part OF the
work in the case OF the Jose.