The Washington bee., 1912-02-17
DEEP SEA DIVERS,
Death Always HOVerS Round
Them While They Toll.
PERLS THEY HAVE TO FACE.
Ths Awful Pressure of Water and Air
That May Bury or Burst Them-The
Helmet Telephone a Wonderful Aid
Ia Work and In Times of Danger.

It is surprising to learn how many
uses there are for divers. The navy,
e course, employs many to set sub
marine mines and torpedoes and to at
tsnd to investigations Of the condition
Of ships bottoms. Bridge construction
companies use them, as do those who
build dams, waterworks and reser-
voirs. Waterworks in large cities keep
diver on their STAFF constantly.
Wrecking companies need their serv-
ices, and the profession of underriyer
tunneling makes many demands on the
time and skill Of the man in armor.
Since Smeaton In 1879 designed a
pump to supply air to the diving bell
little real improvement in the art has
been made. save in detail Of helmet
and clothes, until the invention Of the
telephone. The greatest advance ever
made in the art, divers will tell you, is
the combination Of the telephone with
the diving suit. Before its advent div
ers had to depend entirely upon pulls
on the life line for communication
with the surface and upon signs TO
each other when under water If two
wished to communicate Today the
modern diving helmet is equipped with
q telephone. and the diver can not only
hear what is said to him from the sur
face, advise those in charge Of his
pump as to whether the air is "cOm-
ing right or not, but he can cOmmuni-
cate to a brother diver and hear the
instructions sent to him from the sur
face, all Of which facilities are Of great
assistance in the work.
At first thought it may not seem so
difficult thing, this going down under
water and breathing air sent in from
a pump by a tube. But the physical
drawbacks to the work are enormous.
For every ten feet diver descends he
sustains an additional pressure Of four
and a half pounds over every square
inch of his body What this means
may be better understood when con-
sidering the greatest depth ever made
by & diver-204 feet. His body at that
depth sustained a pressure Of eighty
eight and a half pounds to the square
inch over and above the fifteen pounds
always sustained when in the air.
Divers must descend very slowly,
swallowing as they go; otherwise they
may bleed at the nose and ears and
even lose consciousness. And they
must ascend even more slowly than
they descend, particularly when COM
ing from great depths; otherwise they
may literally burst from internal air
pressure. At the least, too sudden a
rise may cause an attack Of that ter
rible disease known to tunnel workers
called caissOn disease, or the bends, IN
which air gets into the tissues under
pressure and causes extreme torture.
The diver, getting ready to descend
clothes himself in very heavy under
wear Of guernsey or flannel, the draw
ers well secured to prevent slipping
and adds a pair Of heavy wOOlen socks
If the water be cold two such suits
may be worn. If the depth to be ne
gotiated is great cotton soaked with
oil is put in the ears or a heavy wOoleI
cap pulled down over them. Shoulder
pads, if worn to take the weight OF
the helmet, are next tied on, after
which the diver wTiggles into his
heavy suit of rubber and canvas. Mex
come the inner collar and the breast
plate, which are secured with clamps
TO the rubber dress, the utmost care
being taken in this operation not tt
tear or pinch the rubber. Finally the
shoes are fitted on and the rubber
gloves clamped to rings in the sleeves.
The helmet is the last to go on, anC
never before the valves and telephone
have been tested. The attendants star
to pump as the helmet is ClampeC
home. The helmet is attached to th,
pump with a rubber tube. which L
canvas and wire protected. No dive
descends. after the helmet is put on
until he has tested the outfit and fount
that his air supply is sufficient ant
the pump working properly.
He is supplied with a life line, wit
which he can signal should his tele
phone get out Of order and by whic
he may be drawn to the surface shoul
he become helpless for any reason. H
must take great care when wallzin
about on the bottom not to foul hi
life line or his air tube and for thi
peagon must always TetTace his step
exactly to his starting point if he ha
gone into a wreck or about any Cl
structions. For the same reason tw
divers working together must be care
| ,uI not to cross each others path.
Sometimes the life line may becOm
so entangled in wreckage that it mus
be cut, and then there is danger Of th
diver not finding his way back to hi
boat or float, especially If the bOtt0l
is muddy and fouls the seeing" BU
the greatest danger Of all, of course,
that the tube be cut or the diver fain
In either case he is in desperat
straits. If the man handling the Iii
line feels" anything wrong he WI
haul the diver up willy nilly and r
gardless of the severe bleeding at nos
and ears which viii result from tC
rapid a rise TO the surface. But If Il
diver be inside wreck or If his lii
line gets tangled in wreckage sue
hauling would do no good. It is in 81
nations ike these that the slender CO
-Hvz1 Frr1 =