Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1914-08-01
[By Latest NALL

| Nothing to see. no wayy green submar
inc forests, because of the fine mist
that rises as your leaden feet disturb
,.e silt Just heavy, oppressive 81
lence and an eXpanse of brown water
on the other side Of your helmet-glass
and a few vague shapes of rocks. One
might also be a disembodied creature
held down not very strongly to the
| surface of a different world. Ones
only connection with upper air and or
| binary things is a thin line and rub
| Der tube, that lead up ever so far-you
would not think il wax only few
| fathoms-to windlass and some men
in a punt of Parburys wharf, Dawes
Point
And then the other diver pulls your
sleeve-a grotesque submarine figure,
like lobster upended, bubbling at the
head-and you give the all right" sig
nal, and your tour of exploration be-
gins. .>. ..-
An underwater trip was made by a
member of the Daily Telegraph in
company with an old hand at the div
ing game, who goodnaturedly looked
after the new chum. A second old
hand lent his diving dress, and several
others acted as Wallets to the submar-
inc: debutant. The punt from which a
descent was made is only about twenty
yards from the shore, along which and
the neighboring wharves the channel
is being deepened by blasting. AS a
result, the water is not very transpar-
ent, but the trip in ITSELF apart from
anything in the way of scenery! is
queer enough and interesting enough
for any inhabitant of the upper world.
The greatest depth reached was just
under 40 feet
Preparations for the trip are elabor-
ate. You begin by taking off your hat
and coat and shoes and rolling up your
sleeves. That ends the undressing;
then comes the ponderous dressing up.
First a heavy blanket-like skirt slipped
On over your waistcoast, and then you
tuck your trousers into your socks.
and sit down, like some old French
monarch in his dressing room, to be
valeted. First. a great pair of woollen
trousers, ending in foot-coverings, and
nearly big enough for baby elephant,
and after them trousers of canvas
Next, stockings" tied above the knee
with rope, and then a great pair Of
metal sabots, weighing about S0lb. be-
tween them.
'If | didn't fix these tight enough" "
said the man who was buckling their
straps, 'and they came off, you'd be
up again like a cork, feet first"
Nov soap your hands" someone
says. ~
when your hands and wrists are
slippery with soap, a canvas coat goes
on, with rubber WRITINGS, that mt
tight, to keep the water out, leaving
your hands bare And then comes the
corselet, a great metal chest piece, and
on top of that the helmet, while you
repeat again the signals, to be sure OF
escaping either comedy or tragedy in
this descent. 1.-TWO tugs and lot OF
little ones for all right one tug for
stop and four for pull me up--have
/ got them?" And you stand up, pom
derously, carrying on head and feet
and shoulders nearly hundred pounds
of metal. Now" says one of the old
hands, remember, If the pressure is
too much for you, just stop while and
put your head back, and draw the air
through your nose, so; and you'll be
all right. When you come up again,
step around the ladder this way, SO
you won't foul your Ines" And then,
the glass frontpiece is screwed in.
You labor round to the ladder and
get your feet on the first rung, and go
gradually down, repeating those sig
nails in your mind, and by no means
forgetting the pull up" signal. just in
case.
You are so heavy. you can hardly
move. But in a few moments you are
waist deep in the water-it is hardly
cold-and some of the weight is gone.
Now the water is above your head.
You travel down SO slowly, and your
mind is so set on not letting foot or
hand slip, and remembering those sig
nails, that the descent lasts a long
while, though it is not deep. By and
by, however, your forehead feels
heavy, and your ears oppressed. You
bend your head back though that Is
rather difficult IN that stiff divers
dress-and sniff as directed. There
is a little cracking sound in your
ears. The tightnsss round your fore
head increases to heavy headache,
and you give the rope the single tug,
for a stop A few moments, and your
head is right again, and you go on
down. Now the helmet of the other
diver looms up, at the ladders end, a
stream of bubbles escaping from the
top of his helmet, and more from his
wrists, in silrery upward-flowing
strings He grabs your hand, and
gives the "all right" signal. by way
of query, and when you have repeated
1T for answer, he gives the same sig
nal on your line to those above. And
now that headache comes on again,
and you ask for \ ston. while the COM
preston round your temples gradual
ly tightens, standing unsteadily, try
ing to make out shapes in the vague
depths. "
| That under water journey was al
most indescribablv vague. interesting
far more by reason Ct the out of the
drean-world feeling. than by reason
of anything beyond the common act
ually seen. In fact. almost the only