Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1915-04-15
EXPERT Divers
SPEED SALVAGE
ON SUNKN IA
CONTINUED nom page one)

were made in the line of duty. II
the "a had been found In $50 feet of
water Chilly would have got to her
| just the same.
Chief Gunner Stillson, who for al.
most three years past has been giving
his entire time to perfecting the ap-
paratus for deepsea diving and who
has worked out many inventions for
the safety of the underwater work
man, is himself an expert diver who
has the practical end Of the work down
Just as fine as the theoretical A great
part Of the success which has attend.
ed the efforts Of the navy expert is
that the factor Of safety is always kept
to the front. Progress has been foot
by foot as it were and defects have
been corrected and improvements
made as they showed up.
II believe that We could work at
400 feet just as well as 800" said Still
son. in commenting on the work Of
the divers yesterday Probably the
men couldn't stay down as long at that
depth on account of the i'll effects
from the excess oxygen that they
would be breathing but the length Of
time that men can work at certain
depths is still to be determined by
experiment. Yesterday morning we let
Chilly stay down only about Is min.
utes. He suffered no inconvenience
so Nelson stayed down half an hour.
1t may be that men can work for
two or three hours at a time at 800
nd L
find out by experimenting and increas
ing the duration OF stay a little at a
time"
Pure Air Theory indicated.
According to Stillson, it was gener.
ally believed heretofore that the pc.
culiar condition Of intoxication expert.
eReed by divers working at excessive
depths under compressed air, was due
to the excess of oxygen. His theory
has been that impurities in the air sup
ply, such as particles of oil, gasoline,
or foreign bodies in the TASKS and
compressors accounted for this intoxi.
cation, the effect being greatly inten-
sified as the number OF atmospheres
was increased. Elaborate precautions
are taken, therefore, to purify the air
supply, an extensive system of strain
ers, separators and coolers being used
so that only absolutely pure air goes
into the helmet The fact that with
excessive pressure neither Chilly nor
Nelson experienced even a trace of
divers intoxication yesterday vindi.
Gates this theory.
THE benefits of the present work
from standpoint of scientific inves.
tfgation are tremendous" said Still
son. While accomplishing the prac-.
teal work for which we were sent
out we are at the same time adding
greatly to our knowledge Of diving.
Conditions here are excellent, too.
The water is not too cold and it is
possible for the divers to remain sub.
merged for a long time without in
convenience. If the water was very
cold, or the current swift, the diver
would exhaust himself by such a slow
ascent as We make. It might be nee.
essary to bring him up faster and put
him in the recompresslon chamber.
Yesterday, however, neither man suf-
fered any Inconvenience coming up
and it is much better to make a slow
ascent and do away with the use Of
the air lock. The light here is also
good, even at the great depth at which
the submarine lies. The divers can
see to work and can direct the placing
of the lines. We might be able to use
artificial light, providing the daylight
didn't penetrate, but we are fortunate
not to have to, as it would mean
more lines, wires and gear"
Nelson's Escape. -...'.-'
CHIEF Gunner's Mate. Nelson had a i
narrow escape from death yesterday
when slight defect in an air valve
cut off his supply while he was OBJ
serving the "a The defect was one
Of those that could not be foreseen
and that only actual experimental
work could bring to light. 1t has now
been rectified in all the suits and
another important lesson IN deep-sea
diving learned. 81.
But for long experience in tight
places under water, Nelson would |
probably have lost his life yesterday
When he felt his air supply INSULT
cient he called over the phone to be |
pulled up. He then told the tenders
note one more point before coming
up. The air was then very low and
Nelson knew that he must be losing
a great part of it. He called for |
greater pressure but even this didn't |
help matters. When he was hauled |
up part of the way to the surface the
supply improved and those on the
float urged Nelson to use every eff |
fort to locate the trouble for himself, |
as they we're afraid of the effects of |
a rapid ascent. Cropping round in the |
mi-darkness, Nelson was able to &C. |
tually locate the trouble and make the |
delicate adjustment necessary. Had |
he been unable to do so there would |
have been nothing for it but to pull |
him quickly to the surface and take
chances with the caisson disease. The
chamber was ready for |
this emergency. There would have
been no effort to remove the diving |
suit in the regular manner, but air |
h0Sn and holt uyan1d houo faa, o,,R l