Sioux County pioneer. (Fort Yates, Sioux County, N.D.) 1914-1929, 1916-07-07
Of RECOVERING
SUNKEN SHIPS AND RICH
TREASURE IS FEASIBLE
Improvements in Diving
Apparatus Make 1t
Appear Easier

Appear Easier
now lie at the bottom of the sea III the
form of ships and their sunl<en trea
sure be forever lost 10 the world? Most
of the vessels that have been sunk
whether by accident or in the course
of the present war; lie in comparative
ly shallow waters, many of them at a
depth of less than 800 feet, and the
problem of their recovery does not
seem entirely hopeless in the light of
recent improvements in deep-se;i div
ing and feats accomplished by the cx-
pert divers of the U. S. Navy.
The matter is the subject Of an arti-
Gle in the current number of the Bulle-
tin of the Pan American Union. Wash
ington, ID. G.. In discussing the orga
nization of companies in the United
States whose purpose is the recovery
Of some of the wealth now lying in the
oceans depth. the writer states:
More Feasible Now
Certain it is that the project of re-
covering sunken ships, or the most
valuable of the treasures that have
gone down with them, is more feasible
now than twas only four or five years
ago. Such great improvements in div
ing apparatus have recently been made
that it is now possible for diver to
operate for limited time even at the
great depth of 300 feet below the sur
face.
"These improvements are largely
due to the remarkable experiments in
deep-sea diving conducted under the
auspices of the bureau Of construction
and repair of the navy department Of
the United States in 1914. Prior to this
time the greatest depth reached by
divers was 20 feet, two English Off
GERS having accomplished that feat
during a series of tests carried on by
the British Admiralty in 1907.
For the benefit of those who do not
appreciate the difficulty of diving IL
such depths it may be stated that at
dept of 10 feet below the surface
the pressure is 4.33 pounds per square
inch of surface Of the body submerged
This pressure increases proportionately
and at a depth of 100 feet it has in
CTclS0u u 800 pOuIlOo anu @s q NSpSA
Of 800 feet to 1893 pounds.
Down 20 Minutes
Notwithstanding this tremendous
pressure, the expert divers of the u. s.
Navy have succeeded in not only
reaching a depth of 300 to 305 feet, but
in remaining at that depth for from s
to 20 minutes at a time, making ex-
i ,V.r1
to Il sunkcn vessel that made its sub
sequent salvage possible. This work
was done IN connection with the rails
ing of the u. S. submarine F'4 which.
it will he remembered plunged to the
bottom of the sea just off the harbor
of Honolulu on March rs. 1915.
Not only did the divers establish a
new worlds record for deep-sea diving
upon that occasion. but the subsequent
raising and recovery Of the F-4 is the
only instance in history where sunk
en- vessel WIS recovered from u depth
of 300 feet"
The writer thereupon gives brief
sketch of the history of diving az a
useful art from the time of Aristotle
down to the present, and after describ-
ing modern diving outfit and ex-
planning in some detail the matter Of
the divers being subjected to two
pressures. viz. the pressure of the air
inside the helmet. and suit and the ex-
ternal pressure Of the water, continues
as follows:
Diving Dangerous
"The necessity of having the air
pressure within the diving dress COM
pensate the external water pressure.
thus subjecting the diver to pressure
proportioned to the depth to
which he descends. is the dangerous
element in deep-sea diving. At a
depth, for instance. of 100 feet. diver
must be subjected to a pressure OF q
or GO pounds per square
inch, In order to compensate the ex-
ternal water pressure.
Exposure to such pressure is apt
to he followed by dangerous physiolo-
E,ical effects commonly known as cal
son disease the symptoms of which
include pain in the muscles and joints.
called bends deafness. en-
breathing. vomiting. faint
ing, ETC., sometimes resulting in death.
"They do not appear while the pres
sure Is being raised nor so long as 1t
is continued, but only after 1t has been
and the view now accepted
Is that they are due to the rapid eff
rervescence of the gases which are alb
sorbed in the body fluids during ex-
posure to pressure. Experiment has
proved that when the pressure is sud
denly relieved the gas is liberated In
Il
these do the harm.
Miqht Cause Paralysis
"Set free i'll the spinal cord. for In
stance, they may cause partial para
Iysis, ar in the heart lead to stoppage
of the circulation. 1t has been found.
however, that If the pressure is re-
lieved gradually the bubbles are not
because the gas comes out OF
solution slowly and is got rid of by the
heart and lungs
ITO prevent these effects. the with
lrawal of the air pressure--in other
words, the decomposition - should be
slow. Hence the divers ascent must
oe regulated accordingly, and the
deeper he has been the slower and
longer must he the periods for decom-
preston. 1t was particularly in regard
10 this matter of decomposition that
he experiments of the U. S. navy de-
oartment in 1914 led to improved meth
DDS enabling the divers to descend to
300 feet below the surface.
Being able to safely observe and
lirect the work of rescue at such a
lepth. and with modern lifting appa-
.atus. who can say that the recovery
If ancient treasures of sunken Spanish
,alleons, of hundreds Of more recent
wrecks of merchant vessels. and fin
,lly of many of the magnificent war
vessels that have been sent TO the bot
ON during the present war, is an idle
ream?"