Sioux County pioneer. (Fort Yates, Sioux County, N.D.) 1914-1929, 1916-06-30
PROJECT Of RECOVERING
SUNKEN SHIPS AND RICH
TREASURE IS FEASIBLE
Improvements in Diving
Apparatus Make 1t
Appear Easier
Must all the millions of dollars that

Appear Easier
Must all the millions of dollars that
now lie at the bottom of the sea in the
form of ships and their sunken trea-
sure be forever lost to 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
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 sea 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, u. G.. In discussing the orsa-
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 it was only four or five years
ago. Such great improvements in div
ing apparatus have recently been made
that il is now possible for diver to
operate for a limited time even at the
great depth of 800 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 21O feet, two English Off
GERS having accomplished that feat
during series Of tests carried on by
the British Admiralty in 1907.
For the benefit Of those who do not
appreciate the difficulty Of diving to
such depths it may be stated that at
a dept of 10 feet below the surface
the pressure is ABB pounds per square
inch of surface of the body submerged.
This pressure increases proportionately
and at depth of 100 feet it has in
creased to 1873 pounds and at depth
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 3O5 feet, but
in remaining at that depth for from 5
to 20 minutes at time, making ex-
aminattons and observations in regard
To a sunken vessel that made its sub
sequent salvage possible. This work
was done in connection with the rails
ing of the U. S. submarine IA which.
il will lie 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 WAS recovered from a depth
of 300 feet
The writer thereupon gives a brief
sketch of the history Of diving as a
useful art from the time of Aristotle
down to the present. and after describ-
ing a modern diving outfit and ex-
planning in some detail the matter of
the divers being subjected to two
press,lres. viz, the pressure of the air
inside the helmet. and suit and the ex-
ternal pressure CT 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 subiecting the diver to pressure
directly proportioned to the depth to
which he descends. is the dangerous
element in 1eep-sea diving. At
depth, for instance. of 100 feet, diver
must be subjected to a pressure of
or GO pounds per square
inch. in order to compensate the ex-
ternal water pressure.
Exposure to- such pressure is apt
to be followed by dangerous physiolo-
gical effects commonly known as cal
son disease the symptoms of which
include pain in the muscles and joints.
called bends deafness. en-
barrassed Breathing. vomiting. faint
ing. etc, sometimes resulting In death.
"1'hey do not appear while the pres
sure is being raised nor so long as II
is continued, but only after II has been
removed: and the view now accepted
is that they are due to the rapid ef-
of the gases which are an
sorbed in the body fluids during ex-
posure to pressure. Experiment mas
proved that when the pressure Is sud
denly relieved the gas is liberated III
bubbles within the body. and that
these do the harm
Might Cause Paralysis
"Set free in the spinal cord. for In
stance, they may cause partial para
ly.is or in the heart lead to stoppage
of the circulation. 1t has been found.
however, that if the pressure is re-
lieyed gradually the bubbles are not
formed, because the gas comes out OF
solution slowly and is got rid of by the
heart and lungs.
ITO prevent these effects, the with
drawal of the air pressure--in other
words, the decomposition should De
slow. Hence the divers ascent must
be regulated accordingly, and the
deeper he has been the slower and
longer must be the periods for decom-
preston. 1t was particularly in regard
to this matter of decomposition that
the experiments of the L. S. navy de-
nartment in 1914 led to improved meth
DDS enabling the divers To descend to
800 feet below the surface.
being able to safely observe and
direct the work of rescue at such n
depth. and with modern lifting appa-
ratus. who can say that the recovery
of ancient treasures of sunken Spanish
ralleons, of hundreds of more recent
wrecks of merchant vessels. and fin
ally of many of the MAGNIFICENT war
,,assels that have been sent to the bot
tom during the present war, is an idle
1ream?"
"Am I to understand there is some