The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1917-06-20
I p 1870
His the Job to Clear Mysteries
:. Of n eraveyards Of ...@
| Seven Seas. :.
IDANeEROUs And DIFFICULT
a.
Must Survey Ships Sunk by Subma'
rInes, Mines and Shells In the
Il Last Thnss. Years
~y Feet 10 the limit. ->.,

mines and .gunfire In the, last three
years have added more victims to the
graveyards of the seven seas than in
any other period of the worlds his.
tory. 1t will remain for the diver to
clear up the mysteries that surround
r.any Of them. Even now the duties
Of these men, so little brought to pub
lie attention, Is one Of the most ex-
getting Of the war. ga. s..-.
l have had an opportunity of talk
Ing with diver who has had wide ex-
rerience, and who, when 1 saw him,
had only shortly before completed the
survey of a wreck. 1t was a difficult
piece of work, and one illustrative of
the hardships of the profession. He
had found the wreck, but fully mile
and a half from where the vessel had
foundered. A strong: current had
swept it that distance. 2 l.
"Will it be possible to 60 down to
the Lusitania?" I asked him, recall
ing the discussion In American marine
quarters as to the possibility of saw
Ing the vessel es-ra-s 80, 4,
II believe the water is too deep
where she went down for any diver
to reach her." was his answer. "Of
course there have been many notable
diving feats In recent years and new
appliances are always being expert
mented with, though there seems moth
Ing at present which would warrant
the belief that diver could 60 down
to the great liner. 1t is possible to
work at a depth Of $50 feet. but no
further"
Crab Got Two Fingers.
He told me of one of the most re-
cent Of his diving exploits.
II was sitting on the blade of q
ships propeller trying to release q
cable which it had fouled az she went
down. AS I finally got the cable free
the propeller began to move and
pitched me off. It revolved several
times. I thought my number was up,
as believed the blades would cut my
air communications. and it was impOs-
sible to get to the top. The water was
very deep. 1t didn't, though, and my
only trouble was in regaining my feet
again. 1t is extremely difficult to get
a footing once you have lost it. Some.
times you come up legs first. 1t was a
narrow squeak" ,-.. n-..& ssz...t
One of the navy divers recently lost
two fingers when nlpped by a crab
which, he said, measured fully two feet
across its back. There are many
stories about divers which they them
selves cast suspicion on, but this was
not one of them. The fingers were
gone when the man came to the sur.
face in an exhausted condition.
But working in the cold seas, where
much Of the diving of the navy now
goes on, there are no such menaces
as the octopus Of tropical waters.
Much Work for Divers.
While many craft now lying in com.
paratively shallow water may be
patched up and raised when the war is
over, it is certain that divers will prin-
cipally be engaged In ascertaining the
whereabouts of wrecks, the causes
which led to their destruction, and the
repairs necessary to attempt any re.
covery Of the vessels. The profession
has been largely augmented during the
war. There are great difficulties In
surveying ships, particularly If they
lie in northern seas, where the water
Is very cold and where they are at a
depth Of from 125 to $50 feet. At the
l5O-foot depth the pressure is 20 great
that before divers are brought to the
surface they must linger in a sort Of
twilight zone" at q depth Of 40 feet,
or slightly less, so their lungs can get
in proper shape before they can be
brought to the top.
One case Of the sort which has just
been brought to my attention IS that
of diver who had gone down to
fasten cable to an anchor which had
been lost in water more than 12O feet
deep. 1t was very cold, and his hands
became so numbed that he was unable
to "carry on and had to be brought
to. the surface. He was rubbed and
brought back to good condition again
and once. more vas lowered TO the