Evening star., 1925-09-13

x 70 De stored IN the holQ or the
Merida, the sunken Ward
49, Line steamer which lies in
over 200 feet of water some
10 miles east of Cape Charles, Va, is
u task that smacks of romance, but
Withal is marked at every step by
Sountleses dangers for the men who
are making the attempt.
Nature seems to enter into combat
with those who would wrest the rich
Tpoils from the seas depths, and in
addition to facing the ordinary dan
gers that always attend large-scale
salvage operations, the New York
expedition that is carrying on the
project has been forced to do unceas-
,nS battle with storms, high winds,
shifting sands and other obstacles out
of the control of man, as well as ac-
Cept the chance that their rich catch
may be seized by hi-jackers, the
modern pirates of the high seas.
The Merida, carrying bullion and
Jewels estimated at a value between
$4,000 900 and $4,000 ,000, was rammed
shortly after midnight on May II.
l911, by the Admiral Farragut, and
Though no lives were lost, the vessel
sank in a few hours and now is known
No lie on the bottom in a part of the
Atlantic not far from Norfolk, where
shifting tides and treacherous cur
t'entS make salvage work exceedingly
Slifficult
More than one attempt has been
1na6e to reach the rich plunder, but
gas yet the difficulties encountered in
AIndersea diving at such great depths
ka nd the stupendous labor OF actually
locating the hulk in such an eXpanSe
hof ocean have precluded success.
| The lot of the diver Is not a happy
epne. But the risks that must neces-
Ssarily go along with such a perilous
Anethod of earning a livelihood are
Msomewhat offset by the rewards that
s4wait achievement. Even one million
f1n hard gold should be worth trying
tor.
I Along with compressed-air illness, or
kcaisson disease, by far the most COM
srnon malady affecting those who work
gin an artificial atmosphere, and one
(which must be carefully guarded
IA gainst every moment, the underSea
S-worker always runs the risk Of his
Rsir hose or life line becoming fouled
sor broken or his diving suit springing
- leak. although the latter is not so
swlangerous as it may seem, for in
Sases of emergency his helmet will
2sct as a diving bell as long as the
s$wearer maintains an upright position
And sufficient pressure is available.
There also is danger of falling when
sWorking around sunken hulk or a
3ship'S bottom, and muddy or rocky
stretches of the oceans floor all have
their peculiar terrors. Them too.
Swhen working in tropical waters
dhungry shark may constitute a seri
pus menace.
Operations at any considerable depth
Rre handicapped by the fact that ordi-
Alary electric-light rays will not readily
sfiffuse through water. True. many
Slifferent types of submarine lamps are
sn use, but at a distance of several
hundred feet below the surface most
of them are dismal failures for illumi-
,Sation.
'pROPER regulation of che air sup
- ply is perhaps the greatest
snechanical difficulty in the way of
The divers work. Should he go down
ahead of his air. lie, descend before
she pressure within his dress is equal
40 the pressure of the water without,
be will be subjected to what is termed
squeeze" which. besides hampering
9is movement and his breathing, will
have, as the name would indicate,
somewhat of mashing effect. Cases
. are known where divers have been
literally pushed up into their helmets
by the enormous pressure eXerted by
the water.
On the other hand, over-inf1ation of
fhe diving suit will cause blowing
up and the wearer is likely to be
shot to the surface as though he were
R balloon.
Naturally, modern diving apparatus
IS designed to overcome all this, and
through Government experiments and
rests conducted by private companies
in recent years the dangers have been
reduced to a minimum.
In the party carrying on operations
at the point where the Merida went
down are several eXNavy men, who
were instrumental in developing the
present science of deep-sea diving.
Frank Crilley and c. c. Nelson were
present at the naval tests made from
The torpedo boat destroyer Wake, in
Long Island Sound. 10 years ago,
when valuable data were collected for
use in the Government diving school
al Newport, r. l., and both had
hand in the saivaging of the F-4, the
submarine that sank just off the port
of Honolulu in 1915, carrying II men
10 their death.
The raising of the F-4 was accom-
blished at great expense, weeks after
all hope had been abandoned for the
lives of officers and men in her crew.
AS in the case of the Merida, the
finding of the wreck, which presents