CASTING OFF THE DIVER.
The diver's suit consists of, first, a pair of thick rubber leggings and boots combined. These end at the waist in an iron band furnished with iron clamps. Straps of lead weighing together ninety pounds, and which are made to fit about his ankles and waist, are intended to give him weight enough to withstand the current. On the upper part of his body he wears a large copper helmet, with a strong ring-bolt on the top, and below which, securely fastened to it, is a rubber jacket, ending in an iron band, so constructed as to meet that of the leggings and be tightly fastened to it. The sleeves of this jacket are gathered round his wrists and tightly tied. The jacket is of a more pliable stuff than the leggings, so as to enable him to more easily use his hands and arms. The diver puts on his leggings, and then a hook, attached to the end of a rope passed over a pulley, and worked by the engine, is hooked into the ring on the top of the helmet, and this, with the jacket, is hoisted and let down over his head. Having worked himself into the sleeves, he is as helpless, with the weight of his armor, as an old knight encased in iron was. The front of his helmet has a glass door, covered with wire, in it, which is opened for him, while his companions complete his toilet by tying his jacket sleeves round his wrists; adjusting the iron bands of his leggings and jacket, and screwing them firmly together; and then fitting on his leaden anklets and girdle, screwing on the pipe through which his supply of air is provided, and then shutting the door of his helmet, and securely fastening it, he is ready to be cast off. In his hand the diver carries down a slender cord, with which he signals his wants when below. He is slowly lowered down to the bottom, ninety feet below, where his work is pressing, since he has only the hour before and the hour after the turn of the tide.
DIVER DOWN.
While he is down those above are as intent upon his welfare as he is himself. He who has the signal cord, holds the most responsible position. There is a prearranged code of signals, for "more air," "pull me up," "more tools," "pull up the bucket," and so on. His work below has been the destruction of the heavy frame work of the vessel, and right well has it been done; there is but little left of her but the worm-eaten and water-logged knees and beams which formed her bottom, and the chief task of the diver now is, with pick and shovel, to break up the hard conglomerate of sand and gravel which has been compacted by the action of the water and the rusting iron. The only sense the diver has to guide him in these depths is that of feeling, for at this depth it is as dark as midnight. The material he thus collects is brought to the surface in a bucket and carefully looked over.
This work is done at the cost of the Frigate Hussar Company, an incorporated company, with a capital stock divided into forty-eight thousand shares of one hundred dollars each, corresponding to the amount of treasure said to be in the run of the Hussar, and since 1866 it has been steadily carried on. The mass of gold has not yet been found, but from time to time in the loads of mud and sand a gold-piece is found. A lump of silver made of various coins, agglomerated by the action of the water, has been brought up, having some gold coins set in it. Cannon, cannon balls, chains, manacles, piles of gun-flints, silver plate, pewter dishes, the ship's bell, and quantities of glass and earthen ware, with numbers of human bones, have been rescued from the deep. Various museums in the country have specimens of relics brought up from this historic ship. One day a brass box was brought up, and when opened found to be full of jewels, necklaces, ear-rings, and pearls of great value. Being left for a moment on the deck of the salvage schooner, it disappeared, and the second search for it has proved more fruitless than the first.
During the Crimean war, a line of ships and frigates was sunk by the Russians in the harbor of Sebastopol, in the passage between forts Catharine and Alexander. When forced to leave the town, others remaining in the harbor were sunk, so that at least 100 vessels, representing an estimated value of between fifty and sixty millions of dollars, were sunk. To prevent if possible the action of the sea upon their machinery and metallic portions, these were covered with tar or tallow. When the war was over, an American engineer, named Gowan, went to Russia and undertook the job of raising these vessels, after having gone down himself in a diving suit, and satisfied himself of their condition, and that he could recover some of them entire and others in parts. In this work use was made of an enormous pump, raising nearly 1,000 tons of water a minute. With this, after closing as well as could be, the port holes and other openings, another pipe for the introduction of air was arranged, and the pump set in action. This powerful machine emptied the vessel of water in a very short time, so that the air flowed into it by the other pipe, and the vessel rose of itself to the surface. An enormous chain, each link of which weighed over two hundred pounds, was used to help lift them, when necessary, or alone when it was found most easy to use alone.
