The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, March 25, 1900, Page 1

By Nan Byxhse. the guide rope and don’t Thoee were the then r ead s I heard, barge and of pro- the barge the derrick ar- work on " t : and their 3 m the diver ? He sat down on [ ey buckled on bis some twen around to where dder led down to iously he s g him- self out on the ladder and leaned over er hundred 1 his body. Then they m, colled the air tube d secured it, arranged tested the air pumps, then dropped e big canvas the three s not more r properly. welled cut inte ic man, there air and then a Every one to sink tk nd of ping appeared. few minutes under the water ig at the air tube, the sig nal for more air. him 2 at the m the air you can,” s to the velled two at the pump. and the machine whirred nofsily. Some ten minutes elapsed, the bubbles ing in a little trail, marking the ) nean course of the man below. hen came the signal on the guide_line to up. The copper helmet with its iit- windows presently popped out of water and the diver scrambled up the anouncing that the lost anchor as nowhere in the vicinity and that they weuld have to sound somewhere else. The sounding was not to be made until the afternoon, so the captain nodded his head to me and sald ‘Next.” It was somethiog of a misfit, but they put me Into It the same way and buc- kled the shoes on the ends of the bag. Then they blew it up, with the helmet screwed on the top. The weights were strapped on and I began to feel like Atlas must have felt with the burden of the world upen his shoulder: that 300 pounds, even when partially supported against the lad- der, félt like as many tons. With the as- sistance of the captain I was launched out on the rungs of the ladder and re- celved another installment of lead. Then they initiated me into the code of signals, and when everything was ready I essayed to walk down the ladder, taking twenty- five-pound steps. T only took one. That landed me in the water. The suit had been inflated too much and the three hundred pounds wouldn't sink. After floating around on the top of the water for a few minutes—I doubt much to the entertalnment of the gentlemen on board the Lottie—they hauled me up and started me over again, with less air and more success. “The ebb’s begin- ning,” sald some one. “Have to hur- ry up or the cur- rent'll be too strong —might carry you out to the sea.” There was a sound of gurgling air and some bubbles” In front of the little windows in the helmet, then a ringing in my ears that grew deafening, but not much feeling of fear. There was plenty of #oom, plenty of air, and the little win- dows might have been glazed glass, if I hadn’t known it, instead of plain glass with the Sah Francisco Bay all around. Altogether the big suit was snug and cozy, and it was hard to realize that I was under water. Just at first, when the S ringing in my ears began, there was that feeling that one expe- riences when one ¢ s of falling; and again upon touching the bottom it was lizht, liks the way one drops to the ground in a dream. The of the bay at that particu portion was about forty feet, and t must have been a strong outgoing tide, for I could feel myself floating away from liculor. In a few momenes I hinz Leneath my feet, and ringing in my ears stopped. I was on bottom, and the ringing had ceased with the uniformity of pressure on coming to a standstill. The windows had grown darker with the descent, and there wera only outlines visible. Something big and black loomed up beside me, and I was a loss to know whether it was the hul of a lost ship or a whale. It seemed sta- tionary, and upon reaching out my hand 1 discovered it to be a rock. Cautiously I gtooped over and touched the ground with my hands, which were free at the wrists. The bottom was also Tock; there was nothing to be picked up, not even a bit of sand, and I had counted on an oyster with a pearl. 1 grew bolder and took a step forward. 7The big shoes, that 1 had not been able to move unassisted on beard the boat, seemed fairly to jump up in the water. The falry tale glant with the seven- o) A l&t 7 RO ““3?’; league boots eame to my mind Coming down I bad determined on a sub- terranean constitutional, but after three steps around I began to feel a little uncertain and the brea 2 I feared to pull on air, because the natural men at the line X my head and was trying to get t draw me up. So I stood still breathing was easier. Somet g iva wriggled under my foot, shaking the big boot, which seemed as buoyant as a co Down there the floor of the bay runs in rocky strata. I learned this from looking at the models of the soundings, not from personal observation, and the strata run in a circle around the rock, forming & kind of merry-go-round for the seals. I am inclined to think I came in touch with one of the merrymakers; something swished by me and something wiggly touched my hand. I began to fesl the presence of sea monsters—the sort of thing one sees in Chinese literature and in the comic almanacs, together with crooked lamp posts and a dozen keyholes. The breathing grew a little harder and T thought how easy it would be to smother. Before I had not realized my position and just what depended upon that little ma~ chine above, as well as the watchfulness of the men. I reached for the air tube and gave a little tug on the rubber hose— the signal for more air. It came in abund- ance, but I felt myself being lifted. They, were hauling me up. Up. up I went, the little windows grow- ing lighter, and that deafening ringing in my ears again. Something alive scurried in front of the little window, then thers was a glare of light and a roar, then my head popped out of the water and I began to get heavy again—hopelessly and help- lessly heavy. They dragged me up the ladder and took off the helmet. Though there were hearty plaudits I did not respond to the encore. When it was all over with I be frightened and to realize how m fidence I ¥ placed In the s the man at lines, the workmen at the pump and in It that pumpf order, or if the air hose tured, or the man had m 1 the signal—but none of those things had hap- pen In reali v 1 was some ten minutes under gh the time seemed but a few ther some forty- had bee: ey unl took off from the goir E ing out to the “If _you'd went « s would e happen was keep pegging they chip 1t A little that rock te at doesn't fease thing like ti any extent.' fow do you get the powder to ignite We use a kin wder that the water does not exp t by a rough the u when the hole i powder down exploding appa rent. The s by the powder company f in the form of a jelly s water is not absorbed & And what is the average size of the blasts?” Continued on Page Five.