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margin-bottom: 1em;} + + /* ]]> */ </style> +</head> + +<body> +<div style='text-align:center'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 75618 ***</div> + +<div class="transnote section"> +<p class="center larger">Transcriber’s Notes</p> + +<p>Larger versions of most illustrations may be seen by right-clicking them +and selecting an option to view them separately, or by double-tapping and/or +stretching them.</p> + +<p class="covernote">New original cover art included with this eBook is granted +to the public domain.</p> + +<p>The original book did not have a Table of Contents. The one below was +generated automatically during the preparation of this eBook.</p> + +<p><a href="#Transcribers_Notes">Additional notes</a> will be found near the end of this ebook.</p> + +<p class="in0 in8 smaller vspace"> +<a href="#CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I</a><br> +<a href="#CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II</a><br> +<a href="#CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III</a><br> +<a href="#CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV</a><br> +<a href="#CHAPTER_V">CHAPTER V</a><br> +<a href="#CHAPTER_VI">CHAPTER VI</a><br> +<a href="#CHAPTER_VII">CHAPTER VII</a><br> +<a href="#CHAPTER_VIII">CHAPTER VIII</a><br> +<a href="#CHAPTER_IX">CHAPTER IX</a><br> +<a href="#CHAPTER_X">CHAPTER X</a><br> +<a href="#CHAPTER_XI">CHAPTER XI</a><br> +<a href="#CHAPTER_XII">CHAPTER XII</a><br> +<a href="#CHAPTER_XIII">CHAPTER XIII</a><br> +<a href="#CHAPTER_XIV">CHAPTER XIV</a><br> +<a href="#CHAPTER_XV">CHAPTER XV</a><br> +<a href="#INDEX">INDEX</a><br> +<a href="#BY_THE_SAME_AUTHOR"><i>BY THE SAME AUTHOR</i></a> +</p> +<div> </div> +</div> + +<div class="section p4"> +<h1>THE WONDERS OF SALVAGE</h1> + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> +<div> </div> +</div> + +<div class="section p4"> +<div class="bbox center"> +<p class="p1 b1 bb"><i>BY THE SAME AUTHOR</i></p> + +<p class="p1 b1 bb">THE ROMANCE OF EXCAVATION</p> + +<p class="p1 b1">THE BODLEY HEAD</p> +</div> + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> +<div> </div> +</div> + +<div class="section"> +<figure id="i_frontis" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 22em;"> + <img src="images/i_p004a.jpg" width="1384" height="1981" alt=""> + <figcaption class="caption">HOPELESS AS THE S.S. DEVONA’S POSITION SEEMED ON SEPTEMBER 15, 1917, THE +SALVORS MANAGED TO RAISE HER IN FOUR DAYS. VERY CLEVERLY THEY RIGGED +UP SOME WIRE MATTRESSES INTO WHICH THEY PUMPED HER CARGO OF WHEAT, +THUS DRAINING OFF THE WATER AND SAVING THE GRAIN + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> +<div> </div> +</div> + +<div class="chapter center wspace"> +<p class="xxlarge vspace"> +<span class="gesperrt1">THE WONDERS</span><br> +<span class="gesperrt">OF SALVAGE</span></p> + +<p class="large p0 gesperrt2">BY DAVID MASTERS</p> + +<p class="smaller gesperrt3">WITH FORTY-EIGHT ILLUSTRATIONS<br> +FROM PHOTOGRAPHS</p> + +<p class="p4">LONDON<br> +JOHN LANE THE BODLEY HEAD LIMITED</p> +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> +<div> </div> +</div> + +<div class="section center p4"> +<p><i>First Published in 1924</i></p> + +<p class="p4 small"> +MADE AND PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN BY MORRISON AND GIBB LTD., EDINBURGH +</p> +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> +<div> </div> +</div> + +<div class="section center p4"> +<p class="vspace"> +TO<br> + +MY WIFE +</p> +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> +<div> </div> +</div> + +<div class="chapter"> +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_vii">vii</span></p> + +<h2 class="nobreak" id="LIST_OF_ILLUSTRATIONS">LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS</h2> +</div> + +<table id="loi"> +<tr> + <td class="tdl norpad" colspan="2"><span class="smcap">Wreck of S.S. <i>Devona</i></span> +<span class="fright"><i><a href="#i_frontis">Frontispiece</a></i></span></td> +</tr> +<tr class="xsmall"> + <td class="tdl"></td> + <td class="tdr">PAGE</td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Examining Sea-bed in Tobermory Bay</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#ip_18">18</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Washing Sand for Signs of Treasure</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#ip_19">19</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Sifting Sea-bed for Gold of <i>Lutine</i></span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#ip_30">30</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Wreck of <i>Oceana</i></span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#ip_50">50</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Diving for <i>Oceana’s</i> Treasure</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#ip_51">51</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">A Diver Treasure-Hunting with Explosives</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#ip_74">74</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Bringing the <i>Leonardo da Vinci</i> upside down into Dock</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#ip_82">82</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The <i>Leonardo da Vinci</i> safely docked</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#ip_83">83</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Mammoth Timber Framework on which the Upside-down Battleship rested</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#ip_86">86</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Upside-down Battleship seen from the Air</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#ip_87">87</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Towing out the Upside-down Battleship to turn her over</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#ip_90">90</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Battleship just before she was righted</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#ip_91">91</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The <i>Leonardo da Vinci</i> as she swung over</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#ip_92">92</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Battleship righted</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#ip_93">93</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">A Torpedoed Ship safely beached</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#ip_100">100</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Famous Standard Patch</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#ip_101">101</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Electric Pumps in the Hold of a £3,000,000 Ship</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#ip_104">104</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Damage wrought by a Torpedo</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#ip_105">105</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">A Vessel down by the Head</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#ip_110">110</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The <i>U-44</i> carried Ashore</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#ip_126">126</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Removing Mines from the <i>U-44</i></span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#ip_127">127</a><span class="pagenum" id="Page_viii">viii</span></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The <i>K.13</i> raised after Two-and-a-half Days on the Sea-bed</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#ip_138">138</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">A Blazing Oil Tanker</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#ip_160">160</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The <i>Onward</i> overturned at Folkestone</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#ip_162">162</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Salvage Craft alongside the <i>Onward</i></span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#ip_163">163</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Tug-of-war between Five Railway Locomotives and an Overturned Troopship</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#ip_164">164</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Pumping Out the <i>Onward</i></span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#ip_165">165</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Wreck of <i>St. Paul</i> in New York Harbour</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#ip_166">166</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Overturned Liner beside the Quay</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#ip_167">167</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Dragging the <i>St. Paul</i> upright</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#ip_170">170</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The <i>St. Paul</i> raised</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#ip_171">171</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The <i>Araby</i> blocking the Entrance of Boulogne Harbour</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#ip_174">174</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The <i>Araby</i> breaking in Two</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#ip_175">175</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Two Halves of the <i>Araby</i> beached</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#ip_176">176</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Half a Ship in Mid-Channel</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#ip_177">177</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Patching a Ship with Concrete</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#ip_178">178</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">How the Concrete Patch was reinforced</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#ip_179">179</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Concrete Patch from Inside the Ship</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#ip_180">180</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Exterior View of Ship patched with Concrete</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#ip_181">181</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Refloating a Wreck by Digging Operations</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#ip_186">186</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The <i>Timbo</i> High and Dry</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#ip_187">187</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">A Dredger wrecked in the Gareloch</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#ip_188">188</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Mighty Steel Cables used for righting the Wreck</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#ip_189">189</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Dredger righted Once More</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#ip_192">192</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">A Torpedoed Ship in Grave Difficulties</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#ip_198">198</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Foundering Ship safely beached at Clovelly</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#ip_199">199</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Salving a Wreck from Quicksands</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#ip_210">210</a></td> +</tr> +</table> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_ix">ix</span></p> + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_1">1</span></p> +<h2 class="nobreak" id="THE_WONDERS_OF_SALVAGE">THE WONDERS OF SALVAGE</h2> +</div> + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> +<h2 class="nobreak" id="THE_WONDERS_OF_SALVAGE2"><span class="larger">THE WONDERS OF SALVAGE</span></h2> + +<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I</h2> +</div> + +<p class="drop-cap"><span class="smcap1">With</span> eyes gazing fixedly ahead, the man, +tense and alert, sought to penetrate the +blackness. Squalls of rain swept down +and lashed his face, the flying spume of spray shot +up to intermingle with the rain, leaving a tang of salt +on his lips. The liner lurched and rolled through the +night, while thousands of souls aboard slumbered without +fear, placing implicit trust in this one man to whom +the pulse of the engines driving the ship was as familiar +as the pulse of his own heart. Rain and spray and +wind were part of his life, and he accepted them +without demur because he realized that the weather +was indifferent alike to praise and blame.</p> + +<p>He half turned his head to glance at the ship’s +chronometer.</p> + +<p>“Should be picking her up now,” he muttered.</p> + +<p>Raising the night-glasses to his eyes, he concentrated +all his powers of vision on the murky gloom in +front of him. His glasses roved slowly from side to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_2">2</span> +side, then a point of light, so dim as to be almost imperceptible, +swung in the blackness and vanished. +For a minute he waited until the light reappeared, +then he breathed freely and rang down for the ship to +alter course, knowing that he was safe and that he had +justified the faith of the passengers who had trusted +him to navigate his vessel through the storm.</p> + +<p>That point of light which meant so much to him +was the beam of a lighthouse, one of the many encircling +our coast. All round our shores they keep +sentinel night after night, through summer calm and +winter blizzard, waking to life as daylight fades and +dying as dawn steals over the seas. These lights, +which the city dweller on a brief visit to the sea watches +with such interest, are the friends of all who go down +to the sea in ships.</p> + +<p>Our coasts are profoundly treacherous. Rocks, +shoals and quicksands abound everywhere, and are +mostly marked with lighthouses, lightships and buoys +which in the aggregate have cost millions of pounds. +No expense has been spared to indicate these hidden +dangers and make our seas safe for shipping. Yet, in +spite of all that human foresight can suggest, wrecks +still occur. Gales spring up and take their toll; fogs +steal on and drive ships blindly to their doom; +machinery breaks down and allows the seas to hurl the +helpless craft upon the cruel rocks.</p> + +<p>Probably no coast in the world is so well lighted as<span class="pagenum" id="Page_3">3</span> +that of Great Britain, but although there are over 1700 +lights acting as signposts of the sea, warning mariners +of their dangers, our rocky shores exact a grievous +toll of shipping year by year. It is estimated that the +average value of the ships and cargoes lost in British +waters amounts to about £5,000,000 annually, so the +wealth spilled out of the ships since the galleys of our +first invaders found a watery grave would, could it be +recovered, considerably lighten the burden of our +national debt. Unfortunately the greater part is lost +for ever, for the sea which has swallowed the ships +destroys them utterly in the course of time, and unless +they can be salved within a certain period they soon +become not worth salving. The action of the sea +water rots away the cargoes, rust gradually devours +the steel and iron carcass of the ship, and only those +two indestructible substances, gold and silver, the +white and red metals for which men have fought +and died throughout the ages, remain of the wealth +which was originally lost.</p> + +<p>Men, however, have not been content to see fortunes +sink in the sea without making some effort to recover +them. They have pitted their wits against the strength +of the sea, risked their lives to wrest long-lost treasure +from the grasp of the ocean, and the story of their +thrilling deeds is one of the outstanding pages of human +endeavour.</p> + +<p>Consider, for a moment, the wonder of a ship. She<span class="pagenum" id="Page_4">4</span> +is a marvellous structure of steel and iron, full of the +most intricate machinery, a structure weighing perhaps +thousands of tons. Of the manifold parts of which +she is composed, the wood fittings alone may be +buoyant. Only they may possess the power of floating +on the waves; all the other parts, from the smallest +screw and rivet to the mighty propeller shafts and hull +plates would, if they could, sink like stones to the +bottom of the sea. This enormous mass of metal, +which in its natural state must sink, is so cunningly +fashioned by man that it overcomes its natural inclination +to sink and is made to float. The huge +weight is supported by water, men toil in the bottom +of the ship 20 and 30 feet below the surface of +the sea and are oblivious of any danger. The water +on the outer side of the steel skin of the ship towers +20 and 30 feet above their heads, yet they sleep +and eat and work in perfect safety. So long as +the sea is prevented from washing over the sides of +the ship or entering through a breach in the hull the +vessel floats, would continue to float even were she +made of lead. In other words, she is buoyant. Only +when her buoyancy is destroyed does she sink. Then, +before she can float again, her buoyancy must be +restored.</p> + +<p>This is the simple problem that is always confronting +the sea salvage expert. How can he restore the +buoyancy of the ship that meets with misfortune?<span class="pagenum" id="Page_5">5</span> +Simple as is the problem, it is seldom that the answer +is easy. To the salvor every wreck is a riddle. Tides +and currents make the riddle more complex. The +position in which the wreck is lying profoundly affects +the case. And, above all, operates the unknown +factor of the weather. Whatever the salvage expert +hopes to do, he always adds to himself “Weather +permitting!” He may be the cleverest man alive, +his plans of salvage may be the most brilliant ever +conceived, he may have the most expensive plant at +his disposal and all the money he seeks at his command, +yet he is helpless unless the weather be fair. Plans +may be put into operation, work may go smoothly, +everything may be within an ace of success—when the +tail of a gale may blow the plans to pieces, shatter the +work and rob the salvor of the success that seemed +within his grasp. It has happened before many times, +and it will happen many times again.</p> + +<p>The men who get a living by trying to raise wrecks +are farseeing, sparing of words, patient where patience +is demanded, quick as a rapier thrust where quickness +is essential, capable of toiling until they drop if it be +necessary. Every contingency that it is possible to +think of they consider, but the weather is something +beyond their control. They pray for fine weather, +and fight against foul to the best of their ability; but +when the wind takes hold man and his endeavours +are as nothing.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_6">6</span></p> + +<p>Hard as some of the salvors have worked for their +successes, others have worked harder still for their +failures. Often and often they have striven strenuously +for weeks and months to salve a ship, only to +lose her in the end. The luck of the game is indicated +by a case which occurred a year or two ago. A vessel +went down on the summit of a rock jutting sheer +from the seabed. On all sides was water so deep +that she had but to slip to be irretrievably lost. The +salvors, hurrying to the scene, found her balanced +most precariously on a ledge. A glance told them +that, before they could make the slightest attempt +to salve the ship, they would have to strive their +utmost to secure her firmly in position on top of the +pinnacle of rock. They routed among their gear for +cables and anchors and, making the cables fast to the +ship, carried out the anchors in all directions in order +to tie her tightly into place.</p> + +<p>Then they began to work against time, keeping a +keen eye on the sky and praying for fine weather, +knowing full well that if the weather held fair they +would save the ship and that the coming of bad weather +would seal her doom. Day after day they toiled like +giants, struggling with huge baulks of timber, shoring +up decks, strengthening bulkheads, patching breaches +in the hull. The weather favoured them. Day after +day it remained fine and enabled them to carry on +their operations quite unhampered. They had been<span class="pagenum" id="Page_7">7</span> +hard at it for nearly a month before the breeze began +to freshen in rather an ominous manner. They were +just beginning to anticipate rough weather when the +wind luckily died away and they breathed freely once +more.</p> + +<p>They redoubled their efforts, and six weeks of +intense toil saw their work completed. The last +timber was bolted securely in place and the divers +came out of the wreck, announcing that all was ready +for pumping out on the morrow. The salvors turned +in for the night well pleased with their labours, conscious +that the next day would see them proceeding +to port with their prize.</p> + +<p>But the weather, which had been kind to them so +long, was destined to cheat them at the very last. +That night it began to blow. The seas started to +rise and hammer at the ship. She began to stir +uneasily and to strain at her cables. The gale increased. +Under the continuous chafing, one cable +suddenly snapped. The breaking of that cable gave +the wreck more freedom to move under the hammer +blows of the sea. The waves battered at her incessantly +and one cable after another went like threads +of cotton until a billow, far mightier than the rest, +caught her up and swept her off the pinnacle into the +depths.</p> + +<p>Imagine the feelings of the salvors when day dawned. +All their gear was gone, their labours lost when the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_8">8</span> +prize was within their grasp. They steamed slowly +round the spot and proceeded to port, hoping for +better luck next time. That was the only thing +they could do.</p> + +<p>Men who spend their lives on salvage work are rather +apt to lead the casual inquirer to imagine that it is +the easiest job under the sun, whereas in reality the +task is beset with difficulties and bristles with risks. +But the sailormen in their matter-of-fact way forget +to mention the ever-present danger. They are inured +to it, just as people are habituated to living on the +slopes of a volcano that may erupt and overwhelm +them at any moment of the night or day. None the +less the salvors never forget the risk, nor leave it out +of their calculations, and for this reason fatal accidents +among them are rare. They know the strength of +the sea too well to attempt to take liberties with it, +for they have seen it pick up great 10,000 ton +ships and toss them on the rocks as though they were +cockle-shells; they have seen the strength of 70,000 +horses in the engines of a ship struggling in vain +against the strength of the waves, and they know +better than to pit their power against the power of +the storm.</p> + +<p>Thus they have a wholesome respect for wind and +wave. They use the strength of the sea to further +their own ends so long as the sea permits. At +other times they may stand by a wreck for weeks<span class="pagenum" id="Page_9">9</span> +while the sea seethes and the wind howls about the +ship they seek to save. A lull in the bad weather +will set them working frantically, and more than one +ship now afloat owes her existence to the accumulated +labour of a number of short spells of work undertaken +between the gales.</p> + +<p>The salvage man must thus be infinitely patient +and possess a determination that will keep him at +work when most other men would give up in despair. +Above all must he be strong in hope. Without hope, +no man need seek to become a salvage expert, for +he would be foredoomed to failure. He must possess +not only physical courage that enables him to face +the dangers of his calling, but also that rarer mental +courage that enables him to snatch victory out of the +very jaws of defeat.</p> + +<p>It is the men who possess this mental as well as +physical courage who perform the wonderful feats of +salvage that will never be forgotten, such as the recovery +off Gibraltar of the steamer <i>Hypatia</i>, which the +salvors brought to the surface after an infinity of +trouble. No sooner was she raised than she filled +and sank like a stone.</p> + +<p>There was nothing for it but to do the work over +again, which the salvors managed to do. For the +second time the <i>Hypatia</i> was brought to the surface, +and once again she sank, seeming to mock the efforts +of her would-be preservers. Still they were not<span class="pagenum" id="Page_10">10</span> +beaten. With grim determination they made another +effort, and after a great fight managed to raise the +<i>Hypatia</i> once more. All in vain! For the third time +she sank.</p> + +<p>Notwithstanding these three reverses, the salvors +would not give up the fight. Again the divers went +down, and their strenuous exertions ended in the +<i>Hypatia</i> seeing the light of day yet again. Not for +long were the salvors allowed to rest after their labours. +Down she went for the fourth time, while the sea +bubbled and boiled around.</p> + +<p>Few men would have continued a fight which +appeared so hopeless. But the salvors would not +admit themselves beaten. Although Fate seemed to +be taunting them, they had the courage to take their +task in hand for the fifth time, and this time they +succeeded. Truly it can be said that no men more +fully earned their reward than these salvors who +triumphed after four defeats.</p> +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_11">11</span></p> + +<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II</h2> +</div> + +<p class="drop-cap"><span class="smcap1">From</span> earliest years our imaginations are fired +by the mere mention of treasure. Who has +not heard of that fabulous treasure of the +bloodthirsty pirate, Captain Kidd, whose booty still +lies hidden on some far-off island? Expedition after +expedition has been fitted out to find it, but the pirate +hid it so well that the hunters have failed in their +quest. Who has not marvelled at those mighty +hoards of gold stored away by the Incas of Peru, gold +which Pizarro looted from the Peruvian treasure-house +and carried back to Spain?</p> + +<p>Treasure! The mere whisper works magic, conjuring +up pictures of gold and silver and piles of +glowing gems—rubies, emeralds, and diamonds galore, +gleaming with all the colours of the rainbow. So +fascinating is the idea of treasure that men gladly +risk their lives to go in search of it; nor is the magic +confined alone to the romantic. The keenest of +business men, who boast of their hard-headedness, +seem to lose their heads where treasure is concerned. +Eagerly they fling down the funds to prosecute the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_12">12</span> +most problematic searches, in return for the promise +of the most shadowy spoils.</p> + +<p>These same business men will aver that they never +speculate, yet all treasure-hunting is speculative, and +if there is one form more speculative than another it +is that of searching for sunken treasure. Still, despite +its hazardous nature, there is always money forthcoming +to back deep-sea enterprises of this description. +True, success comes but seldom—failures are +the rule. Could a correct balance-sheet be made up +showing how much has been spent on hunting for the +world’s sunken treasure and how much has been +recovered, we should probably find that the money +expended was many times greater than the value of +all the treasure brought to the surface.</p> + +<p>Few ideas could be more fascinating than that of +hauling up gold and silver from the bottom of the +sea, and it is this same fascination, with all the excitement +it brings in its train, which lures men on to +attempt to wrest many of these long-lost treasures +from the recesses of the ocean. Years sometimes are +spent in pondering ancient documents, hunting for +evidence of the exact locality of the vanished treasure, +seeking to sift rumour from actual fact. Further +years may be spent in making plans and special +apparatus for lifting the treasure, and, when the +hunter starts in real earnest, he finds at last that he +has spent years of his life and thousands of pounds<span class="pagenum" id="Page_13">13</span> +just for the privilege of stirring up the seabed. +Treasure-hunting is, in fact, something like taking a +ticket for a sweepstake. The chances may be ridiculously +small, but the prospect of winning a fortune +will always make the game popular.</p> + +<p>Fate, indeed, seems to delight in playing tricks on +salvage men. While, on the one hand, it sometimes +leads them on to fit out ambitious expeditions costing +thousands of pounds, sends them journeying afar and +imposes the greatest hardships upon them without +bringing them any reward whatsoever; on the other +hand, it sometimes flings a fortune straight into the +lap of some lucky man when he is least expecting it.</p> + +<p>Lord Leverhulme, in illustrating the vagaries of +Fate, related how an Australian firm once owned an +island in the Pacific, a rocky little place with a few +coco-nut trees that gave their crop of nuts which were +duly dried in the sun and turned into copra and coco-nut +oil. Their trading schooner used to visit the +island to load the copra, and on one of the trips the +captain happened to pick up a piece of rock and put it +aboard the ship. In due course that piece of rock +went back to Australia with the copra, and was used in +the office to keep the door open when the weather was +sultry.</p> + +<p>The firm acquired their island to make money out +of it, but although the coco-nut trees brought them a +profit, they certainly did not bring them a fortune.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_14">14</span> +The question arose as to whether it was worth their +while retaining the island, and after due consideration +they sold their property to some one else, and +thought no more about it.</p> + +<p>Entering their office one day, a professor from the +university chanced to kick against the stone that was +propping the door open. He stooped down, picked it +up, scrutinized it closely for a minute or two.</p> + +<p>“Where did you get this?” he demanded.</p> + +<p>“Oh, that’s a bit of rock our skipper brought back +from one of our islands,” was the reply.</p> + +<p>The professor looked at the rock again. “Do you +know what it is?” he asked.</p> + +<p>“Just a bit of stone,” came the answer.</p> + +<p>“I don’t know,” said the professor, “but I think it’s +phosphate. I’d like to take it away and analyse it, if +you’ll allow me.”</p> + +<p>Permission was, of course, granted, and the professor +walked away with that bit of rock which scores of +men had kicked against at the door. Taking it to his +laboratory, the scientist carefully analysed it. He +found it to be a sample of the richest phosphate in the +world. The original owners had bought the island as +a business proposition, but they failed to realize the +fortune that was theirs. That rocky island turned +out to be one mass of phosphate, worth about +£100,000,000—and they had let it go for a few +hundreds! Of all who had stumbled over that lucky<span class="pagenum" id="Page_15">15</span> +door-prop, the professor was the only one who had +the sense to see the fortune lying at his feet.</p> + +<p>The counterpart of the professor who saw a fortune +in that neglected lump of rock was the diver who +heard the whisper of truth in a rumour. The work +of this diver took him to the coast of Galway, where +he was engaged on salvage work that was to last some +little time. He was a companionable sort of man and, +after finishing his spells of work, would adjourn to the +tap-room of the village inn to spend his evenings in +yarning with the fisherfolk.</p> + +<p>For years a story had been current in the neighbourhood +that a Spanish galleon, one of the ships of the +Armada, had gone down in the vicinity. Those who +heard the yarn smiled. “It’s just a rumour,” they +remarked.</p> + +<p>Whether it was merely a rumour, or something +more, the story had been told from father to son for +generations. So persistent a rumour was it that it +survived century after century, living in the traditions +of these simple Irish fisherfolk, passed on by word +of mouth in the little community, until it survived to +our own times. Most of the fishermen knew the yarn +of the sunken Spanish galleon, but perhaps the passage +of time had made many of them rather sceptical.</p> + +<p>Anyway, one evening the diver was enjoying his +pipe and his beer and talking about his work, when +an old fisherman said to him:</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_16">16</span></p> + +<p>“Why don’t ye thry for the galleon?”</p> + +<p>“What galleon?” the diver inquired.</p> + +<p>“Why, yon one wrecked just outside the bar,” the +fisherman answered. “Ye can walk about the seabed +in that suit of yours?”</p> + +<p>“I do it every day,” the diver replied.</p> + +<p>“Well, why don’t ye walk out and get the treasure?” +The diver smiled. “Show me the treasure, and +I’ll soon get it,” he said. “Where is it?”</p> + +<p>Solemnly the fisherman looked at the diver. “My +father, he told me, and his grandfather, he told him. +A mighty ship from Spain it was, full of treasure, +that went down in a storm. They saw it from the +shore here.”</p> + +<p>Puffing away at his pipe, the diver considered the +matter. The story in his judgment might easily be +true.</p> + +<p>“Show me the spot, and we’ll share the treasure, +if there is any,” he said.</p> + +<p>“All right,” the old fisherman agreed. “She’s +there all right. Sometimes we catch our gear in +her.”</p> + +<p>Completing the task on which he was engaged, the +diver began his search for the sunken treasure. Day +after day he and the old fisherman went out in a +rowing-boat, threw a grapnel over the stern and +dragged it about the seabed in the hope of lighting +on the wreck. Many of the villagers laughed at them<span class="pagenum" id="Page_17">17</span> +and thought them crazy, but the two treasure-hunters +paid no heed. They just went ahead with their +monotonous task, buoyed up with the hope of the +treasure to come.</p> + +<p>The end of the first week saw them as far off the +treasure as they had been on the first day. They +dragged on through another week with a like result. +A month of fruitless endeavour failed to rob them of +their faith in the truth of the old story of the wreck. +Week after week they searched the area in which the +wreck was supposed to lie, tugging placidly at the +oars, dragging the grapnel along the bottom.</p> + +<p>One day the fisherman was rowing slowly along +when the diver felt his grapnel catch in something. +He gave the rope a sharp tug, then another, but the +grapnel held firmly.</p> + +<p>“We’ve got her,” he said.</p> + +<p>Marking the spot with a buoy, they rowed ashore +for the diving suit and air-pump, then they went back +to where the buoy floated on the surface. The diver +donned his suit; the fisherman screwed the helmet +securely into place, started to heave the handle of +the air-pump as the diver went over the side and +slid down the shot rope to the bottom. The ghost of +the galleon greeted his eyes, the skeleton of the ship +of long ago. For three centuries she had lain undisturbed +in her watery grave, slowly rotting away until +she had all but vanished. The diver climbed over<span class="pagenum" id="Page_18">18</span> +the rotten remnants of the hulk into what had once +been the hold of the ship. The place was full of +weed; fish fled at the approach of the strange monster +that was invading their domain; barnacles and sea-growth +flourished on the decaying timbers.</p> + +<p>With the same patience that had enabled him to +locate the wreck, the diver searched the seabed until +at last he came on what appeared to be several small +barrels. He went up to them, tapped them. The +much talked-of treasure was his at last. Beneath +his fingers were solid stacks of Spanish doubloons, +from which the wood had long since perished, leaving +the coins still shaped like the barrels into which the +Spaniards had packed them when they set out on that +ill-fated expedition of theirs to conquer England.</p> + +<figure id="ip_18" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 23em;"> + <img src="images/i_p018a.jpg" width="1413" height="2142" alt=""> + <figcaption class="caption">TREASURE HUNTERS EXAMINING THE BED OF TOBERMORY BAY IN THE ISLE OF +MULL THROUGH A SPECIAL INSTRUMENT INVENTED FOR THE PURPOSE + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<p>These two men, with a diving suit and rowing-boat, +found a greater treasure than has fallen to many a +powerfully-equipped expedition, and it is strange to +think that the fisherman who hauled the doubloons +up from the bottom was probably a direct descendant +of one of the Irish peasants who stood on the shore +on that wild Armada night in 1588 and watched the +mighty Spanish ship founder. The diver had the +good sense to realize that there might be something +in the old story, he spent weeks investigating it, and +he reaped a snug little fortune as his reward. Nor +did he squander the treasure that Fate flung his way. +The same good sense which enabled him to find it<span class="pagenum" id="Page_19">19</span> +also enabled him to keep it, for he turned his Spanish +doubloons into a row of houses which he called “Dollar +Row” in order to perpetuate his good luck.</p> + +<figure id="ip_19" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 32em;"> + <img src="images/i_p018b.jpg" width="2002" height="1399" alt=""> + <figcaption class="caption">HARD AT WORK HUNTING THE TREASURE OF TOBERMORY. WASHING THE MUD AND SAND DREDGED UP PROM THE +BAY IN ORDER TO FIND THE SPANISH DOUBLOONS REPUTED TO BE LOST HERE OVER THREE CENTURIES AGO WHEN +WILD WEATHER HELPED DRAKE TO ROUT THE ARMADA + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<p>It is another tale of the Spanish Armada, a tale +which up to the present has not ended quite so happily, +that lures men to try their luck in the Bay of Tobermory +in the Isle of Mull just off the west coast of +Scotland. Somewhere beneath the waters of this +pleasant bay is averred to lie a treasure so prodigious +that it would make its discoverer a millionaire twice +over. Here, if tradition speaks truly, a man has the +chance of dragging from the seabed beautiful jewels +and wonderful golden cups, with Spanish doubloons +worth at least £2,000,000 which went down with the +<i>Florencia</i>.</p> + +<p>Many who have studied the question believe that the +<i>Florencia</i> undoubtedly sank here, but an element of +doubt creeps in when it is known that the Spaniards +themselves swore that the <i>Florencia</i> returned after +the disastrous expedition. During the Great War +the British Government did its best to conceal the loss +of H.M.S. <i>Audacious</i> in order to deceive the Germans +as to the strength of our navy, and it may have been +the Spaniards, three centuries ago, who introduced +this practice. About this, nothing is known with +certainty. It all happened a long time ago, and the +years have tended to obscure the facts. Whether the +statement that the <i>Florencia</i> returned was true, or<span class="pagenum" id="Page_20">20</span> +whether it was a deliberate falsehood spread forth to +give her enemies the impression that Spain was still +strong in ships of the line, is an open question.</p> + +<p>Whatever be the name of the vessel, the evidence +that a Spanish galleon actually did founder in Tobermory +Bay in 1588 seems fairly strong. Moreover, it +is backed up by material facts in the shape of a cannon, +some cannon balls, a weapon or two and a doubloon +that have been brought up from the bottom of the +bay by different treasure-hunters.</p> + +<p>From what we can gather of that distant happening, +it appears that the Spaniards, sailing down the Scottish +coast in their galleon, and seeking perhaps to replenish +their water-casks, must have made a foray or two +ashore. During one of these they captured a Highland +chief, one Donald Glas M‘Lean, whom they held +prisoner aboard their ship. So bitter a blow was it +to the Scottish chieftain that, reckless of his own life, +he sought a terrible revenge. Waiting his opportunity +while the ship was anchored in Tobermory Bay, he +managed to enter the powder magazine. In a moment +or two his revenge was complete. The mighty galleon +blew up and the proud chief accompanied her crew of +nearly 500 Spaniards to their doom.</p> + +<p>Many a tide has ebbed and flowed, many a storm +arisen and subsided since that catastrophe. Timbers +have decayed, and mud and sand have gradually +covered up the remains. The treasure by now may<span class="pagenum" id="Page_21">21</span> +be buried 20 or 30 feet at the bottom of the bay +and, unless some lucky chance leads an expedition to +hit on the exact spot, may remain buried there for +ever. Divers may have walked over the treasure +dozens of times without knowing that the gold and +silver they were seeking lay actually under their feet.</p> + +<p>The Duke of Argyll, who possesses the right to salve +the treasure, has proved his belief in its existence by +spending considerable sums in hunting for it. In +addition he has given permission for several expeditions +to prosecute the search, and these expeditions, +in the aggregate, must have expended a deal of money. +The lack of success on the part of previous expeditions +seems in no wise to deter others from following in their +steps, and the last expedition to work in Tobermory +Bay reflected the great changes of modern life by +including a lady diver among its members.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile the treasure of Tobermory Bay, which +has excited the minds of treasure-hunters for many a +generation, still awaits discovery.</p> +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_22">22</span></p> + +<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III</h2> +</div> + +<p class="drop-cap"><span class="smcap1">Whatever</span> doubts there be about the +treasure of Tobermory, there can be +none about the treasure of the <i>Lutine</i>, +for official records prove that when she came to grief +she must have carried bullion worth over £1,000,000.</p> + +<p>H.M.S. <i>Lutine</i> was a frigate of thirty-two guns, one of +those wooden walls of Old England of which the poet +sings. Not always had she sailed under the British +flag. Time was when the tricolour of France broke +at her masthead and French sailors crowded her +decks, but Admiral Duncan captured her and brought +her home as a prize, and thereafter it was the white +ensign of England that flew at her peak and a captain +of the British Navy who commanded her.</p> + +<p>In the early days of October, 1799, at which time +we were warring with Holland, H.M.S. <i>Lutine</i> was +lying at Yarmouth, while the British troops garrisoned +on the island of Texel off the Dutch coast were waiting +anxiously for their pay. The <i>Lutine</i> was commissioned +to carry the £140,000 due to the troops, and, hearing +that she was departing for the Continent, many<span class="pagenum" id="Page_23">23</span> +merchants sought permission to ship gold and silver +by her for the relief of the merchants of Hamburg, +who were financially embarrassed by the wars and +the ensuing depression of the money market. The +permission was readily granted, and 1000 bars of gold +and 500 bars of silver were taken to Yarmouth and +safely shipped aboard. In the ordinary course of +business, the owners of the bullion went to Lloyd’s +and effected an insurance for the sum of £900,000.</p> + +<p>On October of the year stated, the <i>Lutine</i> weighed +anchor and sailed out of Yarmouth Roads on her +voyage to Hamburg. As she bowled across the North +Sea, the wind freshened and culminated that night in +a terrific gale which the <i>Lutine</i>, gallant ship as she +was, could not weather. The treacherous shoals off +the Dutch coast reached out for her, and the mighty +seas battered the life out of her and engulfed her. Of +all aboard, but one human soul survived to tell of the +wreck before he, too, succumbed from exhaustion.</p> + +<p>The loss of the <i>Lutine</i> was a tremendous blow to +Lloyd’s. It meant that the underwriters had to find +the sum of £900,000 with which to meet the claims of +the insurers. Somehow they found the money and +met all claims, thus adding fresh lustre to the name of +Lloyd’s and helping to raise it to the position it occupies +to-day as the greatest and most powerful marine +insurance association in the whole world. In return +for their £900,000 the underwriters became possessed<span class="pagenum" id="Page_24">24</span> +of the treasure—or rather the right to recover it! +At that time, immediately after the calamity, when +salvage operations naturally stood the best chance of +success, the underwriters were prevented from doing +anything at all owing to our war with Holland, and +later on the Dutch Government made its position +clear about the matter by claiming the wreck and all +that was in it.</p> + +<p>As the vessel lay, it was just possible to get to her +when the sea was calm and the tides were at their +lowest. It can be imagined that the Dutch fishermen +made the most of their opportunities. Their government +encouraged them by offering them one-third of +everything they recovered, so the fishers found it +profitable to leave their nets and spend their time +fishing in the <i>Lutine</i>. Although the bulk of the treasure +was beyond their reach, they managed during the +next couple of years to lay their hands on a good deal +of it. The Dutch Government received from the +wreck treasure to the value of £56,000, and of this +over £18,000 was paid to the salvors, while the rest +was minted into Dutch money.</p> + +<p>The amount of treasure which passed into the +hands of the Netherlands Government during this +period was not necessarily all the treasure that was +taken out of the <i>Lutine</i>. It is possible, and indeed +probable, that much of the treasure recovered was +concealed by the fishermen salvors and used secretly<span class="pagenum" id="Page_25">25</span> +to swell their own private hoards; but, even assuming +that twice as much treasure was salved as was actually +declared, there would still be a vast treasure worth +over £1,000,000 remaining in the wreck.</p> + +<p>A series of fierce storms wrought havoc with the wreck +and placed her quite beyond the reach of the fishermen, +who were at last forced to abandon their profitable +quest. For years the wreck was the plaything of the +storms, and not until Napoleon was safely imprisoned +on St. Helena did any one give a thought to the treasure +that lay amid the shifting sandbanks off the island of +Vlieland. Then a Dutchman, going to his government, +obtained a concession to salve the bullion on +condition that half of what he recovered went to the +government. For two or three years he fought the +sea and sand to get at the treasure. No sight of gold +or silver gladdened his eyes. Season after season, for +eight years in all, he did his utmost to recover the +fortune from the grasp of the sea, but without success. +At last, weary of the incessant combat, he gave up +the struggle and left the treasure to mock any other +adventurer who might happen along.</p> + +<p>The underwriters at Lloyd’s, however, were not +content to see the treasure which had cost them such +a huge sum of money pass into the hands of a foreign +nation, and at their request the British Government +began to treat with that of Holland to induce them +to relinquish their title in the wreck. The ways of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_26">26</span> +diplomacy are often long and tedious, and this case was +no exception. Many years elapsed before an agreement +was arrived at and the Dutch gave up their +claims and allowed the legal title in the treasure to +pass to Lloyd’s, its rightful owners.</p> + +<p>For well over half a century the <i>Lutine</i> bore the +brunt of the gales which afflict the Dutch coast, +spending their strength on the belt of islands and the +shifting sandbanks at the entrance to the Zuyder +Zee. She was utterly lost amid the sands. Then +came a terrific gale that blew for days, and the heaving +waters washed the sand away from the wreck and made +it possible to get at the treasure. For a period of +five years, from 1857 to 1861, salvage men toiled away, +and the result of their work was the recovery of +bullion to the value of just over £40,000.</p> + +<p>Once the salvors heaved the bell of the <i>Lutine</i> clear +of the sea. It was brought to London and hung in +the main hall at Lloyd’s in the Royal Exchange. +Whenever there is any important announcement to +make to the underwriters about a ship being wrecked +or an overdue boat reaching port, the bell of the +<i>Lutine</i> is sounded to call the attention of all concerned. +Another time the salvors managed to bring up the +rudder of the <i>Lutine</i>, and this was made into a chair +and placed in the committee room at Lloyd’s.</p> + +<p>For another quarter of a century the sand and sea +were left in undisputed possession of the wreck, then<span class="pagenum" id="Page_27">27</span> +a new expedition set out to wrest the treasure from +the encompassing sands. Right valiantly the salvors +fought for that fortune, but luck was against them. +Now and again they managed to bring up some of the +coins that were lost in the <i>Lutine</i>, but the amount +of treasure they recovered totalled considerably less +than £1000 in all. So they discontinued further +attempts and returned to England.</p> + +<p>Since then more than one expedition has gone out +to try to win the remaining treasure from the wreck +of the <i>Lutine</i>. In the year 1908 the natives of Brightlingsea +were astonished by the sight of a weird object +that was anchored off the mouth of the river Colne. +So strange a thing they had never seen before, and +they puzzled their brains for an explanation of it. +The curious object which caused so much amazement +was a wonderful device for recovering the treasure of +the <i>Lutine</i>. It was a great steel tube with a little +iron ladder running down the inside of it. At one +end were gigantic hooks for hooking it to the side of +a salvage vessel, and at the other end was a steel +chamber with a series of watertight compartments +and air locks.</p> + +<p>This marvellous contrivance, which took years to +construct, was designed to be sunk in an upright +position down to the wreck of the <i>Lutine</i>. It was +equipped with water ballast tanks to sink it into +place, and the steel chamber was furnished with<span class="pagenum" id="Page_28">28</span> +cutting edges, so that the weight would enable it +gradually to cut down through the sand until it +reached the wreck.</p> + +<p>Divers were to descend the iron ladder in the inside +of the tube until they reached the submerged steel +chamber. Then they were to enter the air locks +where the water was kept back by compressed air, +and walk out into the wreck. The divers would then +communicate by telephone with the engineers in the +steel chamber and direct the powerful pumps that +were to suck away the sand until the treasure was +reached. Once the treasure was found, the divers +were merely to remove it to the steel chamber, whence +it could be transferred to the salvage steamer above +at their leisure. Excellent as the invention seemed, +it did not recover the treasure of the <i>Lutine</i>.</p> + +<p>Three years later, in 1911, another expedition more +powerfully equipped than any of its predecessors +resumed the search which had been going on for over +a century. Notwithstanding the fact that the position +of the <i>Lutine</i> was fairly well known, the obliteration +of a landmark by a violent gale made it very difficult +for the salvage men to find the wreck. The divers +went down and searched the seabed vainly for a single +sign of the old frigate. Not a spar was to be seen, +not a rib of the hulk.</p> + +<p>Captain Gardiner, who was in charge of the treasure-seekers, +was a man of resource. He realized full well<span class="pagenum" id="Page_29">29</span> +what had happened. The sand of the treacherous +banks had completely buried the <i>Lutine</i>, and before +he could make the slightest attempt to salve the +treasure he would have to locate her and dig her out +of her grave.</p> + +<p>The problem of finding a wreck that lay buried deep +in the silt would prove too much for any ordinary +man, but Captain Gardiner was equal to the occasion. +Among his equipment were some of the most powerful +sand-pumps in existence, pumps capable of removing +nearly a thousand tons of sand an hour. Dropping +the end of one of these pumps to the seabed, he began +sucking up the sand at a prodigious rate, cutting a +deep channel right across the area in which the wreck +lay. Slowly the pumps of the salvage ship devoured +the sand and at last the salvors found the wreck +buried 36 feet deep under a bank. The finding of +the wreck was in itself a wonderful feat.</p> + +<p>If only the other difficulties could have been overcome +as easily, the treasure by now would have been +won. But all the time the divers had to contend +with the most difficult set of currents in the world. +A strong tide, always running, plays incredible pranks +with the bottom hereabouts. The submerged sandbanks +are almost like cliffs some thirty feet high, +and the tide moulds them and remoulds them almost +day by day. A vessel at dawn may anchor in a deep +channel, and by night the tides in one of their playful<span class="pagenum" id="Page_30">30</span> +moods may have poured tons and tons of sand into +the channel, completely filling it and building up a +sandbank on the very spot where the channel existed +only a few hours previously.</p> + +<p>It will be realized how difficult this made salvage +operations. The strong currents tended to wash the +sand back directly it was removed, and the salvors +were faced with what seemed like an endless struggle +with the sea. They did not shirk the struggle; they +went on dredging whenever the weather allowed, and +they fought the tides most brilliantly by dumping +the sand in such a position that it deflected the current +right across the wreck. Thus there was a continual +flow of water over the wreck to keep the site fairly +clear and prevent the sand settling.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile, they literally sifted the bed of the sea +for traces of the elusive treasure. Every ton of sand +sucked up by the pumps was poured through a gigantic +sieve erected over the side of the salvage steamer. +The sieve was like a giant birdcage, with a small +mesh, and the men who watched the sand pouring +through were more than once gladdened by the sight +of a coin from the <i>Lutine</i>.</p> + +<figure id="ip_30" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 34em;"> + <img src="images/i_p030a.jpg" width="2150" height="1453" alt=""> + <figcaption class="caption">SEEKING THE TREASURE OF THE LUTINE. ONE OF THE HUGE PUMPS SUCKING UP THE SEABED AT A PRODIGIOUS RATE +AND POURING IT INTO THE GIANT CAGES WHICH SIFTED IT FOR TRACES OF THE LONG-LOST TREASURE + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<p>They were weeks battling with the tides before the +sand was cleared from inside the vessel and around +the hull, but the day came at last when the divers +went down to investigate the interior for the long-lost +treasure. Every one aboard was keyed up to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_31">31</span> +concert pitch. It seemed certain that the <i>Lutine’s</i> +treasure was to be lifted at last.</p> + +<p>But the divers found the place in a sorry state. +Much of the wooden hull had, of course, been preserved +by the sand, but the magazine, in which the treasure +lay, had collapsed, and there was practically a solid +mass of iron five or six feet deep lying on top of the +bars of gold and silver. When the magazine collapsed, +hundreds of cannon balls had poured all over the place +and these had been rusted together by the action +of the water, locking up the treasure as securely as +though it had been in a steel safe.</p> + +<p>The only hope of the salvors lay in blasting this +mass of rusted cannon balls to pieces and removing +them bit by bit. In no other manner could the +treasure be reached. Accordingly they set about +their task, and little by little blew away the first +layer. It was slow, tedious work, and all the time +the salvors were harassed by the thought that the +autumn gales might spring up and put an end to their +operations, undoing in a single night work which had +taken them months to accomplish.</p> + +<p>Day by day they continued steadily with the blasting, +and they had just succeeded in blowing away the +second layer of rusted cannon balls when the dreaded +gales came on. Further work was impossible, and +sorrowfully the salvors left that exposed spot and +went to Amsterdam to lay up for the winter.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_32">32</span></p> + +<p>A little more time, and they might have succeeded +in their quest. There is evidence that they were +somewhere near the gold, for one of the pieces of rust +brought up bore the impression of a gold ingot, and +when this rust was treated with acid it yielded five +grains of the precious metal to prove that the gold +was quite close.</p> + +<p>Ten divers and a powerful plant had been seeking +the <i>Lutine’s</i> treasure for nine months. A small +fortune had been spent on the operations. The +workers removed a veritable mountain from the seabed, +and they were rewarded with five grains of gold. +They had shifted a million tons of sand to find five +grains of gold! In this way does Fate taunt the deep-sea +treasure-hunter.</p> + +<p>The following winter the wreck was buried under +5 feet of sand by the tides, and by now she is lost +once more, buried perhaps deeper than ever. The +exposed position and the strong tides have kept the +<i>Lutine’s</i> treasure safe for over a century. But whether +they will keep it safe for ever, no one can say.</p> + +<p>It is a dozen years since I fingered one of the +silver coins salved from the <i>Lutine</i>, and wondered +whether the treasure was to be recovered at last. +Still the <i>Lutine</i> is not forgotten, and only a few months +ago I received from Lloyd’s a letter from an inquirer +in Vancouver who desired full details of the wreck, +with a view to carrying on further salvage operations.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_33">33</span> +I sent him the particulars he required, but so far I +have not heard of operations being started.</p> + +<p>For over a century wind and wave have beaten the +men who sought to recover the wealth of gold and +silver that went down with the <i>Lutine</i> on that wild +October night. The fortune still lures men on to win +it, and, in spite of the many disappointments, a lucky +turn of the wind and tide, combined with improved +salvage appliances, may yet make some future treasure-hunter +a millionaire.</p> +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_34">34</span></p> + +<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV</h2> +</div> + +<p class="drop-cap"><span class="smcap1">Without</span> the diver, treasure-hunting beneath +the waves would be impossible. The salvage +expert may make the most brilliant +plans, collect the most up-to-date and scientific plant +to assist him, but in the end it is the diver who carries +the work through, and upon the courage, determination +and skill of the diver the success of the expedition +depends. To dive to a depth of 5 fathoms, or +30 feet, is a task that the average man could +accomplish without much difficulty; most men, too, +would be able to reach a depth of 10 fathoms or +60 feet, if they were in decent physical condition. +But at 15 and 20 fathoms and over the body is called +upon to stand exceptional strains and so exceptional +men are necessary.</p> + +<p>Quite apart from the many risks, deep diving is +very arduous, and seldom are men found with the +physique that will enable them to dive 100 feet and +over. The deep-sea diver must be trained like an +athlete, perfectly sound in wind and limb and heart, +and in tip-top physical condition. A fat diver stands<span class="pagenum" id="Page_35">35</span> +little chance of attaining great depths, so the finest +divers are generally on the slim side, men without an +ounce of superfluous fat and with muscles tough as +steel.</p> + +<p>The physical strain placed on the body and heart +merely by diving to these great depths is not generally +realized. To ask the human body to undergo +pressures three, four and five times greater than +atmospheric pressure is expecting the body to undergo +strains three, four and five times greater than the +body was built to stand. It is like expecting a motor-car, +designed for a load of 30 cwt., to carry a load of +6 tons. We should not expect the car to do that. +Yet we not only call upon the human body to perform +similar feats, but the body actually does perform them +without collapsing.</p> + +<p>The crack sea-diver is almost as difficult to find as +the swimmer who can conquer the English Channel. +When it comes to doing actual work at depths of 100 +feet and over, the strain on the diver’s body is indeed +very much greater, for his exertions use up so much +oxygen that his heart is called upon to pump at an +increased speed in order to replace it. All the time, +of course, the diver is breathing compressed air, thus +the pressure of the sea on the outside of his body is +practically counterbalanced by the pressure of the +air inside his body. While the weight of the sea is +trying to crush him inwards, the compressed air is<span class="pagenum" id="Page_36">36</span> +pushing outwards, so the air pressure within equalizes +the water pressure without, and the diver is enabled +to work in perfect safety under a mass of water that +would crush an unprotected man flat.</p> + +<p>We might liken the water pressure to six men who +are pushing hard against a door and striving to open +it, while the air pressure resembles six men pushing +against the other side of the door to keep it closed. +With both teams equally matched in strength, the +door remains quite unaffected by the contest if it be +solidly built of oak. But if it is a weak door, the +strain of the men pushing against it will probably +break it.</p> + +<p>Breathing compressed air not only places a strain +on the lungs, but it tends to fill the body with an excess +of nitrogen. This nitrogen may easily form tiny +bubbles of gas, and these bubbles, if they reach the +heart, might cause the death of the diver or bring +on that dread paralysis known as diver’s palsy, a +disease which renders the lower part of the diver’s +body quite useless.</p> + +<p>Strangely enough, it is not in going down that this +danger threatens the diver, but only in coming up. +If he comes up too suddenly, the excess of nitrogen +in the blood bubbles like the tiny bubbles in a siphon +of soda and at once his life is threatened. The bubbles +are due to the pressure of the water on the outside of +the body growing suddenly less than the pressure<span class="pagenum" id="Page_37">37</span> +of air inside the body, consequently the nitrogen seeks +to escape in bubbles just as the soda-water seeks to +escape when the key of the siphon is depressed. The +pressure inside the body cannot adjust itself quickly +enough to the lessening pressure outside, and these +bubbles are the result.</p> + +<p>To avoid this risk, it is necessary for the diver +working at great depths to come up very slowly. He +may slide down the shot-rope to a depth of 120 feet +in a few seconds, but, should he stay longer than half +an hour at the bottom, he must not come up in less +than fifty-seven minutes if he would avert danger. +He may come up to 40 feet in eighty seconds, or at +the rate of a foot a second. Then he must rest and +exercise his legs and arms on the shot-rope for five +minutes before ascending another 10 feet to the +30-foot level. Here he must rest for a further period +of fifteen minutes, and do those exercises which +help to rid his muscles of their excess of nitrogen. +Ascending another 10 feet, which brings him to +within 10 feet of the surface, he is compelled to rest +for twenty-five minutes to allow the excess of nitrogen +to pass from his blood, after which he may rise to +the surface.</p> + +<p>If a diver happened to remain an hour at a depth +of 200 feet, he would have to spend four hours in +coming to the surface to avoid any ill effects. The +exceptional diver who is able to reach this depth<span class="pagenum" id="Page_38">38</span> +should not, however, remain at the bottom for more +than twelve minutes. This is the safe time, and he +can then make the ascent to the surface in thirty-two +minutes.</p> + +<p>Remarkable diving experiments were carried out by +the British Admiralty some years ago, during which +naval divers attained the record depth of 210 feet, a +record that was long unbeaten. As a result of these +experiments, tables were drawn up showing the time +that a man might remain in safety at certain depths, +and indicating the rates at which he could come to the +surface and the depths at which he must rest to allow +the pressure inside his body to adjust itself to the +pressure of the water outside. These tables are +followed the wide world over, and they have made +diving one of the safest of occupations, despite the +grave risks the diver is continually running.</p> + +<p>Diving was, in fact, so dangerous that exceptional +precautions had to be taken, with the result that the +diver who walks about the bottom of the ocean to-day +may be far safer than a man walking across Piccadilly +Circus. The safety of the diver is most carefully +watched over, but no one can foretell when a motor +vehicle is going to run down some one crossing a busy +road.</p> + +<p>Never was knight attired for the tourney more +carefully than the modern diver is clad before venturing +into the depths. It is cold working at the bottom<span class="pagenum" id="Page_39">39</span> +of the sea, and to guard against the cold the diver +dons warm woollen sweaters and socks, sometimes +wearing two or three sweaters and two or three pairs +of thick socks. When he is dressed in his woollies, +the diving dress is fastened about him just as the +armour was fastened on the knights of old. There is +a certain ritual about the performance which must be +obeyed. First of all the shoulder pads are carefully +tied on to take the weight of the head-dress, then an +assistant helps him into the rubber diving dress and +opens the tight cuffs for the diver to slip his hands +through. The diver sits down while the assistant +ties up the inner collar of the diving-dress and +adjusts the various screws that are to secure his +helmet. But before that is fastened into place the +feet are slipped into the boots, each with its 16 lb. +sole of lead.</p> + +<p>Ever so carefully the diver’s helmet is put on, for +his life depends upon it being properly fastened. The +air-pipe must be carried from the back of his helmet +up under his arm to the front of his body where he +can reach it easily and yet not find it in his way. The +air-pumps and the valves in his helmet are most carefully +tested to see that they are working properly. +Then the diver gets on the ladder leading overboard +and a lead weight weighing 40 lb. is adjusted across +his breast and another similar weight is fastened over +his back to enable him to sink to the bottom. The<span class="pagenum" id="Page_40">40</span> +glass of his helmet is screwed up, the pump is set +going, the diver waves his hand to indicate that all +is in order, and the attendant after a final look round +gives the diver a smart tap on the top of the helmet +to inform him that he may go down.</p> + +<p>Thenceforward the life of the diver is in the hands +of the attendant, who never lets go of the lifeline and +air-pipe until the diver comes to the surface again, +feeling the diver at the end of the pipe just as an angler +feels a fish at the end of a line, taking in the slack pipe +to prevent it fouling rocks and wreckage, paying it +out as the diver requires.</p> + +<p>The coming of the submarine telephone has certainly +lessened the risks of the diver, for he can now talk to +the men in the boat and tell them what he wants and +how he feels. If anything goes wrong and his lines +become entangled, he can inform those at the surface, +who can quickly send down another diver to assist +him. In comparatively recent days it was necessary +to signal by means of the lifeline and air-pipe, a +certain number of pulls meaning certain things in +accordance with a code in use by all divers. When +a diver wished to convey a special message he had +to signal for a slate to be sent down, and on the +slate he would write what he wanted to convey. It +was a slow and cumbersome method which has +been rendered obsolete by the submarine telephone, +which was invented by that famous submarine<span class="pagenum" id="Page_41">41</span> +engineer, R. H. Davis, the head of Siebe, Gorman & +Company.</p> + +<p>For ages men have dived for sponges and pearls, +remaining at most not more than a couple of minutes +at the bottom. The ancients were fully alive to the +advantages of an invention that would assist men to +remain under water for considerable periods, and they +were puzzling their heads about diving dresses centuries +ago. These early inventions, however, were very +crude, one being a sort of barrel with holes through +which the arms could be passed, another a metal +cylinder which covered the head down to the waist +where it fitted into leather breeches. Very strange +and wonderful they appear to modern eyes.</p> + +<p>No less strange and decidedly more wonderful is +the up-to-date diving dress which has grown out of +the invention of Augustus Siebe in 1819. For eighteen +years Siebe experimented with his first type of diving +dress before he achieved, in 1837, the form of dress +which is closely followed to-day. Various people +have added improvements, but Siebe’s form of dress +is the one in common use, and the firm of Siebe, +Gorman & Company which he founded to supply his +diving dresses are to-day the greatest submarine +engineers in the world.</p> + +<p>Inventors have for long been concerned with the +problem of a diving dress that will allow a diver to +go to any depth without danger. The greatest risk<span class="pagenum" id="Page_42">42</span> +of course, is that he will be crushed to death by the +pressure of the water, and to overcome this danger +more than one man has invented an all-metal diving +dress with flexible joints. In appearance these diving +dresses seem cumbersome, and the diver looks more +than ever like a knight in armour.</p> + +<p>Another form of dress largely in use enables the +diver to descend in shallow water without relying +on the usual air-pipe and pump. In such dresses the +diver carries certain chemicals which not only purify +the air he is breathing, but also furnish him with +fresh oxygen. One chemical absorbs the poisonous +carbonic acid gas given off by the breath, and the +other chemical gives off fresh oxygen as the moisture +of the breath touches it. The smoke helmet which +enables men to enter a mine after a disaster, or a +building full of foul fumes, is equipped with the same +chemicals and made on the same principle as the +diving dress. Instead of completely covering the man, +however, this dress is made like a jacket reaching to +the waist, where it is securely buckled.</p> + +<p>In this dress it was impossible to penetrate the +Redding pit, near Falkirk, from which five miners +were marvellously rescued after being entombed for +nine days, so several naval divers in regulation dress +risked their lives in an effort to penetrate the workings +to see if any other men still survived and to carry +stimulants to them. Divers, at best, have the appearance<span class="pagenum" id="Page_43">43</span> +of creatures from another world, and the effect +of a diver, with his lamp, emerging from the inky +water and coming suddenly on men who had been +immured for a fortnight without food and were at +their last gasp had to be carefully considered. Some +of the survivors might have attacked him in their +delirium and deprived their comrades of all chance +of succour.</p> + +<p>To avoid so untoward an incident, the leading +diver carried with him a message for those men he +hoped to find: “This is a diver come to save you. +Don’t touch him, as he cannot speak to you. We are +driving a place for you. Don’t sit down near the +water, but keep clear of the damp. If any of your +mates are far through, turn their heads downhill and +that will help them until you are feeling stronger. +The diver cannot come up the hill out of the water +to help you, because his tools are too heavy. He +will come back regularly and feed you. You must +not drink more than half a cupful of beef tea each. +Wait and take a rest before you drink another half-cupful. +On this paper write who you are. You will +be got out soon.”</p> + +<p>Alas, for human endeavour, that message never +reached the poor fellows for whom it was intended! +The great falls of roof choked the roads and proved +an insurmountable barrier. Raging, but exhausted, +the divers had to bow their heads in defeat.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_44">44</span></p> + +<p>So commonplace is the diving dress that it no longer +excites curiosity. Yet it remains one of the wonders +of modern civilization. Merely by utilizing the sap +of a tree, which we know as rubber, and fresh air, +men are now able to work and live at the bottom of +the sea.</p> +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_45">45</span></p> + +<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_V">CHAPTER V</h2> +</div> + +<p class="drop-cap"><span class="smcap1">It</span> was in 1891 that the steamship <i>Skyro</i> pulled +out of the port of Cartagena, in southern +Spain, and set her course for London. The +coast of Spain glided by as she proceeded through the +blue seas of the Mediterranean, speaking Gibraltar as +she passed, and setting her nose north to skirt the +coast of Portugal. Oporto dropped far astern, and +the Portuguese coast changed to the western coast of +Spain as a fog quietly stole down and blanketed everything. +The fog was dense. Not a thing could be +seen, and the warning notes of the <i>Skyro’s</i> siren blared +monotonously as she felt her way blindly along. The +captain and officers stared anxiously ahead, hoping +that the fog would lift; but there was no sign of a +break around them, nothing but fog and the sound +of their siren to warn passing ships.</p> + +<p>Of a sudden the ship staggered and halted. It was +as though a giant hand had reached up from the +depths of the sea and grasped her keel. The crew +were thrown higgledy-piggledy. There was an awful +rending sound as the <i>Skyro</i> swung onward. She had<span class="pagenum" id="Page_46">46</span> +struck the dreaded Mexiddo reef off Cape Finisterre, +and as she slid over the cruel rocks they literally tore +the bottom out of her. Slowly she carried on, while +that rending sound continued, and twenty minutes +after striking she slipped off the reef and plunged to +the bottom.</p> + +<p>A few hours later the bell of the <i>Lutine</i> in the Royal +Exchange was clanging loudly. The underwriters +paused in their work. All voices were stilled, and the +scarlet-coated crier, mounting his rostrum, announced +in stentorian voice that the steamship <i>Skyro</i> had struck +the Mexiddo reef off Cape Finisterre and was a total +loss.</p> + +<p>Then the bustle of business began again, but a little +knot of underwriters gathered together and started +to talk quietly. They were interested in the silver +bars that the <i>Skyro</i> carried.</p> + +<p>“What about salvage?” one inquired.</p> + +<p>Another, who joined the group, shook his head.</p> + +<p>“Hopeless. She’s down in 25 fathoms, or more.”</p> + +<p>“You never know,” said one man who was more +intimately concerned.</p> + +<p>He was quite right. You never know. Men +manage sometimes to achieve the impossible.</p> + +<p>Fuller information made the salvage seem more +remote than ever, for instead of being down in 25 +fathoms, as had been supposed, she was several fathoms +deeper, and her keel, resting on the bottom, must have<span class="pagenum" id="Page_47">47</span> +been well over 30 fathoms from the surface. Nothing +had ever been salved from such a depth before, and it +seemed unlikely that any man could go to this depth +and survive the enormous pressure.</p> + +<p>However, an expedition went out and fought to get +at the treasure, but the depth was too great, and at +last the salvors withdrew from the spot. Four years +passed and there came to the underwriters another +offer to attempt to salve the silver. The salvage +vessel anchored off the fringe of the reef that had +stripped the bottom out of the <i>Skyro</i>, and the diver +slid down the shot-rope to try to find out how the +wreck was lying and if possible to bring out the +precious bars. Before he could do anything of importance, +however, bad weather set in and drove +the salvors back to harbour. But the lesson learned +from that attempt was that, if the treasure were to +be recovered, more powerful diving gear would have +to be used.</p> + +<p>The winter months were spent in obtaining much +more powerful gear from England, and the following +season, directly the fine weather set in, the treasure-hunters +repaired to the Mexiddo reef to try once more +to achieve the impossible. The diver feared nothing. +Brave as a lion, he took the shot-rope in his hands +and slid straight down to the deck of the <i>Skyro</i>, which +was 171 feet below the surface. Carefully and quietly +he surveyed the ship, seeking the cabin in which the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_48">48</span> +silver was stored. The deck had collapsed on top of +it, and the only way of getting to the treasure was +through the deck.</p> + +<p>Angel Erostarbe, the diver, came to the surface +and reported what he had seen. Difficult as was the +task, it seemed to him by no means impossible. So +he dropped down the shot-rope again and again. +Gradually and with infinite patience he blasted away +the deck, fixing his charges and withdrawing while +they exploded.</p> + +<p>So exposed was the wreck that at times he could +hardly keep his feet. Time after time dirty weather +came and prevented him from working at all. The +difficulties left him unmoved. He set his teeth and +stuck to his task. He was working at a record depth, +a depth which most experts considered was beyond +the reach of a diver at all. The diver did not worry +about this. All he thought about was getting at the +treasure.</p> + +<p>To attain his end he practically blew the ship to +pieces, and his marvellous feats of endurance were +crowned by the recovery, in two seasons, of fifty-nine +bars of silver worth £10,000. It was a stupendous +feat which has never been equalled since. At times +he was actually working in 183 feet of water, so it +will be seen that he was an exceptional man. Toiling +at this depth—where his body was subjected to the +huge pressure of about 95 lb. to the square inch—left<span class="pagenum" id="Page_49">49</span> +its mark on him, and he was never the same man again. +His share of the treasure amounted to £500.</p> + +<p>Compared with this, the recovery of the treasure +from the <i>Oceana</i>, when she was sunk in the Channel +in 1912 as the result of a collision, was a comparatively +simple matter, yet it was not without its difficulties. +The <i>Oceana</i> went down in 90 feet of water and only +her masts peeped above the surface when the salvors +arrived on the spot. Plans of the ship were obtained +from the owners and carefully studied so that once +the divers got aboard they would know exactly which +way to go.</p> + +<p>It is difficult enough for the average man to find his +way about a strange liner when she is afloat, so it +can be imagined how difficult it must be for a diver +to wander about such a vessel when she is 90 feet +under water. All the time he is adventuring through +the saloons and other compartments, he is running +continual danger of his air-pipe catching on something +and tying him up. He may lose himself. +Doors may slam to with the current and imprison +him while cutting off his air supply. The men +manning the air-pumps will quickly find out that +something is wrong, but by the time assistance is +sent the imprisoned diver may easily be in a sorry +state.</p> + +<p>The ordinary difficulties were intensified in the case +of the <i>Oceana</i> by the strong currents racing down the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_50">50</span> +Channel. So strong were they that even in favourable +weather it was only possible for the divers to work +for one hour a day when the tide was at its lowest. +To make matters worse, there was so much sand in +suspension that the divers could see nothing at all. +The electric lamps which it was hoped would help +them were quite useless. The divers were like blind +men, groping in the dark, feeling their way about the +ship and working by touch alone.</p> + +<p>They blasted their way through two decks and, +stumbling along a passage, found the strong room. +Ingot by ingot, they took out the treasure and sent +it to the surface, where each bar was carefully checked +and marked off in the records as it was recovered. +If only all the treasure had been carried in the strong +room, the game of blind man’s buff on the part of +the divers would have been at an end. But a good +deal of the silver was stowed in the after hold, and +before the divers could get at it they had to force +their way through three decks. Ultimately all the +treasure, to the value of £700,000, that went down in +the <i>Oceana</i> was recovered and the treasure-hunters +sailed away in triumph with their spoil.</p> + +<figure id="ip_50" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 21em;"> + <img src="images/i_p050a.jpg" width="1299" height="2009" alt=""> + <figcaption class="caption">THE WRECK OF THE OCEANA WHICH SANK IN THE ENGLISH CHANNEL AS +THE RESULT OF A COLLISION. SHE HAD TREASURE ABOARD WORTH £700,000 + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<p>The astonishing feat of Erostarbe was almost +equalled by Alexander Lambert, one of the finest +submarine workers who ever lived and the chief diver +of Siebe, Gorman & Company. He covered himself +with glory during the building of the Severn tunnel<span class="pagenum" id="Page_51">51</span> +when, owing to an error, a door was left open and the +workings were flooded. The water rose some forty +feet up the shaft leading to the workings, and it was +impossible to continue building the tunnel until this +door was closed.</p> + +<figure id="ip_51" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 34em;"> + <img src="images/i_p050b.jpg" width="2147" height="1426" alt=""> + <figcaption class="caption">DIVERS GOING DOWN AFTER THE TREASURE OF THE OCEANA. NOTE THE DOUBLE-HANDED AIR PUMP WHICH THE TWO +ATTENDANTS ARE WORKING + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<p>Realizing that the only thing to be done was to +send down a diver to close the door, the engineers +called on Lambert to essay the task. Descending +the ladder of the shaft, Lambert disappeared under +water and made his way to the bottom, where not a +single ray of light could penetrate. Feeling round +the wall of the shaft, he found the opening to the +tunnel, and began slowly to venture along. But the +rush of water had worked tremendous havoc, and +the tunnel was strewn with debris which was most +difficult to negotiate. At any moment Lambert’s air-pipe +was in danger of being cut by some projecting +piece of the wreckage, and, in addition to the weight +of his dress, he was terribly hampered by the weight +of the 1200 feet of air-pipe which he was forced to +drag along after him as he stumbled about the +workings.</p> + +<p>Hearing of Lambert’s baffling problems, Fluess, the +inventor of the diving dress which dispensed with +the air-pipe, volunteered to go down in his self-contained +dress and see what he could do. Fluess +was a clever inventor, but the only diving he had ever +done was in connection with his experiments on his<span class="pagenum" id="Page_52">52</span> +new type of dress. Besides being a clever inventor, +he proved himself a man of courage.</p> + +<p>He arrived on the spot with his diving dress, and +studied the plans of the workings to find out which +way he had to turn when he got to the bottom of the +shaft. He thought it would then be just a question +of walking through the tunnel, finding the door and +closing it, little knowing that the place was in a +deplorable condition and beset with all sorts of +obstacles.</p> + +<p>“Lambert had better go down first to take off my +life-line and tell me which way to go. He knows the +place a bit by now,” the inventor suggested.</p> + +<p>Accordingly Lambert went down and waited 40 feet +under water in the inky blackness for the inventor. +Fluess made his way down the ladder in the centre +of the shaft, taking a firm hold of the rungs with his +hands and feeling for the next one with his foot. +As it happened, the ladder was short of the bottom +by some 10 feet, and they had forgotten to inform +him of this fact. Fluess, coming to the end, felt as +usual for the next rung. It was not there, so he +lowered himself one rung by his hands, expecting to +touch the bottom with his feet. His feet merely +churned in the dank water, so he went down rung by +rung until he was clinging to the last rung with his +hands. After vainly feeling with his feet for the +bottom, he let go his hold and dropped about 6 feet.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_53">53</span></p> + +<p>Some boards creaked and tipped ominously under +him as he landed, then he felt his way round until he +came to Lambert. The diver took off the inventor’s +life-line, and Fluess fared forth into those underground +workings some 200 feet beneath the surface +of the green fields above. It was a weird experience. +At first he tried to walk, and being without any guide +whatsoever he lost all sense of direction. Then he +tried for the sides of the tunnel, but there were ditches +and wreckage which brought him down so often that +he was forced back to the centre of the road. So he +went down on his hands and knees and began to +crawl along, feeling the sleepers of the tram-track +with his hands, using them as a guide. He came, +after many tribulations, to a place where the sides +and roof had fallen badly and very laboriously managed +to crawl over the heap of debris. After struggling +about the underground tunnel for an hour, he was +forced at length to turn back. Another and yet +another attempt he made, each time getting a little +farther along the tunnel.</p> + +<p>“Why not let me try?” said Lambert at last.</p> + +<p>“Very well,” said the inventor.</p> + +<p>Lambert had never before used the new type of diving +dress, but that did not deter him. He got into it and +had a short trial dive one afternoon, and the next +morning went down the shaft to try in dead earnest +to close the sluice which was letting in the water.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_54">54</span></p> + +<p>The inventor went down too, and sat there waiting, +waiting, and wondering what had happened to Lambert, +and whether the new diving dress was going to +justify his hopes. The diver, meanwhile, was fighting +his way forward over the numerous obstacles in the +tunnel, crawling over the falls and squeezing between +the roof and the debris. It was nervy, risky work, +for he did not know whether another fall would come +and bury him or close the small exit, nor did he +know whether he could manage to find his way back +again. Under such difficult conditions, anything is +possible.</p> + +<p>Nevertheless, he managed to get to the door that +had caused all the trouble. Feeling round, he found +one of the valves open and succeeded in closing it. +Then he investigated the door and found that before +he could close it he would have to take up a couple of +rails that were obstructing the entrance. Away +down in the bowels of the earth in that flooded tunnel, +far from help, relying upon his own strength and +courage alone, he struggled with the rails and managed +to get one free. The other baffled all his efforts, and +reluctantly he turned round and made his slow way +out of the tunnel, after being away for an hour and a +half.</p> + +<p>He was drawn up with Fluess, and directly their +helmets were unscrewed the inventor turned to +Lambert.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_55">55</span></p> + +<p>“How far did you get?” he asked.</p> + +<p>“Right up to the door,” said Lambert. “It’s +wedged open by two rails. I managed to get one +away, and to close one of the valves. I think, if I +take a crowbar along, I shall be able to manage it all +right.”</p> + +<p>Sure enough, he went down and fought his way +along the flooded tunnel again. After a struggle, he +levered the other rail up and succeeded in passing +beyond the door to close another valve, afterwards +shutting the door that had caused all the trouble. +Before returning, he knew that one more valve must +be screwed up to keep the water back. The tips of +his fingers slid over the surface of the door like those +of a blind man until he found the valve, then he +screwed it round until it would screw no more.</p> + +<p>He little knew, as he screwed away, that he was +screwing the valve open, but so it was. That valve, +instead of following the usual rule and screwing up +to the right, actually screwed up to the left. Whether +any one knew of this variation, or whether the engineers +forgot it in their fight to free the tunnel of water, +the fact remains that no one told Lambert, who unconsciously +screwed the valve open, with the result +that the tunnel took longer to pump out, because the +water still poured through this valve. Not until the +water was overcome was the mystery of the open +valve solved.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_56">56</span></p> + +<p>The diver who performed this brilliant feat salved +many fortunes from the seabed, and was perhaps +the greatest hunter of sunken treasure who ever +struggled into a diving dress. Even the experts, +however, thought little of his chances when he went +out to try to salve the treasure of the <i>Alphonso XII.</i>, +which was down in 160 feet of water off Point Gando +in the Grand Canary.</p> + +<p>“Lambert has the job in hand,” said one.</p> + +<p>“He can’t do it. She’s too deep for mortal man to +tackle!” came the reply.</p> + +<p>Lambert dropped down to the deck of the <i>Alphonso</i>, +and knew that a fortune lay under his feet. He paced +the deck until he came to the exact spot beneath which +the treasure should lie. Then he began to investigate +the ship, but, skilled as he was, he would not face the +risk of getting lost in its interior, of fouling his lines +while he groped his way in the darkness along passages +and through cabins and saloons to the strong room. +To venture into the bowels of the ship would probably +mean that he was going to his death.</p> + +<p>He summed up the situation. The treasure lay +beneath two decks. To tear a way through with +crowbars or to chop a way through with axes was +impossible. Every movement at that depth was +terribly exhausting, and he had to rest, in order to +recover, after doing the slightest thing. His only +means of getting the treasure was to blast a way<span class="pagenum" id="Page_57">57</span> +through with explosives, to harness explosives to do +the work and thus save his own energy.</p> + +<p>He set to work and after tremendous trouble blew +through the top deck. Clearing the shattered pieces +away, he let himself down into the saloon, and began +his attack on the second deck. It, too, succumbed +to the mighty concussions of the explosives, and +Lambert dropped into another saloon. He looked +about him, and in the floor at the farther end he found +the entrance to the strong room. The trap-door +resisted his efforts, but in the end Lambert’s crowbar, +skilfully wielded, prised it up.</p> + +<p>Lambert went into the treasure-room and saw the +little chests of treasure, each one of which contained a +fortune. He signalled to the surface, and a cable was +let down. The tremendous pressure hampered his +movements, made them seem slow and clumsy. Nevertheless, +he raised a chest full of treasure and managed +to slip a rope beneath it, then he secured it to the +hook hanging beside him. The signal was given, and +Lambert watched his first haul of the treasure mount +through the opening he had blasted in the ship. That +chest swinging on the end of the rope was full of gold +coin worth £10,000!</p> + +<p>Every time he braved the depths to seek the treasure +he took his life in his hand, but he did what he set +out to do, and in the end he managed to send to the +surface seven boxes of treasure worth £70,000, leaving<span class="pagenum" id="Page_58">58</span> +another two boxes worth £20,000 to be recovered +at a later date. Lambert received £3500 as his share +in this deep-sea enterprise, in addition to his pay of +£40 a month and all found.</p> + +<p>Thrilling as were these treasure hunts, the most +romantic story of all is that of the <i>Hamilla Mitchell</i>. +Here we have treasure and pirates and a desperate +chase all mixed up in the most approved adventure-story +style. Only, unlike a work of fiction, this story +happens to be true.</p> + +<p>The <i>Hamilla Mitchell</i> came to grief on the Leuconna +Rock, near Shanghai, and carried down with her +£50,000 of specie. She was a total loss, and the +underwriters, after paying the insurance, considered +the question of trying to salve the treasure. They +instructed an expert to visit the scene and report on +the case. The expert in due course considered that +the case was hopeless, that the specie was lost for all +time, and that the wreck had gone down in such deep +water in so exposed a position that it was much too +dangerous for divers to work there—not a very +cheerful report for the underwriters to receive.</p> + +<p>There, for a time, the matter rested. Then upon +the scene came a Captain Lodge with an offer to do +his best to recover the treasure. The underwriters, +unwilling to allow the specie of which they were the +owners to remain at the bottom of the sea, agreed +gladly to the proposal that was placed before them.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_59">59</span> +Captain Lodge considered the problem most profoundly. +He knew that what was lost would not be +won back easily, that the odds were, indeed, very +much against a single ounce of the precious metal ever +again seeing the light of day. This did not dismay +him. Securing the services of two clever divers, +named Ridyard and Penk, he made the trip to +Shanghai, taking out with him some special diving +apparatus—the finest and most powerful equipment +to be found in the world.</p> + +<p>He wandered about Shanghai looking for a vessel +that would suit his purpose, and, coming across a +small sailing craft, chartered her and proceeded on +his quest for the wreck. Small as was the salvage +vessel, she was yet too large to take inshore among +the high rocks, and so the divers had to prosecute +their search from the small boat which they towed +behind. They searched here, they searched there, +dropping over the side of the boat in their cumbersome +dress, facing all the unknown perils of the unknown +depths. Now they were carefully exploring +a ledge perhaps only 20 feet deep, and a little later +they would be slipping down the face of a chasm that +plunged sheer into the sea for another 100 feet or more. +They did not spare themselves in that search, for at +times they penetrated to a depth of 160 feet.</p> + +<p>They were investigating a ledge one day when a +dark mass loomed up at one end. They approached<span class="pagenum" id="Page_60">60</span> +it, to find the wreck at last, noting with satisfaction +that it was in a comparatively shallow depth which +made the prospect of salvage fairly easy. Their +jubilation was cut short, however, as they drew +nigh. It was the stern that held the treasure, and +the stern was missing!</p> + +<p>Fate had once more been up to her tricks. The +<i>Hamilla Mitchell</i> had settled with her stern overhanging +deep water. Not for long did she remain +intact, for the gales soon broke off the unsupported +after end, which slipped off the ledge into the abyss, +where the divers managed to locate it in 156 feet of +water.</p> + +<p>The never-ending lines of bubbles from their outlet +valves flowed upward to the surface as they slowly +explored the stern and prepared for their assault on +the treasure-room. It was a most dangerous as well +as a most difficult task to work in that treacherous +chasm. The currents were strong, the rocks were +sharp, and the possibilities of air lines being cut +or fatally fouled were not pleasant to dwell upon. +Nevertheless, they stuck to their task and eventually +Ridyard managed to break a way into the strong +room.</p> + +<p>The sight which met his eyes as he gazed through +the windows of his copper helmet was like a scene +from some fairy tale. The light, filtering through to +that great depth, enveloped the hold in a sort of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_61">61</span> +twilight gloom, and all over the place he dimly saw +heaps of dollars scattered about. He stooped down +to the treasure chests, to find that woodboring worms +had eaten many of them quite away and the contents +of the boxes were spilled in all directions. He walked +about on a floor of solid gold; golden coins slipped +about under his leaden soles.</p> + +<p>Anything more romantic would not be easy to find, +yet the romance did not appeal to Ridyard. He was +working against time, knowing that he would not be +able to stand the pressure for long. Every movement +was slow and difficult. The water was striving to +crush him; he was being saved from this terrible +fate solely by the continual flow of air coming down +the rubber pipe to his helmet.</p> + +<p>Four times Ridyard underwent that ordeal of +getting into the treasure-room and working under the +enormous pressure until he was quite exhausted. On +the last occasion he surpassed his previous feats of +endurance and struggled doggedly on, loading up the +treasure and watching it disappear towards the +surface until he had sent up the contents of sixty-four +boxes.</p> + +<p>Strong and fit as he was, he became thoroughly worn +out with the toil, so he signalled to those above and +made his way slowly to the surface. They dragged +him to the deck of the salvage craft and unscrewed +his helmet. His face was lined, his eyes were very<span class="pagenum" id="Page_62">62</span> +tired, and his body clamoured for moisture, although +he had been immersed in it for a long time. Not a +glance did he give to the treasure lying about, the +fortune at his feet did not interest him.</p> + +<p>“Give me a drink,” he said. “I’m dying for a +drink of water.”</p> + +<p>Penk nipped up a bucket and made his way to a +spring at the top of the island under which they were +working. Putting down his bucket to fill, he scanned +the horizon, as sailormen will. A sudden amazement +came over him. The sea was dotted with sails, all +making in the direction of the island.</p> + +<p>Wasting no time, he picked up his precious pail of +water and ran down to the ship.</p> + +<p>“What’s up?” asked Captain Lodge, as Ridyard +took his much-wanted drink.</p> + +<p>“The sea’s full of junks, hundreds of them,” Penk +replied.</p> + +<p>Taking his glasses, Captain Lodge quickly identified +the oncoming ships as the junks of Chinese pirates +who were making their way towards the island from +the farther side to avoid being seen. There was no +doubt in his mind as to what they were after. There +was but one thing in that quarter worth having, and +that was the treasure stored in the salvage craft. It +was obvious that the pirates had been watching operations +carefully. They had undoubtedly planned to +allow the divers to recover the treasure, then they<span class="pagenum" id="Page_63">63</span> +purposed stealing down upon the expedition unawares, +wiping it out and looting the gold.</p> + +<p>The pirates were in overwhelming numbers, and +Captain Lodge realized instantly that the only thing +to do was to run for it. Slipping the anchor to save +the time required to haul it up, the salvors hoisted sail. +Gradually they gathered way and stole from under +the cover of the island. Directly the salvage craft +appeared in the open, the junks altered course and +started to pursue her.</p> + +<p>Pity the poor salvors! The wind had practically +failed them, yet they could see some of the junks +bending to a lucky breeze and overhauling them. In +desperation they put out the big sweeps and toiled +like galley-slaves to force their craft through the water. +Ridyard, tired as he was, took his turn at the oars +to try to save the treasure he had salved at such risk. +So the salvage boat crept along, with the pirates slowly +gaining.</p> + +<p>More exciting grew the chase. With anxious eyes +the salvors watched the distance between their own +craft and the Chinese junks growing gradually less. +Harder than ever they strained at the oars, dipping +them into the sea, throwing all their weight upon them, +pulling until the muscles of their arms ached and +their backs were nearly breaking.</p> + +<p>It looked as though the salvors would lose their +lives as well as their treasure when the sails, which<span class="pagenum" id="Page_64">64</span> +had been flapping idly, began to swell. A puff of +wind stirred their flag, and a steady breeze began to +blow. It was none too soon. The salvage craft +started to gather way again and forge through the +water. Still the junks hung on. They were not +going to relinquish their prize without an effort.</p> + +<p>The pirates continued to chase the salvage craft +right until sundown, when a friendly darkness hid +pursued from pursuers and enabled Captain Lodge to +shake off and lose the bloodthirsty Chinese pirates. +In the end he managed to make Shanghai in safety +with the rich treasure of £40,000 aboard, thus bringing +to a happy ending one of the most exciting treasure-hunts +ever known.</p> + +<p>If Ridyard had not worked quite so hard and grown +quite so thirsty, and if Penk had not gone to fetch that +pail of water, the salvors would have remained in +ignorance of the approaching pirates and would have +met a tragic death at their hands.</p> + +<p>That lucky drink of water saved a fortune of £40,000.</p> +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_65">65</span></p> + +<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_VI">CHAPTER VI</h2> +</div> + +<p class="drop-cap"><span class="smcap1">For</span> months at a time during the past few years, +a little ship may have been seen floating +around a particular spot just off the coast +of Donegal. Barges lay in her vicinity, barges laden +with incredible tangles of pipes and cables. Boats +pulled around from barge to ship, and fussy little +launches came from the coast, remained an hour or +two, and then departed. Occasionally a grim, grey +destroyer glided up, moored for a time, and then +steamed away. But the little ship remained, and +strangers in those parts wondered what she was doing +there.</p> + +<p>That little ship was the salvage vessel <i>Racer</i>, engaged +in the greatest treasure-hunt of modern times. +Never before has there been such a treasure-hunt, for +it was a national treasure-hunt, carried out on behalf +of the British people by the British Navy, and backed +by the whole power of the nation.</p> + +<p>When the White Star liner <i>Laurentic</i> left the shores +of England in January, 1917, she carried in her strong-room +gold and silver ingots to the value of about<span class="pagenum" id="Page_66">66</span> +£5,000,000 to settle some of Great Britain’s bills for +the munitions that were pouring out of the factories +in the United States. The Treasury was naturally +anxious for the specie to reach its destination as +quickly as possible, for that £5,000,000 was destined +for the pay envelopes of thousands of American factory +hands.</p> + +<p>Many a time the <i>Laurentic</i> had made the passage +with saloons brilliantly lighted and crowded with +wealthy passengers, but never before had she borne +so much wealth as on this occasion. The advent of +war led to her conversion into an armed liner, and +those aboard were now fighting for the freedom of +the seas and civilization.</p> + +<p>Northward she steamed through the Irish Sea +and at last began to breast the open Atlantic and point +westward to New York. Malin Head, on the north +coast of Ireland, loomed up and began to drop astern, +and just when it seemed that all would be well came +the blow that sent her to her doom. A violent explosion +shook her, made her lurch and shiver, and +many gallant fellows, watchful at their posts, were +instantly killed; many more were trapped and drowned +by the rush of water into the ship.</p> + +<p>The survivors sprang to their emergency posts, while +the wireless operator sent out a call for help. The +captain realized that the <i>Laurentic’s</i> days were +numbered. Nothing could save her. The water<span class="pagenum" id="Page_67">67</span> +poured through the rent in her side. More and more +she heeled as the water gained. For a moment her +bows lifted clear of the sea, then she disappeared in +a swirl of foam, and the waves were strewn with +wreckage and bobbing heads. When the tragedy was +over, and the roll called, it was found that, of 475 +officers and men aboard, 354 had gone to their last +long rest.</p> + +<p>The loss of life, the destruction of the ship, the +sinking of the treasure, all were bitter blows. The +gallant sailors were beyond recall, the ship was sunk +for ever. As for the treasure, it was down in 120 feet +of water, on a coast so fully exposed to the Atlantic +gales that its recovery was an open question.</p> + +<p>Prospecting for gold in the desert places of the +earth has its difficulties and its disappointments, but +what are these compared with the problems that +confront the men who seek to wrest from the mighty +ocean the gold it has swallowed? Unexpected dangers +often confront those who seek the precious metals in +the wild places of the earth, but the dangers of the +diver are continuous. He trusts his life to a frail +rubber pipe and a rubber suit, and directly the metal +helmet is screwed round his neck, and he sinks into the +depths, death starts to stalk him and does not give +up the chase until the diver is once more aboard the +salvage ship.</p> + +<p>Some of the finest divers in the British Navy were<span class="pagenum" id="Page_68">68</span> +told off for the treasure-hunt. They were eventually +placed under the command of Commander Damant, +who had played so important a part in the diving +experiments carried out by the Admiralty a few years +ago, and who had himself attained the record depth +of 210 feet in August, 1906. The fact that the cleverest +diving expert in the British Navy was detailed for the +operation is proof that the Admiralty realized that the +recovery of the treasure would prove no easy task. +No one knew at the moment exactly how strenuous +the fight was going to be.</p> + +<p>The first salvage craft, which was later replaced by +the <i>Racer</i>, went off to the Donegal coast and swept +the area in which the <i>Laurentic</i> had disappeared. The +salvors found the wreck in due course, and they had +the satisfaction of knowing that they were within +120 feet of a stupendous fortune of about £5,000,000. +A bare depth of 120 feet of water separated them from +the greatest treasure-trove of modern times, but the +treasure could not have been more secure had it been +resting beneath 120 feet of solid steel. Indeed, had +the treasure been so buried, instead of underneath +120 feet of water, it would probably have been recovered +very much sooner.</p> + +<p>Despite difficult conditions, a certain optimism +prevailed that the treasure would soon be brought to +the surface. But the optimists reckoned without the +enemy. Somehow the Germans managed to find out<span class="pagenum" id="Page_69">69</span> +where the <i>Laurentic</i> was wrecked, and their submarines +quietly waited their opportunity and began to make +things hot for those engaged in the treasure-hunt.</p> + +<p>One enemy submarine haunting the vicinity discreetly +vanished as a British torpedo boat came on +the scene. A day or two passed, and the torpedo +boat was called for urgent duty elsewhere. Meantime, +there had not been the slightest sign of the enemy +underwater craft, which had apparently recognized +that that particular spot was rather unhealthy and +therefore to be avoided.</p> + +<p>Feeling fairly secure, the salvors, according to an +unofficial report, determined to get on with their +job. A diver donned his dress, his helmet was screwed +on, and the air-pumps began to heave as he dropped +down to resume operations. He had been down but +a short time when he felt himself plucked off his +feet by a mighty pull on his life-line and air-pipe. He +struggled to right himself, but it was quite useless. +An irresistible force dragged him upwards; then he +felt himself being drawn through the sea like a salmon +at the end of a line.</p> + +<p>Something was running away with him. It was an +awful experience. He wondered what had happened +and how it would end. His senses began to reel; he +found a difficulty in breathing.</p> + +<p>Somehow he managed to keep his head and act as +the emergency demanded, closing the valve by which<span class="pagenum" id="Page_70">70</span> +the air escaped from his helmet. A minute later he +broke the surface.</p> + +<p>He could hear the seas slapping the top of his helmet +as he was dragged along at a smart pace. His heart +pounded, a terrible humming droned in his ears, but +he strove hard to retain his senses.</p> + +<p>“What’s up?” he thought. “What on earth’s +happening?”</p> + +<p>He had no chance of finding out. He was prisoner +in a metal helmet and a rubber suit. He knew he was +at the surface, because of the light that filtered through +the glass of his helmet and the seas that swished +against the copper. As he was dragged along, he had +a tendency to spin at the end of his line, which gave +him a dreadful sensation.</p> + +<p>In a dazed sort of way the diver was wondering +how long the ordeal would last, when he suddenly +felt himself plucked clear of the water. The next +thing he remembers is something scorching his throat +and the cool air playing about his head. He looked +round and found he was lying on the deck of the salvage +vessel, and he thanked his lucky star that all was well. +Then he was placed in the recompression chamber +aboard, so that the dangers of being dragged hastily +from such a depth might be avoided, and the risk of +bubbles of nitrogen forming in the blood averted. +The air-pumps were set going to raise the pressure of +the air in the steel chamber to the same pressure as<span class="pagenum" id="Page_71">71</span> +that at which the diver had been working, and gradually +the pressure was reduced until it was the normal +atmospheric pressure and the diver was able to be +taken out.</p> + +<p>While he was on the bottom, a German submarine +had stealthily approached the salvage vessel. Suddenly +it started to attack, and the salvage steamer +had to cut and run for it, dragging the unfortunate +diver in its wake. The attack was so unexpected +that there was no time to pull up the diver in accordance +with the rules. To pull him up in the ordinary +way would, as a matter of fact, have taken half an +hour. There was no alternative but to tow him +along willy-nilly and haul him aboard as they fled. +The experience might easily have cost the diver his +life, but the recompression chamber fortunately saved +him from any ill effects.</p> + +<p>After this rather exciting episode, it was decided +that operations to recover the treasure would have +to be postponed until more peaceful times. The +treasure-seekers had their hands full in fighting the +stormy seas and powerful currents, not to mention +the great depth of water, without having to fight the +foe as well.</p> + +<p>At the end of the war, the battle with wind and +wave for the treasure of the <i>Laurentic</i> was once more +resumed. So exposed was her position that for fully +half the year it was impossible for divers to work<span class="pagenum" id="Page_72">72</span> +there at all owing to the storms that raged. Even +in fine weather there were the currents to fight +against. And their strength at times was almost +incredible. They could swirl big boulders along the +seabed as though they were but pebbles.</p> + +<p>More than one diver, during his career, has experienced +the sensation of being picked up like a +feather and dropped over the side of the wreck on +which he has been working. He might weigh roughly +160 lb. Slung over his back would be a 40-lb. weight, +across his chest would be a similar weight, while each +boot would be loaded with a leaden sole weighing +16 lb. Fully equipped he would turn the scale at +about 3 cwt., yet the current has simply played with +him as though he were thistledown. Its strength +has been such that he could not fight against it. +Consequently, he has been compelled to give up all +ideas of work and return to the surface. It is indicative +of what the salvors of the <i>Laurentic</i> had to contend +with in this respect.</p> + +<p>Two years at the bottom of the Atlantic had wrought +a tremendous change in the once-proud liner. The +divers found her plates corroded with rust, girders +collapsing everywhere. The sheer weight of the water +above her was crushing her flat, squeezing her into a +shapeless mass just as you might crush a lily in your +hand. Moreover, she was full of silt and mud. +Strange fishes glided about her inky depths. Dread<span class="pagenum" id="Page_73">73</span> +conger eels of mighty girth lurked in the labyrinths +of the wreck.</p> + +<p>In spite of the terrible condition to which the wreck +had been reduced, the divers finally managed to locate +the strong-room. The bubbles from their helmeted +heads flowed ceaselessly upward as the exhaust air +ascended to the surface. Slowly they made their +way forward towards some bars, dimly seen within +the recesses of the ship. They were in the treasure-room. +The gold and silver lay about them. Some of +the precious ingots barely peeped out of the silt.</p> + +<p>The attendant on the salvage ship heard the telephone +buzz.</p> + +<p>“Hallo!” he said.</p> + +<p>“We’ve found the treasure,” said a voice from +under the sea. It was a squeaky voice, for, strangely +enough, talking in compressed air gives the voice a +high pitch, and at this depth it would be impossible +for a diver to whistle. The pressure of the air on his +lips would prevent him.</p> + +<p>No time was lost in lowering cables, and one by one +the ingots began to speed to the surface. Then, all too +quickly, the signal was given for the divers to ascend, +and the treasure had to be left for another day.</p> + +<p>That season ingots valued at £500,000 were recovered +from the strong-room, after superhuman labour on the +part of all concerned. So extremely arduous were the +conditions that our crack divers could only work two<span class="pagenum" id="Page_74">74</span> +spells of fifteen minutes’ duration each day. Half an +hour’s toil beneath the sea took as much out of them as +the ordinary day’s work takes out of the ordinary man.</p> + +<p>Once more the winter gales played havoc with the +wreck, and next spring the divers found that the +treasure was lost under a mass of twisted plates and +girders. Imagine a street of lofty houses, then +imagine that all the buildings were pushed suddenly +down into the centre of the road, and you will arrive +at some faint idea of what the ship looked like. Great +girders were bent into all sorts of strange shapes; +iron bars thick as a man’s wrist were twisted into +fantastic curves.</p> + +<p>The only way to get to the treasure now was to +blast a passage with explosives. The difficulties of +the task were increased by the necessity of hoisting +every bit of plate out of the wreck and towing it some +distance before dumping it, in order to make quite +certain that the plate would not again obstruct the +divers. The placing of the charges in the most +effective spots, and the withdrawal of the divers while +contacts were made and the charges exploded, took a +long time and entailed endless trouble. But the salvors +kept at it doggedly, and bit by bit they cut away +obstructing plates and girders weighing about 300 tons.</p> + +<figure id="ip_74" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 34em;"> + <img src="images/i_p074a.jpg" width="2123" height="1408" alt=""> + <figcaption class="caption">A DIVER GOING DOWN TO BLOW UP PART OF A WRECK TO GET AT THE TREASURE. THE CHARGE OF EXPLOSIVE, WEIGHING +50 LBS., IS CONTAINED IN THE LONG TIN OVER THE SIDE OF THE BOAT. SOMETIMES THE EXPLOSIVE IS PACKED IN A CANVAS +BAG THREE OR FOUR FEET LONG AND THREE OR FOUR INCHES ACROSS + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<p>Thus they opened up a way to the treasure, and +once more began to send ingots of the precious metal +to the surface. Things began to look rosy, and there<span class="pagenum" id="Page_75">75</span> +seemed the prospect of making a clean sweep of all +the bullion, when a terrific storm arose and stopped +operations. When the divers went down again they +found that more plates had folded down over the +treasure, as if deliberately to prevent its abstraction. +It was a dreadful disappointment, for very soon +afterwards the autumnal gales put an end to the hunt +for the season.</p> + +<p>The next year the <i>Racer</i> was back again off the +Donegal coast, eager to resume the great treasure-hunt. +But it proved a terrible season. The weather +seemed to mock the hunters. For weeks at a time +work was impossible. As soon as one storm abated, +another sprang up.</p> + +<p>Waiting with all the patience they could muster, +the divers at length got a chance of going down to the +wreck. What a change the gales had wrought! No +longer did the wreck bear any resemblance to a ship. +She was just a great mound of twisted metal, partially +buried in the silt. Plates and wreckage lay scattered +over the seabed in all directions, covering an acre +or two of space.</p> + +<p>Once more the dangerous task of blowing away +obstructions was resumed. Carried out as expeditiously +as possible, it yet proved all too slow for those +engaged on the work. At long last they managed, +after prodigious efforts, to open up a path, only to +find the gold as far off as ever. It was buried many<span class="pagenum" id="Page_76">76</span> +feet deep in sand and mud, and to dig it out with +shovels was an impossibility, for the sea would wash +the sand in just as quickly as the divers shovelled it out.</p> + +<p>Forty yards above them lay the <i>Racer</i>—a floating +workshop full of the most remarkable inventions that +scientists and engineers could devise to assist submarine +work. Aboard was a mighty 18-inch pump capable +of sucking up a mountain of sand an hour. The mouth +of this monster appeared from above. It was placed +in position by the divers, and they watched the silt +melting before it as if by magic, flowing up to the +surface to be dumped a little distance away.</p> + +<p>It is no uncommon thing to find such a pump +sucking up chunks of rock weighing half a hundred-weight, +and even trying to remove bits of girder and +plate. But such objects, like deck planks, are rather +apt to stick in the bend, and then the monster chokes +and has to receive the attentions of the salvors.</p> + +<p>Remarkable as was the work done by the gallant +divers, the results of the season’s work were fearfully +disappointing, for only seven bars of gold worth about +£10,000 in all were recovered. In no wise discouraged, +the treasure-hunters stole back to the old spot the +following spring to try their luck again. The gales +of the winter had torn great plates from the wreckage +as though they were merely sheets of brown paper and +dropped them yards away; the decks that had once +resounded to the laughter of beautiful women were<span class="pagenum" id="Page_77">77</span> +laid down flat with the seabed. Twisted and rusted +iron lay for hundred of yards around. Looking for +a needle in a haystack were an easy task compared +with finding the treasure amid all this tangled debris.</p> + +<p>A long, keen search revealed what had once been +the strong-room. Great metal plates were piled over +it, necessitating blasting operations once more. The +divers toiled until the plates were cut and dragged +away. Then incredible quantities of silt had to be +eaten away by the sand-pump, the divers watching +closely and coming on a bar from time to time. By the +end of August, 1922, gold worth £150,000 had been +secured, and early one morning H.M.S. <i>Wrestler</i> +might have been seen slipping into Liverpool. Directly +she moored beside the quay, case after case was landed +from her and placed in a motor-lorry. Those cases—a +dozen in all—were full of gold which had been recovered +from the <i>Laurentic</i>, and each case represented +a small fortune.</p> + +<p>All through the season of 1923 the divers carried on, +searching amid that chaos of rusted iron for the gold +and silver bars, wresting them one by one from their +hiding-places on the seabed. For seven seasons they +have fought the ocean for that mighty fortune of over +£5,000,000 and their heroic efforts have led to the +recovery of £4,750,000. Considering the depth in +which the <i>Laurentic</i> sank, and the perils and difficulties +besetting the workers, the results are beyond compare.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_78">78</span></p> + +<p>Never before has there been a treasure-hunt of such +magnitude, and how long this will last no one can say. +A big fortune of £250,000 still lies hidden just off the +coast of the Irish Free State, and, if the British Navy +fails to recover it for the British Treasury, it will be +for the simple reason that its recovery is humanly +impossible.</p> + +<p>For every £100 won back from the depths, the +divers have received an award of 2s. 6d., so altogether +they have shared among themselves the sum of £5,937 +a sum that has been well and truly earned. It says +much for the efficiency of the British Navy when it is +known that the whole of this perilous treasure-hunt +has been carried out without a single accident to any +of the divers engaged.</p> + +<p>Many rumours have arisen of wonderful machines +being used to locate the treasure, of instruments with +the power to divine the presence of gold, of scientists +standing on the deck of the salvage vessel watching, +with bated breath, a needle oscillate round a dial +until it has indicated that the diver far below is in +the vicinity of the precious metal. These rumours, +however, have no foundation in fact, for the treasure +has been recovered solely by straightforward diving. +The estimates of the treasure sunk have also varied +from £3,000,000 to £8,000,000, but the figures given +here have been furnished me specially by the Admiralty, +and they are therefore strictly accurate.</p> +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_79">79</span></p> + +<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_VII">CHAPTER VII</h2> +</div> + +<p class="drop-cap b"><span class="smcap1">British</span> salvage experts have performed extraordinary +feats; the American Navy has +produced divers excelling even our own; +but it has been left to the Italians to accomplish the +seemingly impossible. As a sheer feat of salvage, +the raising of the <i>Leonardo da Vinci</i> remains unsurpassed.</p> + +<p>The night of August 2, 1916, will long be remembered +in Taranto, for just before midnight the whole +town was awakened by a tremendous explosion. The +people leapt from their beds and rushed towards the +harbour, to find searchlights sweeping the bay and +the finest battleship in the Italian Navy belching +forth flames and smoke. The <i>Leonardo da Vinci</i> was +doomed. In a moment 250 officers and men were +wiped out of existence, and although the survivors +fought most valiantly to quell the fire that enveloped +the ship their efforts were vain.</p> + +<p>Suddenly the decks of the battleship canted beneath +them, shooting them like flies into the bay, and she +swung right over and sank upside-down in 36 feet of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_80">80</span> +water. The searchlights from the surrounding battleships +lit up the darkness. Round and round they +flashed, seeking the enemy who had dealt this mortal +blow; but there was no sign of a periscope, nothing +but the heads of the Italian sailors fighting for their +lives in the sea.</p> + +<p>A time bomb, secretly introduced into one of the +magazines, had robbed the Allies of one of their most +powerful battleships. This loss of a first-class ship +of 24,000 tons, equipped with an armament of thirteen +12-inch guns, was a grave one to the Italian Navy, +and the question of salving her at once arose. Famous +foreign experts came on the scene, gazed on the +visible portion of the keel of the ship which had cost +£4,000,000, and shook their heads dubiously.</p> + +<p>“Impossible!” they said. “The only thing to do +is to blow her to pieces.”</p> + +<p>The eyes of the Italians flashed. Somehow, at +some time, they determined to salve the battleship. +It might be impossible during the war, owing to the +difficulty of getting material for the operations, but +in their own minds the honour of Italy would never +be satisfied until the ship which lay at the bottom of +Taranto bay once more floated on the seas.</p> + +<p>The sinking of the <i>Leonardo da Vinci</i> was, indeed, a +great blow to the pride of the Italian Navy, and there +was a general desire on the part of the nation to wipe +out the stain and turn defeat into a triumph by refloating<span class="pagenum" id="Page_81">81</span> +the ship. The more difficult the task, the greater +the triumph; the more impossible it seemed to foreign +experts, the more determined were the Italians to +achieve it.</p> + +<p>Throwing themselves heart and soul into the matter, +the officers of the Italian Naval Engineering Corps +studied the problem most carefully and formulated +several schemes, among them a plan to build around +the ship a floating dock which, when completely +pumped out, would automatically lift the wreck. +Shortage of steel and other materials at that time +made this plan impracticable. Then General Ferrati, +the chief of the Italian naval constructors, evolved a +plan to raise the ship by means of compressed air and +carry her upside-down to the dry dock at Taranto, +where she could be prepared for righting.</p> + +<p>It must never be forgotten that the battleship was +upside-down, and that not only had she to be raised, +but she also had to be righted. Rivet by rivet and +plate by plate she had in the course of years been +built up by hundreds of men into one of the strongest +structures known. All the rivets and plates had been +welded into a compact mass of 24,000 tons which now +lay at the bottom of the sea. Afloat, she obeyed the +hand and brain of man, would go wherever he desired; +at his behest she turned to right or left, sped furiously +through the sea or stopped. Now she was immovable +as the mountains; to smash her to pieces would have<span class="pagenum" id="Page_82">82</span> +been a gigantic task, costing months of time, tons of +much-wanted explosives, and well over £100,000 in +money. The queer thing is that Ferrati proposed to +harness air to lift the sunken monster, just as though +she were an airship instead of a battleship. In such +ways do master-minds work.</p> + +<p>So brilliantly conceived were Ferrati’s plans that +orders were at once given to put them into execution. +Divers went down to make a survey of the wreck, +which was so rent by the explosion that a vast hole +had been blown right through her from keel to top +deck. A further survey indicated that the huge +ship was literally digging her own grave. The weight +of the upside-down battleship was all resting on the +funnels and gun turrets, and these, owing to the +enormous pressure from above, were piercing a way +slowly but surely through the mud. Day by day +the ship sank lower and lower, until the whole of her +upper deck was completely buried and the greater +part of her hull at the stern had disappeared. In six +months the funnels cut down through a bed of mud +over 30 feet thick before they encountered a bed of +clay, which arrested the sinking of the ship.</p> + +<figure id="ip_82" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 34em;"> + <img src="images/i_p082a.jpg" width="2138" height="1322" alt=""> + <figcaption class="caption">THE ITALIANS BRINGING THE LEONARDO DA VINCI UPSIDE DOWN INTO DOCK AT TARANTO ON SEPTEMBER 17, 1919, AFTER +FIGHTING FOR OVER TWO YEARS TO RAISE HER FROM THE SEABED + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<p>No wonder the experts gave up hope. It really +seemed that nothing but a miracle could bring the +great vessel to the surface again. There she was, +upside-down, buried deep in the clinging mud, an +enormous, unwieldly mass that the biggest cranes ever<span class="pagenum" id="Page_83">83</span> +invented were powerless to lift. It is a comparatively +easy task to raise a weight of 10 tons from the seabed, +but it is quite a different proposition to lift a +mountain of metal weighing upwards of 20,000 tons.</p> + +<figure id="ip_83" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 33em;"> + <img src="images/i_p082b.jpg" width="2103" height="1309" alt=""> + <figcaption class="caption">THE UPSIDE-DOWN BATTLESHIP SAFELY DOCKED ON SEPTEMBER, 18, 1919, WITH THE GIANT PONTOONS WHICH HELPED TO +RAISE HER STILL LASHED TO HER SIDES + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<p>In no wise discouraged by the difficulties of the +problem, General Ferrati and his associate, Major +Gianelli, ordered large-sized models of the ship to be +built. These were accurately constructed down to +the smallest detail, with miniature engines, propellers +and guns; and every compartment was loaded to +represent the things on board the battleship when +she foundered.</p> + +<p>A stranger might have laughed at the childishness +of the Italian officers who were apparently playing +with toy battleships. But things are not always +what they seem. Actually these same officers were +puzzling out the most abstruse problems, carrying out +remarkable experiments which enabled them to +determine how the ship should behave in certain +circumstances. As a result were evolved some intricate +calculations upon which depended the whole +operation of raising the ship.</p> + +<p>The small part of the keel still showing above the +surface was used as a platform on which to build huts +for the salvage workers. Other huts were erected, in +due course, on platforms built up from the submerged +keel. The assembling of the plant for the work was +completed by the spring of 1917, when the people of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_84">84</span> +Taranto began to observe the figures of divers about +the wreck.</p> + +<p>Those divers had no enviable time. They quickly +discovered that the explosion had liberated a quantity +of thick oil which clung to everything within the ship, +and as they went down it obscured the glass of their +helmets and rendered the men practically blind. As +if the oil were not sufficient handicap, there were +thick clouds of rust which fogged the water and added +to the discomfort of the divers. Yet the oil, despite +its drawbacks, proved something of a blessing, for it +adhered to hundreds of shells and protected them so +efficiently from the action of the sea that the Italians +were able to use them after salving them!</p> + +<p>The recovery of the ammunition was the first step +to lightening the ship. Day after day shells were +hoisted out of the wreck and loaded into lighters. It +was dangerous work, but it became rather monotonous +to those engaged in it. Monotony, as is well known, +is apt to lead to carelessness, and carelessness in +handling shells may lead to terrible results. It is a +fine tribute to the carefulness of the men engaged on +the work to know that they salved nearly a thousand +12-inch shells, three thousand 4·7-inch shells, some +torpedoes, thousands of explosive charges and hundreds +of tons of other ammunition without a single mishap.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile, a cable was laid from the power station +at Taranto right out to the wreck, a distance of a mile<span class="pagenum" id="Page_85">85</span> +and a half; and with the power thus furnished the +divers began drilling holes to take the rivets that were +to hold the patches over the great rents in the hull. +Slow and arduous work it was, and not without danger, +for it cost one man his life. The patches were lowered +into place, a layer of rubber was fitted betwixt the +hull and the edges of the patches to make them watertight, +then the patches were successfully bolted home.</p> + +<p>More cables were carried out from the power station +to work the air compressors, and, as soon as the divers +had made a number of compartments watertight, the +salvors began to pump air into the sunken vessel. The +air which was pumped in naturally rose. It tried to +get away to the surface, but the keel of the battleship, +which had been most carefully repaired and made +airtight, prevented it from escaping.</p> + +<p>The air was thus caught, as it were, in a trap. There +was no way out for it. It was not strong enough to +break through the bottom of the ship, but it was +strong enough to press down the water within. As +the volume of air increased, the belt which it formed +grew in depth until it had forced the water down for a +distance of 26 feet below the level of the sea outside, +and men were able to enter the bottom of the vessel +through an air-lock, work in security in this belt of +compressed air, and lighten the vessel by taking out +her stores and coals.</p> + +<p>By the beginning of November, 1917, the salvors<span class="pagenum" id="Page_86">86</span> +occasionally felt the battleship stir slightly beneath +their feet. Despite the fact that she was buried +deeply in the mud, her bow was showing the slightest +of inclinations to rise. The engineer in charge noted +this with delight. Barely perceptible as was the +movement, it was more than sufficient to encourage +him to persevere.</p> + +<p>Once more the thick oil cropped up to hamper +operations and increase the many difficulties. As +the water was forced down inside the vessel by the +compressed air, the oil was deposited on everything. +In most cases this did not matter much, but it was of +far-reaching importance when it came to searching for +leaks in the hull. The oil so obscured these places +that it was extremely difficult to locate them, yet +everything depended on their being discovered, for +had they been left unstopped they might have let out +the air and made it impossible to refloat the ship, or, +alternatively, let in the water at a critical time and +led to her sinking in such a position that she could +never be floated again. Fortunately, the Italian salvage +men were able to detect all the leaks and stop them +effectively, as the sequel amply proved.</p> + +<figure id="ip_86" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 34em;"> + <img src="images/i_p086a.jpg" width="2167" height="1403" alt=""> + <figcaption class="caption">AFTER FLOATING FOR TWO DAYS IN DOCK, THE BATTLESHIP WAS COAXED INTO POSITION UNTIL SHE SETTLED WITHOUT +ACCIDENT ON THE WONDERFUL TIMBER FRAMEWORK SHOWN HERE. IT WAS A FINE FEAT TO ACCOMPLISH + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<p>Critics of the operations pointed out that, should +the salvors succeed in floating the battleship upside-down, +there was not sufficient depth of water to allow +her to be taken across that mile and a half of sea to +dry dock. Even if they managed to get her to dry<span class="pagenum" id="Page_87">87</span> +dock, all their work would be wasted, for the battleship +floating upside-down would draw at least 50 feet of +water, and the dry dock at Taranto was only 40 feet +deep.</p> + +<figure id="ip_87" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 34em;"> + <img src="images/i_p086b.jpg" width="2117" height="1254" alt=""> + <figcaption class="caption">A REMARKABLE PHOTOGRAPH TAKEN FROM AN AIRSHIP OF THE UPSIDE-DOWN BATTLESHIP IN DRY DOCK + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<p>These difficulties were fully considered and plans +made for overcoming them. As it was an impossibility +to increase the depth of the dry dock, the only +way to solve this problem was to decrease the depth +of water that the battleship would draw. The engineer +accordingly proposed to detach the funnels, gun-turrets +and other top hamper from the deck of the +vessel.</p> + +<p>So firmly embedded were these things in the mud, +that the feat of cutting them off appeared to be more +than mortal man could accomplish. It was, too, +pointed out that if divers tried to clear the mud away +from round the funnels, to enable them to work at +their task, the sea would quickly fill up the cavities +again. Yet another aspect of the problem was that +the mud pressing upwards against the deck of the +battleship was preventing her from sinking deeper, +and if the mud were removed the whole weight of the +<i>Leonardo da Vinci</i> would once more rest on her funnels +and turrets and drive them deeper still into the clay.</p> + +<p>But the engineer, with a stroke of genius, made no +attempt to clear away the mud at all. Instead, he +tackled the job from inside the ship. Certain compartments +were pumped out and used as air-locks,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_88">88</span> +and in one turret the salvors succeeded, by the use of +compressed air, in lowering the water to a level of +56 feet below the surface of the sea.</p> + +<p>The men who performed the mighty task of detaching +the turrets from the ship actually worked 20 feet +below the level of the mud. All around them outside +was 20 feet of thick black ooze, and above that the +illimitable ocean; yet the air we breathe, properly +compressed, held back the deadly waters and enabled +the men to work in safety. No wonder the experts say +we are only just beginning to discover the remarkable +power of compressed air as an aid to salving ships!</p> + +<p>Throughout 1918, some 150 men laboured about +the ship to free her from her top hamper and masts. +Despite all difficulties, the gun-turrets, funnels and +other deck projections were detached from the ship +and specially prepared so that when the vessel was +raised they, too, could be brought to the surface. The +open spaces in the deck left by funnels and turrets +were covered in and made quite watertight, scores of +tons of cork being packed into the <i>Leonardo da Vinci</i> +to give her buoyancy.</p> + +<p>Early in 1919 one or two tests showed that they +could raise the monster when the time was ripe. But +Major Gianelli, the engineer in charge, was taking no +chances. To make quite sure of lifting her, he caused +eight large pontoons to be fixed to her, each capable +of sustaining a load of 350 tons, so in all he obtained<span class="pagenum" id="Page_89">89</span> +from them the power to lift 2800 tons. These pontoons, +or camels as they are sometimes called in +salvage circles, are strong metal cylinders something +like big boilers or tanks. They are of the utmost +importance in salvage operations and figure in most +wreck-raising work. All were filled with water and +sunk into position exactly where their lifting power +was most wanted. The divers lashed them with +strong steel cables securely to the sides of the battleship, +and by the month of June the work on the +mammoth craft was all but complete.</p> + +<p>Remained the problem of making it possible to tow +her to dry dock. Notwithstanding that all projections +had been cut away from her deck, she drew so +great a depth of water that it was obvious she would +foul the bottom before going any distance. To +obviate this danger, the Italians set dredgers to work +to cut a channel all the way from the wreck to the +gates of the dry dock. The making of this channel, +which was a mile and a half long, entailed the removal +of thousands of tons of mud, but the salvors regarded +this task as trivial compared with the work they had +accomplished on the overturned ship.</p> + +<p>Then the dock itself required to be specially prepared, +for like all dry docks it was planned to take a +vessel upright and not upside-down. The chocks +down the centre of the dock, which normally support +the keel of a docked vessel, were quite useless so far<span class="pagenum" id="Page_90">90</span> +as the <i>Leonardo da Vinci</i> was concerned. So a forest of +timber began to spring up in the dry dock. Mighty +baulks of wood, 15 inches and more square, were built +up from the bottom of the dock. These followed the +outline of the ship so that the deck could be brought +exactly over them and allowed to sink into place upon +them. Other gigantic piles of timber were constructed +to support particular parts of the deck.</p> + +<p>By September 17, 1919, all these preparations were +completed. The air compressors forced the water +out of the pontoons and out of the hull. Certain compartments +of the ship were filled with water in order +to balance her evenly—and then the keel, with the +great pontoons straining upwards, slowly arose out +of the sea. For a time a stern battle went on between +the mud which was gripping her and seeking to hold +her down and the air which was striving to lift her to +the surface. Then the air won. The battleship slipped +from the grip of the mud, leaving her guns and turrets +still embedded, and floated on the surface once more.</p> + +<figure id="ip_90" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 34em;"> + <img src="images/i_p090a.jpg" width="2149" height="1303" alt=""> + <figcaption class="caption">A UNIQUE PHOTOGRAPH OF THE LEONARDO DA VINCI AS SHE LAY IN THE BAY OF TARANTO WITH ALL THE SALVAGE CRAFT +AROUND HER JUST BEFORE SHE WAS TURNED OVER + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<p>A rapid survey was made to see that she was fit +for her journey, then the tugs took up their task and +began to tow her slowly along the channel between +the lines of buoys marking the passage. A stranger +spectacle than the towing of this upside-down battleship +was never before seen on the seas. The tugs +managed to keep the capsized leviathan right in the +centre of the channel, and by nightfall the vessel was<span class="pagenum" id="Page_91">91</span> +at the entrance to the dry dock, and was skilfully +manœuvred inside on the following day.</p> + +<figure id="ip_91" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 33em;"> + <img src="images/i_p090b.jpg" width="2101" height="1235" alt=""> + <figcaption class="caption">TOWING THE UPSIDE-DOWN BATTLESHIP OUT OF DOCK ON JANUARY 22, 1921 IN ORDER TO RIGHT HER + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<p>For two days she floated, held up by the compressed +air within her hull, and during this time certain adjustments +were made in the mighty timber frame that +was to support her. The water was now drawn off +from the dock and the <i>Leonardo da Vinci</i> settled down +comfortably on her timber framework.</p> + +<p>Her settling down placed a huge strain on the +timbers, some having to bear the very great pressure +of 225 tons to the square inch. The calculations, +however, were so cleverly made, and the vast weight +was so evenly distributed, that the framework supported +her in perfect security. In itself this was +a remarkable achievement. The slightest miscalculation, +or one weak timber, might have brought about +the collapse of the whole structure, and the battleship +would have fallen, an absolute wreck, on the bed of +the dry dock.</p> + +<p>For months men swarmed about the upturned +battleship, doing the final repairs that were necessary +before she could be righted. The conclusive test of +the Italians was nigh. Could they succeed in turning +the great mass of metal the right way up again? No +power known to man would suffice to right the vessel +on land. Before the task could be attempted it was +essential to place her once more in her element, the +sea. On land she was immovable, on the sea she<span class="pagenum" id="Page_92">92</span> +floated and could be more or less controlled by man, +but whether man could perform the miracle of turning +her right way up again, nobody knew.</p> + +<p>The bottom of a ship, of course, has to be strongly +built to withstand the pressures to which it is subjected. +The deck, not having to stand the strain that +the bottom is called upon to bear, need not be built +so strongly. In this case the deck and the bottom +had changed places, and it was therefore of the utmost +importance that the deck should be strengthened to +withstand the increased pressures that would arise in +righting the ship.</p> + +<p>Out in the bay the dredgers scooped a deep basin to +enable her to turn over without fouling the seabed, +and towards the end of January, 1921, the <i>Leonardo da +Vinci</i> was towed to the place where it was proposed +to right her. Four hundred tons of solid ballast had +been loaded into her, and the engineers made preparations +for pumping 7500 tons of water into certain +compartments on her starboard side. Being above +the centre of gravity, this weight would make her +so top-heavy that she was bound to overbalance and +thus turn right side up again.</p> + +<figure id="ip_92" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 33em;"> + <img src="images/i_p092a.jpg" width="2101" height="1299" alt=""> + <figcaption class="caption">UPRIGHT ONCE MORE AFTER BEING UPSIDE DOWN FOR FOUR YEARS. SHE RAISED A HUGE WAVE AS SHE SWUNG OVER, +AS MAY BE SEEN FROM THIS PHOTOGRAPH WHICH WAS TAKEN FROM AN AIRSHIP + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<p>There in the bay lay the still stricken leviathan. +The valves were opened to allow the sea to enter her +compartments, and the salvage men scrambled from +the upturned keel and pulled away from her in their +boats. The water began to flow in, and by the time<span class="pagenum" id="Page_93">93</span> +some 800 tons had entered she began to turn ever +so slowly. Soon, as the weight of water increased, +she swung over with a rush, raising a big wave as the +deck swept clear of the water. For a moment it +looked as though she would swing right over and +finish upside-down again. But the engineers had +worked out their calculations to such a nicety that +the battleship finally came to rest with a slight list, +just as they had foreseen.</p> + +<figure id="ip_93" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 34em;"> + <img src="images/i_p092b.jpg" width="2117" height="1306" alt=""> + <figcaption class="caption">THE LEONARDO DA VINCI READY TO GO INTO DRY DOCK AGAIN TO BE REFITTED. A BRILLIANT SALVAGE FEAT IS RECORDED +IN THESE REMARKABLE PHOTOGRAPHS WHICH ARE REPRODUCED BY COURTESY OF THE ITALIAN NAVAL ATTACHE + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<p>Across her deck, in big letters, was seen the motto +of the famous <i>Leonardo da Vinci</i>: “Every wrong +rights itself,” painted while the vessel was still upside-down +in dry dock. It was a happy thought, and a +pandemonium of cheering broke out as the legend +came into view to tell of the most remarkable salvage +feat ever accomplished.</p> + +<p>The salving of the ship and her final righting took +four and a half years. It was a Herculean task, and +from first to last cost the Italian Government £135,000. +Unhappily, General Ferrati, who conceived the brilliant +plan, did not live to see it completed. He was succeeded +as director of operations by General Faruffini, +who in turn was succeeded by General Carpi, but +during the whole time Major Gianelli was in charge +of the work and to him is due the credit for carrying +out from beginning to end, and bringing to a triumphant +conclusion, the most wonderful salvage feat ever +performed by man.</p> +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_94">94</span></p> + +<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_VIII">CHAPTER VIII</h2> +</div> + +<p class="drop-cap b"><span class="smcap1">Before</span> the Great War the number of concerns +specializing in salvage work were so few +that probably all could be numbered on the +fingers of both hands. Sweden had a fine salvage unit +at Stockholm, a Danish company worked from Copenhagen, +Germany possessed a very powerful salvage +plant, while perhaps half a dozen salvage concerns +operated in British waters, the most important being +the Liverpool Salvage Association, the London Salvage +Association and the famous firm of Henry Ensor, at +Queenstown in Ireland.</p> + +<p>In the number of marine salvage units she could +muster, Great Britain was thus particularly fortunate. +The dangers of our coasts have long been regarded +as a drawback, yet in time of crisis they proved a +blessing in disguise, for the yearly toll of wrecks on +our shores has provided fine experience for our salvage +experts and made them second to none in the world.</p> + +<p>When the Germans hurled their challenge at +humanity, all the salvage concerns operating in Great +Britain were at once taken over by the Admiralty<span class="pagenum" id="Page_95">95</span> +and placed under the command of Commodore F. W. +Young. For long Commodore Young had acted as +chief salvage officer to the Liverpool Salvage Association, +and forty years’ experience of raising wrecks +had given him a knowledge of the subject that was +unique. Wandering round our shores in storm and +shine, fighting to get ships off the rocks, struggling +to save their cargoes, he learned to know our rugged +coast better than the average man knows the lines +on the palm of his hand. The reefs from which a ship +might never escape, the sandy bays that provided +shelter, the bars that lurked in wait for unwary ships, +all were known to him. His knowledge was such +that he was able to sum up the chances of a ship +directly he heard where she was wrecked.</p> + +<p>Whatever blunders may have been made in appointing +other men to other commands, the First Lords +of the Admiralty made no mistake in selecting Commodore +Young to be Director of Naval Salvage. +Generals came and went, Admirals were moved up +and down, but this one man was in control of the +Admiralty Salvage Section throughout the whole war, +bearing the grave responsibilities of a most important +post from beginning to end.</p> + +<p>The first work of the Admiralty Salvage Section +was purely naval. These were the men who laid the +mines to guard our harbours, and upon them devolved +the duty of laying down those long lanes of mighty<span class="pagenum" id="Page_96">96</span> +nets to protect our troopships hurrying from England +to France. When the <i>Lion</i> was so sorely stricken +at Jutland, it was one of the section’s salvage steamers +that helped her into port, and they were men of the +Salvage Section who patched her scars and made it +possible for her to limp home.</p> + +<p>But the work of the Salvage Section changed completely +with the coming of the unrestricted campaign +of the German submarines. No longer was it purely +naval in character. Thenceforward it became general, +and the officers and men of the section had to stand +ready to save merchant vessels as well as warships.</p> + +<p>So grave a menace was the enemy submarine +campaign that foreign shipowners refused to take the +risks of sending ships to Great Britain, for no underwriter +with any sense could be expected to insure +ships when the Germans were torpedoing merchantmen +at sight. Similarly no shipowner with any +sense would send a ship here that was uninsured, +for if his ship were torpedoed the whole loss would +fall on him. For this reason alone there was a likelihood +of diminishing supplies of food and munitions +coming to our ports.</p> + +<p>The British Government rose to the situation by +becoming the biggest underwriting concern in the +world and insuring every ship entering and leaving +our ports. Great Britain accepted the responsibility +for all losses, and the shipowners knew they were<span class="pagenum" id="Page_97">97</span> +sure to get their money in the event of their ships +being sunk. As a further precaution, the system of +convoy was instituted, whereby half a dozen or a +dozen ships journeyed together under the escort of +some of our warships. An additional measure to +cope with the marauding submarines was to arm our +merchantmen so that they stood at least a chance of +beating off an attack.</p> + +<p>Shrewd as were the German calculations of winning +the war by the submarine campaign, and nearly as +the enemy succeeded, they reckoned without our +Admiralty Salvage Section. While all the powers of +the British Admiralty were concentrated on destroying +the German underwater craft, the abilities of the +Naval Salvage Section were focused on repairing the +damage wrought by enemy torpedoes. From a comparatively +minor position, the Salvage Section sprang +into paramount importance. As the list of torpedoed +vessels grew day by day, so our salvage organization +was enlarged to grapple with the extra duties.</p> + +<p>Directly a ship was torpedoed, the news was wirelessed +to Whitehall, and the nearest available naval +craft was ordered to stand by and render all the +assistance possible until a salvage steamer arrived +from the most convenient depot to take over. Salvage +steamers and depots were dotted at various ports +all round the coast, and as soon as particulars flashed +through to the Director of Salvage he detailed his<span class="pagenum" id="Page_98">98</span> +nearest available unit for the job. If a vessel still +floated, he despatched powerful tugs to tow her to +port; if she sank, he instructed a salvage officer to +report on her position immediately.</p> + +<p>No time was wasted, for the loss of one tide might +easily have meant the total loss of the vessel. Within +a few minutes of the report coming to hand, the +Director dealt with the case and suggested how it +should be treated.</p> + +<p>Commodore Sir Frederick Young’s calmness was +indeed amazing. I have vivid recollections of seeing +him in his room at Whitehall when the submarine +campaign was at its height. The newspapers were +full of the tales of sinking ships, people were talking +about it agitatedly, faces in the inner precincts of +Whitehall were grave and obviously concerned, but +the Director of Salvage remained quite unruffled. +As I sat talking with him, the news came through of +seven more ships being sunk; on top of it arrived +the information that one of the salvage ships herself +had been torpedoed in the Mediterranean. Yet the +Director of Salvage did not turn a hair.</p> + +<p>He asked one of his officers the whereabouts of +another salvage craft.</p> + +<p>The officer told him.</p> + +<p>“Send her out to replace the ——,” and he mentioned +the name of the sunken salvage ship, which I +have long since forgotten.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_99">99</span></p> + +<p>He puffed quietly at his pipe, screwed a monocle +into his eye, and scanned the telegrams with their +bad news. Then he gave a few orders, and in a moment +or two the wires were humming with instructions to +various salvage units to hurry to the aid of the stricken +ships.</p> + +<p>It was all done so quietly and simply, without one +sign of flurry or fuss on the part of the sturdy figure +clad in a simple blue serge suit such as thousands of +civilians wear to-day. Yet coming in and out and +waiting deferentially on his word were naval figures +resplendent in gold braid. The contrast emphasized +the simplicity of the man controlling this supreme +service. His unaffected ways and quiet manner +masked an amazing cleverness, for no man alive was +imbued with a greater genius for sea salvage work +than this modest man sitting composedly at his desk +by the pleasant window in Whitehall.</p> + +<p>His big room was set off in the centre by a round +polished table containing a bowl of flowers. Photographs +of salvage ships dotted the walls, while various +charts of the British Isles stuck full of coloured flags +bristled with information to those able to read them. +Other charts were concealed beneath spring blinds +that sprang up at the touch of authority. By studying +these charts, the Commodore was able to tell at a +glance just how the situation stood, where ships were +sunk, where ships were beached, where his salvage<span class="pagenum" id="Page_100">100</span> +units were working. On a side-table was a big book +of charts that could only be lifted with an effort, and +another table contained a model ship showing the +standard patch.</p> + +<p>Called into being by the war, the standard patch +certainly proved one of the greatest aids of the Salvage +Section, for many a ship that would have ended her +days at the bottom of the sea was brought safely into +port under the protection afforded by this invention. +The standard patch was formed of grooved timbers +fitting one into another, something like matchboards, +and in appearance it resembled the top of a gigantic +roll-top desk. Owing to its construction, it was +admirably adapted for fitting the curves of the hull +of a ship.</p> + +<figure id="ip_100" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 35em;"> + <img src="images/i_p100a.jpg" width="2217" height="1404" alt=""> + <figcaption class="caption">A TORPEDOED SHIP WHICH WAS SAVED BY BEING BEACHED + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<p>In fitting a standard patch, the size of the hole in +the hull was first ascertained, then the patch was +made, bolted into position, and the edges were made +watertight with cement. Many ships had to be +beached at the nearest spot in order to save them +from foundering, and the standard patch was then +fitted to enable them to reach port and undergo +permanent repairs. Other ships still remained afloat +after being torpedoed, and it was no uncommon sight +to see the ship’s carpenters constructing a standard +patch upon the deck. When the patch was finished, +it was lowered over the side, the bottom edge being +weighted to make it sink in an upright position, while<span class="pagenum" id="Page_101">101</span> +the divers guided it into place and secured it with +bolts and nuts.</p> + +<figure id="ip_101" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 33em;"> + <img src="images/i_p100b.jpg" width="2056" height="1429" alt=""> + <figcaption class="caption">THE STANDARD PATCH WHICH WAS FITTED OVER THE HOLE IN THE SHIP’S SIDE. AS MAY BE SEEN, EACH TIMBER WAS +BOLTED HOME AND THE EDGES WERE MADE WATERTIGHT WITH CEMENT. THESE PATCHES WERE OF GREAT SERVICE +IN DEFEATING THE GERMAN SUBMARINE CAMPAIGN + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<p>Despite its temporary character, the repair was +strong enough to enable the ship to journey to the +dock set aside for her reception. Yet many a ship +met various adventures on the way, and her journey +to port was rather a protracted affair. One such +case was that of a large vessel torpedoed by the +Germans. Luckily, she did not sink immediately. +Her bulkheads held and her captain was able to head +for the shore until she touched bottom and settled +down. Along came the salvage unit, and, ascertaining +the damage, worked desperately to fit a standard +patch. The patch was duly put on, the many bolts +screwed up, and the vessel pumped out and towed +off to port.</p> + +<p>The salvage officers were congratulating themselves +on work well done when the unexpected happened. +There was a dull explosion and a giant +cascade against the side of the steamer. She had been +caught a second time by a German submarine! Her +nose was headed inshore and once more she touched +bottom.</p> + +<p>Quickly as they could, the salvors tackled her, for +she was not the only ship on the sea receiving the +unwelcome attentions of the Germans, and the salvors +were in constant demand all along the coast. They +sized up the new damage, made another patch, drilled<span class="pagenum" id="Page_102">102</span> +the holes in the hull, fitted a felt bed for the patch to +rest against and screwed it tightly home. Then the +pumps were set going, the damaged hold was emptied +and her keel came up from the sandy bed in which +it had been resting.</p> + +<p>The ship, which had survived two German torpedoes, +continued her interrupted journey, but she had only +been an hour or two on the way when another enemy +submarine got her. Whatever the salvage men said +and thought, they started to patch her up again, and +in time they had the thrice torpedoed vessel continuing +her slow journey to the dock where she was to be +repaired.</p> + +<p>Before they could get her home, however, her +rescuers were compelled to beach her and struggle to +save one or two very urgent cases. They accordingly +put her ashore in a sheltered bay in the Isle of Wight +where they knew she would be quite safe until such +time as they could attend to her. She was months +making a short trip of a few miles round the south +coast, but she seemed to have as many lives as a cat, +and eventually reached dry dock where the damage +wrought by German torpedoes was properly repaired.</p> + +<p>The remarks of the Germans must have been rather +interesting when they discovered that they were +torpedoing the same ship time after time. Probably +they thought it was some trick the British were playing +on them, some gigantic bluff to make them waste<span class="pagenum" id="Page_103">103</span> +torpedoes. Anyway, although they tried and tried +and tried again, the Admiralty salvage men, not to be +outdone, managed to save the ship from the clutches +of the Germans after all.</p> + +<p>So long as the submarine campaign continued, it +was indeed a gigantic tussle between pumps and +patches and torpedoes. At first the torpedoes had it +all their own way, but pumps and patches in the +skilful hands of the Admiralty Salvage Section began +to rob the Germans of more and more of their prizes, +and they ultimately proved a most important factor +in bringing home to the foe that the game was not +worth the candle.</p> + +<p>The demand for pumps of all types was tremendous. +Motor pumps, steam pumps, electric pumps—all were +required, and the pump-makers were kept busily +employed night and day. The war brought out the +good points of one pump known as the electric submersible +pump. Invented in pre-war days by an +electrical engineer named Macdonald, this invention +did not attract the notice it deserved, and in the +end the inventor sold out his rights and emigrated +to Canada. Since then his pump must have been very +successful financially, for one or two that happened +to be aboard a battleship at the battle of Jutland did +such wonderful service that the whole of the British +Navy was fitted with them.</p> + +<p>Many had tried to solve the problem of an electric<span class="pagenum" id="Page_104">104</span> +pump, but generally they came to grief owing to the +current short-circuiting in the water. Macdonald +worked at the problem until he succeeded in overcoming +it, and the result was a drum-like pump with +the inner parts spinning at a high speed and forcing +the water upwards through the pipe. Instead of +fixing his pump at the top end of a suction pipe, +Macdonald placed his pump at the bottom end of a +pipe and dropped it into the water. The pump +weighed about half a ton, and owing to the fact that +it worked entirely under water, with water flowing +all round and through its bearings, it was not liable +to suffer loss of efficiency through air leakage. The +tendency of the pump to overheat owing to the speed +at which it worked was checked by the cold sea water +always passing through it. It was, in effect, a water-cooled +pump that was excellent for working at depths +a little beyond the reach of the ordinary pump.</p> + +<figure id="ip_104" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 23em;"> + <img src="images/i_p104a.jpg" width="1446" height="2076" alt=""> + <figcaption class="caption">THREE OF THE ELECTRIC PUMPS WHICH PROVED THEIR EFFICIENCY DURING THE WAR. +THEY REMAINED IN THE HOLD OF THE SUNKEN WESTMORELAND FOR THREE +MONTHS UNTIL SHE WAS RAISED. WORTH £3,000,000, SHE WAS BY FAR THE RICHEST +SALVAGE PRIZE OF THE WHOLE WAR + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<p>For touch-and-go cases the submersible pump was +much in demand by salvage officers, but for cases that +required long and steady pumping for days and perhaps +weeks the wonderful Gwynne pumps were not to be +excelled. Their extraordinary reliability is marvellous. +So long as you give them the steam to work with, +coupled with proper attention, they will do almost +anything that you ask of them. They will pump +steadily for days and even weeks without stopping, +throwing overboard the specified number of tons of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_105">105</span> +water an hour. They are, indeed, among the mechanical +marvels of the age, practically as perfect as any +machine is ever likely to be.</p> + +<figure id="ip_105" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 23em;"> + <img src="images/i_p104b.jpg" width="1423" height="2037" alt=""> + <figcaption class="caption">THE DAMAGE WROUGHT BY A GERMAN TORPEDO. A GOOD IDEA OF THE IMMENSITY +OF THE HOLE MAY BE GAINED BY COMPARING IT WITH THE LEGS OF THE MAN +STANDING ON THE SCAFFOLDING IN THE WRECKED ENGINE ROOM. DESPITE THE +DAMAGE, THE SHIP WAS SAVED + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<p>So sure are they, that salvage men will willingly +put to sea in a badly leaking ship and set out on a +voyage that may last a week or two. If the pumps +stopped, the ship might founder in two or three hours. +The men know it, but they do not worry. They have +implicit faith in the pump, and although merely the +power of the pump stands between them and death +they carry on quite unconcerned. And while the +water is finding its way into the breaches in the hull +of their ship the pumps are steadily throwing it over +the side.</p> + +<p>As Henry Ensor, one of the cleverest salvage experts +alive, once remarked to me: “For a long voyage in +a leaking ship, give me the Gwynne.”</p> + +<p>Pumps, indeed, played a big part in beating the +German submarine, and it was the submersible type +that figured in the case of the <i>Westmoreland</i>, for three +placed in the hold of this vessel were left submerged +for nearly three months and upon withdrawal worked +quite as well as when they were put down.</p> + +<p>No richer prize than the <i>Westmoreland</i> fell to the +Salvage Section during the whole war, for ship and +cargo were worth about £3,000,000. The vessel was +steaming in the neighbourhood of St. Bees Head on +her way to Liverpool when an enemy submarine let<span class="pagenum" id="Page_106">106</span> +loose a torpedo. The missile ran true, and a moment +later a terrific explosion told the Germans they had +bagged their game. Whereat the attacking submarine, +knowing the sea thereabouts was likely to be well +patrolled for some little time to come, quietly slid off.</p> + +<p>True as the torpedo ran, the Germans made a slight +miscalculation. Though trifling, it made all the difference +in the end. Instead of the torpedo hitting in +that vital spot amidships and destroying the engines, +it struck forward in No. 2 hold and tore an enormous +hole in the hull of the ship big enough to drop a small +house into. The heart of the ship, the engine-room, +was untouched, and the captain still retained the power +to drive his ship through the seas.</p> + +<p>Slim destroyers slipped over the horizon and crowded +round the torpedoed vessel. Fortunately her bulkheads +held firm and, although the damage was such +that it looked as if the ship might founder at any +moment, the captain held his course in a valiant attempt +to reach port.</p> + +<p>Slowly the bow of the ship sank lower and lower +in the water, until it seemed impossible for her longer +to remain afloat. At last a destroyer manœuvred +into position and took off captain and crew, and they +stood by to see the last of the ship. Instead of sinking, +however, she still hung there, and the captain and +crew returned to her in order to try once more to get +her to port. There was just a chance that they<span class="pagenum" id="Page_107">107</span> +might succeed, and the captain was not going to lose +that chance.</p> + +<p>Engineers and stokers went below to give her steam, +and she limped lamely along, continuing to go down +by the head. As her bow went down, so her stern +came up until it was obvious that if she did not soon +sink she was bound to become unmanageable, for in a +short time her screws would be clear of the water +and churning the air instead of the sea. Heading her +for the beach while there was yet time, the captain +took her in until her propellers were right in the air +and her bow scraped the bottom, then he and the +crew were taken off and the <i>Westmoreland</i> quietly +settled down.</p> + +<p>If only she had settled at high tide, the <i>Westmoreland</i> +might have proved an easy case for the Salvage Section +to deal with. But with the usual perversity of things, +she went down at low water, and as the tide rose, the +sea began to pour out of the broken hold along the +shelter deck and over the tops of the bulkheads into +all the other holds. Unluckily her bulkheads had +not been built right up to the top deck. Instead, they +reached only to the previous deck, the shelter deck, +and there was nothing to prevent the seas washing +the whole length of the shelter deck, which was just +what they did. The consequence was that the whole +ship filled with water, and at high tide she was quite +submerged, with her top deck 30 feet below the surface.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_108">108</span></p> + +<p>Commander Kay hastened to the spot and surveyed +the wreck. Quickly he saw that the only way of +raising the ship and getting her to port was to prevent +the seas from washing out of the damaged hold into +the sound holds. It appeared simple, but the men +who began to strive to carry out the scheme had +the struggle of their lives.</p> + +<p>It was February, when the weather was just as bad +as it could be. The heavy seas and strong currents +effectually prevented any work being done for three +or four days a week, and on the other days it was only +possible to work for two or three hours at low tide. +Watching their opportunities, the divers scrambled +into the wreck and gradually timbered in a mighty +hole, 40 feet across, that was blown in the shelter +deck by the force of the explosion. The first step +in their struggle with the sea was looked upon as won.</p> + +<p>Barely was the work completed when the sea, +frothing with fury, raged through the hole in the hull +and battered continuously at the underside of the +work until the timbering was reduced to matchwood. +I have already mentioned that salvage men are sparing +of words, and, if they said but little on this occasion, +no doubt what they said was to the point.</p> + +<p>With that patience which is beyond all praise, they +resumed their efforts with a firm determination not +to be again cheated by the sea, so they used steel to +counter the force of the waves. Whenever tide and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_109">109</span> +weather served, they worked with might and main to +build watertight walls—or a steel trunkway, as the +salvors called it—from the shelter deck of the damaged +hold right up to the top deck in order to confine the +sea to that hold and prevent it from washing over +the tops of the other bulkheads. By then the salvors +realized that it was quite hopeless to attempt to patch +the hull of the ship to prevent the seas from entering, +for no temporary work could withstand the full force +of the Atlantic gales. Consequently, the divers concentrated +on building their trunkway, and in a month +it was completed and the water was effectually shut +off from washing into the other holds.</p> + +<p>The salvors determined now to try to move the +ship to a more sheltered position where they would +be able to work for longer periods and with fewer +interruptions. Accordingly, pumps were set to work +pumping out the water in the sound holds, and in +time the <i>Westmoreland</i> swung clear of the bottom. +The tugs caught hold of her and towed her inshore +for a couple of miles, when she bumped the bottom +again and was allowed to settle. It was 2 miles to the +good, the water was much shallower, but even more +important was the additional shelter which made it +possible for the men to work more continuously.</p> + +<p>So the divers toiled away with renewed vigour, +hauling the cargo out of the ship to lighten her, hoisting +out case after case of butter for which the people were<span class="pagenum" id="Page_110">110</span> +clamouring. It was, fortunately, none the worse for +its immersion, and I believe it duly reached the tables +of the people, who had no idea that they were eating +butter which had been at the bottom of the sea. If +the true story be told, there is little doubt that a +large quantity of food rescued from the clutches of +Neptune was duly eaten by the British people without +their being any the wiser. Necessity knows no law, +and when famine is looming nigh, as it was then, butter +that has been on the seabed is better than butterless +bread. In any case the butter ration was so small—but +two ounces a week—that no danger could possibly +accrue through eating it.</p> + +<p>Tons and tons of timber props were built into the +ship to strengthen her in all directions. The problem +of patching the vessel was again considered, but the +weather was such as to render patching impracticable. +So the salvors allowed the waves to thunder in through +the gaping hole in her side, whence they gushed out +of the top of the ship in fountains of spray. There was +nothing else to be done in the circumstance. Had +the salvors succeeded in covering in that mighty +hole in the shelter deck strongly enough to keep back +the seas, the seas would have raged about inside +the damaged hold and smashed everything to pieces; +consequently it was much wiser to leave them an outlet. +The trunkway was a safety valve by which the seas +escaped after tearing through the gaping wound.</p> + +<figure id="ip_110" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 43em;"> + <img src="images/i_p110a.jpg" width="2737" height="1376" alt=""> + <figcaption class="caption">ONCE THE FORWARD HOLDS OF A SHIP FILL AND DRAG HER DOWN BY THE BOW SHE IS RENDERED HELPLESS. SHE MAY +STILL REMAIN AFLOAT, HER ENGINES MAY BE PERFECT, BUT HER CAPTAIN NO LONGER HAS ANY CONTROL OVER HER BECAUSE +HER PROPELLER IS OUT OF WATER + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_111">111</span></p> + +<p>Fourteen weeks after work was first started, Commander +Kay decided that the time had come to make +the final lift and get the <i>Westmoreland</i> to dry dock. +The electric pumps were switched on and kept running +until the waterlogged holds were cleared, and the +torpedoed vessel rose off the sandy bottom and floated. +Then cropped up the vital matter of balance. For +weeks the divers had been fighting to rid the ship of +water, and now, paradoxically enough, they found +they had pumped out so much that her stern came up +clear of the surface, while her bow was barely clear +of the sand.</p> + +<p>It was useless to attempt to tow her to port under +such conditions, for in a short while she would have +been digging her nose into the sand and sinking once +more. Before the journey could be essayed, it was +essential to balance her properly, and this could only +be done by leaving a sufficient weight of water in the +after holds to balance the water in the forward hold. +They had to trim the ship by using water as ballast. +Calmly they allowed the after holds to fill again, +then they set the pumps going until she rose on an +even keel. The stumpy tugs fastened on to her +and did not let her go until she was safely in dock.</p> + +<p>Altogether the Admiralty Salvage Section during +the war salved nearly 500 ships, valued with their +cargoes at about £50,000,000. While the submarine +campaign continued, the British need for shipping<span class="pagenum" id="Page_112">112</span> +was so great that all salvage efforts were concentrated +on those ships that could be quickly salved and put +into commission again. The easiest cases were dealt +with first, and the more difficult cases were left until +there was a reasonable opportunity of coping with +them.</p> + +<p>A careful list compiled by the Admiralty after the +war showed that there were 416 war wrecks lying in +less than 20 fathoms, or 120 feet, around the British +coast, and of these it was estimated that one in +ten might perhaps be raised. Actually 51 war +wrecks were salved after the Armistice, but as some +of these were lost in foreign parts the original estimate +was not so wide of the mark.</p> + +<p>These wrecks, upon which the British Government +had paid out millions in insurance, were the property +of the State, but the chances of raising them were +accounted so slight that it was not considered policy +to spend further money on them. Well-known salvage +concerns, however, had no difficulty in obtaining permission +to salve any ship which they had a fancy to +raise. They had but to go to the shipping department +concerned in order to win a sympathetic hearing. +The terms of the contract were on the “no cure, no +pay” principle, which meant that any salvage firm +with the courage to risk a few thousand pounds in +trying to raise a particular wreck was quite at liberty +to do so. In return for the concession to work on<span class="pagenum" id="Page_113">113</span> +the wreck, they agreed to give the Government a +certain percentage of the value recovered, the percentage +being arrived at by mutual agreement. All +risk was consequently borne by the salvage concerns, +who lost their money in the event of failure and shared +their winnings with the Government if they were +successful.</p> + +<p>The high cost of shipping at that period led to considerable +activity on the part of salvage concerns, for +if luck happened to be with them there was the +prospect of making a fortune out of one operation. +But a shipping slump without precedent in all history +quickly worked a tremendous revolution. Some new +ships halved their value in six months, second-hand +ships fell in price from £30 a ton to £7 or less a ton. +One great shipping firm had to set aside a fund of +half a million in order to write down the value of +their new ships directly they were launched, for their +new liners were worth more on the stocks than they +were in the water. The only way of making their +ships pay at all was to decrease their cost, and this +could only be done by sacrificing the money saved +and placed in reserve. In many cases shipowners +paid huge sums to shipbuilders in order to be released +from contracts, for they were able to buy new ships +at half the price similar ships would cost to build.</p> + +<p>This remarkable change was brought about by the +great shipbuilding programmes forced on the Allies<span class="pagenum" id="Page_114">114</span> +by the submarine campaign. Not until after the +war was the full force of these programmes felt. +The new ships coming off the stocks made up the lost +tonnage in a few months. The seized German ships +helped to increase the slump, and the world found +itself richer by 11,000,000 tons of shipping than it +had been in 1914. The war had destroyed the markets, +the Continental nations had no longer any money +with which to buy goods, and the result was the most +dramatic change in history. Shipowners who a year +previously had been clamouring for ships at any price, +were compelled to let 8,000,000 tons of shipping lie idle.</p> + +<p>Of course these conditions played havoc with +salvage concerns. The fortunes that might have been +locked up in war wrecks quietly vanished. It must +be borne in mind that enemy torpedoes in the first +place had done enormous damage to the sunken ships, +and what the torpedoes had left undone the storms +of the Armistice years had finished.</p> + +<p>The immersion of a ship for a year or two in the +sea, with the consequent rust set up in the metal, +works sorry havoc, while sand and mud swirling about +in the engine-rooms tend not to improve the engines. +Every hour that a ship spends on the ocean bed she +deteriorates in value. Mud is silting into her, sand +and rust are gnawing away at her, the swell is shaking +her continuously. The sea soon finds out the weak +spots and hammers at them until the whole structure<span class="pagenum" id="Page_115">115</span> +collapses into a fantastic mass. It can be imagined +what some of the war wrecks were like after a thousand +days of such treatment. They were not worth salving, +for no salvage concern would risk thousands of pounds +just to recover a little scrap metal. These factors +eventually led to a cessation of salvage activity +around our shores.</p> + +<p>For long after the Admiralty Salvage Section had +ceased to operate in home waters, one or two units +were working on the Belgian coast, struggling to +clear the harbours of Ostend and Zeebrugge from +the ships that British sailors had so gallantly sunk +in order to prevent the Germans from using them as +submarine bases. When the <i>Vindictive</i> went down +in her allotted place, she covered the British Navy +with glory. All the might of Germany, all the skill +of which she boasted, failed to move the sunken ship +from the spot where the British had placed her. The +Germans did their uttermost—for they were anxious +to use the harbour—but they were beaten.</p> + +<p>The genius of the Admiralty Salvage Section, +Commodore Sir Frederick Young, studied the problem. +The <i>Vindictive</i> was not only full of cement, which had +set hard directly the water ran into it, but there were +also many mines aboard, and no one knew whether +all these mines had gone off or whether some of them +were still alive. Added to the problem of the <i>Vindictive</i> +was the fact that the Germans, in their retreat, had<span class="pagenum" id="Page_116">116</span> +sunk all sorts of craft in the harbour to bottle it up +completely, and ensure that the Belgians would never +use Ostend again without going to an awful amount of +trouble.</p> + +<p>For months the divers of the Salvage Section were +struggling with the wrecks in Ostend, clearing the +channel, blowing tons of cement out of the <i>Vindictive</i> +in order to lighten her, cutting away hundreds of tons +of steel so that there should be so much the less to lift. +Mighty steel cables were passed under the <i>Vindictive</i> +by divers and attached to two lifting craft, one on +either side of the ship; two giant pontoons were +sunk into place and attached to the hull so that when +the time came they could be pumped out and their +power used to help lift the stricken ship off the bottom. +Some of the compartments in the wreck were made +watertight, and after about a year of strenuous toil +the task of lifting the structure was undertaken. +Pumps were set going, and as the tide rose the shattered +British warship came off the bottom and was moved +some distance before the falling tide baulked further +endeavours. The next day saw the operations carried +to a successful conclusion amid scenes of wildest +enthusiasm.</p> + +<p>The raising of the <i>Vindictive</i> signalized the last days +of the Naval Salvage Section, but it was by no means +the least of the many triumphs that crowned it during +the war.</p> +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_117">117</span></p> + +<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_IX">CHAPTER IX</h2> +</div> + +<p class="drop-cap b"><span class="smcap1">During</span> the days of the fateful German submarine +campaign, the divers of the Admiralty +Salvage Section played their part in many a +drama, ferreting out clues of vital importance, acting +as detectives of the deep. While the <i>Untersee</i> boats +of the Germans menaced our national existence and +ruthlessly committed many crimes against humanity, +the deep-sea detectives of the Salvage Section were +always on their track, studying their habits, learning +their methods, recovering from watery fastnesses +those sealed orders which Tirpitz and his staff would +have given anything to keep out of the hands of our +alert Admiralty.</p> + +<p>More than one U-boat, struggling frantically to free +herself from the mighty nets in which she had become +entangled, found herself caught in a trap from which +there was no escaping. The guardians of the nets, +going their rounds, marked the agitation of the buoys +which told of a giant fish struggling below, and if the +prize could not be brought up and captured, a depth +charge soon put an end to its struggles.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_118">118</span></p> + +<p>Sometimes a submarine was found on the bottom +without any visible damage to the hull. An accident +to her machinery had rendered her helpless. The +Germans fought desperately to put things right. As +they grappled with the damaged machinery, they saw +death coming nearer and nearer. When it was obvious +that they could do nothing, that there was no escape +for them, many shot themselves to put an end to their +sufferings. Entering these steel tombs, the divers of +the Admiralty saw ghastly sights—shot Germans +lying about all over the place. In some cases it was +apparent that the trapped men had been driven mad +by their terror and had run amuck and fought each +other savagely before they died. They were pitiless +to others, but in the end the fear of death had +turned their brains and transformed them into +madmen.</p> + +<p>Of all the submarine crimes which dishonoured the +name of Germany, one of the worst was the atrocity +of the <i>Belgian Prince</i>. It started with the sound of +guns and the whine of shells from which it was impossible +to flee, and as the wireless mast of the <i>Belgian +Prince</i> went overboard her captain rang down to the +engine-room and the ship heaved to. The U.44 +approached warily, waiting to strike again at the least +sign of resistance, but seeing that the <i>Belgian Prince</i> +had frankly surrendered a collapsible boat put out +from the submarine, which was now lying idly on the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_119">119</span> +surface, and pulled off to the steamer. Captain and +crew of the steamer were ordered to take to their +boats and pull to the submarine, and, as they rowed to +the U.44 under armed escort, the Germans went down +below to open the sea-cocks of the vessel and place +bombs to blow the bottom out of her.</p> + +<p>Their work completed, the boarding party of Germans +rowed back to the U.44. Paul Wagenfuhr, +the German captain, ordered the crew of the <i>Belgian +Prince</i> to line up on the deck of the submarine. They +were searched for arms, ordered to take their outer +clothes off, their lifebelts were taken from them, and +their boats destroyed with axes. Leaving the seamen +partially undressed still standing on the deck, the +Germans entered the conning tower of their boat and +shut it after them.</p> + +<p>The crew of the <i>Belgian Prince</i> still stood as they +were ordered, wondering what was going to happen +to them, expecting that now their ship and boats +had been destroyed the Germans would take them +into the submarine.</p> + +<p>Gradually the U.44 began to move on the surface of +the sea, and continued to forge ahead for about ten +minutes. Then suddenly, without warning, just as +darkness descended, the submarine dived, and the +forty-three helpless and defenceless men were thrown +into the water. For a time the air was rent with +their cries as they fought the eternal sea for their lives.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_120">120</span> +Then the darkness blotted out the sights and sounds, +and one by one they sank.</p> + +<p>It was as deliberate and cold-blooded a murder as +was ever committed—the very epitome of that order +of the German Naval authorities to “destroy without +trace.” The destruction of the boats with axes to +cut off all means of escape, the deliberate taking away +of the lifebelts, the search for weapons, the order to +the men to take off their outer clothes, all were thought +out, were part of a settled policy on the part of Captain +Wagenfuhr, if not on the part of the German Higher +Command. All were easy to understand. Even the +object of depriving the crew of their clothes, which +is obscure to many, becomes plainer upon consideration. +Men carry papers and things in their pockets +which lead to identification. In taking their clothes +from the men, the Germans were also robbing them +of their identity, for if any of the poor victims happened +to be found clad only in their shirts floating +dead in the sea, there was practically nothing to +furnish a clue as to who they were, what ship they +belonged to, if they belonged to a ship at all.</p> + +<p>But the Germans, in their hurried search of the +men, overlooked the fact that three of them wore +lifebelts concealed beneath their clothing, and these +three men, by the aid of their lifebelts, managed to +survive until they were picked up. So the world +learned of the German crime. But for these three<span class="pagenum" id="Page_121">121</span> +witnesses, nothing would have been known except +that the <i>Belgian Prince</i> had vanished with every soul +aboard.</p> + +<p>Throughout August 1, 1917, the naval craft were +scouring the neighbourhood for a sign of the U-boat, +trying to get on its track. The sea was empty. Casting +farther and farther afield, one of our torpedo boats +sighted a periscope on the afternoon of the next day +nearly a hundred miles from the scene of the outrage. +Keen eyes at the other end of the periscope must have +detected the torpedo boat almost as soon as the +torpedo boat saw the periscope, for our naval gunners +had time to get in only a couple of rounds before the +periscope disappeared. Racing to the spot, the +torpedo boat dropped a depth charge. But she was +too late: the enemy was gone.</p> + +<p>A torpedo fired at a cattle boat proceeding from +Ireland to England furnished the next clue to the +enemy submarine. The torpedo missed, and the +cattle boat, calling up patrol boats by wireless, +managed to escape.</p> + +<p>The U-boat hunted warily, for Paul Wagenfuhr had +a definite mission to perform. His task was to lay a +minefield in the way of the cattle boats coming out of +Waterford harbour in order to interfere with the +regular traffic to England. The submarine was +equipped with a number of huge mines and special +mine-laying apparatus which enabled her to lay<span class="pagenum" id="Page_122">122</span> +these death-dealers while she herself was snugly out +of sight beneath the surface. Mostly the mine-laying +was done at night, and regularly about once a month a +U-boat would scatter her deadly cargo and pen the +shipping in harbour until the mines were swept up +and a passage cleared.</p> + +<p>Hardly a ripple stirred the sea when darkness stole +down over Waterford on the evening of August 4. +The fisherfolk along the coast, gathering in the village +inn, spent an hour or two smoking and chatting over +the doings of the day. Some were still standing +before the doors of their cottages about midnight +when they were startled by the sound of a terrific +explosion at sea, a sound that reverberated over the +water in the absolute silence of the night. Then, +faintly, cries were heard.</p> + +<p>The cries sent the fishermen speeding to the quay. +In a short time three fishing boats were speeding +over the sea, heading in the direction whence the +cries came. None knew what lay ahead of them, none +troubled even to ask. Death might be lurking for +them, but that aspect of the case did not concern +them. The sound of the explosion and the cries still +rang in their ears, betokening a disaster which sent +the fishermen on their swift errand of mercy to succour +whomsoever they could find.</p> + +<p>Standing alert in the prows of their boats, the +fishermen scanned the sea for signs of wreckage.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_123">123</span> +From time to time they called, and listened vainly for +an answer. They were about 4 miles from shore when +a dark object loomed in the water, a faint cry answered +their calls. A minute later a man was dragged over +the side of one of the boats.</p> + +<p>The stranger was in a bad state. It was obvious +he could not long survive. Heading about, the +fishermen landed the man as quickly as possible, but +stimulants liberally administered had little effect. +Just for a time he rallied and managed to gasp out +the information that he was a member of the crew of +the U.44, and that they were laying mines when a +tremendous explosion occurred and shot him up to +the surface. His end came suddenly soon afterwards.</p> + +<p>The U.44, laying mines in the stilly night to deal +death and destruction to others, strayed unwittingly +into one of our minefields. One of her mines in floating +upwards after its release knocked against one of +ours, and the two exploded with such terrible force +that the stern of the submarine was practically blown +away and the men who manned her were drowned +like rats in a trap. Thus Nemesis overtook the +Germans.</p> + +<p>By Monday, August 6, Commander G. Davis of +the Admiralty Salvage Section was recalled from +another salvage case with instructions to recover the +sunken U-boat. All that night the salvage officer and +his men laboured at getting the necessary gear aboard<span class="pagenum" id="Page_124">124</span> +the salvage ship, and at midnight on the Tuesday they +reached Waterford.</p> + +<p>Early next day minesweepers were at work clearing +a passage for the salvage vessel. It was dangerous +to move in that area at all, as was manifested during +the morning when one of the minesweepers herself +struck a mine and foundered. Without waste of +time, Commander Davis tackled and raised the minesweeper +as a preliminary to the important task of +raising the U-boat.</p> + +<p>The usual method of finding the wreck by dragging +the seabed with grapnels was adopted, and the submarine +was located in 90 feet of water, lying right +athwart the current which, owing to its strength in +this spot, did much to hamper future operations.</p> + +<p>The Admiralty was particularly anxious to recover +not only the papers of the submarine, but also the +submarine itself. Given the German submarine, the +British naval experts could go over it at their leisure, +see exactly how German design was developing, browse +among the latest German improvements and pick to +pieces all the most recent German ideas. Not that +the British Admiralty lagged behind German design, +but it had the good sense not to despise the enemy +and to realize it might be possible to learn something +even from Germans.</p> + +<p>To issue an order for the sunken submarine to be +brought into harbour was easy. A few words in code<span class="pagenum" id="Page_125">125</span> +tapped out on the wireless and the thing was done. +But the carrying out of the order was beset with +difficulties. Commander Davis decided to adopt one +of the best known methods of raising the wreck by +utilizing the lift of the tide to accomplish his purpose.</p> + +<p>One of the outstanding things about salvage experts +is their uncanny ability for seizing on any power that +happens to be handy and compelling it to serve their +own ends. There is unlimited power in the rise and +fall of the tides, and the salvage men are clever enough +to harness this power to raise wrecks off the seabed. +They literally use the sea to rob the sea of its prey, +and the ways they follow are more or less those put +into practice by Commander Davis, who decided to +lift the submarine in a cradle of cables and carry her +ashore.</p> + +<p>A mighty steel cable was taken from one salvage +boat to another, an end was secured on each boat, +and the cable was dropped until the loop of it dragged +on the bottom. Then this cable was swept under the +submarine and hauled along by the salvage boats +until they had dragged it into position right under +the wreck. Directly it was in place, the two ends were +buoyed, and the salvage men began juggling with +another cable. One by one the cables were worked +into position, and by the ninth day the salvage officer +had as many cables as he desired lying snugly under +the U-boat from end to end.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_126">126</span></p> + +<p>The tenth day brought a gale that made further +salvage operations impossible. Dirty weather continued +for twenty-four days before the gale blew +itself out. The salvors, desperately anxious as they +were to get on with the job, had perforce to cool their +heels ashore while the seas played battledore and +shuttlecock with the buoys at the ends of the cables.</p> + +<p>On September 10, however, the day dawned fine, +and soon after daylight the sweepers were clearing +a passage out to the wreck—a task they had to perform +every day any work was undertaken. No sooner was +the passage swept than the salvors brought to the +spot one of those modern lifting vessels which helped +to perform many wonderful feats during the war.</p> + +<p>In appearance the lifting craft is like a huge, flat +barge with a covered deck. Its hull contains a series +of great tanks, or watertight compartments, which +can quickly be flooded or emptied, just as the salvage +expert desires. As the tanks are flooded, so the craft +sinks lower and lower in the water, and as they are +pumped out so she rises again. When the tanks are +full, the lifting craft sits 4½ feet lower in the water, +and if she is then attached to a wreck and her tanks +be emptied she is capable of lifting a weight of 1200 +tons from the seabed.</p> + +<figure id="ip_126" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 35em;"> + <img src="images/i_p126a.jpg" width="2217" height="1318" alt=""> + <figcaption class="caption">IN RAISING THE U-44 AND CARRYING HER TO PORT, COMMANDER DAVIS, R.N.R., THE NEAREST FIGURE ON THE LIFTING +VESSEL, ACCOMPLISHED A BRILLIANT FEAT. THE PHOTOGRAPH SHOWS THE U-BOAT JUST AFTER SHE WAS BROUGHT TO +PORT AND ALSO GIVES AN EXCELLENT IDEA OF WHAT A LIFTING VESSEL LOOKS LIKE + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<p>Say that the difference between low tide and high +tide is 16 feet. If the lifting craft be placed in position +over a wreck at low tide and pumped out, the cables<span class="pagenum" id="Page_127">127</span> +between the lifting craft and the wreck being made +taut, as the tide rises, so the lifting craft swings the +wreck off the seabed, and at high tide the wreck lies +slung under the lifting craft over 20 feet from the +bottom. She can then be towed inshore until she +grounds again.</p> + +<figure id="ip_127" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 33em;"> + <img src="images/i_p126b.jpg" width="2107" height="1279" alt=""> + <figcaption class="caption">HOISTING OUT THE DEADLY CARGO OF MINES FROM THE U-44 + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<p>In other words, a vessel floating on the surface is +nearest to a submerged wreck at low water. If the tide +happen to rise and fall 20 feet, the vessel will be 20 feet +nearer the wreck at low tide than at high tide. By +filling their lifting craft with water the salvors can +bring it another 4½ feet nearer the wreck, and if they +then pump out the water tanks they can raise the +wreck 24½ feet from the bottom at the top of the tide, +provided they have craft capable of lifting a weight +as great as that of the wreck. Towing into shallower +water follows, as before described.</p> + +<p>Commander Davis placed his lifting vessel in position +exactly over the wrecked submarine, and the +cables running under the wreck were brought up on +each side of the surface craft and securely fastened. +The tanks of the lifting craft were blown out with +compressed air and, as the tide began to rise, the lifting +craft rose with it and dragged the U-boat from her +bed 90 feet below the surface. Just before the tide +was at the full the salvors began to tow the lifting +craft with her burden inshore and succeeded in covering +a distance of three-quarters of a mile before the submarine<span class="pagenum" id="Page_128">128</span> +grounded again. Next day, at the top of the +tide, the performance was repeated, and the wreck +was carried inshore for another three-quarters of a +mile. In two days the salvors thus gained a mile +and a half, and the wreck now rested on the bottom, +about three miles from the beach.</p> + +<p>The salvors, making the most of favourable conditions +after their enforced idleness, were toiling until +far into the night on the wreck. They feared a +recurrence of bad weather, and their fears were well-founded. +Wednesday brought in its train a strong +wind that increased in strength all the morning and +made work impossible. By the afternoon it was +blowing a gale, and so severe was the storm that one +of the salvage lighters was unable to withstand its +fury. She started to founder, and it was only with +the utmost difficulty and in the face of tremendous +risk that one of the salvage men managed to get +aboard and bring her safely to harbour.</p> + +<p>The calm courage and confidence of the salvors +were things to marvel at. They knew beyond doubt +that live mines were aboard, and that these mines +were liable to go off at the slightest jar and blow them +all to pieces, yet they went about their jobs for hour +after hour, day after day, as though such things as +mines did not exist. Time after time the sea bumped +the submarine against the bottom and, every time +it happened, death in its most horrible form hovered<span class="pagenum" id="Page_129">129</span> +near them. Once the submarine dropped sheer from +the cables, and no one knows even now why they +were not all wiped off the face of the sea. There +was just one tense moment, then, as nothing happened +and their luck held good, they started to get the +submarine back into the slings again.</p> + +<p>Another lifting craft was brought on the scene and, +picking up the wreck again, the salvors went ahead +with the work tide by tide. In their passage shorewards +they performed the extraordinary feat of +carrying the wreck over a bar of sand that rose steeply +for 14 feet—an operation requiring the greatest skill +and delicacy in adjusting the lifting cables. The nose +of the submarine had to be lifted inch by inch until +it attained an angle that enabled it to rise up the +slope without digging its bow into the sand. Had the +nose of the craft been lifted too high, she might easily +have slipped backward out of the cables supporting +her, and such a slip might not have ended so happily +as the previous one. However, Commander Davis +succeeded in negotiating this supreme difficulty surely +and safely, and his brilliant work was later rewarded +with the Distinguished Service Cross.</p> + +<p>In the end, after making twenty-one lifts in twenty +days, the salvors beached the infamous U.44. She +proved a golden haul, for the mass of confidential +information recovered from her turned out to be of +the utmost importance. She had on board nine<span class="pagenum" id="Page_130">130</span> +mines, which were cautiously taken out by Commander +Davis and rendered innocuous, besides several torpedoes +and a big collection of shells.</p> + +<p>Followed the grim and ghastly task of disinterring +the dead. On September 26, twenty-one bodies were +removed under the direction of a surgeon and carefully +searched. One by one the dead Germans were +sewn in canvas and weighted with firebars.</p> + +<p>That evening the salvage ship, fitted for the occasion +with special platforms on which the bodies were +placed, steamed out to sea. At midnight she stopped. +The salvage men with bared heads stood solemnly +by while the chaplain read the burial service in grave, +sonorous tones. Then, very reverently, the dead were +committed to the deep and the cleansing sea closed +over them.</p> +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_131">131</span></p> + +<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_X">CHAPTER X</h2> +</div> + +<p class="drop-cap al"><span class="smcap1">Although</span> we live in an enlightened age, +superstition is still rife, and not many people +would care to dive for the first time in a submarine +bearing the unlucky number 13. Yet in spite +of the fact that sailors are generally credited with +being more superstitious than most people, no thought +of danger crossed the minds of the seventy-three men +who during the war stepped aboard the British submarine +K.13 in order to carry out her trials. She +was a wonderful craft, 334 feet long, just under 27 +feet wide amidships, and as she lay at her moorings +she displaced 1880 tons.</p> + +<p>Like her sister ships of the same type, she was one +of the fastest submarines afloat, capable on the +surface of overtaking most battleships in order to +send them to their doom, able to take her place with +the Grand Fleet and steam along with them at top +speed without being left behind. This wonderful +speed was attained by fitting her with steam turbines +in addition to the usual oil engines and electric motors. +Her stumpy funnels folded down when she was diving,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_132">132</span> +and the introduction of steam made it essential to fit +fairly big ventilators. In order to dive she could +take into her ballast tanks 800 tons of water in four +minutes, but with a big submarine over 100 yards +long, all divided into many compartments, diving +was a delicate operation that depended for its safety +upon all the men carrying out their duties instantly. +It was necessary that the crew should be quite conversant +with their craft and that there should be +perfect team work. But an absolutely new craft is +bound to present some strange features to her first +crew. In this case she was a new development in +submarine practice, and it was probably the fact that +the K.13 was unfamiliar that brought about the +ensuing disaster.</p> + +<p>Built on the Clyde, she was taken along to the +Gareloch to be put through her paces. The Gareloch +was quiet, away from spying eyes, free of +the attentions of the unwelcome enemy submarine, +and here the K.13 carried out her surface trials +satisfactorily. The conning tower was closed, the +funnels were dropped back flush with the deck, and +orders were given to trim the boat for diving. The +watertight doors were shut and the sea began to +flow into the tanks. Then, as the craft submerged, +came disaster. A mighty rush of water swept into +the after part of the ship, drowning instantly the +thirty-one men on duty there, and carrying the K.13<span class="pagenum" id="Page_133">133</span> +stern downwards to the bottom. It was afterwards +discovered that in diving some of the ventilating +scuttles had been left open and these had flooded the +stern of the ship. It was a tragic oversight that in a +moment swept thirty-one men into eternity.</p> + +<p>In the forward part of the K.13 forty-two men were +imprisoned, held fast on the seabed by the weight +of water in the ship. There was no trace of panic. +Nobody turned a hair. As quietly as though they +still floated serenely on the surface, they stood by and +carried out their commander’s orders.</p> + +<p>For hours they strove to get the ship to move, to +lighten the tanks sufficiently to bring her to the +surface again. The ship remained fast. No trace +of movement was to be detected. The watertight +bulkhead across the centre of the vessel held death +at bay for the moment, but no one knew how long +it could withstand the terrific pressure. At the other +side of the bulkhead lay their dead companions, and +the hungry sea was waiting to engulf the living. +Death threatened them from all quarters, death from +drowning, death from asphyxiation owing to the +exhaustion of their air supply, death from starvation +even if the air held out. Hour by hour death came +nearer. They realized it only too well, but still they +remained cheerful.</p> + +<p>When it was seen that all their efforts were useless, +Commander Godfrey Herbert, D.S.O., who was in<span class="pagenum" id="Page_134">134</span> +command, and Commander F. H. M. Goodhart, D.S.O., +who was aboard to watch the behaviour of the vessel +before taking over the command of K.14, conferred +and agreed to try to get to the surface, 90 feet above +their heads, in order to obtain help. They knew +perfectly well that they were probably going to their +deaths, that the odds were so tremendously against +them that they were not worth considering. They +did not think of themselves; they thought only of the +forty men caught in that death-trap.</p> + +<p>The one way of getting to the surface was through +the conning tower. But the terrific weight of the +water above closed the lid so tightly that the strongest +giant in the world could never lift it. To raise it +were beyond the strength of mere human beings. The +only way of accomplishing the feat was to let into the +conning tower compressed air until the pressure of the +air equalled the pressure of the sea, and as the air +burst a way upwards the gallant officers hoped to be +carried with it to the surface.</p> + +<p>Quietly they entered the conning tower, and +partially flooded it. The compressed air was turned +on. Minute by minute the pressure increased, minute +by minute the officers waited, wondering if death or +life was to be theirs, whether their attempt was to +succeed or fail.</p> + +<p>So great grew the pressure that the air could no +longer be kept within bounds. With incredible<span class="pagenum" id="Page_135">135</span> +strength it burst upwards and Commander Goodhart +was dashed violently against the steel sides of the +conning tower and killed instantly.</p> + +<p>By the greatest good fortune Commander Herbert +missed the full force of that deadly upthrust of air. +Still he, too, was hurled upwards and, as the water +rushed in and the air gushed out, was carried clean +through the conning tower to the surface.</p> + +<p>Already the disappearance of K.13 was arousing +anxiety up above, and a salvage craft had been called +to the spot. A couple of men in a boat, noticing the +figure of Commander Herbert as he came up in the +Gareloch, pulled quickly towards him and dragged +him over the side. He was almost dead with exhaustion, +and the wonder is that he ever survived that +terrible ordeal.</p> + +<p>As soon as he was sufficiently recovered, he gave +an account of what had happened and told how the +men were trapped in the submarine. The urgency +of the case was obvious. It needed no stressing.</p> + +<p>Then began one of the most thrilling salvage fights +in the history of the human race. It was a fight, not +for treasure, but for human life. It was a race against +time, a long tussle with death.</p> + +<p>Divers dropped down the shot-ropes to the bed of +the Gareloch and began to search for the sunken submarine. +The light was none too good, owing to the +water being fogged with mud, but they were searching<span class="pagenum" id="Page_136">136</span> +only a short time when the dark hull of the submarine +loomed in front of them. They hurried up to it. +One drew an axe from his belt, hammered hard at the +side.</p> + +<p>Answering knocks came from within, and those +waiting anxiously on the surface heaved a sigh of +relief as the divers telephoned up:</p> + +<p>“We’ve found her. They’re still alive!”</p> + +<p>Surveying the wreck, the divers discovered that +the bow of the submarine was about 20 feet higher +than the stern, which was already covered by a dozen +feet of mud. Wading in slime sometimes up to the +armpits, the divers worked their way round her, then +quickly sped to the surface and reported her position.</p> + +<p>At once the experts summed up the situation. The +K.13 with her stern full of water, covered up aft by a +dozen feet of mud, was too heavy to raise bodily. +She was well over 3000 tons, and up to that time +nothing like this weight had ever been lifted from the +seabed. The only thing to be done, the sole hope of +saving the imprisoned men, was to strive to lift the +nose of the craft to the surface while leaving the stern +resting on the bottom. Nothing else was possible.</p> + +<p>“The first thing to do is to get through supplies +of food and air to them,” the salvage officer remarked.</p> + +<p>The divers slid down to the bottom and, disregarding +all thought of their own safety, laboured hard and +long to connect up with the entombed men. They<span class="pagenum" id="Page_137">137</span> +must have broken the endurance record of the world, +for one worked for over twelve hours continuously +on the seabed without taking food, without resting. +Time was too precious for them to waste a second. +They realized the risk, but they accepted it as gladly +as Commander Goodhart ran the risk which led to his +death. They worked until they were ill and dizzy, +floundering in the mud, wrestling with giant steel +cables.</p> + +<p>Forty men were depending on them for their lives. +The thought nerved the divers to prodigious things. +It was essential to communicate with the imprisoned +men, to let them know that everything possible was +being done for them, to strive to sustain their spirits. +Commander Kay of the Salvage Section found the +way. Sending down a submarine flash lamp, he +instructed the divers to rig it up in front of the periscope. +By peering into this instrument the prisoners +were thus able to read the messages that were flashed +to them in Morse Code, and were made to understand +that they were not entirely cut off from the world +after all. With many a struggle, the divers managed +to open a valve in the hull and to attach a pipe through +which food such as Bovril, bottles of hot soup and +chocolate, as well as life-giving air, were passed from +the surface. All this entailed long hours of endeavour.</p> + +<p>The coolness of the men in the submarine was +almost unbelievable.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_138">138</span></p> + +<p>“Send us down a pack of cards to while away the +time!” one shouted up the pipe.</p> + +<p>The cards were procured and sent down, and these +British seamen played cards while Death peeped over +their shoulders.</p> + +<p>Up to then the men had been carefully conserving +their supplies of compressed air, not knowing how long +they would need them to keep alive. Now that air +was being pumped from the surface, they were able to +use what was left of their own supplies to blow all the +oil out of the forward tanks. This lightened their +craft considerably.</p> + +<p>After a terrific struggle, the divers managed to fix +mighty steel cables under the nose of the submarine. +Salvage craft and lifting vessels strained away. For a +time they made no impression. Then slowly the grip +of the mud began to relax and the bow of the submarine, +lightened by the blowing out of the oil tanks, +began to rise nearer and nearer the surface until, +about midnight, it broke clear into view.</p> + +<p>It was a weird sight. Great arc lamps lit the scene, +and under their glare the salvage men attacked the +steel hull of the K.13 with oxy-acetylene blow-pipes. +Every one was desperately anxious, afraid that the +submarine might slip. Under the intense heat of the +blow-pipes, the steel grew soft and melted. Gradually, +laboriously, the salvors burned their way through the +stout outer plates.</p> + +<figure id="ip_138" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 23em;"> + <img src="images/i_p138a.jpg" width="1464" height="2071" alt=""> + <figcaption class="caption">HISTORY REVEALS NO MORE THRILLING RESCUE THAN THAT OF THE SURVIVORS OF +THE K.13 AFTER SHE HAD BEEN AT THE BOTTOM FOR TWO AND A HALF DAYS. +THIS RARE PHOTOGRAPH SHOWS THE BOW OF THE K.13 AFTER IT HAD BEEN HAULED +TO THE SURFACE TO ENABLE THE MEN TO BE CUT OUT + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_139">139</span></p> + +<p>They now made an onslaught on the inner hull, +directing the flame on the steel shell. The metal +glowed and flowed. A rush of air leaped upwards +from the interior of the vessel and blew out the roaring +flame of the blow-pipe.</p> + +<p>“Get us some matches!” the divers called to those +above.</p> + +<p>Under their very noses a hand from inside the ship +suddenly slid through the hole in the metal, the fingers +holding up a box of matches.</p> + +<p>“Here you are,” said a cheery voice, and the divers +knew that all was well.</p> + +<p>Another period of strenuous endeavour and the hole +in the metal was big enough for a man to squeeze +through. Then, as the forty prisoners were helped and +carried to freedom, the cheers of the salvage men +echoed to the shore.</p> + +<p>Never will men be nearer death than those saved from +the K.13. For fifty-seven hours they were imprisoned +in the sunken submarine at the bottom of the sea, for +two and a half days they lived with death at their +elbows, not knowing when the end would come. Their +ordeal has never been equalled, and their rescue is one +of the most thrilling deeds in the annals of sea salvage.</p> + +<p>Barely were they rescued when a storm arose. The +cables holding up the K.13 snapped asunder, and the +submarine plunged again to the bottom. The men +had been cut out not a moment too soon.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_140">140</span></p> + +<p>In due course followed the salvage of the unlucky +K.13. It was effected solely by the use of compressed +air, which was pumped down one pipe into a compartment +until it had driven all the water away through +another pipe to the surface. In this way she was +pumped out compartment by compartment, but even +when all the water was expelled she still stuck in the +mud. For two or three days the salvors strove to +drag her from the clinging mud, but not until she was +freed of the overlying silt by sand-pumps did she bob +to the surface just like a cork. Proving little the +worse for her adventure, she was put into commission +again under another number, so the unlucky K.13 +vanished for ever from the British Naval Lists.</p> +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_141">141</span></p> + +<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XI">CHAPTER XI</h2> +</div> + +<p class="drop-cap b"><span class="smcap1">Quite</span> as thrilling as the experience of the men +who went down in the K.13 was the adventure +which befell the crew of an American +submarine, the S.5, and it is doubtful if any popular +novelist, with all his imagination and powers of +invention, ever thought out a more remarkable situation +than that in which these American sailors found +themselves.</p> + +<p>The American submarine concerned had been +travelling on the surface, when the commander gave +the order to prepare to dive. Down she went, and for +a time glided unseen in the depths. Then her commander +got ready to bring her up once more.</p> + +<p>Of a sudden something went wrong. The air failed +to blow out the forward tanks. The men felt the +floor slip away under their feet as they rose. They +were thrown on their backs, on their faces, rolling sideways +in all directions. There was no shock, not the +slightest jar. The submarine just swung like a pendulum, +and when the officers and men managed to +disentangle themselves from the various positions<span class="pagenum" id="Page_142">142</span> +into which they had been thrown, they found the +bulkheads had changed places with the floor of their +craft.</p> + +<p>The submarine was actually hanging perpendicularly, +bow downward, with just the end of the stern +showing above the surface. It was a terrible plight to +be in, and every man aboard recognized at once that he +was face to face with death. Their only hope was that +a vessel would sight them and manage to rescue them +before their air gave out, yet there was so little of the +stern peeping above the surface of the sea that the +odds against it being noticed were tremendous.</p> + +<p>Most submarines nowadays are equipped with a +portable telephone which can be floated to the surface, +where it is supported by a buoy. This telephone +was designed for just such an emergency, and the +commander quickly uncoiled the cable and sent the +telephone floating upward.</p> + +<p>Followed a most nerve-racking experience. For +hour after hour they swung about under the sea, +rocking this way and that, spinning sometimes like +a top, ringing on the telephone at regular intervals, +and waiting tensely for the sound of a voice to tell +them that they were found. All day they waited +without any reply. Air was being used up every +minute, and death by suffocation was not pleasant to +think upon. Even worse was the thought that at +any moment the submarine might cease to swing,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_143">143</span> +and would plunge to the bottom like a stone, fracture +her plates and wipe them all out in a few seconds.</p> + +<p>Twenty-four hours passed. All through the darkness +of night until dawn those insistent signals went +up to the telephone and a sailor waited tensely for +an answering voice. None came.</p> + +<p>Another day of suspense began. The men were +like prisoners in a condemned cell, not knowing +whether they were going to their doom or whether a +reprieve was coming. All the time they were striving +to find out what was wrong, struggling to right their +craft again. The task was beyond them. Their +efforts were of no avail. Still they rocked and swung +like a pendulum in the broad Atlantic. It was a +nightmare situation. For men to remain so strong +and yet so helpless was maddening. So the dreadful +hours crept by.</p> + +<p>An American transport, the <i>General Goethals</i>, was +steaming down to Panama when one of the men aboard +thought he heard the sound of a telephone bell.</p> + +<p>“What’s that?” he said.</p> + +<p>His companion looked at him, “What?”</p> + +<p>“Sounded like a telephone,” said the first man.</p> + +<p>His shipmate was about to retort when he, too, +heard the sound of the bell.</p> + +<p>“There it is again,” said the first man.</p> + +<p>“Sure!” answered the companion.</p> + +<p>Other men came crowding up.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_144">144</span></p> + +<p>“What’s wrong?” they inquired.</p> + +<p>“Didn’t you hear it?” asked the first man.</p> + +<p>“What?”</p> + +<p>“The telephone!”</p> + +<p>At that moment the sound came to them again. +They looked at each other. Some wondered if they +were bewitched. They were far out on the open sea, +and it seemed impossible that a telephone bell could +be ringing there.</p> + +<p>More and more men crowded round, and more and +more heard the bell. There was no mistaking it. +It was certainly a telephone bell. So plain was it, +so insistent, that at last the captain signalled down +to stop the engines.</p> + +<p>Half a dozen seamen took their places in a boat. +Outwards it swung from the side of the ship and a +moment later sat with a splash in the sea. Rowing +in the direction of the mysterious sound, the sailors +at last sighted the buoy with the telephone attached. +The stern of the craft was barely visible.</p> + +<p>Imagine the transports of those unfortunates when +voices hailed them cheerfully from above! They had +been swinging about in their awful predicament for +thirty-five hours when the telephone was picked up, +and air was running so short that they had only +enough to last them for an hour or two longer.</p> + +<p>Instantly the men below made clear their peril. +The troopship flashed out her wireless call for help.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_145">145</span></p> + +<p>Not a ship within radius heard the call.</p> + +<p>Then cropped up another of those strange tricks of +Fate. An American schoolboy, named Moore, keen +on wireless long before the wireless boom set in, was +experimenting with his home-made set when he +picked up the call. Proudly he sent out this message +of life and death on his own transmitter. The nearest +naval depot picked it up and destroyers with special +plant aboard were hurried at full speed to the rescue.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile the captain of the transport had managed +with the greatest difficulty to get strong hawsers +round the submarine, lashing them tightly to his +transport in order to keep the stern of the submarine +above water. Then his engineers after a deal of +labour cut a small hole in the steel skin and began to +pump fresh air in to the prisoners.</p> + +<p>This was the situation when the destroyers appeared +on the scene. Immediately they fixed more hawsers +round the submarine to prevent her from slipping to +the bottom, and with the special appliances at their +command they managed to cut through the rivets +and force out one of the plates of the up-ended craft.</p> + +<p>One by one the twenty-seven men and their commanding +officer scrambled through to the open air +again, after being imprisoned for forty hours in that +crazy submarine swinging about under the sea. Thus +a telephone ringing in the open sea, where no telephone +could possibly be expected, and a boy playing with<span class="pagenum" id="Page_146">146</span> +his wireless set were instrumental in saving the lives +of an entire crew after a most terrible experience.</p> + +<p>Not so fortunate were the crew of a British submarine +which, like the K.13, met with a mishap that sent her +plunging to the bottom. All were killed except one +man, who with his own lips afterwards related how he +had battled with death and won his way back to life +after one of the most amazing adventures that have +ever befallen man.</p> + +<p>He happened to be in the engine-room when he +perceived the water pouring in through the conning +tower in one mighty cascade. In a flash he realized +that the boat was doomed. Rushing along the engine-room +he shouted at the top of his voice to warn his +comrades in the other parts of the ship. The sea swept +into the engine-room after him. In a moment the +floor was flooded.</p> + +<p>Fast as he moved, the water was faster. Before he +could get out, he heard the sinister sound of the engine-room +door slamming. He turned and thrust his +shoulder against it. It would not budge. He was +trapped in the engine-room of a sunken submarine! +The rush of water had closed the bulkhead door, and +the space beyond was completely flooded, making it +impossible for the imprisoned man to move the door. +Even if he had succeeded in opening the door, it would +have been merely a matter of seconds before the +hungry sea drowned him.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_147">147</span></p> + +<p>He stood to compose his thoughts, to make up his +mind what to do. More than once he had imagined +himself trapped in just such a manner, and he was +well aware that if he could succeed in equalizing the +pressure of the air inside with the water outside he +might get out of the submarine and escape.</p> + +<p>But to work things out in theory is much easier +than to carry them out in practice, especially if your +life depends on your doing everything exactly as it +should be done, when the least little slip means death.</p> + +<p>The man reached out his hand to grasp a metal +lever. His fingers closed on it. He recoiled from a +severe electric shock. He touched something else, +and again felt the jolt of electricity. His knee knocked +against one of the engines and he felt a big shock in +his leg. Very gingerly he put his finger on another +metal object, and once more experienced the sensation +of electricity. Everything around him was charged +with electricity, and it was some time before he +realized that the flooding of the engine-room had +short-circuited the electric current.</p> + +<p>Now another factor crept in to make the situation +still more desperate. The sea water, flooding the +electric batteries, began to set free chlorine gas. The +smell of it grew stronger, made him gasp. So to the +risks of drowning and suffocating was added the +danger of gas poisoning.</p> + +<p>In like circumstances few men could have kept their<span class="pagenum" id="Page_148">148</span> +nerve. Most men would have abandoned themselves +to their fate, would have given up all hope in the face +of so many perils. But not this British sailor. With +all his strength he began to fight to get out of the +submarine, to put his theories into practice in order +to save his life. He must have possessed tremendous +will power, wonderful courage and determination.</p> + +<p>He tried the torpedo hatch, to make quite sure that +the pressure above was such that he could not shift it. +He might have been pushing against Mount Everest +itself. Wasting no time, he set the bolt of the hatch +so that the merest touch would release it, then he +opened a valve to let in more water. As the water +flooded the compartment, the air in it was compressed +more and more. Higher and higher crept the water, +greater and greater became the pressure of the air +until he felt he could stand it no longer. He slipped +the bolt of the hatch, and as he felt it give to the +pressure he slipped a hand on the outside. A gust of +air swept out, held up the cover momentarily, then the +great metal lid slammed down again, crushing all +the fingers of the brave man’s hand.</p> + +<p>Maimed though he was, his courage remained unshaken. +Giving up his idea of escaping by raising +the air pressure, he determined on the most desperate +expedient of all. He made up his mind to flood the +compartment completely, when the pressure of the +water inside and outside would be equal, and he could<span class="pagenum" id="Page_149">149</span> +open the hatch—if he were not drowned in the +attempt.</p> + +<p>Opening more valves, he scrambled on top of the +engines and watched the water pouring in. It rose +to the hatch coamings, till only his face was above +the surface. Then with a quick heave of his shoulder +he pressed against the hatch. The imprisoned air +burst out and the water rushed in, sweeping over his +face and head. Holding his breath, he thrust again +at the hatch, which luckily passed the vertical and fell +backwards with a clang. Then he struck out desperately +towards the surface.</p> + +<p>A destroyer steaming along saw a tiny patch of +white in the water. It was the face of the hero of +the submarine. He was to all intents lifeless, practically +dead. Wasting not a moment, they forced the +water from him and after a hard struggle succeeded in +bringing back to life one of the bravest men who +ever breathed.</p> + +<p>Not without its amusing side was the adventure +which befell three unhappy men on an American +naval submarine. She was engaged in making a series +of cinematograph pictures, and orders were given to +prepare for a very rapid dive, known as a crash dive.</p> + +<p>Two cinema men were still standing on the deck +with their cameras, and the commander was in the +top half of the conning tower, which was, of course, +open. To their consternation the boat began to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_150">150</span> +submerge. Realizing that there had been some misunderstanding, +and thinking only of saving his ship +and crew from a terrible disaster, the commander, who +had no time to enter the ship, shouted to the men to +close the hatch under his feet.</p> + +<p>It was slammed not a moment too soon, and the +commander inside the conning tower was carried +beneath the surface. His first thought was to escape. +He scrambled upwards towards the opening. Something +stopped him, held him fast, kept him a prisoner.</p> + +<p>What had happened was that a projection in the +conning tower had caught in his open pocket and was +holding him down.</p> + +<p>Struggling desperately, and swallowing a deal of +water, he managed to tear himself free and kick up to +the top. Gulping in the fresh air, he looked around +him. One cinema man was swimming strongly some +little distance away. Of the other, there was no trace.</p> + +<p>Just as the commander was beginning to give the +other man up for lost, the submarine herself reappeared. +The commander gazed at her in astonishment, hardly +believing his own eyes. With her came the half-drowned +cinema man, his arms thrown round his camera and +the wireless mast, and clinging to them like grim death.</p> + +<p>“What the dickens did you go down with her for?” +asked the amazed officer, when he was taken aboard.</p> + +<p>“I couldn’t swim a stroke, so I thought it safer to +stick to the ship,” explained the camera man naively.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_151">151</span></p> + +<p>Luckily for him the crew instantly saw that something +was wrong and brought the boat up at once.</p> + +<p>So recently as the last days of October, 1923, two +American seamen, Henry Breault and Lawrence +Brown, were immured for thirty hours in a submarine +at the bottom of a bay near the Panama +Canal. Breault most heroically dashed into the ship +as she was sinking to see if he could assist anybody +who happened to be within. He found Brown asleep +in the torpedo-room, and they just succeeded in closing +the door when the O.5 went down in 40 feet of water.</p> + +<p>There was not a morsel of food aboard, not a drop +of drinking water. First the lights failed, then the +batteries exploded and caused a fire which blazed +furiously for some time.</p> + +<p>Meantime, a third man, Charles Butler, caught in +the engine-room, took refuge in an air pocket, stripped +off his clothes and made for the hatchway. Emulating +the plucky fellow who escaped from the British +submarine, he thrust open the hatch. So enormous +was the pressure that he was blown right out of the +water, breaking the surface like a leaping salmon. +He was soon picked up, after being at the bottom for +eight minutes.</p> + +<p>In three hours the other two prisoners heard the +knocks of a diver and knew that attempts were being +made to rescue them. Nine hours later they felt the +submarine begin to move upward. For a little time<span class="pagenum" id="Page_152">152</span> +she continued to rise, then their hopes were dashed +by a sharp snapping sound and they felt their craft +fall with a bump to the bottom again.</p> + +<p>The ticking of the clock for hour after hour, the +dreadful dragging of the hands round the face of it +nearly drove them distracted. They could not bear +to watch it longer. There they sat, wondering, hoping.</p> + +<p>Another sixteen hours passed before they felt the +submarine again begin to rise, moving so slowly that +both men were consumed with anxiety. The maddening +clock ticked on as the craft was wound up. Water +splashed on the deck, the pent-up air gushed out, footsteps +sounded and they knew deliverance was at hand. +Breault pushed open the hatch and both men stood +blinking blindly in the dazzling sunshine.</p> + +<p>Their heads reeled. So sick and ill were they +owing to the sudden change of pressure that grave +danger was only averted by quickly placing them +under the same pressure in another submarine, and +then slowly reducing the pressure in accordance with +the recognized diving practice. Thus they came +unscathed through their dreadful trial.</p> + +<p>The K.5 during battle practice with the British +Fleet in 1921 sank in such deep water that no attempt +was made to recover her. But the American naval +experts, when a similar disaster overtook the submarine +F.4 at Honolulu in March, 1915, were so +anxious to find out what had happened that they<span class="pagenum" id="Page_153">153</span> +determined to do their utmost to retrieve the sunken +craft.</p> + +<p>Going out for a practice spin, the F.4 quietly submerged +and was never seen again. Boats were soon +in search of her, and the result of dragging operations +led to her discovery on the bottom outside Honolulu +harbour in just over 50 fathoms, or 304 feet, of water.</p> + +<p>Unhesitatingly the greatest salvage experts in the +world would have pronounced her lost beyond recovery. +She was 100 feet deeper than the British +record dive of 210 feet, a depth which no other divers +in the world had ever reached, and she was far deeper +than any craft hitherto lifted from the seabed.</p> + +<p>The experts of the American Navy, aware of these +and other facts, knew that they desired to achieve +the impossible, but instead of admitting that it could +not be done they straightway set about doing it. A +big rise and fall in the tide would have been of tremendous +assistance to them, but at Honolulu the tide +rises and falls only 18 inches. It was of no help to +them at all. So they made their plans to haul her +up bodily by winches and tow her into shallower +water until she grounded; while for the last stage +of the journey into the harbour they placed their +faith in six pontoons, each sheathed in a jacket of +timber 4 inches thick to prevent the cables from +cutting it. This stout timber casing successfully protected +the pontoons from all damage when they were<span class="pagenum" id="Page_154">154</span> +brought into play. Nor was it unnecessary, for, incredible +as it may seen, the chafing of the submarine +during a sudden gale quickly wore through the mighty +steel cables as she rubbed them against the bottom.</p> + +<p>It was in connection with the cables that the +greatest diving feat in all history was accomplished. +The cables were swept underneath the submarine by +surface craft in the usual way. But the salvors +could not be sure that the cables were exactly where +they ought to be. With cables too near the bow +and the stern, the submarine would just fold up as +she was lifted and break her back, the two halves, +falling apart, probably defying recovery. Even if +they could be raised, the damage would be so great +that all traces of the original accident would be destroyed +and the experts could never learn why the +submarine had foundered.</p> + +<p>The one way of finding out whether the cables were +properly in place was to send down divers to see. +A diver in Lake Huron in the ’nineties, trying to +recover sunken treasure, was crushed to pulp at a +depth of 198 feet; even a diving bell, operating later +on the same wreck, was unable to withstand the +pressure, consequently it seemed like sentencing a +man to death to order him to dive to a depth of 304 +feet. However, the cleverest diving expert in the +American Navy pondered over the matter and, in +the light of recent experiments, considered it could<span class="pagenum" id="Page_155">155</span> +be done provided all the rules were most rigidly +observed. The finest divers in the American Navy, +men who had been specially trained, were thereupon +sent to Honolulu to carry out this gigantic task.</p> + +<p>The leading diver struggled into his suit. For +aught he knew, he would never come up alive; the +enormous pressure of the water might squeeze his +unprotected legs and body and arms until it had +squeezed all the blood in his body through his eyes +and ears and nose and mouth. He knew that the +metal helmet protected his head from the sea pressure, +which was the reason why the nip of the sea drives all +the blood in the body up to the head. But he smiled +cheerfully as his helmet was screwed into place.</p> + +<p>A few moments later he was sliding down the shot-rope. +Down and down he went, the sea pressing +heavier and heavier on his body. Up on the surface +the air pumps heaved quickly to pass down to him +the air that would prevent him from being squeezed +to death.</p> + +<p>Reaching the wreck at last, he found the pressure +so enormous that it was almost impossible for him to +lift his hand in the water. To move at all was really +like pushing his way through some solid substance. +Nevertheless, he managed to survey the wreck and +was slowly drawn up again to safety, after spending +ten minutes at the bottom.</p> + +<p>Several times he and his fellow divers penetrated<span class="pagenum" id="Page_156">156</span> +to these startling depths to see that adjustments were +properly made. Then, just when everything seemed +all right, the sense of impending tragedy gripped the +watchers on the surface. They had drawn up one +gallant diver to 200 feet, when he found that his lines +were entangled and that he was stuck fast. It was a +fearful situation. For a diver to be caught at this +great depth is almost certain death.</p> + +<p>Relays of divers were sent down to his aid, and for +two hours they struggled and fought to release their +comrade who was dangling there at death’s door +200 feet below the surface of the sea. In the end they +disentangled him, and he was drawn up in a most +critical state. Double pneumonia struck him down, +and for months his life was despaired of. Eventually +a fine constitution and tireless nursing enabled him +to pull round and regain his lost health. But it was +a desperately close shave. That any man could reach +this depth and still live is little short of a miracle.</p> + +<p>Eventually the ill-fated F.4 was towed into harbour. +In raising her according to plan, the American Navy +broke three records. By attaining the incredible +depth of 304 feet, the American divers wrested the +diving record from the British Navy; that unfortunate +diver who was forced to remain at 200 feet +for two hours, without fatal results or permanent +injury, created another record; and their third record +was achieved by lifting the submarine from the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_157">157</span> +greatest depth at which any wreck has ever been +raised. It is impossible to praise the divers and +salvage officers too highly for these magnificent feats.</p> + +<p>If the American Navy has robbed the British Navy +of the diving record, the British Salvage Section still +has a few more records left. For instance, when a +German submarine was put down in 190 feet of water +off our rocky northern coast, the British Admiralty +calmly ordered the Salvage Section to bring the +submarine to port.</p> + +<p>In the face of a definite order of this sort, there +was nothing to be said. The Director of Salvage +hastened to the spot, and sent divers down to survey +the wreck and if possible recover the papers. They +found an arm protruding from the partly-closed +conning tower, the fingers, stiffened by death, clutching +as in a vice some of the secret orders which the +commander was endeavouring to cast away when he +saw that capture or destruction was inevitable. Before +he could rid himself of the papers, the submarine +plunged to her doom and the cover of the conning +tower slammed down on his arm.</p> + +<p>With an effort, the divers unlocked those clammy +fingers and took the papers. Then they managed to +raise the lid of the conning tower and enter the ship, +although it was practically at the limit of the depth +at which divers can possibly work. Their submarine +lamps lit the gloom of the interior, and a search<span class="pagenum" id="Page_158">158</span> +brought to light the log and other papers, which were +sent post haste to the Admiralty.</p> + +<p>The order to take the wreck to port was much more +difficult to obey. She was down on such a rocky coast +in such a position that lifting her in the ordinary way +was quite out of the question. Commodore Young +thereupon decided to do what had never been done +with a craft of this size since the world began, that is, +raise her from the depths by sheer mechanical power. +The cables were swept underneath, and divers saw that +they were properly in place. Then the powerful +machinery installed in the salvage ships began to work, +and slowly but surely the great steel cables, thicker +than a man’s wrist, were wound up until the U-boat +was within a few feet of the surface. It was an extraordinary +feat to lift this wrecked submarine, weighing +nearly 1000 tons—practically four times the weight +of the American F.4—from a depth of 190 feet by the +sheer power of machinery.</p> + +<p>The salvors crowned this remarkable effort by +carrying the submarine in her cradle of slings nearly +40 miles round the coast, which was another record +the British Salvage Section made that month. Just +as they got her to the mouth of the harbour, she slipped +from the slings and went to the bottom again. Picking +her up once more, the salvage men towed her into +dock so that the submarine experts could dissect her.</p> + +<p>Another astonishing feat performed by British<span class="pagenum" id="Page_159">159</span> +salvage men was the raising of a collier that sank +right in the fairway at Rosyth. The danger of other +ships striking her and piling up was so great that her +removal became imperative. To pick her up in the +approved style by sweeping cables under her and +using lifting craft to swing her clear of the bottom was +the obvious way of clearing the channel. But she was +a dead weight of 3000 tons, or about 1000 tons heavier +than the heaviest wreck raised by such methods.</p> + +<p>If her cargo had been bales of cotton or something +easy to handle, divers would have gone down and +removed part of her burden in order to lighten her. +But coal is about the worst thing in the world to +deal with under water. Consequently the salvors +tackled the job with a brace of lifting craft, which +enabled them to master 2400 tons, and a couple of +mighty pontoons, which provided the power to lift +the remainder. Everything was fixed, and as the +tide rose the salvors managed to drag the wreck out +of the way of other ships, and eventually, after a +terrific fight lasting a considerable time, succeeded +in beaching her.</p> + +<p>Commodore Sir Frederick Young also mastered a +weight of about 3000 tons in lifting Captain Fryatt’s +ship, the <i>Brussels</i>, at Ostend, and these two feats +performed by British salvage experts constitute a +world’s record for the greatest deadweight ever raised +in recent times from the bottom of the sea.</p> +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_160">160</span></p> + +<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XII">CHAPTER XII</h2> +</div> + +<p class="drop-cap"><span class="smcap1">The</span> resources of the salvage experts in fighting +for the life of a ship are amazing. They will +cheerfully run the gravest risks, do the most +extraordinary things to get her into port. But that +they, whose avowed aim in life is to save ships, should +deliberately sink them, savours of something akin to +madness. Yet occasions arise when prompt decisions +have to be made, when the salvage officer is literally +between the devil and the deep sea. An outbreak +of fire aboard a ship places him in this quandary. +Damage to a ship by water can be remedied, but +fire, once it gets a hold, consumes ship and cargo. +Of two evils, the salvage man chooses the lesser, +and if there is no other way of combating the fire +he will calmly sink the ship as a preliminary to +saving her.</p> + +<figure id="ip_160" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 34em;"> + <img src="images/i_p160a.jpg" width="2135" height="1315" alt=""> + <figcaption class="caption">A GIANT OIL TANKER WHICH BLAZED FOR DAYS, BLOTTING OUT THE HEAVENS WITH DENSE CLOUDS OF SMOKE. THE +SALVAGE MEN WERE EVENTUALLY COMPELLED TO SINK HER TO PUT OUT THE FIRE + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<p>More than once during the war British salvage +officers had hot times with burning ships, and one of +their most thrilling adventures sprang from a collision +between two oil tankers called the <i>War Knight</i> and the +<i>O. B. Jennings</i>. A big convoy of ships was proceeding<span class="pagenum" id="Page_161">161</span> +along the English Channel in the early hours of March +24, 1918. It was pitch dark, and the ships with their +attendant destroyers were steaming at full speed +without lights in order to dodge the attentions of +German submarines. Too late the officers on the +<i>War Knight</i> saw a dark shape appear immediately +in their course. A moment afterwards came a terrific +impact. The bow of the <i>War Knight</i> cut into the side +of the <i>O. B. Jennings</i>, bursting one of the mighty tanks +full of naphtha. It flashed into one gigantic flame +which instantly blotted out most of the crew of the +<i>War Knight</i>, and in a minute or two a Niagara of +naphtha from the fractured tank was setting the whole +sea ablaze. The one or two men still alive on the +flaming <i>War Knight</i> frantically hurled themselves +overboard, to meet a terrible end in the fiery sea. It +was an awful sight.</p> + +<p>The fire leaped to the skies, while the men of the +<i>O. B. Jennings</i>, in that moment’s respite before the +blazing naphtha floated round to the other side of their +ship, rushed to their boats and got away. But Captain +Nordstrom and his officers stuck to their ship, though +she was belching flames and every moment her other +tanks threatened to explode and blow her sky high. +Then a British destroyer speeded into the full glare +of the light, and one by one the little band of heroes +jumped to safety. The captain, leaping last, slipped +between the two vessels to what seemed certain death,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_162">162</span> +and for a space it seemed that he, too, was to lose his +life, but the prompt measures of the British sailors +eventually led to his rescue.</p> + +<p>By now the two ships were blazing like funeral +pyres in a sea of flames. Great billows of smoke +rolled from the stricken tankers in the dawn, blotting +out the heavens, looking almost solid enough to stand +on. With incredible pluck a naval officer, watching +his opportunity, plunged into the inferno aboard the +<i>War Knight</i> and made fast a mighty steel towing +hawser. Jumping back to his ship, he took in tow the +flaming tanker which had now drifted right into one of +our minefields. It was a gallant piece of work. British +mines were all around him, waiting to blow him to +pieces, but regardless of danger he kept his course. +Once a big explosion shook the stricken vessel as she +struck a mine. Luckily, the ship towing her escaped, +and the salvage officer, seeing at last that it was not +possible to prevent the tanker from burning out, +decided to sink her by gunfire on a sandy bottom where +there was at least the prospect of salving her later on. +Never again, however, did the <i>War Knight</i> sail the +seas. She proved a total loss.</p> + +<figure id="ip_162" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 24em;"> + <img src="images/i_p162a.jpg" width="1515" height="1856" alt=""> + <figcaption class="caption">A STRIKING PHOTOGRAPH, TAKEN FROM THE AIR, OF THE CAMOUFLAGED TROOPSHIP +ONWARD LYING ON HER SIDE BY FOLKESTONE QUAY AFTER SHE HAD BEEN SCUTTLED TO +PUT OUT A FIRE. THE SALVAGE SHIP IS ANCHORED JUST OFF THE ENDS OF HER FUNNELS, +WHILE THE RAILWAY LINES ON THE QUAY ARE SEEN IN THE FOREGROUND, THE UPRIGHT +PILES OF THE QUAY ITSELF HAVING THE APPEARANCE OF THE SLEEPERS OF A RAILWAY +TRACK + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<p>The <i>O. B. Jennings</i> was also taken in tow and brought +to Sandown Bay in safety. Day after day the fire +continued to rage in her, vast clouds of smoke continued +to foul the heavens. Nothing could quench +the flames, and at the end of ten days the Admiralty<span class="pagenum" id="Page_163">163</span> +salvage officer gave instructions for a torpedo boat +to shell the tanker until she sank.</p> + +<figure id="ip_163" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 35em;"> + <img src="images/i_p162b.jpg" width="2211" height="1375" alt=""> + <figcaption class="caption">THE ONWARD WITH HER FUNNELS CUT OFF AND DECK HOUSES REMOVED. NOTE ONE OF HER PROPELLERS JUST SHOWING +ABOVE THE WATER AND ALSO THE LIFTING CRAFT BETWEEN HER AND THE SALVAGE STEAMER + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<p>It was a desperate remedy, but it proved a brilliant +solution of the puzzling problem. As she went down, +the sea just overwhelmed the fire and allowed the +salvage men to tackle the wreck. Divers tapped the +undamaged tanks of the ship, pumps were connected +up and 8000 tons of oil taken from the sunken vessel. +Then the places where the shells had pierced the hull +were repaired and the <i>O. B. Jennings</i> was pumped out +and floated into dock.</p> + +<p>A patch was put on her wound, and she set out for +the United States; but, as ill-luck would have it, she +was caught by another German submarine less than +100 miles from New York and sent to the bottom for +good, so all the efforts of the British salvage men were +wasted in the end. That collision cost Great Britain +just £1,000,000.</p> + +<p>Another outstanding case where the ship was deliberately +scuttled in order to put out a fire was +that of the troopship <i>Onward</i>, which carried many +thousands of troops to France. She was lying about +midnight at the quay at Folkestone when flames +suddenly burst from her, owing, it is thought, to a +thermit bomb secreted by a spy. She blazed up +furiously, threatening destruction to the whole quay +and endangering our communications with France. +The destruction of the quay at that time would have<span class="pagenum" id="Page_164">164</span> +been a disaster compared with which the loss of the +steamer was as nothing, so quickly the decision was +made to sink the <i>Onward</i> by opening her sea-cocks. +This was done, and the fire went out in a venomous +hiss as the sea swept in.</p> + +<p>Unluckily, in sinking, the ship turned over on her +side, and before she could be raised she had to be +set upright. As she lay, she was preventing a much-wanted +berth of the quay from being used, so the +Salvage Section was given a month to get her out of +the way.</p> + +<p>Masts, funnels and various cabins were cut off the +upright deck to clear the vessel of all her top hamper. +Then the salvors, toiling night and day, built enormously +strong tripods out of huge baulks of timber +on the quay. By the time these were finished, lifting +vessels were brought on the spot and moored close +to the overturned ship. Cables were taken from the +lifting vessels down under the keel of the ship and +attached to the visible upper side of the hull, so the +lifting craft, in straining upward, would tend to pull +her over. Other cables were made fast to the deck +and carried across the tops of the tripods on the quay.</p> + +<figure id="ip_164" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 34em;"> + <img src="images/i_p164a.jpg" width="2124" height="1361" alt=""> + <figcaption class="caption">FIVE RAILWAY ENGINES HAULING THE OVERTURNED TROOPSHIP UPRIGHT. THIS EXTRAORDINARY TUG OF WAR BETWEEN A +WRECK AND RAILWAY LOCOMOTIVES IS UNIQUE IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<p>Then came the touch of genius on the part of the +Director of Salvage which makes the case unique. +Five powerful railway locomotives steamed on to the +quay and came to a stop by the sunken ship. The +ends of the cables were made fast to the locomotives,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_165">165</span> +and there followed one of the strangest tugs of war in +the world between railway engines and a sunken ship. +The five railway engines began to pull, and they +pulled and hauled and strained away until they +dragged the <i>Onward</i> upright. Pumping out soon +followed, and within a month the scuttled troopship +was raised and in dry dock. It was a difficult and +novel feat, admirably performed.</p> + +<figure id="ip_165" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 35em;"> + <img src="images/i_p164b.jpg" width="2218" height="1229" alt=""> + <figcaption class="caption">PUMPING OUT THE SUNKEN TROOPSHIP IN ORDER TO RAISE HER AFTER SHE HAD BEEN PULLED UPRIGHT BY THE RAILWAY ENGINES + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<p>It was by no means the first overturned ship that +Commodore Sir Frederick Young had dealt with, for +some years ago he righted and raised H.M.S. <i>Gladiator</i> +after the <i>St. Paul</i>, of the American Line, had crashed +into her during a blinding snowstorm on April 25, 1908, +and sunk her in the Solent. The British Admiralty +called in the assistance of the Liverpool Salvage +Association, who sent Captain F. W. Young, as he was +in those days, to deal with the case.</p> + +<p>Up to that time it was as gigantic a task as any one +had ever undertaken. There the cruiser lay on her +side, 6000 tons of dead weight, on the sandy bed of +the Solent, a fifty-foot hole ripped in her hull, several +of her boiler rooms exposed to the sea, her grey plates +just showing above the water.</p> + +<p>The salvage expert was not a bit dismayed. He +began to lighten the ship in every possible way. Her +guns were taken out and salved. Then uncouth divers +got busy with pneumatic chisels and cut off the funnels +and ventilators and other deck fittings. Every hole<span class="pagenum" id="Page_166">166</span> +in the deck was covered with wood and made watertight. +Only the gash in her side, where the thick +armour plates had folded down like tinfoil, was left +open, and this in turn was dealt with by the divers, +who carefully blasted away the ragged plates to +prevent them from impeding the righting of the +ship.</p> + +<p>Seven enormous pontoons, each 50 feet long, were +made and lashed to the wreck. Two strong tripods +were built up from the side of the hull, so that cables +attached to the ends of the masts could be carried +over them and hauled on by a couple of tugs when +the time came to right the ship. The cables from +the masts ran straight up in the air to the tops of the +tripods, and when tugs began pulling, the tendency +was to drag the ship over into an upright position. +Inch by inch the <i>Gladiator</i> was turned after a terrific +struggle, helped by 280 tons of iron which the salvors +piled on the keel to press it down while the tugs were +hauling up. The fight was severe, and even when she +was righted her upper deck was still several feet under +water, so the salvors determined to cover it with a huge +coffer-dam built of strong planks. This coffer-dam +looked like a great deck-house built up from the sides +of the ship, and as it was made watertight and pumped +out, it helped to pull the vessel to the surface.</p> + +<figure id="ip_166" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 33em;"> + <img src="images/i_p166a.jpg" width="2090" height="1453" alt=""> + <figcaption class="caption"> + +<div class="blockquot"> + +<p><i>By courtesy of the Merritt & Chapman Wrecking Company</i></p> +</div> + +<p>A VERY STRIKING VIEW OF THE OVERTURNED LINER ST. PAUL, WHICH PROVIDED SOME DIFFICULT PROBLEMS FOR THE +AMERICAN SALVAGE EXPERTS</p> + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<p>Five months of strenuous work saw the pumps +conquering the sea. The cruiser rose sluggishly, the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_167">167</span> +tugs caught hold of her, and nightfall saw the little +procession creeping into Portsmouth harbour. The +cost of raising the wrecked cruiser was £50,500, and +ultimately the Admiralty sold her to the shipbreakers +for £15,125.</p> + +<figure id="ip_167" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 34em;"> + <img src="images/i_p166b.jpg" width="2118" height="1410" alt=""> + <figcaption class="caption"> + +<div class="blockquot"> + +<p><i>By courtesy of the Merritt & Chapman Wrecking Company</i></p> +</div> + +<p>TEN YEARS TO THE VERY DAY AFTER THE LINER ST. PAUL SANK H.M.S. GLADIATOR IN THE SOLENT, SHE HERSELF TURNED +OVER AND SANK AT HER QUAY IN NEW YORK. SAILORS MAY BE SEEN MAKING A PROMENADE OF HER HULL THE NEXT DAY</p> + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<p>The end of the <i>Gladiator</i> was the beginning of a +dramatic sequel, a sequel so remarkable that it borders +almost on the uncanny, raising once more the question +whether there is anything in those legends of ghostly +ships, like the <i>Flying Dutchman</i>, flitting about the +seas until they are avenged or their long quest is over. +For year after year the <i>St. Paul</i> sped along the sea +lanes between America and England, thrusting through +fog and shine and storm. Then the Great War demanded +her conversion into a troopship, and early +in the spring of 1918 the work was completed.</p> + +<p>On April 25, 1918, ten years to the very day that +she sank the <i>Gladiator</i>, the tugs were manœuvring +her beside her quay in New York when she slowly +began to heel over. Men gazed on her with amazement +as she heeled more and more. Her masts +touched the quay and crumpled like twigs, and as +they smashed she went down on her side, even as the +<i>Gladiator</i> had gone down in the Solent. In a short +time 2000 tons of liquid mud gushed through her +open portholes, which had now taken the place of her +keel, and the salvage experts of the Merritt and +Chapman Wrecking Company found her settled comfortably<span class="pagenum" id="Page_168">168</span> +in a dozen feet of mud between the two +quays. Why she sank is still a mystery.</p> + +<p>Mr. R. E. Chapman, the salvage engineer, had a +most difficult problem to tackle. He had to grapple +with a dead weight of 13,000 tons in a space so circumscribed +that there was hardly room for the salvage +craft to move. He did not worry. He set his squads +of divers to work cutting away funnels and all the +tackle from the top deck, as was done to the <i>Gladiator</i>, +and when they had finished he sent them into the +bowels of the ship in pairs in order to close all the +open portholes that were buried many feet in the mud +and over 50 feet below the surface of the harbour. +It was inky black down below; they had no lights, +because lights would not have penetrated the gloom, +so they relied on their fingers instead of their eyes, +and by using powerful hose to wash away the mud +they managed to close over 500 openings in the ship.</p> + +<p>One particularly clever piece of work was the making +of a steel plate to fit over an opening around which +were seventeen bolt holes. To get the bolt holes in +the plate directly opposite the bolt holes in the ship +seems almost an impossibility, but the diver solved +the problem by taking down a sheet of lead which +he hammered all round the opening until he had +made a pattern with every bolt hole exactly in its +place. From this pattern the steel plate was made, +and it fitted perfectly!</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_169">169</span></p> + +<p>Bulkheads to a ship afloat are an undisguised blessing, +but the salvors found them a decided drawback +on the sunken <i>St. Paul</i>. The bulkheads effectually +stopped the flow of water from one end of the ship +to the other, and before pumping could start it was +imperative that the water should flow freely to the +pumps throughout the whole length of the ship. It +meant breaking through the bulkheads. The divers +blasted through one or two with explosives, but the +damage was such that the salvors decided to cut +holes through the remainder with the electric torch.</p> + +<p>Among the modern miracles that are little understood +may be ranked that of creating a flame hot +enough to melt metal immersed deep in the sea. +Plunge a lighted match into water and the flame goes +out; sink a blazing ship in the sea and the fire is +conquered; yet the divers working on the <i>St. Paul</i> +not only made a flame burn under the sea, but they +also melted and cut holes through strong steel plates.</p> + +<p>This marvel was worked by combining electricity +and gas. The end of the torch was shaped like a +cup, and the gas, driven at a high pressure through +the pipe from the surface, reduced all the water +within this cup to steam. Set in the centre of the +cup was the electric terminal, and by holding it close +to the metal plate to be cut an electric arc was formed +with the terrific temperature of 6700 degrees! Under +it the metal flowed like wax, and the divers were<span class="pagenum" id="Page_170">170</span> +able to cut a dozen round drainage holes through the +bulkheads. So blinding was the glare from the torch +that even the muddy water was insufficient to stop it, +and the divers were compelled to fit masks over their +helmets in order to protect their eyes.</p> + +<p>Meantime the men had been busy outside the ship, +and there arose a long line of twenty-one legs, built of +steel girders, all along the overturned hull. Shaped +like the letter “A,” 30 feet high, they presented a +remarkable spectacle, and to gaze under their whole +length was like staring at the under-framing of some +mighty bridge.</p> + +<p>Dredging a deep trench at the bottom of the next +quay, the salvors sank twenty-one giant blocks of +concrete, burying them with 15 feet of clay to make +them immovable, and from these blocks they carried +strong steel cables over the tops of the legs, and back +to twenty-one steam winches set on the quay. When +the time was ripe all the winches started to haul on +the great legs, which began to lever the liner over. +Powerful pontoons and wonderful floating derricks +lent their aid, and after a ding-dong struggle lasting +a week the liner came over sufficiently for the salvors +to put in hand the final phase of the operations. Just +as the <i>Gladiator</i> was floated at last by building a large +coffer-dam over the deck, so the <i>St. Paul</i> was encased +in a coffer-dam from end to end. Came a day when the +pumps were set going, and the liner floated once more.</p> + +<figure id="ip_170" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 37em;"> + <img src="images/i_p170a.jpg" width="2357" height="1559" alt=""> + <figcaption class="caption"> + +<div class="blockquot"> + +<p><i>By courtesy of the Merritt & Chapman Wrecking Company</i></p> +</div> + +<p>THE WONDERFUL MAZE OF STEEL LEVERS OR LEGS, SHAPED LIKE THE LETTER “A,” 30 FEET HIGH, ERECTED ON THE OVERTURNED +HULL OF THE LINER. BY HAULING ON THESE LEGS WITH STEEL CABLES THE SALVORS MANAGED TO DRAG THE +ST. PAUL UPRIGHT</p> + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_171">171</span></p> + +<figure id="ip_171" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 35em;"> + <img src="images/i_p170b.jpg" width="2180" height="1383" alt=""> + <figcaption class="caption"> + +<div class="blockquot"> + +<p><i>By courtesy of the Merritt & Chapman Wrecking Company</i></p> +</div> + +<p>AN EXCELLENT VIEW OF THE ST. PAUL AFTER SHE WAS RAISED, SURROUNDED BY THE MAMMOTH FLOATING DERRICKS WHICH +PLAYED SO IMPORTANT A PART IN THE SALVAGE OPERATIONS</p> + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<p>Salvage men are used to so much that they will +tackle almost anything; but even salvage men would +not tackle the 200 tons of decayed meat in one of the +refrigerators of the liner. So horrible was the stench +that they positively refused to go anywhere near. +Money would not tempt them to the task. Eventually +the trouble was overcome by a diver, who went +into the refrigerating chamber fully equipped and was +thus able to remove the carcasses without suffering +from the offensive smell. It was a happy way out +of the difficulty.</p> + +<p>While the experts will dwell upon the brilliant feat +performed by the salvors in righting and raising the +<i>St. Paul</i>, the average person will think of the strangeness +of the case. That the liner should sink without +cause on the tenth anniversary of the day that she +sank the warship, that she should overturn like the +warship, that pontoons, coffer-dams and legs erected +on the hull should play so important a part in both +cases, are all links in a chain of remarkable coincidences, +the final link of which is provided by the fact that the +salvage operations on liner and warship each took five +months to complete. These are the incidents which +make the case of the <i>St. Paul</i> so noteworthy.</p> + +<p>The blizzard which caused the collision between the +<i>St. Paul</i> and the <i>Gladiator</i> cost Great Britain a considerable +sum, but not so much as the fog which led +to the wreck of H.M.S. <i>Montagu</i> on the Shutter Rock<span class="pagenum" id="Page_172">172</span> +at Lundy Island. The British Admiralty spared no +effort or expense to get the battleship off, but after +spending £85,000 in salvage work the navy had to +confess itself beaten. So the proud battleship which +cost over £1,000,000 was sold for the trifling sum of +£4250 and was broken up for the sake of the metal she +contained.</p> + +<p>But for the genius of Commodore Young, the dreadnought +<i>Britannia</i> might have met with a similar fate. +Returning from a sweep of the North Sea during the +war to her anchorage in the Firth of Forth, she was +thrown by a heavy squall hard on the rocky island of +Inchkeith. Tugs and torpedo boats failed to move +her, and when Commodore Young came on the spot +he found the rocks had not only pierced her bottom, +but had also fractured her double bottom. Hopeless +though her position seemed to others, the Director of +Salvage considered it possible to refloat her.</p> + +<p>All her stores, ammunition and coals were hauled out +to lighten her. Still she sat tight, held firmly in the +grip of the rocks. So a poultice of cement was fixed +over the fractured plates in the second bottom to +enable the engine-room to be pumped out, after which +were made many connections leading into the flooded +bottom. The air-pumps were linked up and set going, +and as the air was driven into the flooded bottom it +formed a belt which increased in depth until it expelled +all the water through the holes made by the rocks.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_173">173</span></p> + +<p>Directly the salvors felt the battleship stir, they +towed her off the rocks into dry dock, where the damage +was quickly repaired. Duty called her later to the +Mediterranean, where she was caught by a German +torpedo and this time sent to the bottom for good.</p> +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_174">174</span></p> + +<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XIII">CHAPTER XIII</h2> +</div> + +<p class="drop-cap b"><span class="smcap1">Of</span> the many remarkable salvage feats performed +during the war, that concerning the +s.s. <i>Araby</i> is of more than passing interest. +Driven ashore on the French coast on December 21, +1916, owing to an accident to her steering gear, she +was towed off two days later and by Christmas Eve +arrived at Boulogne. The tugs were shepherding +the cripple into harbour when trouble overtook her +once more. The towing hawsers parted, and she was +swept by the strong tide broadside across the harbour +mouth, her bow being jammed against the end of one +quay and her stern against the end of the other quay.</p> + +<p>The excitement was intense, for she was blocking +our most important port of entry into France. To +make matters worse, the tide was almost at the full, +and unless she were got off at once it was obvious +that her days were numbered. As the tide fell she +was sure to ground at the bow and stern, and a deep +channel between the quays left nothing to support her +amidships, so she would be lucky not to break her +back.</p> + +<figure id="ip_174" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 33em;"> + <img src="images/i_p174a.jpg" width="2098" height="1246" alt=""> + <figcaption class="caption">HOW THE ARABY BLOCKED THE ENTRANCE TO BOULOGNE HARBOUR + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_175">175</span></p> + +<figure id="ip_175" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 32em;"> + <img src="images/i_p174b.jpg" width="2030" height="1369" alt=""> + <figcaption class="caption">AS THE TIDE FELL, THE ARABY BROKE HER BACK. THIS PHOTOGRAPH CLEARLY SHOWS THE FRACTURE BETWEEN THE +BOW AND THE STERN WHICH LED TO HER FALLING COMPLETELY IN HALVES + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<p>Despite the utmost efforts, the <i>Araby</i> remained +wedged between the two quays, and as the tide ebbed, +her huge cargo of oats began to make its weight felt. +Slowly she sagged in the middle until her keel was +unable longer to support the strain. She broke her +back and settled down right across the fairway, doing +very effectively to Boulogne what the British Navy +so gloriously succeeded in doing to Ostend and +Zeebrugge.</p> + +<p>It was a desperate case, calling for prompt measures, +for somehow, anyhow, Boulogne harbour had to be +cleared, and that quickly. Its urgency led to the +happy co-operation of army and navy, so while the +divers were jettisoning the cargo, in order to lighten +the ship, Lieutenant-Colonel R. V. Jellicoe, D.S.O., of +the Royal Engineers, was planning to make history by +salving the first ship with the aid of ferro-concrete. +Never before had anything like this been suggested. +It seemed an impossible sort of dream.</p> + +<p>The engineer was determined to prove that the +seemingly impossible was possible. So on each side +of the fracture, which was amidships, wooden moulds +were deftly built up in the form of bulkheads stretching +right across the inside of the ship. Cement and +gravel were carefully mixed in certain proportions +laid down by the engineer, and into these moulds the +concrete was thrown. It set as hard as rock, forming +two watertight walls shutting off the bow and stern<span class="pagenum" id="Page_176">176</span> +of the ship, and leaving the fracture between them +open to the sea.</p> + +<p>The rapidity with which the work was carried out +was so remarkable that by January 11, just eighteen +days after the <i>Araby</i> was wrecked, the flooded compartments +were being pumped out. To the joy of the +salvors the rising tide lifted the ship clear of the bottom, +and clever manœuvring enabled Captain H. Pomeroy, +the salvage officer, to clear the harbour entrance and +haul the ship into position practically parallel with the +quay. By the end of the day she had been worked +some little distance up the harbour and ships could +pass in and out. The falling tide let her down again +in the middle of the channel, but although she still +interfered with traffic the salvors had carried the work +a big step forward.</p> + +<p>The hauling and the towing, however, had subjected +her to a tremendous strain, as a result of which the +crack across her keel began to extend up each side of +her hull. This necessitated two strenuous days being +spent in strengthening her, before she could again be +pumped out and lifted a little farther into the harbour. +Again she grounded at the fall of the tide, and once +more as the tide rose she was lifted higher up the +harbour. Throughout it was only possible to keep her +afloat by continuous pumping, and once the pumps +stopped she soon sank under the inrush of water.</p> + +<figure id="ip_176" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 34em;"> + <img src="images/i_p176a.jpg" width="2117" height="1251" alt=""> + <figcaption class="caption">BOTH HALVES OF THE ARABY BEACHED IN BOULOGNE HARBOUR, WHERE THEY LAY FOR MANY MONTHS + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<p>During these operations the crack had been creeping<span class="pagenum" id="Page_177">177</span> +higher and higher up the hull under the alternating +strains to which she was subjected. The mighty +steel plates were rent and wrenched open until the +greatest calamity of all overtook her and she broke +right in two. She just fell apart, as a sliced apple +falls apart, and sank to the bottom.</p> + +<figure id="ip_177" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 35em;"> + <img src="images/i_p176b.jpg" width="2177" height="1363" alt=""> + <figcaption class="caption">TOWING THE STERN OF THE ARABY BACK TO ENGLAND. THE SIGHT OF HALF A SHIP AFLOAT AT SEA IS SELDOM SEEN + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<p>Such a disaster would daunt most men, who would +probably decide that the only thing to be done in so +parlous a case was to finish the job by blowing the +ends to smithereens and then to dredge up the pieces +and throw them on the scrap heap. But the men +tackling the case were in no wise disconcerted. If the +problem had been complicated in one way, it had been +simplified in another. For one thing, a ship breaking +in halves required more delicate handling than one +broken in halves, because the salvors would naturally +try to prevent the worst from happening. Once the +worst had happened, the salvors could go ahead without +any thoughts of impending disaster. So, wasting +no time, Captain Pomeroy brought some giant pontoons +into play. Each was capable of lifting a weight +of 800 tons, and by their aid, after a tremendous +tussle, the two ends were lifted and beached out of +the way of traffic in the inner harbour.</p> + +<p>For weeks the tide washed in and out of them, +leaving behind a foul sediment, and the remains of +the <i>Araby</i> gradually became part of the landscape of +Boulogne harbour—two ends of a broken ship, rusted<span class="pagenum" id="Page_178">178</span> +and scarred, with the boilers in the engine-room +exposed to sea and air. A year passed, during which +the German submarine campaign kept the Salvage +Section busy day and night, then the <i>Araby</i> was found +to be interfering once more with our war activities. +It was essential to extend the landing-place for flying +boats and seaplanes at Boulogne, and the only available +space was the strip of beach occupied by the two +ends of the <i>Araby</i>.</p> + +<p>In July, 1918, the frequenters of the harbour saw +figures again at work on the wreck. The job of preparing +the two ends to enable them to put to sea was +carried forward with vigour. Then, unwittingly, came +one of those tragedies which are fortunately rare in the +annals of salvage. The ends still contained quantities +of oats quite spoiled by the action of the sea. Grain +in these conditions gives off fumes so poisonous that +any one caught in them is instantly gassed and killed. +Generally the fumes are kept down by spraying with +chemicals, a procedure adopted during these operations.</p> + +<p>One of the divers, however, penetrated too deeply +into the hold without his diving dress and somehow +got into a foul pocket of this gas. Almost at once +he was overcome and fell in a state of collapse. No +sooner had he fallen than his mate was also stricken +by the fumes and rolled over unconscious.</p> + +<figure id="ip_178" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 33em;"> + <img src="images/i_p178a.jpg" width="2086" height="1330" alt=""> + <figcaption class="caption">THIS TORPEDOED SHIP WAS THE FIRST IN THE WORLD TO BE PATCHED WITH CONCRETE. THE TIMBER FRAMEWORK COVERING +THE HOLE IN THE HULL FORMS THE MOULD INTO WHICH THE CONCRETE WAS POURED + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<p>Followed one of the gallant deeds which add fame +to Britain’s name. Discovering that the two men<span class="pagenum" id="Page_179">179</span> +were in difficulties, and knowing full well the deadly +danger that lurked below, a salvor lowered himself +in an attempt to rescue them. Instantly the gas +attacked him, and he, too, went down. By the time +the three men were hauled out they were all dead.</p> + +<figure id="ip_179" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 33em;"> + <img src="images/i_p178b.jpg" width="2096" height="1392" alt=""> + <figcaption class="caption">THE CONCRETE PATCH FROM THE INSIDE OF THE SHIP, SHOWING HOW THE CONCRETE WAS REINFORCED WITH STEEL RODS + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<p>Marred as it was by this sad tragedy, the work +aboard the <i>Araby</i> was pushed ahead with unabated +zeal. The concrete bulkheads, erected as described +under the direction of Lieutenant-Colonel Jellicoe +some fifteen months earlier, remained solid walls, +impervious to the encroachments of the sea. So the +Admiralty salvage officer completed arrangements for +removing the remains of the <i>Araby</i>, and about the +middle of July powerful tugs were hauling on the after +end of the ship. At high tide they succeeded in +towing the end off the beach into deep water, and the +sailors of the Dover patrol later witnessed the strange +sight of half a ship floating serenely to England. They +were more astonished a few days later to see the other +half being towed across.</p> + +<p>In this wonderful way did a soldier, forsaking his +own element, assist to salve a ship that broke in two, +and so brilliantly successful was his work that he +was “lent” to the Admiralty Salvage Section. On +another occasion his genius was exercised upon a steamer +which had a vast hole blown in her hull by a torpedo. +Taking the case in hand, the soldier salvage officer +determined to prove that ferro-concrete used under<span class="pagenum" id="Page_180">180</span> +expert supervision would unite perfectly with the +steel hull and make the ship as tight and sound as +she had ever been. That concrete ships were possible +was already proved, for there were one or two afloat +to confound the sceptic, but the patching of a steel +ship with concrete was not generally considered +feasible.</p> + +<p>However, the engineer set to work, and under his +supervision divers built a huge mould over the gaping +wound. The engineer himself donned a diving dress +and went to the bottom to inspect the work and see +that everything had been carried out to make the +experiment successful. The concrete, reinforced with +steel rods, was rammed into the mould, where it set +almost as hard as the iron with which its edges were +solidly united. Concrete piers were moulded inside +the ship to strengthen the back of the patch and +enable it to sustain the force of the waves, and when +the vessel was pumped out and floated officials of the +seamen’s union, calling to inspect it, expressed their +approval by certifying the ship as fit to go anywhere. +It was an amazing new departure in salvage that +proved an unqualified success. It was probably the +first ship to be patched with concrete, although it +was rumoured that the German cruiser <i>Goeben</i>, which +gave us so much trouble in the Mediterranean, was +also patched up with that material.</p> + +<figure id="ip_180" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 33em;"> + <img src="images/i_p180a.jpg" width="2076" height="1426" alt=""> + <figcaption class="caption">HOW THE CONCRETE PATCH WAS STRENGTHENED WITH CONCRETE PIERS ON THE INSIDE OF THE SHIP TO WITHSTAND +THE HAMMERING OF THE SEA + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<p>The <i>Araby</i>, however, was by no means the first ship<span class="pagenum" id="Page_181">181</span> +to be salved in halves, for years ago Mr. Tom Armit, +one of the cleverest salvage experts who ever tackled +a wreck, undertook to recover the s.s. <i>Montgomery</i> +which had sunk and broken in two in the river Garonne. +Under his instructions divers timbered in the open +ends of the vessel to make them watertight, and eventually +each end was pumped out and raised. They were +afterwards taken to dock and joined together again +without the ship being one whit the worse for her +adventure.</p> + +<figure id="ip_181" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 34em;"> + <img src="images/i_p180b.jpg" width="2114" height="1486" alt=""> + <figcaption class="caption">A VIEW OF THE CONCRETE PATCH IN THE SHIP’S SIDE AFTER SHE HAD BEEN PUMPED OUT + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<p>Equally remarkable was the salvage of the steamer +<i>Milwaukee</i> which, going ashore on the rocks near +Aberdeen during her maiden voyage in 1898, was +held so securely that there was no hope of ever towing +her off again. The salvors who were called in to deal +with the case recognized this in a flash, but, gifted +with a vivid imagination, they determined on an +extraordinary experiment. It was the bow of the +ship that was caught by the rocks, but all the valuable +machinery was in the afterpart. Unable to save the +ship whole, they made up their minds to try to save +the half that mattered, planning to operate on the +vessel just as a surgeon operates on a man, but, +instead of using scalpels, they sought to cut with +dynamite. A belt of dynamite cartridges was fastened +round the ship just forward of the engine-room bulkhead. +The brainy salvage men pressed the button. +Scarcely had the sound of the explosion reached their<span class="pagenum" id="Page_182">182</span> +ears when they saw the ship break in two and the +stern slide into the sea.</p> + +<p>They had reason to be proud of their success, for +it requires courage as well as imagination to operate +on a ship in this manner. Eventually they towed +the stern of the <i>Milwaukee</i> back to the Tyne, and in +due course another bow was built and spliced on to +the stern, thus making a new ship of her.</p> + +<p>This noteworthy instance of ship surgery was +duplicated in the case of the Atlantic liner <i>Seuvic</i> +which went ashore on the Stag Rocks on the ragged +Cornish coast. The untiring efforts of the salvors +failed to move her, so they calmly cut her in two +with dynamite and brought the after end to port, +where she was made whole again!</p> + +<p>Those who get a living by marine salvage need be +resourceful, masters of a hundred tricks to win ships +from the grip of the sea. When the liner <i>City of Paris</i> +came to grief on the same cruel coast, the jagged +rocks cut right up through her hull and held her so +tightly that her position from the first appeared hopeless. +It seemed that she was destined to remain +there hard and fast until the sea had battered her to +pieces.</p> + +<p>Whatever the underwriters thought, there was one +enterprising salvage man who was prepared to match +his skill against the strength of the sea. Offering to +salve the ship on the “no cure, no pay” principle,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_183">183</span> +he set his divers to work and little by little they blew +away the rocks that transfixed the ship. It was a +ticklish operation. Too strong a charge of dynamite +would have injured the hull and made the case worse +than ever; too weak a charge would have failed to +remove the rock, so it was necessary to wed judgment +with caution in this work. Bit by bit the rocks were +blasted away and in the end the <i>City of Paris</i> was +patched and floated. She was taken into Falmouth +harbour for repairs, and when she again took the +seas she was known as the <i>Philadelphia</i>.</p> + +<p>That feat, performed a good many years ago, +was equalled by Commander Cunningham of the +Salvage and Towage Company when the Furness +Withy steamer <i>Norton</i> ran ashore on Zogria Island +off the coast of Greece a year or two ago. The +rocks threatened to tear the whole bottom out of the +ship if an attempt were made to tow her off, so the +salvage expert, seeing there was no other way back +to the sea, decided to blow the age-old rocks from +beneath the bilges of the steamer. He set to work, +and, using extraordinary judgment in placing the +dynamite and gauging the power of the charges, +succeeded in eight strenuous days in pulverizing the +imprisoning rocks without doing any further injury +to the steamer. At the top of the tide the tugs and +salvage craft towed her into deep water and finally +took her to port.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_184">184</span></p> + +<p>She was a rich prize, worth with her cargo some +£330,000. The repairs to the steamer cost about +£20,000, and the salvors by their fine work earned an +award of £22,000. This seems a large sum for the +salvors to make in so short a time, but it must be +borne in mind that such prizes do not often come +along, and the upkeep of a salvage steamer and her +trained crew may easily run to £150 or more a week, +without reckoning the cost of the steamer and plant, +so it is plain that a big capital is required to keep a +salvage unit in continual commission. In other words, +although the award was good, taken in conjunction +with the capital employed and the risk run, it was +not by any means excessive.</p> +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_185">185</span></p> + +<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XIV">CHAPTER XIV</h2> +</div> + +<p class="drop-cap a"><span class="smcap1">A ship</span> cast ashore always reminds me of a +hospital ward and the men and women who +are deprived by illness of the power to carry +on the struggle of life. The ship, too, is a cripple, driven +out of her element, unable to carry on the duties for +which she was created, and this is why my curiosity +in a case is always tinged with a little sadness. To +the salvage expert, however, the beached ship is +merely a problem, and his mind, like that of the +physician, is wholly occupied in effecting a cure.</p> + +<p>If straightforward towing will not get the ship off, +he will try other means. He may set a gang of men +digging a deep trench round the keel of the vessel +at low tide, and as the tide rises the water, flowing +into this trench, will give her just enough buoyancy +under her keel to enable the tugs to do the rest. Or +he may try a trick that was tried very effectively on +one occasion during the war when a whole convoy of +ships grounded during a fog. The salvage officer, +when his tugs failed to shift them, set torpedo boats +thrashing round at a high speed and the wash they<span class="pagenum" id="Page_186">186</span> +created lifted the grounded ships sufficiently for the +tugs to get them off. It was a simple, yet clever, +solution to the problem.</p> + +<p>But there may be factors in the case which make +these methods useless, as happened when the s.s. +<i>Timbo</i> was thrown ashore in Carnarvon Bay in 1921. +She drifted at the mercy of a terrific gale, which was +blowing dead on the shore. Lifeboats that put out +to succour her were swamped by the enormous seas, +and more than one brave man lost his life that +stormy day before the <i>Timbo</i>, absolutely helpless, +was driven right across the bay. Just when tide +and tempest were at their height, she was caught up +by a tremendous wave and thrown heavily ashore.</p> + +<p>That tide happened to be exceptionally high, and +when Mr. Henry Ensor came on the scene he found +a strip of shingle just 100 feet wide separated her +from the sea when the tide was at the full. There she +lay, broadside on to the ocean, and over 30 yards +beyond the reach of the largest comber that rolled up +the beach. She was indeed out of her element, so +much so that 30 yards or 30 miles would have made no +difference to the average city-dweller, for to him the +problem of getting her back would have been insuperable.</p> + +<figure id="ip_186" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 19em;"> + <img src="images/i_p186a.jpg" width="1187" height="2149" alt=""> + <figcaption class="caption">BY DIGGING A DEEP TRENCH ROUND THIS WRECK, THE SALVORS +MANAGED TO TOW HER OFF INTO DEEP WATER + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<p>To tow her off on a beach like that was not to be +thought of, for if tugs had been set to work they +would merely have added to the difficulties. Directly<span class="pagenum" id="Page_187">187</span> +they began to haul, the stony beach would have +heaped up under the weight of the steamer, and the +more they pulled, the deeper the wreck would have +burrowed into the beach.</p> + +<figure id="ip_187" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 36em;"> + <img src="images/i_p186b.jpg" width="2277" height="1303" alt=""> + <figcaption class="caption"> + +<div class="blockquot"> + +<p><i>By courtesy of H. Ensor & Sons</i></p> +</div> + +<p>THE TIMBO, CAST ASHORE A HUNDRED FEET ABOVE HIGH WATER MARK, WHERE SHE WAS THROWN DURING A TERRIFIC GALE. +SALVORS PROPPING UP HER BILGES TO PREVENT HER FROM FALLING OVER BEFORE THEY STARTED THEIR STERN STRUGGLE IN THE +DARK</p> + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<p>The first thing the salvage expert did was to put +timbers under the bilges of the steamer to prop her +upright and prevent her from falling on her side. +Then, using lifting jacks, he gradually raised her and +placed launchways beneath her keel to prevent her +from burrowing into the shingle when the tugs started +to pull her off. This work was completed just before +the highest tide there was likely to be for some time, +and rather than miss this tide the salvors started to +get the steamer back into the sea in the dark.</p> + +<p>Inch by inch they hauled that steamer across the +intervening shingle until half the space was covered, +until the seas lapped the launchways, splashed the +keel. It was a tremendous fight. The tugs were +hauling to their last pound. Slowly the launchways +disappeared into the water and at last the salvors felt +the <i>Timbo</i> tremble. Another long, strong pull and +the steamer rose to the swell. Success had crowned +the efforts of the salvage specialist.</p> + +<p>Refloating the <i>Timbo</i> was a fine piece of work, just +as was the raising of the steamship <i>Fleswick</i> with compressed +air by the same expert, many years ago. But +in raising the <i>Silurus</i>, Mr. Ensor accomplished a feat +that ranks with the finest wreck-raising feats ever<span class="pagenum" id="Page_188">188</span> +accomplished. The <i>Silurus</i> was a dredger, one of +the most powerful ever constructed. Built for duty +in the port of Bombay, she was completed about +eighteen months after the outbreak of war. As it +was considered far too risky to attempt to tow her out +to India at that time, she was taken to the Gareloch, +where enemy submarines were not likely to penetrate, +and anchored until such days as peace returned.</p> + +<p>She had been serenely sheltered in that haven +on the Scottish coast for nearly a year, when dirty +weather sprang up. In the ensuing gale, she dragged +her anchors and was driven hard ashore. Had she +remained upright, a tug might have remedied the +matter in a simple fashion when the tide rose again. +But unluckily she grounded on a very steep shore, +which shelved away rapidly, and as the tide dropped +she capsized and buried her funnel so deeply in the +mud that she was all but upside-down. The top of +the tower carrying the dredging buckets was thrust +into the bottom of the Gareloch, and while the tower +tended to pull her over, once she had overturned, it +no doubt prevented her from finishing with her keel +right in the air.</p> + +<p>As in the cases of the <i>Onward</i> and the liner <i>St. Paul</i>, +the problem was to right the ship before she could +be pumped out and raised. But with the <i>Silurus</i>, +the difficulties were increased by the top hamper, +consisting of the tower with the dredging buckets.</p> + +<figure id="ip_188" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 34em;"> + <img src="images/i_p188a.jpg" width="2143" height="1329" alt=""> + <figcaption class="caption"> + +<div class="blockquot"> + +<p><i>By courtesy of H. Ensor & Sons</i></p> +</div> + +<p>THE CAPSIZED DREDGER SILURUS, WITH TIMBER FRAMING ERECTED ON HER HULL TO PREVENT THE STEEL ROPES FROM +CUTTING RIGHT THROUGH HER</p> + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_189">189</span></p> + +<figure id="ip_189" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 35em;"> + <img src="images/i_p188b.jpg" width="2227" height="1507" alt=""> + <figcaption class="caption"> + +<div class="blockquot"> + +<p><i>By courtesy of H. Ensor & Sons</i></p> +</div> + +<p>THE WONDERFUL TANGLE OF WIRE ROPES AND GREAT BLOCKS THAT WERE USED TO PULL THE SILURUS ON TO AN EVEN KEEL +AGAIN</p> + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<p>Mr. Ensor, as unlike a miracle-worker as any one +could imagine, went to the Gareloch and quietly +looked over the sunken dredger. She was a big +problem, but not too big for him to tackle. Moreover, +he had the courage to back his ability with his own +money. Calmly he offered to salve the vessel on the +usual “no cure, no pay” principle. It meant risking +quite a fortune, but this did not worry him.</p> + +<p>Then he began to get out his plan for righting the +vessel, the intricate calculations such a plan involves +being not only amazing, but perfectly incomprehensible +to the average man who is not possessed +of engineering ability. He calculated on obtaining +1000 tons of lift by pumping compressed air into +some of the compartments of the overturned vessel, +and looked to pontoons attached to the tower and other +parts of the structure to aid him in his plans. But, +for the real work of pulling the ship over, he determined +to rely on the power of steam-engines operating +on the shore and hauling on a series of giant steel +cables attached all along the ship.</p> + +<p>The risk of pulling the ship to pieces in a job like +this is so great that the novice would drag the ship +apart far quicker and easier than he would drag it +upright. If a cable were placed round the hull and +a powerful steam-engine given full play ashore, that +cable would crumple up the steel plates and gradually +cut through them like a wire through a cheese, instead<span class="pagenum" id="Page_190">190</span> +of moving the ship. These were the risks that had to +be avoided.</p> + +<p>Divers started to strengthen the ship with gigantic +logs, 12 and 14 inches square, in order to withstand +the terrific strain. A huge, strong frame of similar +logs, protected by steel grooves, was fixed to the hull, +to prevent the cables from cutting the ship to pieces.</p> + +<p>It was slow work, for the salvors could only devote +time to the wreck when there were no important war +jobs to claim their attention. However, they managed +to get in a day now and again, preparing for the great +tug-of-war, upon which depended a fortune. Materials +were not easy to obtain owing to the demand for +munitions at the Front, so the salvors had to make +shift with anything that would serve their purpose.</p> + +<p>The divers, who set to work with hacksaws to cut +holes through the steel plates for the passage of some +of the cables, were greatly handicapped by the rust +and mud, which made the water so cloudy that the +work was difficult to see. Yet they stuck to their +job and slowly, monotonously ate a way with their +saws through the metal. Then they took up the task +of preparing the seabed for the ship to come over on. +She was practically lying on a submerged hill, and +about a thousand yards of the seabed had to be +removed to make a flat table on which the ship could +rest in safety without slipping over again. All this +took time as well as money.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_191">191</span></p> + +<p>Then it was necessary to find something ashore that +would withstand the pull of the ship when the tug-of-war +started, something that would be absolutely +immovable while nearly 2000 tons was dragging on +the ends of the hawsers. The salvage expert tackled +this difficulty by getting four old boilers, sinking them +into pits dug down to the rock, and filling them and +the space about them with concrete, thus making them +as solid as the rock on which they stood. These +boilers were in this way turned into four bollards, +each capable of resisting a pull of 200 tons. Then a +propeller shaft, 12 inches in diameter, was cut into +suitable lengths and from it eighteen more bollards +were made and set hard in concrete, each bollard being +capable of withstanding a pull of 100 tons. These +were placed at various intervals on the shore opposite +the wreck, and by the time they were ready the salvors +began to juggle with some 10 miles of steel cable, from +6 inches up to 8½ inches in circumference, that had +been specially made by Bullivant, whose cables have +dragged many a ship back into her element while +making a snug sum for the salvors.</p> + +<p>If there is any special work to be done, any heavy +weight to be lifted, the salvage expert the world over +knows he is safe with Bullivant’s cable, that it will +not break at the psychological moment and let him +down. Some of these cables made of twisted strands +of steel wire are 12 inches round—as thick as a man’s<span class="pagenum" id="Page_192">192</span> +leg at the calf—and they will support without breaking +a weight of 320 tons: 320 tons could dangle from this +cable in the air and a man could stand under it in +perfect safety.</p> + +<p>The largest hempen ropes made for salvage work +are up to 24 inches round, even 25 inches on occasion, +so it can be imagined how difficult they are to +handle. If 1 foot of a 25-inch rope were cut off, it +would be more than most men could lift, for it would +weigh 146 lb. A short length of 15 feet would weigh +practically a ton. A rope of this size will withstand +a pull of 125 tons, against the 320 tons of a 12-inch +steel rope. It might be thought that a rope half the +size would support half the weight, but a peculiarity +about hempen ropes is that, while a rope of 4 inches will +support 4 tons, if you treble the size of the rope to +12 inches you increase the breaking strain by more +than sevenfold to 29 tons; double the size of the rope +again to 24 inches and it will support just four times +the weight of the 12-inch rope, or 115 tons. Similarly, +the bigger the wire rope, the bigger the load it will +take in proportion. Whereas a 4-inch steel cable will +support 35 tons, an 8-inch cable will carry 150 tons, +or nearly five times as much, while a 12-inch cable +will support 320 tons, or nearly four times as much as +the 6-inch cable, which takes 88 tons.</p> + +<figure id="ip_192" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 33em;"> + <img src="images/i_p192a.jpg" width="2111" height="1265" alt=""> + <figcaption class="caption"> + +<div class="blockquot"> + +<p><i>By courtesy of H. Ensor & Sons</i></p> +</div> + +<p>THE SILURUS RAISED, WITH THE PONTOONS, WHICH PROVED OF THE UTMOST ASSISTANCE, FLOATING NEAR BY</p> + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<p>Few people know that such wonderful ropes exist, +but the salvage expert has full knowledge of where to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_193">193</span> +get them when he requires them, as he did in the case +of the <i>Silurus</i>. The ropes were all fixed in place +on the edge of the Gareloch, two batteries of boilers +were set up to supply the power, but before they could +be used it was necessary to arrange a series of signals +owing to the fact that the boilers were out of sight +of each other. For one lot to haul faster than the +other would have been fatal. It was absolutely +essential that each rope took its share of the load and +that all were hauled on at the same time. As showing +how carefully everything must be considered in so +important a case, the salvors even worked out how +much efficiency they would lose through friction when +hauling on the ropes. They left nothing at all to +chance.</p> + +<p>Giant wire ropes were lashed round some of the top +gear to prevent it breaking away when the ship came +over, a big trench was cut for one set of ropes to work +in, as only by cutting the trench was it possible here to +get a direct pull on the ship, and at last the signal +was given to haul away.</p> + +<p>Slowly the <i>Silurus</i> came up, her funnel was tugged +from beneath 10 feet of mud. The hauling went on +until the pontoons were clear of the water, until they +were no longer a help but a hindrance, so the salvors +cut through the wire lashings with blowpipes and +freed them from the ship. Adjustments were made +and the next haul set the <i>Silurus</i> on a fairly even keel.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_194">194</span> +Despite the strain to which she had been subjected, +the salvor made all his calculations so carefully that +she was not in the least damaged by the operations. +Over £56,000 was spent by the salvor on these operations, +but he won his tug-of-war with flying colours, and +the award he received was the reward of sheer merit.</p> + +<p>As already mentioned, the divers used hacksaws +to cut holes in the hull under water. In other cases +they may bring into play a range of pneumatic tools—hammers, +chisels, and drills worked by compressed +air, which is pumped through a pipe from a boat on the +surface. The hammer and chisel will deliver hundreds +of blows a minute, each blow doing an almost imperceptible +amount of work, but the hundreds of blows +tell in the end. An air-driven drill, in spite of the disadvantages +of working under water, will cut a hole an +inch in diameter through a plate or girder an inch +thick in one minute.</p> + +<p>Frequently, it is desired to remove some submerged +rock which interferes with navigation, and for this +purpose pneumatic drills are often brought into play +to make the holes for the charges of dynamite. The +diver proceeds by drilling a series of holes, inserting +his cartridges, after which he stops up the top of the +hole with a special stopping in order to drive the +force of the explosion downward. Then he withdraws +to the surface and the boat removes to a distance +before the dynamite is exploded.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_195">195</span></p> + +<p>Sometimes, however, when it is desired to deepen a +rocky channel, a powerful rock-cutter weighing several +tons is brought into play. This tool is shaped like a +pencil and the nose is fitted with a specially hardened +cutter. It is raised to a height and allowed to drop +upon the rock, which it gradually pulverizes and breaks +up, the rock-dredger coming along and completing +the work.</p> + +<p>Another method followed in the deepening of the +channel of the Clyde was to use diamond drills for +boring the holes for the explosives. The famous +Enderslie Rock which caused all the trouble was revealed +one day about the middle of the nineteenth +century through the keel of a steamer coming into +contact with it. Up till that time nobody knew of its +existence, but when this steamer damaged herself the +authorities started investigations. They found a bed +of rock just over 900 feet long by 320 feet wide, which +menaced the bigger ships that were beginning to +navigate the river. The only way of making shipping +safe was to deepen the channel by removing the rock. +Accordingly it was attacked by men working in a +diving bell who began blasting it away with gunpowder. +By 1869, after working on it for five years and spending +£16,000, half the channel was deepened to 14 feet, +the other half remaining at 8 feet.</p> + +<p>Eleven years later the rock was again attacked, this +time by diamond drills worked by steam-engines.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_196">196</span> +Five years of continuous work saw the rock removed +to a depth of 20 feet over the whole channel. This +improvement, which entailed the blasting away of +over 100,000 tons of rock, cost £70,000, so the +Enderslie Rock, upon which the Clyde authorities +spent in all a sum of £86,000, proved rather an +expensive obstruction to find in the river. But it +was no mean feat to remove it, as was done, without +in any way interfering with the traffic.</p> +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_197">197</span></p> + +<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XV">CHAPTER XV</h2> +</div> + +<p class="drop-cap"><span class="smcap1">There</span> have been few pluckier fights for a ship +than that waged over a great, camouflaged +merchantman torpedoed by the Germans +off the Cornish coast during the war. She was badly +holed, but her captain bravely stuck to her and managed +to beach her near Bude.</p> + +<p>Hastening to her aid, the salvage officer found her +on a beach exposed to the full force of the Atlantic. +With wind and sea rapidly rising, it was obvious +that nothing could prevent her from going to pieces. +The rollers were battering her, shaking and straining +her ominously, seeking to finish what the German +torpedo had begun.</p> + +<p>So desperate was her situation that her one chance +lay in reaching a more sheltered spot. The salvage +officer looked at the sky, saw the wind blowing the +crests off the waves, then he got busy. Working at +pressure, he and his men managed to set a few baulks +of timber within the ship to strengthen the damaged +hull, and as the tide rose his tugs and salvage vessel +started to haul her off the beach. He knew she was<span class="pagenum" id="Page_198">198</span> +in a sinking condition, that she might go down before +he could get her to a place of safety, but against this +risk was her certain loss if she remained where she was.</p> + +<p>Then began his struggle to beat the coming gale. +The steamer was quite unmanageable, so he set two +tugs hauling away in front, while he hung on behind +with the salvage vessel, making his ship play the part +of a rudder to the damaged craft. Along the coast +northward the little procession made its way. The +pumps were working continuously, throwing out tons +of water, but they could not conquer the inrush. The +captain and crew were still aboard, fighting hard to +keep down the water. But all their efforts were +useless. Gradually the ship sank lower and lower in the +seas, and by the time they had reached Hartland +Point—one of the most dangerous spots on that exposed +coast—her end seemed but a matter of minutes. Her +decks were practically awash. Heavy seas rolled +right over them, and it became imperative to take off +the men aboard. A dozen attempts were made in +those heaving seas before the crew were rescued, and +as the last man left he cast off the towing hawsers.</p> + +<p>Only the <i>Ranger</i>, that famous salvage ship, hung on, +still straining at the stern of the sinking steamer. A +man stood by to slip the cable as she foundered, and +the rescued crew crowded round to see her go, all +waiting tensely for the end.</p> + +<figure id="ip_198" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 34em;"> + <img src="images/i_p198a.jpg" width="2120" height="1335" alt=""> + <figcaption class="caption">THE SHIP WHICH WAS GIVEN UP FOR LOST, AFTER HER MEN HAD BEEN RESCUED WITH DIFFICULTY. THE TUGS, TO +AVOID BEING DRAGGED DOWN BY THE FOUNDERING VESSEL, CAST OFF THEIR HAWSERS, BUT THE SALVAGE STEAMER +STILL HUNG ON TO THE STERN AND 7 GALLANT MEN GAMBLED WITH DEATH IN A LAST EFFORT TO SALVE HER + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<p>For a few moments the salvage officer watched the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_199">199</span> +torpedoed ship. A few miles along the coast was +Clovelly and safety. He wondered if he could make +it in spite of everything, if there was yet a chance of +snatching a victory over wind and wave, not to +mention the Germans. After a close scrutiny of the +ship, he determined to try.</p> + +<figure id="ip_199" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 35em;"> + <img src="images/i_p198b.jpg" width="2179" height="1363" alt=""> + <figcaption class="caption">IN THE FACE OF INCREDIBLE DIFFICULTIES THE SALVAGE MEN TRIUMPHANTLY BEACHED THE SINKING STEAMER AT CLOVELLY + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<p>Turning to his men, he called for volunteers to help +him make one last attempt. Half a dozen men +stepped forward. All knew the odds were against +them, that a watery grave probably awaited them. +Yet none hesitated.</p> + +<p>Watching their opportunity, they brought their +boat alongside the sinking ship and scrambled aboard. +Then they took up the fight again. By great good +fortune she had a donkey-engine on her upper deck, +and the salvors succeeded in starting it up and getting +the pumps working again. That donkey-engine +proved their salvation, just enabled her to keep afloat. +But it was touch and go all the time.</p> + +<p>These seven gallant men in the end brought the +ship to Clovelly harbour and put her ashore on that +stony beach right under the picturesque village. She +was nicely sheltered, and the salvors were able to fit +her with a standard patch before taking her to dry +dock. Thus the salvors wrested a victory out of +the very jaws of defeat.</p> + +<p>Several successful dramatists have staged a thrilling +fight between divers, many a novelist penned vivid<span class="pagenum" id="Page_200">200</span> +descriptions of similar encounters to make the hearts +of his readers beat a little faster. Yet such struggles +between real divers in the depths of the sea are so rare +that it is doubtful if more than one authentic case exists.</p> + +<p>This historic fight between divers took place at the +bottom of the Solent during the recovery of some +of the relics from the <i>Royal George</i>. The two divers, +Jones and Girvan, were keen men, proud of their +skill as submarine workers, each a little jealous of +the other. One day Jones came across a cannon +buried in the sand and, being unable to deal with it, +marked it for a future occasion. Divers as a rule are +extremely chivalrous. They would scorn to take a +mean advantage, and they would never think of breaking +the rule that what one finds, the finder salves. +Whether Girvan, coming on the cannon, thought it +a new find that he was entitled to salve, or whether +he deliberately made up his mind to try to salve the +other diver’s find, is not known. All we know is that +Jones, who had been working some little distance +away, came on Girvan trying to get out the cannon. +Naturally, Jones was indignant, and indicated to +Girvan by energetic dumb show that the latter had +no right to deal with the piece.</p> + +<p>Girvan was by no means inclined to relinquish the +cannon, and further remonstrances were followed up +by blows. The divers began a rough and tumble +fight at the bottom of the sea, striking at each other<span class="pagenum" id="Page_201">201</span> +savagely with their fists. They were by no means +equally matched, for Jones was much the smaller +man of the two. Realizing that the encounter might +cost him his life, he took the first opportunity of +trying to get to the surface. Reaching the shot-rope, +he went up it about 5 or 6 feet, closely pursued by +Girvan who, grabbing his legs, did his utmost to pull +him down again. The divers fought desperately in +their rage, Jones to get away from those clutching +hands that gripped his legs, Girvan to drag him to +the seabed again, and that dramatic fight reached +its climax in the greatest disaster that can overtake +a diver. The glass of Girvan’s helmet was smashed +by a blow, and as the water swept in it seemed that +his end was nigh.</p> + +<p>Luckily, however, the men on the surface, unable +to explain the violent agitation of the lines and feeling +that something serious must be wrong, dragged both +men to the top. Girvan’s smashed helmet told its +own tale and set them working frantically to pull him +round. He was at his last gasp. Another minute +and they would have been too late. He was removed +to hospital, where his splendid physique, coupled with +excellent nursing, enabled him to pull round. Those +two divers who fought that strange fight at the bottom +of the Solent came to the conclusion that it did not +pay for divers to disagree, so they ended their differences +by becoming the staunchest of friends.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_202">202</span></p> + +<p>Other attendants in tropic waters, feeling a strange +dragging at the lines, have also drawn the divers to +the surface without loss of time, to find them in the +clutches of the deadly octopus, whose horrible tentacles +have been coiling round the divers, striving to draw +them within reach of the deadly beak that would go +through the rubber diving dress as though it were +paper. There, on the deck of the diving vessel, they +have had to fight desperately to free the divers from +the grip of the loathsome creature, only succeeding in +the end by chopping and hacking away the encircling +tentacles. As recently as the spring of 1924, when +I happened to be in the South of France, a diver +at Marseilles had to be rescued from an octopus in +this thrilling manner.</p> + +<p>The octopus, or squid, is, indeed, the greatest +danger that the diver has to face beneath the surface +of the sea so far as the denizens of the deep are concerned. +Those squids occasionally found round the +British coast are too small to threaten the diver, but +in warmer waters, where the squid attains a huge +size, he will rapidly attack any unlucky diver who +unconsciously ventures too near his deep-sea lair.</p> + +<p>The habits of fish are rather quaint. Should they +be near the surface when a shadow falls on the water, +a flick of the tail sends them disappearing into the +depths. But undersea they are as inquisitive as +cows. When fish see a diver standing still on the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_203">203</span> +bottom, they find something about him too fascinating +to withstand. Perhaps it is his form, perhaps the long +line of bubbles flowing continually from the exhaust +valve of his helmet. Whatever it is, they are drawn +to the strange creature, and their fishy mouths suck +at arms and legs and body in an effort to find out +whether the diver is good to eat. The least movement +sends them speeding away. The bigger fish are +just as inquisitive, and just as easily scared. The +diver needs only to open his air valve to let a little +air escape in order to frighten them out of their fishy +wits. Even the shark, the so-called tiger of the seas, +is not generally feared by divers, for he is as scared +by a sudden escape of air from the valve as are the +smaller fish.</p> + +<p>Yet the shark is fearfully inquisitive, and will come +back again and again to see what the strange figure +is doing. Sometimes, indeed, the same shark becomes +such a confounded nuisance, and the diver wastes +so much time in scaring him away, that he is forced +to put an end to the intrusion by slaying the monster. +One diver, who had been worried day after day by +the same shark, was compelled to signal to the surface +for a knife. He then calmly held out his hand +as bait, just as you hold out a bone to a dog, and as +the monster turned to snap the delicacy, he stabbed +it to death. Slipping a noose round the body of the +fish, he sent it to the surface so that it would not<span class="pagenum" id="Page_204">204</span> +attract other unwelcome visitors—for the scent of +death in the sea is carried far afield by the invisible +currents and soon brings the sea creatures swarming +round—and was then able to resume his work in peace.</p> + +<p>As already mentioned, it is often difficult for divers +to see owing to the sand and mud suspended in the +water, especially near the mouths of big rivers. A +few feet down, and the light is quite shut out by the +clouds of mud and sand floating about. Sometimes +the divers work up to their armpits in foul slime—I +recollect some years ago when a racing yacht was +recovered from underneath 20 feet of mud—at other +times the mud is so deep and thick that they spread-eagle +themselves on its surface and manage to work +in this recumbent attitude.</p> + +<p>But when the diver gets to a hard bottom he is +not handicapped in this way, and in sunnier climes +and seas he can easily see at a depth of 100 feet. +The sea-growths around Great Britain are not to +be compared in size and colouring with the lovely +tropic growths of coral and fern-like weed found in +the warmer waters. Out, for instance, in the Pacific +the depths of some of the lagoons are just like Fairyland: +filmy forests of ribbons and ferns, inhabited by +fish of the most gorgeous and dazzling colours, butterflies +of the deep. This submarine scenery, in its way, +is as beautiful as anything to be found on earth.</p> + +<p>More than one salvage man in the past has made a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_205">205</span> +snug fortune salving ships on the distant coasts of +South America and the Pacific, often in the most +simple manner by patching and pumping. Until +comparatively recently the salvage man, if he wanted +to lift a vessel, generally bought up a couple of old +hulks and used these for slinging the wreck inshore. +By the time the wreck was beached, the hulks were +about smashed to pieces.</p> + +<p>The principle of lifting a ship by means of a coffer-dam +has already been indicated. It was a principle +of which Mr. Tom Armit was a brilliant exponent. +He raised several ships this way, building timbers all +round to extend the hull upward, and then timbering +all this over, virtually adding another deck to the +ship. This coffer-dam, covering the whole ship, was +made watertight, and, as it was pumped out, the +added buoyancy refloated the ship. If leaks happened +to manifest in the coffer-dam during pumping +operations, the salvors calmly fed spun oakum into +the water which carried it into the leak and soon +stopped it!</p> + +<p>On occasions during a collision at sea, mattresses +and clothes have been thrown into the water, which +has carried them to the leak, where they have become +wedged, enabling the sailors aboard ship to tackle +the damage from the inside. Collision mats are +specially made for such emergencies so that they +may be lowered over the hole, the pressure of the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_206">206</span> +water holding them tightly against the side of the ship +and enabling the carpenter to get to work on the +inside as the inrush of water is stopped. Another +salvor’s trick is to stretch a tarpaulin over the hole +to hold back the water. It is but temporary, yet it +enables him to gain time to get timbers in place inside +so that the pumps can then deal with the water that +finds its way in. There are also special patches that +may be pushed through the hole in the hull from the +inside of the ship and opened out like an umbrella, +after which they are drawn tightly against the hull by +screwing up from the inside.</p> + +<p>Pontoons alone have raised more than one little +wreck in the manner already described. Other small +ships have been raised by filling their holds with air-tight +bags which, upon being blown up, have striven +to rise to the surface, carrying the wreck with them, +much to the delight of the salvors.</p> + +<p>Vickers, the great armament firm, have their own +patent system of raising wrecks by means of canvas +containers. An American concern has a submarine +machine, something like an army tank in appearance, +for drilling holes in the hull of a sunken ship. These +holes are drilled in line and large hooks are inserted, +to which are attached strong, air-tight containers, +one to each hook. The intention is to drill holes along +each side of the hull of a wreck, attach the air bags, +blow them up and lift the craft.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_207">207</span></p> + +<p>Whether the plates composing the hull of a ship are +strong enough to support the entire weight of a ship +in this way, or whether they would collapse under the +strain of raising the ship from the bottom remains to +be seen. It must be borne in mind that the backbone +of a ship is the keel, that the whole ship is built +up from the keel, which is its strongest part, the +foundation of the ship. The inventors of this new +system propose to lift the dead weight of the ship from +the seabed, but hitherto salvors who have accomplished +these feats have always swept their cables +under the keel of the vessel to avoid the risk of +pulling her to pieces.</p> + +<p>Before the War there existed at least one special +lifting craft, consisting of two steamers linked together +by strong girders. These twin craft were brought +into position so that the wreck lay between them, +cables were fixed under the wreck, and the lifting +craft picked up the sunken ship as the tide rose, +steamed away with it until it grounded again, when +the operation would be repeated next tide.</p> + +<p>The salvors have several ingenious ways of getting +cables into position. Sometimes two tugs towing +cables between them sweep them under the wreck. +At other times the end is let down to a diver who digs +or scrapes a hole under the keel and forces the cable +through; another rope is then let down from above, +the diver attaches it to the end of the cable, which is<span class="pagenum" id="Page_208">208</span> +drawn to the surface and attached to the lifting craft. +A quicker method of forcing a hole under the keel is +to use a powerful pump which, directed by the diver, +rapidly drives a way under the wreck for the lifting +cable.</p> + +<p>It was while using a pump for this purpose on the +wreck of the <i>Intrepid</i> on the Belgian seaboard that a +most amazing adventure befell a diver of the Salvage +Section. The wreck was buried 20 feet in clay and +mud, and the diver by skilful use of the pump dug his +way down to the keel. He was standing at the bottom +of this pit when it caved in on top of him. He was +buried alive, held as in a vice under a dozen feet of +mud and clay, the weight of which doubled him up.</p> + +<p>Luckily he still retained his hold of the pump, and +after a desperate struggle managed to direct the jet +of water on to himself until he loosened one arm. As +the water softened the clay, he worked the other arm +free, then little by little his legs. Wrapping them +round a wire, he directed the pump upwards and +inch by inch wriggled and burrowed his way through +that dozen feet of clay to the surface. His air-pipe +was hopelessly entangled, so he was compelled to cut +it before he could be hauled up to safety. No diver +would care to undergo such an experience a second +time.</p> + +<p>Comedy so seldom plays a part in diving adventures +that a case which occurred some years ago is worth<span class="pagenum" id="Page_209">209</span> +recording. Divers had been at work for some time +hauling the cargo out of a submerged wreck, when +one of them, upon being drawn up, displayed quite +exceptional signs of exhaustion. A sleep soon put him +right, and he resumed work next day.</p> + +<p>Again he showed signs of acute fatigue, which passed +away after a night’s rest. The following morning he +went down as usual, and this time when he came up +he was quite unable to stand. He collapsed on the +deck, while those aboard crowded round, very concerned +about his safety.</p> + +<p>Hastily unscrewing his helmet, one of the salvors +sniffed in a puzzled sort of way. A familiar smell +came to his nostrils. He sniffed once more, the others +looking at him queerly.</p> + +<p>“What’s wrong?”</p> + +<p>“Whisky!” muttered the kneeling man, thinking +his sense of smell must have betrayed him.</p> + +<p>They all sniffed in unison, and the smell was unmistakable.</p> + +<p>“He’s drunk!” said the first man.</p> + +<p>The idea was preposterous!</p> + +<p>“But how——?” queried another.</p> + +<p>That was the question which baffled them. How +was it possible for a diver to get drunk under water? +The mystery would have delighted Sherlock Holmes. +There were cases of whisky in the wreck at the bottom +of the sea, but the diver would be drowned if he<span class="pagenum" id="Page_210">210</span> +attempted to drink it. He was imprisoned in his +suit. So how?</p> + +<p>Not a word did they say to the drowsy diver, but +when he went down the following day another diver +discreetly followed. He saw the first diver take a +bottle of whisky and proceed to a cabin. Instantly +the mystery was cleared up. The exhaust air from +his helmet, collecting here, had formed an air pocket, +and the diver, poking his helmet out of the water, +calmly unscrewed the glass front and took a good pull +at the bottle. In this ingenious manner did he manage +to get drunk under water!</p> + +<p>For recovering metal objects, such as anchors +accidentally lost in dock, there is the electric magnet. +Among other inventions for seeing on the seabed and +recovering lost treasure is the hydroscope of the +Italian, Cavaliere Pino. The hydroscope is a floating +chamber, from which depends a series of steel pipes +that may be extended or shortened at will, just like +a telescope. The pipes terminate in a chamber with +observation windows made of stout glass, and a man +sitting here can observe the whole seabed round about, +provided the water is clear, while the hydroscope is +being slowly towed along on the surface.</p> + +<figure id="ip_210" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 22em;"> + <img src="images/i_p210a.jpg" width="1404" height="2194" alt=""> + <figcaption class="caption">WHEN A SHIP OVERTURNS ON QUICKSANDS, THE SALVORS ERECT GREAT LEGS ON +THE HULL, AS SHOWN HERE, AND TAKE STRONG STEEL CABLES FROM THE +MASTS OF THE WRECK OVER THE TOPS OF THESE LEGS AND HAUL ON THEM +UNTIL THEY DRAG THE SHIP UPRIGHT + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<p>The hydroscope has done some good work, and by +its aid one wreck was raised in five hours after salvors +who had been working on it for months had declared +that the craft was lost for ever. It was this Italian<span class="pagenum" id="Page_211">211</span> +invention that the Japanese used in clearing the +sunken Russian fleet from the bottom of Port Arthur +after the termination of the Russo-Japanese War in +1905. A similar invention worked out by a Mr. +Williamson has resulted in some extraordinary underwater +cinema films being secured.</p> + +<p>The War led to a big development in the use of +compressed air for raising wrecks, divers sealing up +all the apertures in the tops of the wrecks with concrete +to imprison the compressed air, which was then +pumped into the ship until enough water was expelled +to enable her to float. The War also hatched a crop +of cranky salvage ideas that gave some of the salvage +experts one or two happy moments.</p> + +<p>One such moment was just after the War, when an +American walked into one of the British shipping +departments and requested to be allowed to salve a +ship in order to demonstrate the efficiency of his new +method. The officer to whom the stranger went was +courteous, listening attentively to the American’s +demand, and inquiring at last which ship of the few +hundreds sunk round our coasts he would like to +demonstrate on.</p> + +<p>“Any one!” said the American. “I don’t mind. +The bigger the better. What about the <i>Lusitania</i>?”</p> + +<p>“She’s rather deep,” it was suggested.</p> + +<p>“That doesn’t matter. It makes no difference to +me what the depth is,” came the easy reply.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_212">212</span></p> + +<p>The officer put a few questions, and then learned +that the stranger designed to use a submarine, which +was to fire torpedoes right through the <i>Lusitania</i>, +each torpedo carrying with it a steel cable. These +were to be picked up at the other side and taken to +the surface, and then the wreck was to be dragged +bodily out of the depths!</p> + +<p>That scheme to salve a ship by first of all smashing +a series of holes through her hull with torpedoes did +not commend itself to the British expert. It was, +indeed, quite impracticable.</p> + +<p>None the less, there are people who still wonder if +it will ever be possible to salve the <i>Lusitania</i>, which +was torpedoed off the Irish coast on May 7, 1915. +From time to time the matter keeps cropping up.</p> + +<p>Those who are curious on the subject may be interested +to know that the chances of raising the <i>Lusitania</i> +are so small as to be almost negligible. The sheer +weight of the sea quickly obliterates man’s handiwork, +and the <i>Lusitania</i> probably ceased to be a ship years +ago. It is extremely likely that the tremendous +pressure to which she was subjected at the depth of +288 feet long ago crushed her flat. Proposals have +been made to try to salve the valuable 30-ton safe +from the strong-room of the liner, but personally I +should not care to back such an enterprise.</p> + +<p>The marvellous endurance of divers in going to +great depths has been touched on in previous chapters,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_213">213</span> +but perhaps the strangest task ever given to a diver +was that of saving a cathedral. Some years ago, +Winchester Cathedral was in such grave danger of +collapsing that it became necessary to underpin the +walls and strengthen the foundations. The whole +cathedral stood upon a water-logged peat bog, the +ancient builders upon reaching water having laid logs +of beech to take their foundations. The modern +architect, Mr. T. G. Jackson, and his engineering +collaborator, Mr. Francis Fox, knew that to pump +the water out would be practically to pump the +cathedral to destruction, for the drift of the water was +bound to carry the silt and gravel away from other +portions of the building to where the pumps were +working, and so bring about the collapse of the famous +edifice.</p> + +<p>After careful study of the difficulties, the engineer +called in one of the crack divers of Siebe, Gorman & +Company to carry out his plan. It was found that the +beech logs put in by the ancient builders at water-level +were resting on 6 feet of clay, which in turn +covered a depth of just over 8 feet of peat, this in turn +resting on a bed of gravel. To save the cathedral +it was essential to excavate all the clay and peat down +to the gravel, and replace it with concrete up to the +foundations of the building.</p> + +<p>The walls of the cathedral, properly supported, +were treated in small sections of about 5 feet. The<span class="pagenum" id="Page_214">214</span> +clay was dug out, then the diver entered the hole and, +working in absolute darkness, removed the peat down +to the level of the gravel. Bags of dry concrete were +lowered to him and packed in tightly, a layer at a time, +the diver splitting them open and spreading the +contents evenly. In this way the hole was completely +filled. The water soon turned the concrete into a +rock-like mass, upon which the masons were able to +build solidly right up to the foundations, from which +the beech trees were carefully removed. Nothing +like it was ever attempted before, so Winchester can +boast that its cathedral is the only one in the world +that has been given a solid foundation by a diver.</p> + +<p>Just as the torpedoing of the <i>Lusitania</i> by the +Germans stirred the whole world, so the sinking of the +American flagship <i>Maine</i> in Havana harbour on +February 18, 1898, stirred the people of the United +States and led to the war with Spain. A giant explosion +in the middle of the night carried the American +battleship to the bottom with 266 officers and men, +and it was asserted that the Spaniards had deliberately +blown her up. The result was a war in which Spain +lost Cuba and the Philippines.</p> + +<p>Long years afterwards, in 1910, Congress voted a +sum of £60,000 and the work of investigating the +wrecked battleship was put in hand. Tackling their +task in a most masterly manner, the engineers decided +to enclose the whole wreck in one huge coffer-dam<span class="pagenum" id="Page_215">215</span> +built of steel piles driven down through the mud until +they were embedded 13 feet in the solid clay. As the +wreck lay in 37 feet of water, with 20 feet of mud below +that, the piles would emerge 5 feet above the surface +of the sea, providing a wall too high for the water to +wash over.</p> + +<p>Knowing full well that they would find it difficult to +create a plain circle of piles round the ship to withstand +the pressure of the sea, the engineers decided to build +what really amounted to a series of gigantic barrels, +standing on end in the sea with their sides touching. +These barrels, twenty-two in number, varied between +40 feet and 50 feet across. The staves of the barrels +were formed by the steel piles which were made to +interlock as they were driven in side by side, and +where the barrels, or caissions, touched, further piles +were driven to enclose the space and strengthen the +junction.</p> + +<p>For months the hammer-blows of the pile drivers +resounded over the harbour, and at last the coffer-dam—a +most marvellous piece of work—was finished and +filled with dredged clay. Within a year the salvage +operations were completed at a cost of £135,000. The +experts watched with keen eyes as the pumps lowered +the water within the coffer-dam and the wreck slowly +emerged from the slime. There the battleship lay, +a twisted mass of metal, and, before patching up the +afterpart and taking it out on March 16, 1912, to bury<span class="pagenum" id="Page_216">216</span> +in the broad Atlantic, the specialists held their inquest, +striving to discover whether the explosion that sank +her was caused from inside or outside.</p> + +<p>Such a thing after a ship has been at the bottom +for over twelve years is almost impossible to determine. +It was said that the explosion came from outside, +but the doubt will always exist that the Spanish +American War may have been due to a grave error on +the part of America, and that the <i>Maine</i> instead of +being blown up by the Spaniards, was destroyed by +the spontaneous combustion of the explosives in her +magazines, just as French, Japanese and British +warships have been destroyed in the same accidental +manner.</p> +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_217">217</span></p> + +<h2 class="nobreak" id="INDEX">INDEX</h2> + +<div class="index"> +<ul class="index"> +<li class="ifrst">Aberdeen, <i>Milwaukee</i> wrecked near, <a href="#Page_181">181</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Accidents rare in salvage work, <a href="#Page_8">8</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Admiralty divers and <i>Laurentic</i>, <a href="#Page_65">65–78</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Admiralty list of wrecks, <a href="#Page_112">112</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Admiralty Salvage Section, formation of, <a href="#Page_95">95</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Admiralty Salvage Section, ships salved by, <a href="#Page_111">111</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Admiralty Salvage Section, work on Belgian Coast, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Adventure aboard American submarine, <a href="#Page_149">149</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Adventure of diver, <a href="#Page_208">208</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Air bags, ships salved by, <a href="#Page_206">206</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Air keeps back water, <a href="#Page_85">85</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Air-lock, <a href="#Page_85">85</a>, <a href="#Page_87">87</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Air-pressure blows man to surface of sea, <a href="#Page_151">151</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Air <i lang="la">versus</i> water, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Allies and shipbuilding programme, <a href="#Page_113">113</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx"><i>Alphonso XII.</i>, treasure recovered, <a href="#Page_57">57</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">American Line, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">American salvage records, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">American submarine, discovery of drifting, <a href="#Page_144">144</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">American submarine F.4, tragedy of, <a href="#Page_152">152</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">American submarine O.5 sinks, <a href="#Page_151">151</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">American submarine S.5, ordeal of, <a href="#Page_141">141</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Amsterdam, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx"><i>Araby</i>, <a href="#Page_174">174–179</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Argyll, Duke of, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Armada wreck, discovery of, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Arming merchantmen in war, <a href="#Page_97">97</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Armistice, war wrecks salved after, <a href="#Page_112">112</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Armit salves a ship in halves, <a href="#Page_181">181</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Armit, Tom, <a href="#Page_181">181</a>, <a href="#Page_205">205</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Atrocity, <i>Belgian Prince</i>, <a href="#Page_118">118</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx"><i>Audacious</i>, H.M.S., <a href="#Page_19">19</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Award of £22,000 for salvage, <a href="#Page_184">184</a>.</li> + +<li class="ifrst">Bad weather foils treasure-hunters, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Ballast tanks in submarine, <a href="#Page_132">132</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Ballast, using sea as, <a href="#Page_111">111</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Battle with sand, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Battleship floating upside-down, <a href="#Page_87">87</a>, <a href="#Page_90">90</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Battleship raised by compressed air, <a href="#Page_90">90</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Battleship, salving a, <a href="#Page_79">79–93</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Battleship, shells salved from wreck, <a href="#Page_84">84</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Battleship sinks upside-down, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Baulks of timber, <a href="#Page_90">90</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Belgian coast, salvage work on, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx"><i>Belgian Prince</i>, tragedy of, <a href="#Page_118">118</a>, <a href="#Page_119">119</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx"><span class="pagenum" id="Page_218">218</span>Bell of <i>Lutine</i>, <a href="#Page_26">26</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Blasting for treasure, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Blasting through bulkheads, <a href="#Page_169">169</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Blazing sea, <a href="#Page_161">161</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Blazing ship shelled, <a href="#Page_162">162</a>, <a href="#Page_163">163</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Blow-pipes melt submarine’s plates, <a href="#Page_138">138</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Boilers as bollards, <a href="#Page_191">191</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Bollards made from boilers, <a href="#Page_191">191</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Bombay, <a href="#Page_188">188</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Boulogne harbour, clearing of, <a href="#Page_175">175</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Brave deed of salvage men, <a href="#Page_199">199</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Breathing compressed air, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Breault, Henry, imprisoned for thirty hours in submarine, <a href="#Page_151">151</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Britain’s food supplies restricted, <a href="#Page_96">96</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx"><i>Britannia</i>, extent of damage to, <a href="#Page_172">172</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx"><i>Britannia</i> torpedoed in Mediterranean, <a href="#Page_173">173</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">British battleship torpedoed, <a href="#Page_173">173</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">British diving record, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>, <a href="#Page_68">68</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">British Government and war wrecks, <a href="#Page_112">112</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">British Government insures all ships, <a href="#Page_96">96</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">British Navy’s treasure-hunt, <a href="#Page_65">65–78</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">British sailor escapes from sunken submarine, <a href="#Page_149">149</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">British salvage companies and Admiralty, <a href="#Page_94">94</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">British Salvage Section carries German submarine 40 miles, <a href="#Page_158">158</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">British Salvage Section fights U-boat menace, <a href="#Page_97">97</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">British Salvage Section, method of working, <a href="#Page_97">97</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">British submarine disaster, <a href="#Page_133">133</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">British warships and spontaneous combustion, <a href="#Page_216">216</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Brown, Lawrence, imprisoned for thirty hours in submarine, <a href="#Page_151">151</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx"><i>Brussels</i>, raising the, <a href="#Page_159">159</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Bude, torpedoed ship beached near, <a href="#Page_197">197</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Bulkheads, <a href="#Page_107">107</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Bulkheads cause trouble, <a href="#Page_169">169</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Bullivant’s cable, <a href="#Page_191">191</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Burial at sea, <a href="#Page_130">130</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Burning ship sunk, <a href="#Page_162">162</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Business men and treasure, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Butler, Charles, escapes from sunken submarine, <a href="#Page_151">151</a>.</li> + +<li class="ifrst">Cables for carrying submarine, <a href="#Page_125">125</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Cables, how placed under wreck, <a href="#Page_125">125</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Calmness of British seamen in danger, <a href="#Page_133">133</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Camera, how cinema man saved, <a href="#Page_150">150</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Cape Finisterre, <a href="#Page_46">46</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Captain Kidd, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Carpi, General, <a href="#Page_93">93</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Cathedral restored by diver, <a href="#Page_213">213</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Chapman, R. E., <a href="#Page_168">168</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Charts, concealed, <a href="#Page_99">99</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Charts full of flags, <a href="#Page_99">99</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Chinese pirates chase treasure-hunters, <a href="#Page_62">62–64</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Cinema man sinks with submarine, <a href="#Page_150">150</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx"><i><a id="City_of_Paris"></a>City of Paris</i>, wreck of, <a href="#Page_182">182</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Clock, a maddening, <a href="#Page_152">152</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Clothes of diver, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Clovelly harbour, <a href="#Page_199">199</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Clyde, <a href="#Page_132">132</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Clyde, cost of deepening, <a href="#Page_195">195</a>, <a href="#Page_196">196</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Code, diver’s, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Coffer-dam round <i>Maine</i>, <a href="#Page_213">213</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Coffer-dam, used on <i>St. Paul</i>, <a href="#Page_170">170</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx"><span class="pagenum" id="Page_219">219</span>Coffer-dam, use in salvage work, <a href="#Page_166">166</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Coincidence, the strange case of <i>Gladiator</i> and <i>St. Paul</i>, <a href="#Page_167">167</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Collision between <i>War Knight</i> and <i>O. B. Jennings</i>, <a href="#Page_160">160–163</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Collision mats, <a href="#Page_205">205</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Collision that cost £1,000,000, <a href="#Page_163">163</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Commander Kay, <a href="#Page_111">111</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Compressed air and sunken battleship, <a href="#Page_85">85</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Compressed air, breathing, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Compressed air raises battleship, <a href="#Page_90">90</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Compressed air, tools worked by, <a href="#Page_194">194</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Compressed air, used on H.M.S. <i>Britannia</i>, <a href="#Page_172">172</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Concrete, ship patched with, <a href="#Page_180">180</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Concrete, used to salve ship, <a href="#Page_175">175</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Congress and loss of <i>Maine</i>, <a href="#Page_214">214</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Conning tower, the protruding hand, <a href="#Page_157">157</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Continental markets destroyed, <a href="#Page_114">114</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Convoy, accident to, <a href="#Page_161">161</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Cork packed into battleship to give buoyancy, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Cost of salvage operation on H.M.S. <i>Gladiator</i>, <a href="#Page_167">167</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Cradle of cables for U.44, <a href="#Page_125">125</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Craft, lifting, <a href="#Page_126">126</a>, <a href="#Page_127">127</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Crew drowned by Germans, <a href="#Page_119">119</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Crime, a German submarine, <a href="#Page_120">120</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Cunningham, Commander, <a href="#Page_183">183</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Currents hinder salvage operations, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Currents play pranks, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>.</li> + +<li class="ifrst">Damage to H.M.S. <i>Gladiator</i>, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Damant, Commander, <a href="#Page_68">68</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Davis, Commander G., and U.44, <a href="#Page_123">123</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Davis, Commander, raises minesweeper, <a href="#Page_124">124</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Davis, Commander, wins D.S.C., <a href="#Page_129">129</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Davis, R. H., <a href="#Page_41">41</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Deepening channels, method of, <a href="#Page_195">195</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Deepening Clyde, cost of, <a href="#Page_195">195</a>, <a href="#Page_196">196</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Depth beats divers, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Depth charge, <a href="#Page_117">117</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Depth, greatest, ever reached by diver, <a href="#Page_155">155</a>, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>, <a href="#Page_157">157</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Derricks, floating, <a href="#Page_170">170</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Detectives, deep-sea, <a href="#Page_117">117</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Diamond drills used on Clyde channel, <a href="#Page_195">195</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Director of Naval Salvage, his calmness, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Disaster of K.13, <a href="#Page_132">132</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Diver and sea pressure, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Diver attacked by octopus, <a href="#Page_202">202</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Diver buried alive, <a href="#Page_208">208</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Diver caught at 200 feet, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Diver crushed by pressure, <a href="#Page_154">154</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Diver, difficulty of movement at great depths, <a href="#Page_155">155</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Diver explores flooded Severn tunnel, <a href="#Page_54">54</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Diver Girvan, his fight on seabed, <a href="#Page_200">200</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Diver, how clothed, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Diver Jones, his fight on seabed, <a href="#Page_200">200</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Diver Lambert, <a href="#Page_50">50</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Diver offers his hand to shark, <a href="#Page_203">203</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Diver Penk helps to salve specie, <a href="#Page_61">61</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Diver restores a cathedral, <a href="#Page_213">213</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Diver Ridyard salves treasure from a depth of 156 feet, <a href="#Page_61">61</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Diver, sea plays with, <a href="#Page_72">72</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Diver, why he cannot whistle, <a href="#Page_73">73</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx"><span class="pagenum" id="Page_220">220</span>Diver works in darkness, <a href="#Page_214">214</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Divers and inquisitive fish, <a href="#Page_202">202</a>, <a href="#Page_203">203</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Divers and mud, <a href="#Page_204">204</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Divers beaten by depth, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Diver’s boots, weight of, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Divers breathe compressed air, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Diver’s code, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Divers communicate with submarine prisoners, <a href="#Page_137">137</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Divers discover the lost K.13, <a href="#Page_136">136</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Divers, fat and slim, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Diver’s feat in Severn tunnel, <a href="#Page_50">50–55</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Divers feed submarine prisoners, <a href="#Page_137">137</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Divers fight on seabed, <a href="#Page_200">200</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Divers gassed, <a href="#Page_178">178–179</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Divers lash pontoons to wreck, <a href="#Page_89">89</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Diver’s luck, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Diver’s palsy, its cause, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Diver’s physique, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Divers, risks of, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Divers share nearly £6,000, <a href="#Page_78">78</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Diver’s strange experience, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Divers survey wreck of <i>Leonardo da Vinci</i>, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Divers use hacksaws, <a href="#Page_190">190</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Divers use pneumatic chisels, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Divers wear masks, <a href="#Page_170">170</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Divers work at 190 feet, <a href="#Page_157">157</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Divers work in mud, <a href="#Page_168">168</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Divers work on Belgian coast, <a href="#Page_116">116</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Diving bell crushed by pressure, <a href="#Page_154">154</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Diving code, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Diving dress, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Diving dress, all metal, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Diving dresses, ancient, <a href="#Page_41">41</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Diving, rate of ascent, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Diving record, British, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Diving record, British, date of, <a href="#Page_68">68</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Diving, science of, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Diving strains, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Diving to 304 feet, <a href="#Page_155">155</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Diving tragedy, <a href="#Page_178">178</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Donegal, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Doubloons discovered, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Dredger, salving a, <a href="#Page_188">188</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Dredging a 1½-mile channel, <a href="#Page_89">89</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Dress, diving, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Drill worked by air, <a href="#Page_194">194</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Drills, diamond, used on Clyde, <a href="#Page_195">195</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Drink, a lucky, <a href="#Page_64">64</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Duke of Argyll, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Duncan, Admiral, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Dutch claim <i>Lutine</i>, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Dynamite, cutting ship in two with, <a href="#Page_181">181</a>.</li> + +<li class="ifrst">Electric cable laid 1½ miles out to sea, <a href="#Page_84">84</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Electric magnet, <a href="#Page_210">210</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Electric pump, invention of, <a href="#Page_103">103</a>, <a href="#Page_104">104</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Electric pump, weight of, <a href="#Page_104">104</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Electric torch, wonder of, <a href="#Page_169">169</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Electricity helps to salve battleship, <a href="#Page_84">84</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Emergency patches, <a href="#Page_206">206</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Enderslie Rock, <a href="#Page_195">195</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Enemy buried at sea, <a href="#Page_130">130</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Engineer patches ship with concrete, <a href="#Page_180">180</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Engines raise a ship, <a href="#Page_164">164</a>, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Ensor, Henry, <a href="#Page_94">94</a>, <a href="#Page_186">186–194</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Entombed in submarine, <a href="#Page_133">133</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Entombed miners rescued, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Erostarbe, Angel, his diving record, <a href="#Page_48">48</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Escapes from sunken submarines, <a href="#Page_139">139</a>, <a href="#Page_145">145</a>, <a href="#Page_146">146–152</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Explosion off Waterford, <a href="#Page_122">122</a>.</li> + +<li class="ifrst">F.4, American submarine disaster, <a href="#Page_152">152</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">F.4, discovery of, <a href="#Page_153">153</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx"><span class="pagenum" id="Page_221">221</span>F.4, plans for recovery, <a href="#Page_153">153</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Falmouth, <i>City of Paris</i> towed to, <a href="#Page_183">183</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Faruffini, General, <a href="#Page_93">93</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Ferrati, General, <a href="#Page_81">81</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Fight on seabed between divers, <a href="#Page_200">200</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Finisterre, Cape, <a href="#Page_46">46</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Fire, disaster to oil tankers, <a href="#Page_161">161</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Fire in sunken submarine, <a href="#Page_151">151</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Fish and divers, <a href="#Page_202">202</a>, <a href="#Page_203">203</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Fish scent death, <a href="#Page_204">204</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Fishing for treasure, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Flags stuck in maps, <a href="#Page_99">99</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx"><i>Fleswick</i>, salving the, <a href="#Page_187">187</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Floating dock proposed for raising <i>Leonardo da Vinci</i>, <a href="#Page_81">81</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Flooding of Severn tunnel, <a href="#Page_51">51</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Floor of gold, <a href="#Page_61">61</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx"><i>Florencia’s</i> treasure, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Fluess, <a href="#Page_51">51–53</a></li> + +<li class="indx"><i>Flying Dutchman</i>, <a href="#Page_167">167</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Folkestone, <a href="#Page_163">163</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Food supplies restricted in Britain, <a href="#Page_96">96</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Fortune from a rumour, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Fortune saved by a drink, <a href="#Page_64">64</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Foundering ship salved, <a href="#Page_197">197–199</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Fox, Francis, his work on Winchester Cathedral, <a href="#Page_213">213</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">French warships and spontaneous combustion, <a href="#Page_216">216</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Fryatt, Captain, <a href="#Page_159">159</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Funnels, folding, on British submarine, <a href="#Page_131">131</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Furness Withy, <a href="#Page_183">183</a>.</li> + +<li class="ifrst">Gale cheats salvors, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Gale snaps cables, <a href="#Page_154">154</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Gale stops salvage of U-boat, <a href="#Page_126">126</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Gales baffle salvors of <i>Laurentic</i>, <a href="#Page_75">75</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Gales stop salvage work, <a href="#Page_108">108</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Gales, strength of, <a href="#Page_8">8</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Gallantry of salvors, <a href="#Page_199">199</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Gardiner, Captain, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Gareloch, <a href="#Page_132">132</a>, <a href="#Page_188">188</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Garonne, <a href="#Page_181">181</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Gear lost, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx"><i>General Goethals</i>, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">German mines off Waterford, <a href="#Page_121">121</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">German ships seized, <a href="#Page_114">114</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">German submarine campaign, <a href="#Page_96">96</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">German submarine raised from 190 feet, <a href="#Page_158">158</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">German submarine sinks oil tanker, <a href="#Page_163">163</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">German submarines netted, <a href="#Page_116">116</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">German submarines, risk of salving, <a href="#Page_128">128</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Germans block Ostend harbour, <a href="#Page_116">116</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Germans buried at sea, <a href="#Page_130">130</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Germans drown crew of <i>Belgian Prince</i>, <a href="#Page_119">119</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Germans fail to raise <i>Vindictive</i>, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Germans miss lifebelts, <a href="#Page_120">120</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Germans sink ships at sight, <a href="#Page_96">96</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Germans torpedo British battleship, <a href="#Page_173">173</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Germans torpedo merchantmen, <a href="#Page_96">96</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Gianelli, Major, work on <i>Leonardo da Vinci</i>, <a href="#Page_83">83</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Giant bollards made from boilers, <a href="#Page_191">191</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Giant wooden frame supports battleship, <a href="#Page_91">91</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Girvan, Diver, dramatic fight on seabed, <a href="#Page_200">200</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx"><i>Gladiator</i>, wreck of H.M.S., <a href="#Page_165">165–167</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx"><i>Goeben</i>, <a href="#Page_180">180</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Gold, floor of, <a href="#Page_61">61</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Goodhart, Commander F. H. M., D.S.O., <a href="#Page_134">134</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Goodhart, Commander, his heroic death, <a href="#Page_135">135</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Grain, action of sea on, <a href="#Page_178">178</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx"><span class="pagenum" id="Page_222">222</span>Grapnels, <a href="#Page_124">124</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Great War, salvage work in, <a href="#Page_94">94–116</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Great War, ships salved and their value, <a href="#Page_111">111</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Gun-turrets, detaching submerged, <a href="#Page_87">87</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Gwynne pumps, <a href="#Page_104">104</a>.</li> + +<li class="ifrst">Hacksaws, used by divers, <a href="#Page_190">190</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx"><i>Hamilla Mitchell</i>, wreck of, <a href="#Page_58">58–64</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Hammer worked by air, <a href="#Page_194">194</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Havana harbour, loss of <i>Maine</i> in, <a href="#Page_214">214</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Herbert, Commander Godfrey, D.S.O., <a href="#Page_133">133</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Herbert, Commander, his escape from sunken K.13, <a href="#Page_135">135</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Honolulu, <a href="#Page_152">152</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Honolulu, tide at, <a href="#Page_153">153</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Hydroscope, <a href="#Page_210">210</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx"><i>Hypatia</i>, wreck of, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>.</li> + +<li class="ifrst">Imprisoned in submarine, <a href="#Page_146">146–152</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Incas of Peru, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Inchkeith, <a href="#Page_172">172</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Inquisitive fish, <a href="#Page_202">202</a>, <a href="#Page_203">203</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx"><i>Intrepid</i>, wreck, <a href="#Page_208">208</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Invention, an American salvage, <a href="#Page_206">206</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Invention of electric pump, <a href="#Page_103">103</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Invention of modern diving dress, <a href="#Page_41">41</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Isle of Mull, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Italian Naval Engineering Corps, <a href="#Page_81">81</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Italian salvage feat, <a href="#Page_79">79</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Italians dredge 1½-mile channel, <a href="#Page_89">89</a>.</li> + +<li class="ifrst">Jackson, T. G., his work on Winchester Cathedral, <a href="#Page_213">213</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Japan raises sunken Russian warships, <a href="#Page_211">211</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Jellicoe, Lieutenant-Colonel R. V., <a href="#Page_175">175</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Jones, Diver, his fight under the sea, <a href="#Page_200">200</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Junks, chased by, <a href="#Page_62">62</a>.</li> + +<li class="ifrst">K.13, loss of, <a href="#Page_131">131–140</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">K.14, <a href="#Page_134">134</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Kay, Commander, <a href="#Page_108">108</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Kay, Commander, and K.13, <a href="#Page_137">137</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Kidd, Captain, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>.</li> + +<li class="ifrst">Lagoons, scenes at bottom of, <a href="#Page_204">204</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Lake Huron, treasure-hunting in, <a href="#Page_154">154</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Lambert, Alexander, <a href="#Page_50">50</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Lambert and Severn tunnel, <a href="#Page_50">50–55</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Lambert explores flooded Severn tunnel, <a href="#Page_54">54</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Lambert finds treasure of <i>Alphonso XII.</i>, <a href="#Page_57">57</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Lamps, submarine, <a href="#Page_157">157</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Launchways, their use, <a href="#Page_187">187</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx"><i>Laurentic</i>, blasting operations, <a href="#Page_74">74</a>, <a href="#Page_75">75</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx"><i>Laurentic</i> crushed by sea, <a href="#Page_72">72</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx"><i>Laurentic</i>, depth of wreck, <a href="#Page_67">67</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx"><i>Laurentic</i>, difficulties of salving treasure, <a href="#Page_72">72–78</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx"><i>Laurentic</i> disaster, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx"><i>Laurentic</i>, length of time divers can work, <a href="#Page_73">73</a>, <a href="#Page_74">74</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx"><i>Laurentic</i>, lives lost, <a href="#Page_67">67</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx"><i>Laurentic</i>, value of treasure aboard, <a href="#Page_66">66</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Leak stopped by oakum, <a href="#Page_205">205</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Leaks obscured by oil, <a href="#Page_86">86</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx"><i>Leonardo da Vinci</i>, loss of, <a href="#Page_79">79</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx"><i>Leonardo da Vinci</i>, armament and cost, <a href="#Page_80">80</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx"><i>Leonardo da Vinci</i>, plans for salving, <a href="#Page_81">81</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx"><i>Leonardo da Vinci</i> floats upside-down, <a href="#Page_90">90</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Leuconna Rock, <a href="#Page_58">58</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx"><span class="pagenum" id="Page_223">223</span>Leverhulme, Lord, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Lifebelts, concealed, <a href="#Page_120">120</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Lifting craft, linked, <a href="#Page_207">207</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Lifting methods, <a href="#Page_125">125</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Lifting the <i>Brussels</i>, <a href="#Page_159">159</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Lifting vessels, modern, <a href="#Page_126">126</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Lighthouses, <a href="#Page_2">2</a>, <a href="#Page_3">3</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Lightships, <a href="#Page_2">2</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx"><i>Lion</i>, H.M.S., after Jutland, <a href="#Page_96">96</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Liverpool Salvage Association, <a href="#Page_94">94</a>, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Liverpool, treasure landed at, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Lloyd’s and <i>Lutine</i>, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Lloyd’s great loss, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Locating leaks in battleship, <a href="#Page_86">86</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Lodge, Captain, offers to salve specie of <i>Hamilla Mitchell</i>, <a href="#Page_58">58</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">London Salvage Association, <a href="#Page_94">94</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Lucky escape of salvors, <a href="#Page_128">128</a>, <a href="#Page_129">129</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Lucky treasure-hunt, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Lundy Island, <a href="#Page_172">172</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx"><i>Lusitania</i>, chances of salvage, <a href="#Page_212">212</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx"><i>Lutine</i>, amount of treasure recovered, <a href="#Page_26">26</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx"><i>Lutine</i>, blasting operations, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx"><i>Lutine</i> buried, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx"><i>Lutine</i>, capture of, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx"><i>Lutine</i> rediscovered, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx"><i>Lutine</i>, treasure shipped, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx"><i>Lutine</i>, wreck of, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx"><i>Lutine’s</i> bell, <a href="#Page_26">26</a>.</li> + +<li class="ifrst">Macdonald invents electric pump, <a href="#Page_103">103</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Magnet, electric, <a href="#Page_210">210</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx"><i>Maine</i>, destruction of, <a href="#Page_214">214–216</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Malin Head, <a href="#Page_66">66</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Marine salvage in wartime, <a href="#Page_94">94</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Markets destroyed, <a href="#Page_114">114</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Marseilles, octopus attacks diver at, <a href="#Page_202">202</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Meat, handling decayed, <a href="#Page_171">171</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Merchantmen armed during war, <a href="#Page_97">97</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Merritt and Chapman, <a href="#Page_167">167</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Method of raising vessels from seabed, <a href="#Page_125">125</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Methods of British Salvage Section, <a href="#Page_97">97</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Mexiddo reef, <a href="#Page_46">46</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx"><i>Milwaukee</i>, wreck of, <a href="#Page_181">181</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Mine destroys U.44, <a href="#Page_123">123</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Mine-laying from submarine, <a href="#Page_121">121</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Mine-sweeping, <a href="#Page_122">122</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Minefield, adrift in, <a href="#Page_162">162</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Minefield at Waterford, <a href="#Page_121">121</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Miners entombed, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>, <a href="#Page_43">43</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Minesweeper, sinking of, <a href="#Page_124">124</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Models for salvage operations, <a href="#Page_83">83</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx"><i>Montagu</i>, wreck of, <a href="#Page_171">171–172</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx"><i>Montgomery</i>, wreck of, <a href="#Page_181">181</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Morse Code, <a href="#Page_137">137</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Mud and divers, <a href="#Page_204">204</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Mud grips battleship, <a href="#Page_90">90</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Mull, Isle of, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Mystery of <i>Florencia</i>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>.</li> + +<li class="ifrst">Napoleon, <a href="#Page_25">25</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Naval divers and <i>Laurentic</i>, <a href="#Page_65">65–78</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Naval Salvage, director of, <a href="#Page_95">95</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Netherlands Government and Lloyd’s, <a href="#Page_25">25</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">New York, tanker caught off, <a href="#Page_163">163</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Nitrogen, its effect on divers, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Nordstrom, Captain, <a href="#Page_161">161</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx"><i>Norton</i>, stranding of, <a href="#Page_183">183</a>.</li> + +<li class="ifrst"><i>O. B. Jennings</i>, <a href="#Page_160">160–163</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">O.5, sinking of American submarine, <a href="#Page_151">151</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Oakum stops leak, <a href="#Page_205">205</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Oats cause tragedy, <a href="#Page_178">178</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx"><i>Oceana</i>, blasting operations, <a href="#Page_50">50</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx"><i>Oceana</i>, difficulties of salving treasure, <a href="#Page_50">50</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx"><i>Oceana</i>, wreck of, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Octopus attacks diver, <a href="#Page_202">202</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx"><span class="pagenum" id="Page_224">224</span>Oil hinders divers, <a href="#Page_84">84</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Oil obscures leaks in battleship, <a href="#Page_86">86</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Oil salved from tanker, <a href="#Page_163">163</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Oil tankers take fire, <a href="#Page_161">161–163</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx"><i>Onward</i>, scuttling of, <a href="#Page_163">163</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Ostend, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Ostend, how Germans bottled up harbour, <a href="#Page_116">116</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Overturned ship, methods of salvage, <a href="#Page_164">164</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Ownership of war wrecks, <a href="#Page_112">112</a>.</li> + +<li class="ifrst">Palsy, diver’s, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Patch, standard, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Patches, emergency, <a href="#Page_206">206</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Patching battleship, <a href="#Page_85">85</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Penk, Diver, <a href="#Page_59">59</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Periscope, <a href="#Page_137">137</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Peru, gold of, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Peruvian treasure, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx"><i>Philadelphia</i>, see <i><a href="#City_of_Paris">City of Paris</a></i>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Phosphate, island of, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Pino, Cavaliere, inventor of hydroscope, <a href="#Page_210">210</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Pirates, chased by, <a href="#Page_62">62–64</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Pit disaster near Falkirk, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Pizarro, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Pneumatic chisels used by divers, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Pomeroy, Captain H., <a href="#Page_176">176</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Pontoon raises 800 tons, <a href="#Page_177">177</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Pontoons, <a href="#Page_116">116</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Pontoons and <i>Araby</i>, <a href="#Page_177">177</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Pontoons and salvage operations, <a href="#Page_89">89</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Pontoons, assist to raise the <i>Gladiator</i>, <a href="#Page_166">166</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Pontoons, how used, <a href="#Page_89">89</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Pontoons used in salving F.4, <a href="#Page_153">153</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Port Arthur, raising Russian fleet at, <a href="#Page_211">211</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Portsmouth, <a href="#Page_167">167</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Pressure and divers, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Pressure crushes diver, <a href="#Page_154">154</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Pressure, how it affects diver, <a href="#Page_155">155</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Propeller shaft cut into bollards, <a href="#Page_191">191</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Pumps, electric, weight of, <a href="#Page_104">104</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Pumps keep ship afloat, <a href="#Page_105">105</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Pumps, sand, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Pumps, types of, <a href="#Page_103">103</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Pumps <i lang="la">versus</i> torpedoes, <a href="#Page_103">103</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Pumps, wonderful reliability of, <a href="#Page_105">105</a>.</li> + +<li class="ifrst">Quay, threatened destruction of Folkestone, <a href="#Page_163">163</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Queenstown, <a href="#Page_94">94</a>.</li> + +<li class="ifrst"><i>Racer</i>, salvage vessel, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Racing yacht salved, <a href="#Page_204">204</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Railway engines raise a ship, <a href="#Page_164">164</a>, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Recompression chamber, its uses, <a href="#Page_70">70</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Record depth from which treasure has been recovered, <a href="#Page_48">48</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Record, diving, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Record, twelve-hour diving, <a href="#Page_137">137</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Record weight raised, <a href="#Page_158">158</a>, <a href="#Page_159">159</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Record, world’s diving, <a href="#Page_155">155</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Redding pit disaster, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Refloating H.M.S. <i>Britannia</i>, <a href="#Page_172">172</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Refloating the <i>Timbo</i>, <a href="#Page_186">186</a>, <a href="#Page_187">187</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Refrigerator, unpleasant task in a, <a href="#Page_171">171</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Rescue of crew of submarine S.5, <a href="#Page_145">145</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Rescue of survivors of K.13, <a href="#Page_139">139</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Ridyard, Diver, <a href="#Page_59">59</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Righting a battleship, <a href="#Page_92">92</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Risk of salvage work, <a href="#Page_8">8</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Risk of salving German submarines, <a href="#Page_128">128</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Rock-cutter, <a href="#Page_195">195</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Rock reveals a fortune, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Rocks blasted away to salve ship, <a href="#Page_183">183</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Ropes, breaking strains of, <a href="#Page_192">192</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx"><span class="pagenum" id="Page_225">225</span>Ropes, giant, <a href="#Page_192">192</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Ropes, steel, <a href="#Page_191">191</a>, <a href="#Page_192">192</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Rosyth, <a href="#Page_159">159</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Royal Exchange, <a href="#Page_46">46</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx"><i>Royal George</i>, salvage operations, <a href="#Page_200">200</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Rust handicaps divers, <a href="#Page_190">190</a>.</li> + +<li class="ifrst">St. Bees Head, <a href="#Page_105">105</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">St. Helena, <a href="#Page_25">25</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx"><i>St. Paul</i>, collision with H.M.S. <i>Gladiator</i>, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx"><i>St. Paul</i> converted into troopship, <a href="#Page_167">167</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx"><i>St. Paul</i> overturns, <a href="#Page_167">167</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx"><i>St. Paul</i>, salvage operations on, <a href="#Page_168">168</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">S.5, discovery of, <a href="#Page_144">144</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">S.5, rescue of crew, <a href="#Page_145">145</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">S.5, strange accident to the American submarine, <a href="#Page_141">141</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Salvage and Towage Company, <a href="#Page_183">183</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Salvage award of £22,000, <a href="#Page_184">184</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Salvage concerns, <a href="#Page_94">94</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Salvage idea, a strange, <a href="#Page_212">212</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Salvage invention, an American, <a href="#Page_206">206</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Salvage lighter nearly founders, <a href="#Page_128">128</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Salvage men, lucky escape of, <a href="#Page_128">128</a>, <a href="#Page_129">129</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Salvage of <i>Araby</i>, <a href="#Page_174">174–179</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Salvage of <i>Seuvic</i>, <a href="#Page_182">182</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Salvage of the <i>Norton</i>, <a href="#Page_183">183</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Salvage officer’s clever feat, <a href="#Page_185">185</a>, <a href="#Page_186">186</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Salvage on Belgian coast, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Salvage operations aided by pontoons, <a href="#Page_89">89</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Salvage operations on <i>St. Paul</i>, <a href="#Page_168">168</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Salvage operations on <i>Westmoreland</i>, <a href="#Page_108">108–111</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Salvage problem, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Salvage records, American, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Salvage Section as detectives, <a href="#Page_117">117</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Salvage Section, laying mines, <a href="#Page_95">95</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Salvage Section, method of working, <a href="#Page_97">97</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Salvage Section, nets English Channel, <a href="#Page_96">96</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Salvage Section, ships salved by, <a href="#Page_111">111</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Salvage stations round Britain, <a href="#Page_97">97</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Salvage steamer, cost of upkeep, <a href="#Page_184">184</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Salvage work, risk of, <a href="#Page_8">8</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Salvage work stopped by gales, <a href="#Page_108">108</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Salved by blasting operations, <a href="#Page_183">183</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Salved five times, <a href="#Page_10">10</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Salving a battleship, <a href="#Page_79">79–93</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Salving a battleship by compressed air, <a href="#Page_85">85</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Salving a racing yacht, <a href="#Page_204">204</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Salving a ship in halves, <a href="#Page_177">177</a>, <a href="#Page_181">181</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Salving battleship upside-down, <a href="#Page_90">90</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Salving £500,000 from <i>Laurentic</i>, <a href="#Page_73">73</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Salving H.M.S. <i>Britannia</i>, <a href="#Page_172">172</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Salving H.M.S. <i>Gladiator</i>, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Salving K.13, <a href="#Page_131">131–140</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Salving <i>Leonardo da Vinci</i>, cost of, <a href="#Page_93">93</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Salving oil from tanker, <a href="#Page_163">163</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Salving overturned ship, <a href="#Page_164">164</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Salving shells from sunken battleship, <a href="#Page_84">84</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Salving ship with concrete, <a href="#Page_175">175</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Salving the <i>Fleswick</i>, <a href="#Page_187">187</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Salving the <i>Maine</i>, <a href="#Page_214">214–216</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Salving the <i>Silurus</i>, <a href="#Page_187">187–194</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Salving the <i>Timbo</i>, <a href="#Page_186">186</a>, <a href="#Page_187">187</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Salving treasure, diver’s reward, <a href="#Page_58">58</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Salving treasure of <i>Alphonso XII.</i>, <a href="#Page_57">57</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx"><span class="pagenum" id="Page_226">226</span>Salvors balance ship, <a href="#Page_111">111</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Salvors carry submarine 40 miles, <a href="#Page_158">158</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Salvors chased by pirates, <a href="#Page_62">62–64</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Salvors foiled by bad weather, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Salvors, gallant feat of, <a href="#Page_199">199</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Salvors of <i>Laurentic’s</i> treasure baffled by gales, <a href="#Page_75">75</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Salvors, tricks of, <a href="#Page_205">205</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Sand, battle with, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Sand-pump, 18-inch, used on <i>Laurentic</i> operations, <a href="#Page_76">76</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Sand-pumps, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Sand-pumps, when they choke, <a href="#Page_76">76</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Sandbanks, submerged, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Sandown Bay, <a href="#Page_162">162</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Science of diving, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Sea ablaze, <a href="#Page_161">161</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Sea crushes <i>Laurentic</i>, <a href="#Page_72">72</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Sea-growths, their beauty, <a href="#Page_204">204</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Sea plays with diver, <a href="#Page_72">72</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Sea pressure, effect on divers, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Sea water as ballast, <a href="#Page_111">111</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Secret German orders recovered by divers, <a href="#Page_157">157</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Secret papers in U.44, <a href="#Page_129">129</a></li> + +<li class="indx"><i>Seuvic</i>, wreck of, <a href="#Page_182">182</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Severn tunnel, cause of flooding, <a href="#Page_51">51</a>, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Severn tunnel, diver’s feat in, <a href="#Page_50">50–55</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Severn tunnel explored by diver, <a href="#Page_54">54</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Severn tunnel, flooding of, <a href="#Page_51">51</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Shanghai, <a href="#Page_58">58</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Shark and diver, <a href="#Page_203">203</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Shells protected by oil, <a href="#Page_84">84</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Shells salved from <i>Leonardo da Vinci</i>, <a href="#Page_84">84</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Ship ashore, method of refloating, <a href="#Page_185">185</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Ship breaks in two, <a href="#Page_177">177</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Ship kept afloat by pumps, <a href="#Page_105">105</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Ship patched with concrete, <a href="#Page_180">180</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Ship, question of balance, <a href="#Page_111">111</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Ship salved by blasting away rocks, <a href="#Page_183">183</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Ship salved five times, <a href="#Page_10">10</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Ship surgery, <a href="#Page_181">181</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Ship torpedoed three times, <a href="#Page_101">101</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Shipbreakers buy wreck of <i>Gladiator</i>, <a href="#Page_167">167</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Shipbreakers buy wreck of <i>Montagu</i>, <a href="#Page_172">172</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Shipping, high cost in war, <a href="#Page_113">113</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Shipping slump, <a href="#Page_113">113</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Ships, how destroyed, <a href="#Page_3">3</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Ships, increase in tonnage, <a href="#Page_114">114</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Ships insured by British Government, <a href="#Page_96">96</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Ships salved by Admiralty Salvage Section, <a href="#Page_111">111</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Ships salved by air bags, <a href="#Page_206">206</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Ships salved in Great War, their value, <a href="#Page_111">111</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Ships seized from Germany, <a href="#Page_114">114</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Ships sunk at sight during war, <a href="#Page_96">96</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Ships, wonder of, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Shot-rope, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Shutter Rock, <a href="#Page_171">171</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Siebe, Gorman & Company help to save Winchester Cathedral, <a href="#Page_213">213</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Siebe, Gorman & Co. Ltd., <a href="#Page_41">41</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Siebe invents diving dress, <a href="#Page_41">41</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Sieve, giant, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Sifting seabed, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx"><i>Silurus</i>, cost of salvage operations, <a href="#Page_194">194</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx"><i>Silurus</i>, plans to salve, <a href="#Page_189">189</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx"><i>Silurus</i>, wreck of, <a href="#Page_187">187–194</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Silver bars recovered, <a href="#Page_48">48</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Sinking of K.13, <a href="#Page_132">132</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx"><i>Skyro</i>, wreck of, <a href="#Page_45">45–47</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Slings, U-boat carried 40 miles in, <a href="#Page_158">158</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Slump in shipping, <a href="#Page_113">113</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Smoke helmet, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx"><span class="pagenum" id="Page_227">227</span>Soldier patches ship with concrete, <a href="#Page_180">180</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Solent, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Spain loses Cuba, <a href="#Page_214">214</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Spanish-American War, cause of, <a href="#Page_214">214</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Spanish doubloons, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Spanish galleon, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Spanish galleon destroyed, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Spontaneous combustion and <i>Maine</i> disaster, <a href="#Page_216">216</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Spy and burning troopship, <a href="#Page_163">163</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Stag Rocks, <i>Seuvic</i> wrecked on, <a href="#Page_182">182</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Standard patch, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">State as underwriters, <a href="#Page_96">96</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Steel cable, giant, <a href="#Page_191">191</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Steel cables, breaking strains of, <a href="#Page_192">192</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Steel cables snapped by gale, <a href="#Page_154">154</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Steel plates, cutting under sea, <a href="#Page_169">169</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Steel tombs, submarines as, <a href="#Page_118">118</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Storms defeat salvage, <a href="#Page_5">5</a>, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Storms snap steel cables, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Storms, strength of, <a href="#Page_8">8</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Stranded ships, towing off, <a href="#Page_186">186</a>, <a href="#Page_187">187</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Stranding of <i>Norton</i>, <a href="#Page_183">183</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Submarine, an American adventure, <a href="#Page_149">149</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Submarine campaign, <a href="#Page_96">96</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Submarine carried 40 miles, <a href="#Page_158">158</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Submarine carried over sandbar, <a href="#Page_129">129</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Submarine commander’s dilemma, <a href="#Page_150">150</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Submarine, dropping a, <a href="#Page_129">129</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Submarine F.4, disaster to, <a href="#Page_152">152</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Submarine flash lamp and K.13, <a href="#Page_137">137</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Submarine lamps, <a href="#Page_157">157</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Submarine menace and British Salvage Section, <a href="#Page_97">97</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Submarine, mine-laying, <a href="#Page_121">121</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Submarine O.5, sinks in 40 feet of water, <a href="#Page_151">151</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Submarine S.5, her strange accident, <a href="#Page_141">141</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Submarine scenery, <a href="#Page_204">204</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Submarine sinks oil tanker, <a href="#Page_163">163</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Submarine tragedies seen by divers, <a href="#Page_118">118</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Submarine with folding funnels, <a href="#Page_131">131</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Submarines as steel tombs, <a href="#Page_118">118</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Submarines, netting, <a href="#Page_116">116</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Submarines, wonderful escapes from sunken, <a href="#Page_139">139</a>, <a href="#Page_145">145</a>, <a href="#Page_146">146–152</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Submerged gun-turrets, detaching, <a href="#Page_87">87</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Survivors of <i>Belgian Prince</i> atrocity, <a href="#Page_120">120</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Survivors of K.13, <a href="#Page_139">139</a>.</li> + +<li class="ifrst">Taranto, <a href="#Page_79">79</a>, <a href="#Page_84">84</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Taranto dry dock, depth of, <a href="#Page_87">87</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Telephone, submarine, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Telephone that floats, <a href="#Page_142">142</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Temperature of 6700 degrees under water, <a href="#Page_169">169</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Texel, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Thermit bomb, <a href="#Page_163">163</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Tide, how it helps lifting operations, <a href="#Page_127">127</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Tides and salvage, <a href="#Page_5">5</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Timber frame upholds battleship, <a href="#Page_91">91</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Timber jackets for pontoons, <a href="#Page_153">153</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Timber props to strengthen wreck, <a href="#Page_110">110</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Timber structure, remarkable, <a href="#Page_90">90</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Timber used in salvage work, <a href="#Page_90">90</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Timbers support 20,000 tons, <a href="#Page_91">91</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Timbers withstand 225 tons pressure per square inch, <a href="#Page_91">91</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx"><i>Timbo</i>, wreck of, <a href="#Page_186">186</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Tirpitz, <a href="#Page_117">117</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Tobermory Bay, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx"><span class="pagenum" id="Page_228">228</span>Tobermory treasure-hunt, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Tonnage, increase in, <a href="#Page_114">114</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Tools used by divers, <a href="#Page_194">194</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Torpedoed ships, how their positions were noted, <a href="#Page_99">99</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Torpedoes found in U.44, <a href="#Page_130">130</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Torpedoing at sight, <a href="#Page_96">96</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Torpedoing of <i>Westmoreland</i>, <a href="#Page_106">106</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Towing battleship upside-down, <a href="#Page_90">90</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Towing off stranded ships, <a href="#Page_186">186</a>, <a href="#Page_187">187</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Tragedies of sunken submarines, <a href="#Page_118">118</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Tragedy caused by oats, <a href="#Page_178">178</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Tragedy of oil tankers, <a href="#Page_161">161</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Trapped in sunken submarine, <a href="#Page_131">131</a>, <a href="#Page_146">146</a>, <a href="#Page_152">152</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Trapping air to salve a ship, <a href="#Page_85">85</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Treasure and business men, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Treasure, Captain Kidd’s, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Treasure-hunt at Tobermory, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Treasure-hunt of British Navy, <a href="#Page_65">65–78</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Treasure-hunting finance, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Treasure of <i>Alphonso XII.</i>, <a href="#Page_57">57</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Treasure of <i>Florencia</i>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Treasure of Incas, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Treasure of <i>Laurentic</i>, value found, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Treasure of <i>Lutine</i>, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Treasure recovered from <i>Lutine</i>, <a href="#Page_26">26</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Treasure recovered from <i>Oceana</i>, <a href="#Page_50">50</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Treasure-hunters beaten, <a href="#Page_32">32</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Treasure-hunters chased by pirates, <a href="#Page_62">62–64</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Tricks of salvors, <a href="#Page_205">205</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Tripods, use in raising ships upright, <a href="#Page_164">164</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Troopship, scuttling of a, <a href="#Page_163">163</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Troopships protected by nets, <a href="#Page_96">96</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Trunkway, <a href="#Page_110">110</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Tug of war between wreck and railway engines, <a href="#Page_164">164</a>, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Tugs tow battleship upside-down, <a href="#Page_90">90</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Tyne, <i>Milwaukee</i> towed to, <a href="#Page_182">182</a>.</li> + +<li class="ifrst">U-boat carried 40 miles, <a href="#Page_158">158</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">U-boat sinks oil tanker off New York, <a href="#Page_163">163</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">U-boat, why Admiralty salved it, <a href="#Page_124">124</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">U-boats and British Salvage Section, <a href="#Page_97">97</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">U-boats, netting, <a href="#Page_116">116</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">U.44 atrocity, <a href="#Page_118">118</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">U.44 carried three-quarters of a mile, <a href="#Page_127">127</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">U.44, depth of wreck, <a href="#Page_124">124</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">U.44, destruction of, <a href="#Page_123">123</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">U.44, its mission, <a href="#Page_121">121</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">U.44, method of finding, <a href="#Page_124">124</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Umbrella patch, <a href="#Page_206">206</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Underwriters lose £900,000, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>.</li> + +<li class="ifrst">Vancouver, <a href="#Page_32">32</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx"><i>Vindictive</i>, full of cement, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx"><i>Vindictive</i>, German failure to raise, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx"><i>Vindictive</i>, mines aboard when sunk, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx"><i>Vindictive</i>, problems of raising, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx"><i>Vindictive</i> raised, <a href="#Page_116">116</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Vlieland, <a href="#Page_25">25</a>.</li> + +<li class="ifrst">Wagenfuhr, Paul, <a href="#Page_119">119</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">War interrupts food supplies in Britain, <a href="#Page_96">96</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx"><i>War Knight</i>, <a href="#Page_160">160–163</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">War wrecks and British Government, <a href="#Page_112">112</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">War-time salvage depots, <a href="#Page_97">97</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">War-time shipbuilding, <a href="#Page_114">114</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Water as ballast, <a href="#Page_111">111</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Water <i lang="la">versus</i> air, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Waterford, <a href="#Page_121">121</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Weather, influence of, <a href="#Page_5">5</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx"><span class="pagenum" id="Page_229">229</span>Weather prevents salvage work, <a href="#Page_108">108</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx"><i>Westmoreland</i>, <a href="#Page_105">105</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx"><i>Westmoreland</i>, depth of wreck, <a href="#Page_107">107</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx"><i>Westmoreland</i>, extent of damage to, <a href="#Page_106">106</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx"><i>Westmoreland</i>, fight to save, <a href="#Page_106">106</a>, <a href="#Page_107">107</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx"><i>Westmoreland</i>, sinking of, <a href="#Page_107">107</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx"><i>Westmoreland</i> torpedoed, <a href="#Page_106">106</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx"><i>Westmoreland</i>, value of, <a href="#Page_105">105</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Williamson, Mr., his invention for filming seabed, <a href="#Page_211">211</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Winchester Cathedral saved by diver, <a href="#Page_213">213</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Wireless mast shot away, <a href="#Page_118">118</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Wireless romance, <a href="#Page_145">145</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Work stopped by gales, <a href="#Page_108">108</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Wreck, balancing a, <a href="#Page_111">111</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Wreck, method of finding, <a href="#Page_124">124</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Wreck of <i>Alphonso XII.</i>, <a href="#Page_56">56</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Wreck of <i>Araby</i>, <a href="#Page_174">174</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Wreck of <i>City of Paris</i>, <a href="#Page_182">182</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Wreck of <i>Florencia</i>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Wreck of <i>Gladiator</i>, cost of salving, <a href="#Page_167">167</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Wreck of <i>Hamilla Mitchell</i>, <a href="#Page_58">58</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Wreck of H.M.S. <i>Britannia</i>, <a href="#Page_172">172</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Wreck of H.M.S. <i>Gladiator</i>, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Wreck of H.M.S. <i>Montagu</i>, <a href="#Page_171">171</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Wreck of <i>Hypatia</i>, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Wreck of <i>Intrepid</i>, <a href="#Page_208">208</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Wreck of <i>Laurentic</i>, <a href="#Page_67">67</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Wreck of <i>Leonardo da Vinci</i> surveyed, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Wreck of <i>Lutine</i>, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Wreck of <i>Maine</i>, <a href="#Page_214">214</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Wreck of <i>Milwaukee</i>, <a href="#Page_181">181</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Wreck of <i>Montgomery</i>, <a href="#Page_181">181</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Wreck of <i>O. B. Jennings</i>, <a href="#Page_163">163</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Wreck of <i>Oceana</i>, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Wreck of <i>Onward</i>, <a href="#Page_163">163</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Wreck of <i>Seuvic</i>, <a href="#Page_182">182</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Wreck of <i>Silurus</i>, <a href="#Page_187">187</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Wreck of <i>Skyro</i>, <a href="#Page_45">45</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Wreck of <i>Timbo</i>, <a href="#Page_186">186</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Wreck of U.44, depth of, <a href="#Page_124">124</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Wreck of <i>War Knight</i>, <a href="#Page_162">162</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Wreck of <i>Westmoreland</i>, <a href="#Page_107">107</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Wreck patched with concrete, <a href="#Page_180">180</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Wreck uprighted by railway engines, <a href="#Page_164">164</a>, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Wreck, working cables under, <a href="#Page_125">125</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Wrecks, annual value of, <a href="#Page_3">3</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Wrecks, destruction of, <a href="#Page_3">3</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Wrecks, effect of sea on, <a href="#Page_114">114</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Wrecks indicated by flags in maps, <a href="#Page_99">99</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Wrecks, method of raising, <a href="#Page_125">125</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Wrecks salved after Armistice, <a href="#Page_112">112</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx"><i>Wrestler</i>, H.M.S., <a href="#Page_77">77</a>.</li> + +<li class="ifrst">Young, Commodore Sir F. W., <a href="#Page_95">95</a>, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>.</li> + +<li class="ifrst">Zeebrugge, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Zogria Island, <a href="#Page_183">183</a>.</li> + +<li class="indx">Zuyder Zee, <a href="#Page_26">26</a>.</li> +</ul> +</div></div> + +<div id="ad" class="chapter bbox wide"> +<h2 class="nobreak bb x-ebookmaker-important" id="BY_THE_SAME_AUTHOR"><i>BY THE SAME AUTHOR</i></h2> + +<p class="xxxlarge wspace vspace center">THE ROMANCE<br> +OF EXCAVATION</p> + +<p class="center wspace larger">A RECORD OF THE AMAZING<br> +DISCOVERIES IN EGYPT, ASSYRIA,<br> +TROY, CRETE AND ELSEWHERE</p> + +<p class="p1 center"> +<i>With Twenty-nine Illustrations in half-tone.</i><br> +<i>Second Edition.</i> <i>Crown 8vo.</i> <i>6s. 6d. net.</i> +</p> + +<p class="p2 center">SOME PRESS OPINIONS</p> + +<p><i>Daily Telegraph.</i>—“A most useful and popularly written introduction +to one of the great subjects before the world to-day. It is +a stupendous and inspiring story.”</p> + +<p><i>Sunday Times.</i>—“A most fascinating book. Mr. Masters tells +the story of these pioneer excavators in a remarkably vivid way. +The numerous photographs add considerably to the value of his +book. Mr. Masters has done his work very well indeed.”</p> + +<p><i>Daily News.</i>—“A book that will equally delight the grown-ups +and the small fry.”</p> + +<p><i>New Statesman.</i>—“An imaginative boy, into whose hands this +book chanced to fall, would in all probability start digging up the +garden within a week. Mr. Masters adds to the learning of a +scholar the enthusiasm of a schoolboy. The book may confidently +be recommended to readers of all ages.”</p> + +<p><i>Evening Standard.</i>—“There is adventure and romance sufficient +to satisfy the most eager spirit in the pursuit of the science of +excavation.”</p> + +<p><i>Times Literary Supplement.</i>—“Pleasant and readable.”</p> + +<p><i>Graphic.</i>—“It enables the reader to capture the thrill of the +romance of digging up the world’s history....”</p> + +<p><i>Review of Reviews.</i>—“Tales of treasure trove and adventure +are always attractive, and Mr. Masters has made good use of the +innumerable romantic adventures of archæologists.”</p> + +<p><i>Cassell’s Weekly.</i>—“A most entrancing book.... We turn +over the pages with eagerness, and everywhere we find something +that attracts us.”</p> + +<p><i>Illustrated London News.</i>—“A useful and pleasant book.”</p> + +<p><i>Guardian.</i>—“A quite delightful survey of the history of excavation.”</p> + +<p><i>Near East.</i>—“It is a difficulty to overpraise this elegant little +picture-story in the space at our disposal. The little book is really +a champagne to the most jaded mind. The story is so simply told; +the author’s gentle enthusiasm is irresistible; his shop-window is +full of jewels; you should not pass it by.”</p> + +<p><i>Glasgow Herald.</i>—“The task which Mr. Masters has set before +him he has splendidly accomplished. No school library should be +without this book....”</p> + +<p><i>Sphere.</i>—“Popular and readable.”</p> + +<p><i>Gentlewoman.</i>—“A book of pure delight.”</p> + +<p><i>Contemporary Review.</i>—“A book that will interest all those on +whom the lure of discovery has taken hold.”</p> + +<p><i>Public Opinion.</i>—“A handy book on this subject should find a +large market.”</p> + +<p><i>Scotsman.</i>—“Told in a popular form that should render it comprehensible +to a wide audience.”</p> + +<p><i>Court Journal.</i>—“A book that fathers can read and discuss +with their growing sons.”</p> + +<p><i>Education.</i>—“Admirably fitted for prizes for intelligent +students.”</p> + +<p class="bb"><i>Egyptian Gazette.</i>—“So much interest and value to the great +public.”</p> + +<p class="center"> +JOHN LANE THE BODLEY HEAD LTD., VIGO ST., W. 1 +</p> +</div> + +<div class="chapter transnote"> +<h2 class="nobreak" id="Transcribers_Notes">Transcriber’s Notes</h2> + +<p>Punctuation, hyphenation, and spelling were made +consistent when a predominant preference was found +in the original book; otherwise they were not changed.</p> + +<p>Simple typographical errors were corrected; unbalanced +quotation marks were remedied when the change was +obvious, and otherwise left unbalanced.</p> + +<p>Illustrations in this eBook have been positioned +between paragraphs and outside quotations. In versions +of this eBook that support hyperlinks, the page +references in the List of Illustrations lead to the +corresponding illustrations.</p> + +<p>The index was not checked for proper alphabetization +or correct page references. +</p> +</div> +<div style='text-align:center'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 75618 ***</div> +</body> +</html> + |