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Chwiliwch 15 miliwn o erthyglau papurau newydd Cymru

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36 erthygl ar y dudalen hon

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'1: YACHT RACE.

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R^AMI\(,TON ELECTION,

D5:ATH OF THE DUKE OF THE…

. YV" I L-^LY INTERMEDIATE…

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DOWN TO THE WASP. I

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THREE CROSSESI CHAPEL SCANDAL.I

-_._---_.._-! CHAT WITH A…

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CHAT WITH A SWANSEA DIVER, A DANGEROUS CALLING. DIVING FOR DEAD BODIES. The attempts that have already been made te GET to the wreck ef the Wasp has caused everybody in Swansea at the present time to be talking about diving. And natur- ally enough Stroud, the harbour diver, is therefore one of the lions of the hour, He is a genial and cheerful soui" writes a Post reporter, and a« familiar a figure as is to be found around the Swansea docks. The other day he teld me of his experiences, full fathom deep."—" I was born at Whitstable, he said in reply to a question frem me," and started diving in the open sea to wrecks when I was 18 years of age. 1 spent about tis: years in my native place and came to Swansea in January, 1875 so you see my experience under water extends over a period of a quarter of a century." "Wbitstable is the oyster place, isn't it ?" I interposed. 1 "Yes but it is just as famous for divers. 'Tis a curious fact that more divers hail from Whitsta.ble than anywhere else: and if a very great depth has to be descended they almost always send for a Whitstable man. During the six years that I spent there I went to wrecks all rouud the British coast. The first wreek 1 ever went down to in the open sea was efT Dungeness, in 14 fathoms of water. Then L went down off the coast of Scotland to the wreck of a barque eailed the Kensington, to get up the cargo or railway iron. Then I went cargo or railway iron. Then I went down to the Teaehcart, which had been sunk oft the>iore. She WAS a very big boat and we spent months in getting up her cargo. She lay about ten fathoms down. We worked at her for about four hour*A day, and stopped down about two hours at a time." lhat depth would be about equal to that in which the Wasp lies," 1 urged. Just about," responded Strond," but the current at the Mixou Sands is about twice er three times as strong as it was at the Nore. Among the other wrecks 1 went to were those of the Star of Ceylon in 12 fathoms, the Mendora in 24 fathoms, and a wreck off the Norfolk coast supposed to be the Seagull at I 25 fathoms. This, by the way, is the greatest depth L have ever been down, ana i only stayed there for twenty minutes-It was quite long enough." I Do ever feel bad going down to these I great depths." 1 never felt bad in the open sea at any depth, but once I went down a flooded pit some miles beyond Pontardulais. 1 was then dew u at a. depth or 154fi., aud stayed down for an hour and threequartees, I got very hot, bilt didn t feel how queer [ was till I got up again. As soon as 1 get up in the air 1 began TO FEEL as TN»IPLOTS a.1I a baby. I cuuh..ln.t use my limbs. There was a terrible HEAVINESS in INY body and head. My blood all seemed to have gone stagnant—it was a month or so before I thoroughly got well again," What is the longest TIME that you ever ¡ stayed below water In the North Dock I once stayed down I for seven honrs repairing the dock gate, and, of course, during that time I didn't have any- thing to eat or drink." You must have a goodly constitution," I uttered. "Well, yes; I suppose I have. With the exception of a slight attack of quinsy, I hardly ever had a day's sickness in my life. By the way, ou one occasion 1 was asked to go out to the Canary Islands to dive. The sunken steamer, Aifonse XII., lay in 160ft. I of water. Still she had 10 boxes of gold specie on board, eacb worth £10,000. Nme of these were recovered, but one remained below. IN the attempt to get this last blltx up one or tvva divers lost thair lives, and another was pulied up stark mad. They offered £5üO to any man who would get up the other boy, and I was asked to go, if I'd been unmarried J would have taken the job on but my wi:e and family didn't like the idoa of my going, so 1 could hardly Jo otherwise than stay at home. So far as 1 know that £ 10.0.0 box still remains attbe bottom of the sea.' A diver raving mad," 1 exclaimed. ,L From what cause From the terrible pressure. I mvself have helped to hold a diver down en the deck of a. ship because the pressure had affected his brain, it took six of us to heid him, but he got alright again in the course of a few hours. You see at 160ft, the pressure on the body is 671bs. on every square inch of body, and at half that depth it is over 30lb. On the square inch." Diving pays well, I suppose ?'' It does, certainly, and sometimes a man that has luck will be able to earn very large amounts in a very few weeks. In the matter of raising cargoes, divers are paid by com- mission, so much per cent. on the value of the cargo raised, according to the depth of the water. It's very often 30 or 40 per cent., but in very deep water as much as 50 per cent. will sometimes be paid. But say what ysu wii], we haven't easy lives, and the risks we run are otten terrible." Have you had any personal experiences of this sort ? ''The worst squeak I ever had WAS in the North DocL, Swanoea, when clearing out the road sluice. The water suddenly rushed in and forced me into the culvert and jam bed me in tight. I eouldjo i: move, for my head was shored down to the ground, and it took all tbe strength of the men on the quay above, by holding en to my lines, to keep me from being washed through tbe culvert. At length another sluice was closed, and I was released and brought up half conscious. I thought it waS all U P with me that time.' ï ou have often got up dead bodies, 1 expect V Eh, but that's a nasty job. Yes, I've done plenty of it. 1. went down to a barque called the Spirit of the Ocean, which lav oil" the Start Point in thn English Channel. Wet pulled 28 bodies out oithut wreck. But the most terrible wreck 1 ever went down to WAS that of THE Isorthfleet. a British sailing ship, that was run down off Dungenness SOME years ago. A frightful catastrophe was that, 400 lives being lost, and the way tho*E bodies were found in the cabins of that ship was most painful. We put cords round them for them to be hauled up to the surface."

LLANSAMLET HIGHER PARISH COUNCIL.j

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