18 



DIVING BELL. 



M .-.. -r ,.f 



'" " , rcTi.r.i-,'y make bin . !l' .., |, ,...!((! with eiery p.r.t "f 

 """^ "Y" 1 '' the ship's rigging and hull, also the in. inner in which 

 the timbers are disposed, Unit he in:iy know when he 

 alights on any part of the ship's hull" or upper works, 

 where he is, the position in which .slic lies, also how to 

 proceed to cut an entrance, it'it i> not practicable to c ;.- 

 tcrat the hatchways. Hn. ned information from 



persons best acquainted with the situation of the 

 he should proceed to tin- place and moor his ship, so tli.it 

 tin- sun it it shines will In- on that side of tin- ship 

 where lie intend- to descend, otherwise her shadow on 

 the bottom might tall on the wreck, and throw him in 

 the dork. Before he descends the first time, he should 

 ascertain, bv sounding, the most proper place tor the 

 descent, and there let down the balance weight of the 

 bell to the Kttiom ; then, with his assistant, he enters 

 the bell, which we suppose is suspended from the 

 arm, and standing upon the cross ropes, lie orders it to 

 be lowered gently into the water. \Vhcn the air be- 

 comes much condensed by 10 or l.~> feet descent, he 

 must stop, and have as many ban-els of air sent down 

 a* will fill up the bell .".gain, and also as much as they 

 can pump into the air vessel. The quantity of ballast 

 is uch that, in this state, it will not quite sink, and 

 therefore requires the dher to haul it down by means 

 of th.e balance-weight, which should be at least two and 

 a half, or three hundred weight, so that it will cause the 

 bell to sink, without being taken oft' the ground. By 

 this means the divers govern the bell themselves, anil 

 the men in the ship above are directed, by the proper 

 signal, to hold the bell rope just tin-lit, so as to be ready 

 if wanted; but they are to give it out as they feel i't 

 drawn by the descent of the bell, which is thus conti- 

 nued with perfect safi ty ; for it' the divers meet with any 

 rope or spar of the ship or point of a rock, which puts 

 them in danger of being overset, they cease hmiling 

 the rope, to give the signal of stand fast to those above, 

 and wait till they cut away or remove the obstruction ; 

 or if this cannot l>e done, they haul up their balance- 

 t off the ground, send orders to be drawn up a 

 few feet, and then moved to the north, south, c. as 

 many feet as they expect will bring them over the 

 spot they desire. Here they again let fall their l>a- 

 lance-weight, give the signal tor let go the bell rope, 

 and haul 1 1 gently down, stopping when they 



require more air, and making a sigi-al for it to the man 

 in the boat, by snatching the guide line of the air bnr- 

 rel. In this way they proceed till they come within sight 

 of the bottom ; and when they arrive there, the diver 

 in;iki -. his observations on the position of the vessel; and 

 if he wishes to move from his pii.-i'io-i. ]: ,.--:iers to stand 

 lk>t. hauls up the weight, and causes himself to he remo- 

 ved wherever h till having settled hispLn of 

 operation, and chosen a place to begin, he must, as the 



iilg, secure the means for descending to the 

 spet the next time. If he thinks he cannot ;uxoii 

 nu object at once, and if he must cut through the 

 deck or side, thi- is not to be expected ; he therefore 

 make* an augur hole in some part of the v. <MH! of the 

 ., and screws the iron screw aliove mentioned fast 

 into it, by turning it round with the crow bar ; then 

 into the eye of it he hooks the block of the balam-c- 

 t, or Indies the weight fast to it, so that it c.ni 

 be in no danger at* removal. The divers tin 

 neatly to work to cut a hole either with their sawa 

 or otW tools, as are best adapted to the purpose ; but 

 they sh" i]d not continue 0juwn too long, because it is very 

 injurious if the depth is great When they are drawn 

 \\p, or ratlicr when they suflcr the bell to rise, by giving 



away the rope of their balance-weight, the air in tli 

 In 11 v ill cxjmnd itself as the pres- il-hex. and * 



bubble out from under the bottom of it ; but if they 

 find that the expansion of the air in the upper bell, by 



r lx-11 too much power of 

 Yt some of it out by the cock for that 

 purpo-e, and thus regulate their ascent. 



When the bell is hauled up out of the water, the di- 

 vers quit it, getting into the boat, which is rowed be- 

 neath for th.it purple, and other divers may descend 

 immediately to continue the work ; but if this cannot 

 be done, and the ship is obliged to leave the station, 

 the upper balance-weight block should be unhooked 

 from the top of the l>ell, and made fast to a proper 

 buoy or float, by which it can be found again when they 

 return another time ; then by applying the block to the 

 bell, it may l>e taken direct to the l>ttom without any 

 r of obstructions, or any occasion for the cautions 

 which were formerly requisite. By this system of ma- 

 naging thcbfll, it will be seen that a'l I themunu-m -res cam 

 be executed quickly, which is a great object, as the ope- 

 ration of clearing an entrance to a ship is in itself sole- 

 dious, where only two men can work at once, as to ad- 

 mit no loss oi'time. in the minor operations of descent,&c. 

 The boll, when hi the water, will weigh scarcely any 

 thing, and therefore one or two men will be able to 

 manage the bell rope without any purchase or wind- 

 id will, by simply hauling, have it more readily 

 in command ; but as its weight, when it is to be taken 

 out of the water, will be very considerable, they iiuist 

 then apply a strong purchase. To do this with conve- . 



nience, let the bell rope have a three-shea\ eil block at- 

 t;;ched to the end of it, a similar block to be lathed to 

 the bell, then reeve as much rope through these blocks 

 as will allow- them to l>e at 15 or 20 ftct asunder, and 

 make the fall of this tackle fast to the lower block, so 

 that its end cannot get loose. When the bell in below 

 this tackle will be useless, and only suspend the 

 bell, in the same manner as the plain rope would do if 

 it was continued to the bell. It is only used to hoist 

 the bell above water : thus the bell rope is taken up a 

 the bell rises, until it comes near the surface; the upper 

 block of the tackle will then have come up to the yard 

 .inn ; and it is obvious that it cannot be raised any higher 

 by the bell rope ; therefore make the fall of it last on 

 deck, to afford n suspension for the up]x-r block of the 

 tackle: A few men, by taking hold of the fall, will now 

 have a MiHk'ii-nt purchase to raise the bell up from the 

 writer. Of course, in descending, this fall must be 

 given out till its end, which is fast to the lower block, 

 conies ti .-'it, and the bell is settled down in the water, 

 lii'lorc the bell rope is released ; by this means the men 

 wil' ii' ver lo-e liinr by using the purchase, except when 

 tht weight to be raised requires it. 



V> hen the divers have so iliared the wreck that they Othtr 

 expect to have goods to send up, the tackles for that tacldfe. 

 purpose should lie provided. They may very conveni- 

 ently be .-us|M>iuled from the fore yard-arm of the ship, 

 whilst the bell hargs at the m;.in-yard There should 

 be a separ uc crew lor this tackle, who take their orders 

 from a person who receives signals from the bell, by 

 means of a ^uide-line, similar to that of the air barrels, 

 'liie hook or tongs at the end of the tackle should be 

 connected with this line by a thimble, and then being 

 let down, it will sliiic to the man in the bell. Then: 

 hhnuld 1* two or three t.u -kit's, that no time may be 

 lost in waiting ; and if they are nu.de with blocks in 

 the lower part, as above described, for the bell ro|>e, 

 they will be very convenient for the sajne reason, Vfe. 



