EXPERIENCES OF DIVERS 263 



deck of the wreck ; tlie lead indicated pit-coal, red 

 lead, and black paint The bottom to tlie south- 

 t'ast of the ship was about *iOO fe t ; to the north- 

 west ab(»ut 230 feet. The northernmost anclior was 

 lit a depth of 250 ieet. The four anchors were laid 

 down by 1 o'clock. While the men dive we pre- 

 pare the battery and the lamp, whicli burns well in 

 the air. The pumps and other apparatus are got in 

 order. At 25 minutes past 8 the diver, Deschamps, 

 has his mask fitted on. 



"The following is his own description of the 

 impressions he received in his two descents : — 



" First Trial. — He descends step by step, resting at 

 intervals, and receiving and transmitting the signals 

 with regularity. At the fiftieth step, water enters 

 by the back valve, which he closes a little ; at the 

 sixtieth he closes it entirely ; at the hundred-and- 

 twentieth (130 feet) the water enters by his front 

 valve, which he closes a little. He asks for more 

 air. At the hundred-and-sixtieth step (180 feet) 

 he makes a rather longer pause ; he sliuts his valve 

 still closer; the air issues only by bubbles. He 

 counts 174 steps ; the ladder does not reach the 

 ground; he can feel and distinguish the cast-iron 

 weights which serve to stretch the ladder; he 

 hangs by them and rests his feet on the ground — a soft 

 sand, into which he sinks. Just as he stoops to pick 



