382 THE OCEAN. 



arranged to prevent it, only as wanted by the diver. 

 Equipped with his ingenious paraphernalia the diver 

 roams about the bottom of the ocean almost at pleas- 

 ure. He has great glass eyes in his mask, which 

 covers his head and face, and through them he can 

 see quite plainly unless the water is very muddy or 

 very deep. In such cases the diver is provided with 

 an electric lamp which burns under water and gives 

 a brilliant light. He can enter the cabin of a sun- 

 ken ship, gather up the treasures found there, and 

 brine them to the surface. When the articles are 

 too heavy to permit that, he fastens on the tackling 

 necessary to raise them by machinery. 



In exploring sunken wrecks, in visiting the holds 

 and cabins of vessels in search of valuables, the 

 diver frequently meets with strange adventures, 

 and views scenes fearful enough to make the stout- 

 est heart quail. The bodies of the drowned, are 

 sometimes disturbed by the agitation of the water, 

 as he moves about, and come towards him as if to 

 clutch him in their slimy embrace. He pushes them 

 one side, only to have them return to him again 

 with perhaps others which are caused to float by 

 the commotion. Sometimes he is attacked by fero- 

 cious sea monsters and is obliged to stop work and 

 defend himself, as best he can, but these incidents 

 do not hinder the brave men in the prosecution of 

 their work. The uses of the diving armor are con- 

 stantly multiplied. The bottom of vessels are now 

 examined, scraped and mended without being put 

 on the dry dock. The foundations for bridges are 

 surveyed and numerous other purposes subserved 



