CHAPTER X. 



DEEP-SEA DIVING. 



Diving, whether in shallow water or in the deep sea, 

 is ever a fascinating occupation, and the latter prob- 

 ably more so than the former. Not only has diving 

 an element of fascination, but it also has the merit of 

 antiquity. In the " Iliad," one of the world's oldest 

 literary masterpieces, diving for oysters is mentioned, 

 and Thucydides, the Greek historian, alludes in his 

 writings to the work performed by the divers who, 

 during the siege of Syracuse, sawed down the barriers 

 that had been constructed below the surface of the 

 water by the enemy with the object of wrecking any 

 Greek war vessel attempting to force an entrance 

 into the harbour. In ancient Rome divers were 

 frequently employed to salvage sunken property, and 

 in some cases they were allowed, as a kind of per- 

 quisite, a definite proportion of the value of the wreck 

 salvaged, the amount paid varying according to the 

 depth of the sunken vessel and the risks incurred 

 during the salvage operations. 



In many parts of the world the primitive method 

 of diving is still in vogue, as, for example, in the 



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