Floating a 

 Sunken War- 

 ship with a 

 Bubble of Air 



Two great dangers faced the divers on the wrecked gunboat. The surf constantly beat over 



the ship and made it almost impossible for the divers to work, and numberless man-eating 



fish were attracted to the scene. The men had to work in large cages for protection 



SAL\'IX( j the }ilexican gitnboat Pro- 

 greso, sunk by one of the factions 

 opposed to Carranza at Progreso, 

 Yucatan, was interesting because the ves- 

 sel suffered an injury identical with that 

 which would have l^een caused had she 

 been torpedoed. \\ hat is more, she was 

 converted by compressed air into a huge 

 bubble, so that she was al)le to make a 

 long voyage under her own steam. The 

 repair, while provisional, was almost per- 

 manent. It was a steel patch applied 

 while the ship was still submerged. The 

 plates were of course bolted and not ri\ - 

 eted. but the finished job compared fa- 

 vorably with one done in dry dock. 

 The story of how the gimboat was 



simk lias some of the amusing elements 

 associated with Latin-American revolu- 

 tions. When the Prof/rcso was sent to 

 Progreso by ( leneral Carranza to block- 

 ade that port, the wily N'ucatecans 

 hatched a plot. I'or several days the 

 Progreso rolled about in big swells. 

 Word was sent out to her captain that 

 the Carranza sympathizers were going 

 to communicate with him and try to 

 send him fresh provisions. In the jail, a 

 real Carranza sym[)athizer languished. 

 He was made the unwilling tool of the 

 plotters. Deceived into believing that he 

 would be aided to escape, he was taken 

 from jail, put in a boat witli provisions, 

 and sent out to the Progreso. As he 



405 



