MANY DANGERS FACED

Evening Post, Volume CXXXIII, Issue 47, 25 February 1942, Page 6

MANY DANGERS FACED

Search For Niagara's Gold

One day, early in the year, the trawl caught hard on an obstruction and the Claymore was brought, as it were, suddenly to heel. A mark buoy rose to show the precise place where fouling had occurred. The anchor was let go well to windward with a stern warp attached to it, so that with the aid of the engines the vessel could be breasted across the wind and swell to within a few feet of the buoy. As the weather was fine and the sea calm, it was decided to send Chief Diver Johnstone down in the bell to report.

The bell touched bottom at 470 feet by the depth recorder, and in due course Johnstone telephoned that he could see nothing save a small dark object 20 feet away from him. The bell was being drawn up, and was within 30»fathoms of the surface when a report came through that d wire was foul of the windows. Thinking this was merely, the anchor warp, Captain Williams ordered the bell to be brought up further, and at 20 fathoms the wire slid clear. A moment later the diver said he could see the bottom of the ship far above him. As "there was nothing extraordinary about that the hoisting of the chamber continued

Just as it broke surface the purser, S. Mitchell, pointed to what appeared to be a mass of seaweed near by, but it was not until several minutes later, when the anchor warp was being hove inboard, that the "mass of seaweed" revealed itself disconcertingly as a mine, within a few feet of the Claymore's forefoot, and fouled to the warp. When the anchor was slacked away the mine went down with it. When the wire was tightened it came up again. To cut away the mine would mean leaving it as a potential menace to ship and diver.

"We therefore decided," related Captain Williams, "to try and clear it from our anchor wire, so that when the naval sweepers came out it would be at a normal depth for clearing, and not on the bottom, where the weight of our gear would probably have taken it." Chief Diver Johnstone promptly went down in his rubber dress and attempted to push the mine round the warp, but despite his courage and hard work he failed. There was then nothing for it but to buoy and slip the warp pending the assistance of a naval sweeper. SWEEPER ON THE SPOT. A few days afterwards a sweeper was on the spot, and it was decided that the only satisfactory way of coping with the situation was for Johnstone to take a wire from the sweeper and make it fast to the mine's shackle. The Claymore was then to steam astern and the sweeper ahead, so that i,he mine's holding-down wire, which was known to be frayed, would part. Men in the Claymore- not needed for the job were sent over to the sweeper "in case of accidents." Johnstone embarked on his hazardous task with the nonchalance of a man inured to danger. When the mine had been eased to a position about ten feet from the Claymore's dubious shell plating—there was a moment when it was barely a yard off the starboard bow—the diver lowered himself from the ship's whaleboat and grasped the mine's wire, which he coolly began to climb.

The current was by this time weaving the mine about in the most menacing manner, but at Johnstone's request it was hove up until it floated within three feet of the Claymore's Dottom. just under No. 1 hold, where the sweeper's line was duly made fast to the iron ring below the mine. The sweeper then slowly hove in her wire whilst Johnstone, with a boathook, levered the warp and mine wire apart, one of the sensitive "horns" of the

(Specially Written for the "Evening Post. 1' —Copyright.) After some opposition by the naval authorities, who wished to complete a sweep for mines, Captain J. P. Williams, managingdirector of the United Salvage Proprietary, which conducted the operations in connection with the gold of the Niagara, put to sea to begin his search for the Niagara. He had charted an area of nine square miles, and was prepared, if necessary, to comb every yard of it. To do this he had prepared two forms of sweep, one somewhat resembling the ordinary trawl, except that the wires were much heavier and the boards larger, and the other, known ■as a "Circular Sweep," operated with a boat as a centre mark and trailing anchors. Both methods entailed a physical strain on all concerned. Calloused hands, torn palms, and tortured muscles made life a misery during the period of search, and there was not a man who was not plastered from head to foot with the grease with which the steel cables were covered. Up and down, and round and round, went the sweeps, and still there was no sign of the wreck. Nor was there to be any trace of it for weeks to come.

thus releasing the tangle. It was then that the diver, clinging desperately to mine while he endeavoured to clear his air pipe and line from two other horns, felt his helmet bumping against the under shell plates of the Claymore. Though he and the ship might at any second be blown / to fragments, he cleared his gear and asked- that the sweeper should heave in her wire, which she did with unfortunate results. Having dragged both mine and diver just free of the Claymore, the line broke and down went the mine again below the surface. Three attempts were then made to "lassoo" the mine, of which by this time everybody had grown thoroughly tired. On each occasion, however, the sweeper's wire either dragged clear, or parted. Actually it was not until the -naval commander put out his Oropesa sweep that the obtrusive object was finally cut adrift and destroyed.

The operation called for the nicest judgment and the, most precise manoeuvring, for it meant that the sweeper's float had to pass close enough to the Claymore's stem to cut her warp and the mine mooring simultaneously. In the event it passed within a foot of the bow. Had it struck the Claymore it would almost certainly have penetrated her ancient plates. On the other hand, had it gone wide it might merely have cut the anchor warp and so sent the mine, weighted with heavy wire, to the seabed. Thus, to the surprise and relief of all who had shared the adventure, the mine was clear at last. A SECOND ENCOUNTER. On January 14, however, there was a second, encounter with one of the German raider's souvenirs. It happened that the circular sweep was being hauled when the wire suddenly tightened. The ship's engines were .put slow astern and heaving continued. Unknown to those who .vere at th<=> winch the "bight" of the sweep had caught a mine very neatly and refused to let it go. Thus, as the wire was hove in, the mine accompanied it, until at last it popped to the surface at the stem and bumped slowly along the Claymore's side -towards the whaleboat which had been moored.- amidships.

For a vessel to be bumped by a mine and escape being blown sky-high is admittedly unusual. But the Claymore was evidently no ordinary ship. It was becoming increasingly obvious that., she was destined to survive.

By a stroke of luck, a seaman who had been standing near the whaleboat had the presence of mind to cut the painter and stern line with his sheath knife, thus allowing the mine a clear passage. As the Claymore cautiously gathered a stern way she canted until the mine was broad on the bow where it was "dealt with" in simple fashion, thus: the ends oi: the sweep were severed and made fast to a buoy; a heavy shackle was then run down the lines to keep the mine secure while the Claymore once more steamed back to Whangarei for help.

After exploding the mine next afternoon the Navy took serious stock of the situation for it was by now evident that if the search for the wreck was persisted with the entire expedition might at any minute go up in smoke. On January 28, therefore, Captain Williams was instructed to suspend operations.

To obey or not to obey? That was the question. Feeling morally certain that he was near the mark and chafing under the thought that many precious weeks might be lost to him the captain informed the local naval commander that he intended to continue as before. That his Nelsonian decision was justified was demonstrated by the dramatic events that followed.

On the morning of January 31, the Claymore's sweep heavily fouled an

obstacle and soundings were at once taken from a small tender rejoicing in jthe name of Betsy. A general depth of 74 fathoms was recorded, but at 2.15 p.rii. the lead lodged on an object at 64, fathoms. When the lead was hove in there were adhering to it one large arid numerous small flakes of paint, | the large one comprising three distinct j cciats—red lead, grey, and buff. Here, J at last, was tangible evidence pointing to ! the Niagara. The position, afterw Eirds ascertained to be in latitude 36 decrees south, longitude 175 east, was m eirked by a buoy, and the salvage sh ip was allowed to ride to the sweep fo;r the night. [ CHEERFUL SUSPICION. The cheerful suspicion that the wneck had been located had, of course, to .' be established in fact. In trying to fi:c the lay of the obstruction next morning, the bower anchor caught and btfth it and 90 fathoms of valuable steel w.Lre were lost. On February 2 all doubt vanished. Chief Diver Johnstone went down in the bell and in tlie mud of the ocean bed found himsriif close to an upturned suitcase and siime broken cases of canned fruit L uter, he was able to see the Niagara herself, his first impression being that s^e rested on an even keel. He identified her by the type of boat davits and other structural details within his line 03!. vision. ; His report was the signal for loud rejoicing and the lifting of a killing -a/eight of suspense. Not even the '.tight of the first ingot of gold, tmonths afterwards, equalled the deI £ight of this moment. Nor was it 1 Lacking in irony, for land observations indicated that the sweeps must I Save missed the wreck by a margin of barely fifty yards a month (ijirlicr. (How difficult" it can be to find a large vessel sunk at great depth is prjoved by the fact that even after "the Niagara had been discovered on what transpired to be the eastern edge of trie search area, Captain Williams was vi sable to get any soundings on her cuiok. To manoeuvre the Claymore directly over her he was obliged to trail a bower anchor and many fathoms of i cable on the bottom in decreasing circles until it finally hooked itself tof the superstructure. It was in doing ■tljiis that the anchor and most of the cable were lost. day Diver John Johnstone had [ ajj adventure that might have cost him has life. A high wind was blowing vriien he was lowered in the observation chamber to make an examination of] the wreck from the boat deck. The ball had hardly settled on its precarious perch, when the Claymore's bevw mooring carried away. Plunging hesavily, the little vessel fell rapidly away before the weather, jerking the b ell with her. Before Johnstone rcralised what was happening he had b>e-en tossed across the boat deck and over the side, fortunately clearing the two forward davits. At express speed thie bell then catapulted across the slope of the hull and over a huge hole in the plates to the mud below, where it was deposited upside down, leaving tlie diver standing on his head! FATES WERE KIND. "Providentially, Captain Williams had s.sen the wire break, and ordered the b ell to be at once brought up, wondering, with some misgiving, whether thtis could be done before the suspendin ig line fouled some tentacle of the w reck. The fates, however, were kind, ai id Johnstone ultimately stepped from what had threatened to be his coffin lrfMe the worse for wear. He admitted, however, whilst nursing his bruises arid wiping the blood from his forehesad, that it had been a "near thing." . SAs a result of this and subsequent vi sits to the depths, he reported that th;p Niagara was lying on her port si>fle at an angle of about 70 degrees. Fxwm abaft the foremast to a line just in J front of the bridge the bottom had b' Sen blown in, one hole being 18 feet hiigh and another measuring approximately 22 feet by 18. The forward fr.fnnel had disappeared over the side pj fobably as the result of the mine explpsion. About 100 feet aft of this forw.sird damage and almost under the stibond funnel was another enormous hole 45 feet long and tapering to eight ft let in height. At this point the ship's b;;f.ck seemed to be broken. As it was dijfficult to connect this damage with tlu; mine burst in the forward section oJ*; the vessel it is probable that she d: tagged a second mine down with her a; rid that this exploded as she dived to tike bottom.

JThe problem now confronting the party was how to moor the salvage si tip in such a position as to secure h ear as accurately as possible over the bullion room.

; There was no open sesame to this treasure chamber, for it was situiU'ed four decks down below the forward funnel and 26 feet inside the vessel. As yet, its very existence vcas apparent only on a plan.

3'o facilitate its discovery Captain Wij liams decided in consultation with Captain Herd ? who had joined the expe>3 ition on January 9, to adopt in principle the mooring scheme used by the