The Salvage of the Mississippi
After four months of struggle, wreckers are forced to dismantle the sunken collier piece by piece.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
The wrecker Whitelaw arrived here July 26th for the purpose of raising the scuttled collier Mississippi. It was then stated that at the expiration of three weeks the work would be accomplished. Four months have elapsed, and probably another will be consumed before the Whitelaw's errand will be finished. It was at first supposed that the collier would be raised bodily and the upper works repaired, but when the immense power of hydraulics was applied, the frame was found too frail, and the prize threatened to collapse. The idea of saving her was abandoned, and plans were adopted for tearing her to pieces and saving everything of value. It was found necessary to make two segments, so a small rubber hose filled with an explosive six times as powerful as giant powder was passed around amidships and set off with electricity. The result was that the sides were cut as with a cold chisel. Since then, the diver has been blasting with smaller charges of dynamite. The forward part will be hauled to the beach to be torn into fragments of iron, and the after part will be raised by pontoons. The boilers and engines will be removed intact. Mr. Whitelaw stated he has used coal from the wreck which had been submerged for seven years in salt water.
“The result was that the sides were cut as with a cold chisel, only the extreme lower part remaining unsevered.”
Salvage operations have remained a constant, precarious feature of Puget Sound maritime history. The transition from massive industrial engineering to the destructive necessity of cutting a ship into 'portable portions' reflects the grim reality of underwater work that continues to challenge modern salvage crews today.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.