The Dead Horses That Taught Tacoma How to Raise Sunken Ships

TACOMA, Oct. 7.—[Special.]—A boat load of horses, drowned years ago in the Ohio river, is now credited with suggesting one of the most valuable inventions in the world. The invention consists of simple collapsible cylinders, which, being placed inside of a sunken vessel and inflated with air, raise it to the surface. Then it may be floated hundreds or thousands of miles to a dry dock for repairs.

A close corporation, composed of three Grant brothers—John, Joseph and Jesse—and four Tacomans, own the patents covering this device, and have applied for patents in all countries where obtainable and where there are shipping interests. Until today the workings of the device have been known only to the members of the close corporation owning the patents. Repeated public exhibitions have been given of the way sunken scows and ships are raised by the mysterious agency employed, but none of the hundreds of spectators was the wiser after witnessing the operation. All of the patents have not yet been secured, but owing to alleged balks on the part of the Grant boys, whose heads, it is claimed, have been "swelled" by this bonanza, one of the joint owners of the patents today, while expressing displeasure at their action, told how the device was operated.

Several years ago, about two weeks after a boat load of horses sunk on the Ohio river, it came to the surface and floated. People thought it strange that this boat should come up after sinking. The Grant boys are Yankees, and they investigated. They found that the bodies of the drowned horses had bloated in the commonplace way, and in so doing expelled the water, or enough of it, from the hulk to allow it to float. That was all there was to it.

Finally the boys came to this coast and found many sunken vessels, together with reports of many others elsewhere, some of which were to be raised at an expense of $100,000 and upwards, but the bulk of which could never be recovered owing to the enormous cost of raising them according to all known methods. The boys eked out a hand-to-mouth existence until they demonstrated that sunken vessels could be raised by their collapsible cylinder device.

No sooner had they explained the trick, then capital flowed in a stream into their pockets. Jacob Ralph, of this city, who secured a few shares of stock, will not sell it for $10,000,000. He bought for the company a sunken sailing vessel, the Ferndale, off Gray's Harbor, for upwards of $2,500, which can be raised in a day by the collapsible cylinder process, and is worth when afloat $100,000.

Some of the other stockholders charge that the $22,000 which was paid the Grant boys for a half interest turned their heads; that they have each since bought pianos and sealskin sacks for their wives, and otherwise spent their money on useless luxuries and trifles. At present there is a hitch in going ahead to raise one of many sunken vessels near at hand. The necessary apparatus has been purchased and stored behind bars and bolts, but the Grant boys gave a contract to ask for no more money until they raised a vessel and were paid for that service. Some more money is required for equipment. The Grant boys are said not to have any, and hence the hitch. They stipulated at the outset not to let go a controlling interest in the company. A day or two ago they are supposed to have raised $3,000 on collateral thought to be the stock of the patent wrecking apparatus. The Grant boys are outnumbered three to four on the board of trustees, and it is expected that further delay in raising vessels will not be tolerated. Considerable unpleasantness has resulted from the delays caused by the three brothers in not encouraging immediate action.

Records of sunken vessels kept by the company show that many millions of dollars can be realized in raising them. Yesterday's record shows three vessels sunk. The apparatus is, considering the profit, almost without cost. It consists simply of large or small canvas sacks or cylinders rendered air-tight by the application of a mixture of beeswax and rosin. These sacks will stand an air pressure of 400 pounds to the square inch in the open air. Underwater the pressure, if necessary, can be greatly increased. The claim is made that any vessel which floated before holes were stove into it, and it sank, can be floated by means of placing these sacks inside of the hulk and then pumping air into them. By this means the water in the hulk is expelled and replaced by air sufficient to raise it.

The application of this air cylinder idea is new. Before the Grant boys saw the boat load of horses come up and float away, the air cylinder process had been used in attempts to raise the hulk, water and all. In this way the deck could be torn off the vessel, but it could not be raised on account of the great quantity of water in the hold.

Nearly $200,000 has been spent by the Southern Pacific railroad in attempting to raise the hulk of the San Pedro, which stranded on the rocks off Victoria. In less than twelve hours the Grant brothers' device will, it is claimed, float the San Pedro, and when thus floated it can be towed to San Francisco or to any other desired point. Just as soon as the present tangle into which the company has drifted has been straightened out, the San Pedro will be floated, the Southern Pacific having instructed the company to go ahead just as soon as its apparatus was complete. The apparatus cost about $6,000, and can be handled by a half dozen men.