Chapter 23

THE CLUB MEN GO A FISHING.

Captain Bloomsbury was perfectly right when he said that almost
everything was ready for the commencement of the great work which the
Club men had to accomplish. Considering how much was required, this was
certainly saying a great deal; but here also, as on many other
occasions, fortune had singularly favored the Club men.

San Francisco Bay, as everybody knows, though one of the finest and
safest harbors in the world, is not without some danger from hidden
rocks. One of these in particular, the Anita Rock as it was called,
lying right in mid channel, had become so notorious for the wrecks of
which it was the cause, that, after much time spent in the consideration
of the subject, the authorities had at last determined to blow it up.
This undertaking having been very satisfactorily accomplished by means
of _dynamite_ or giant powder, another improvement in the harbor had
been also undertaken with great success. The wrecks of many vessels lay
scattered here and there pretty numerously, some, like that of the
_Flying Dragon_, in spots so shallow that they could be easily seen at
low water, but others sunk at least twenty fathoms deep, like that of
the _Caroline_, which had gone down in 1851, not far from Blossom Rock,
with a treasure on board of 20,000 ounces of gold. The attempt to clear
away these wrecks had also turned out very well; even sufficient
treasure had been recovered to repay all the expense, though the
preparations for the purpose by the contractors, M'Gowan and Co. had
been made on the most extensive scale, and in accordance with the latest
improvements in the apparatus for submarine operations.

Buoys, made of huge canvas sacks, coated with India rubber, and guarded
by a net work of strong cordage, had been manufactured and provided by
the _New York Submarine Company_. These buoys, when inflated and working
in pairs, had a lifting capacity of 30 tons a pair. Reservoirs of air,
provided with powerful compression pumps, always accompanied the buoys.
To attach the latter, in a collapsed condition, with strong chains to
the sides of the vessels which were to be lifted, a diving apparatus was
necessary. This also the _New York Company_ had provided, and it was so
perfect in its way that, by means of peculiar appliances of easy
management, the diver could walk about on the bottom, take his own
bearings, ascend to the surface at pleasure, and open his helmet without
assistance. A few sets likewise of Rouquayrol and Denayrouze's famous
submarine armor had been provided. These would prove of invaluable
advantage in all operations performed at great sea depths, as its
distinctive feature, "the regulator," could maintain, what is not done
by any other diving