Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 28.djvu/563

Rh it hack to him while he was still in the bell; and in this manner a number of the pigs, weighing seventy pounds each, were recovered before he started to come up—the air-pump all the time supplying him with air. But, in the mean time, having cleared the space beneath the bell, the guy-line moved it farther and farther up-stream, in compliance with his signals, and instead of the line being slacked out again when his men commenced raising the bell, it was held so far forward that the derrick capsized, having no guy to hold it in the opposite direction. His assistants seized the block and tackle and pulled the whisky-barrel up to the surface of the water by hand. But it was so weighted with the lead around it that they could not raise it higher. Not knowing what was the matter, he waited patiently, the air-pump running with redoubled velocity, supplying him with plenty of air. He soon saw the fingers of a man under the chime of the barrel, and, recognizing this as an invitation, he seized the man's hand and got out from under the barrel, much to the delight of all on board. The derrick was then secured against any possible catastrophe occurring again, and, after a number of successful trips to the bottom, the diver was content to do the remainder of the work.

In 1856 Mr. Eads made a proposition to Congress to keep the channels of the Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, and Arkansas Rivers clear of snags, wrecks, and other obstructions for a term of years. A bill embodying his plans was passed by the House of Representatives, but failed in the Senate for want of action by that body.

In 1857 his health compelled him to retire from business, and four years later he was called upon to render the most signal and brilliant services to his country in its time of extreme need. It was on the 17th of April, 1861, three days after the surrender of Fort Sumter, when Attorney-General Bates wrote to him from Washington: "Be not surprised if you are called here suddenly by telegram. If called, come instantly. Under a certain contingency it will be necessary to have the aid of the most thorough knowledge of our Western rivers and the use of steam on them, and in that event I have advised that you should be consulted."

The dispatch came shortly after the letter. Mr. Eads went immediately to Washington, and, after consulting with the President and Cabinet, prepared the plan he was requested to submit to them for placing gunboats on the rivers, with suggestions as to the kind of boats best fitted for the service, and in regard to the location of batteries to be erected at several points on shore. Shortly afterward he was appointed, with Captain (afterward Rear-Admiral) John Rodgers, United States Navy, to carry into effect the recommendations which he had made, and at once to improvise three war-vessels for service at Cairo. These were the Conestoga, Tyler, and Lexington, and were the first of the large fleet that afterward covered the Mississippi River. The Quartermaster-General issued proposals soon after for the construction