Alexandria Gazette

SUNKEN WRECKS.

It was announced, by placard, on Saturday last, that the ship Byron, which had been sunk in the Horse Channel, by coming in contact with a steam vessel some months ago, would be blown up on Monday, by Mr. Abbinet, a gentleman who has been peculiarly successful in raising or removing the hulls of vessels in entrances to harbors. The vessel upon which the explosive experiment was to be made was sunk on the sand bank between Spencer's Buoy and the Northeast Buoy. Between the two buoys named, another small buoy, painted red, was fixed immediately over the hull of the sunken vessel. This buoy floated nearly perpendicularly, and attached to it, also vertical, was the metal pipe conducting the fuse of the combustible material deposited for the explosion of the sunken vessel. Mr. Abbinet united the fuse, a perpendicular match attached to the buoy. This combustible match smoked out for a minute or two, the upper part being what is called a "port-match," which burned sufficiently slowly to permit the boat in which were the igniting parties, to attain a "respectable distance" before the explosion took place. The match was seen to burn and smoke for a short time, and the anxiety on board the steamer, which was not so close to the spot as the cutter, became intense. The explosion at length took place, with beautiful and (we may add tremendous) effect. To appreciate the effect produced, it is only necessary to state that the vessel blown up was twenty-four feet under water, and that when sunk she was loaded by the heaviest cargo that can be mentioned, namely, 150 tons of iron.

The first effect of the explosion was a bubbling, or ebullition on the water over the spot where the explosion took place. This was instantly succeeded by a throwing up of the water to a height of from eight to ten feet, within a circle of probably sixty feet diameter. When this island of water had attained its height, a loud explosive concussion was heard, the top of the elevated water was rushed into foam, and before it subsided, fragments of the abrupted vessel were forced to the surface, and in a short time strewed the waves over a space probably a quarter of an acre. No smoke seemed to ascend from this submarine combustion the whole being condensed by the water. The effect, though momentary, was altogether sublime, and on the subsiding of the aqueous mountains, fragments of the wreck were seen floating in every direction, the tide being at that time on the turn. Among the numerous articles that were dislodged, was a large conger-eel, which weighed forty-five pounds. The boats belonging to the cutter and steamer picked up heavy loads of the timber, consisting of planks, knees, beams, &c., of large dimensions, most of which were broken across, in pieces, though sound timber, like carrots, or split into matchwood. The fragments of knees and timber showed the excessive power of the explosion, the iron bolts through them being wrenched out and beat in an extraordinary manner. There were several boats, fishing smacks, and shrimping vessels near the buoys, and these picked up the floating pieces of timber not otherwise appropriated. "A large quantity of wood was picked up; and it is remarkable that although the vessel had been sunk only a few months, the whole of the timber is thickly covered with barnacles. The vessel which was exploded was about 200 tons burthen. The manner in which the ignition was communicated was thro' a leaden pipe, which was lowered from the mast head of the cutter in attendance, the powder, in a flask covered with pitch, being sent under the water at the same time. The person who goes down is a lad in an India rubber dress, and provided with a shield or helmet of copper, into which the air is pumped by an air pump, while he is under water. After the blowing up of the vessel, one of Abbinet's men went down to examine the remains of the bulk. He remained under water nearly a quarter of an hour, and when he came up his hair was perfectly dry—London Paper.