T e Raisine of e “Ctopra.”

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I the black and stormy night of March 17, 18a1, ller Majesty's armour-clad war- ship {uson came into cotlision with the Anchor liner Copra in the Bay ol Gibraltar, the

Jatter vessel passing too close to the war- ship's bows, and reeeiving her ram almost amidships. T'he horrible sights and sounds of that nieht have alrcady been the matter of many newspaper reports, and our present business ix to show how the fabric of the sunken vessel was recovered. Sufhice 1t then, to sayv that nearly one thousand persons, including many Italian cnugrants, were on the Clopia at the time of the disaster, and that of these some six hundred met their deaths. The remainder owed their rescuce to the prompt devotion ol the crews of the ships of the Mediterrancan squadron fortunately near.

The Cfnpia was struck vather aft of amid- ships, and consequently sank stern first, Our illustration is from a sketch by an cyve- witness. In the position shown she re- mained for a very few minutes after the collision, and then sank entirely with her six hundred.

The morning of the next day broke on o

serene calm, and the masts and funnel of

the Ctopia were all to bescen of that vesscl zbove the water of the Bay of Gibraltar,

Divers descended, and the greater number

of the dead bodies recovercd and

buricd ashore. (he ship lay in full 26 ft. of water at stern and

were

1t was then discovered that

in 2 1 at bows, and the probiem ol rasing her began to be considered. Manv =chemes and suggestions were submitted to the owners, and @ famous Continental salvage company offered to undertake the work— the remainder of the vear to be occupied in preparations, and the wreck to be ratsed i 1802, no guarantee, at any rate, beng siven that the business would be completed before. Ultimately the matter was placed in the hands of Mr, Thomas Napier Armit, manager ol the Tast Couast Salvage Com- pany, of Leith, a salvage engineer with a reputation at the time sceond to none, andl now considerably enhanced by his perfect success in this case. Mro Armit performed the entire business i two months.

Tlere was his plan ; not a wholly origimai plan, be it understood 1 nevertheless a plan st suceesstully applicd by Mr. Armit 1872 in the Bay of Panama, and subsc- quently usedin the case of the Orient steamer Austral, which sank in Sydney harbour morcover, 4 plan much modiliecd and 1m- proved in many important particulars for thiz particular case: =0 much modificd and improved, i fact, as to bhecome a new departure in wreck-raising. -

A oreat superstructure was erected upon the hull of the sunken ship, ina manncer clearly shown in the accompanying sketches. Practically speaking, a false bulwark was built above the bulwarks of the ship, so hioh s to rise above the suriace of the water. This, of course, had to be strongly and scientifically stayed, to resist the cea