Fri Nov 17, 2006 12:53 pm
[quote="eskimo3883"]Hi,
I just read "danger is my business". A laughable title for a non-fiction book that although published in 1938 reads easy.
>>>There are two editions of this book.
1) Literary Guild -1938--309 pages--A run away best seller Literary Guild was sort of a book of the month club...very common
2) Garden City publishing company-1941309 pages. Book is smaller inheight width and thickness than the 1938 edition...very rare
Its misconceptions are fun. It is about a few years in the life of John D Craig. First part is world travel, captured by Arabs, hunting (and wounding) tigers in India, etc.,
>>>John made a fortune in oil, specificly oil drilled on Signal hill. He was young had a good income so he traveled the world in search of adventure and he found it.
but the last two thirds is on diving pre-1938. He was one of the first movie makers underwater for Hollywood.
>>>He was a pioneer in Hollywood going underwater with a camera. This was at a time that diving was a very dangerous occupation and Underwater photography was unknown. He designed and had built most of his UW photo equipment a real pioneer.
It speaks of a killer octopus (he still has the 6 foot arm in a jar that he cut off to save his life)
>>> True. Recalling recent history the Puget sound Mudsharks held Octopus wrestling contests for a number of years...some were over 20 feet long.
...25 feet wide mantas that killed several hard hat divers by running with their hose.
>>>The mantas were feared by helmet divers, especially the large ones who were called "devil fish." The mantas would use the taught umbicals as a means of removing paracitic growth. They would entangle themselves and swim away with the diver dangling in the wake.
In the early part of 1960 I spent a month spearfishing in Vera Cruz Mexico--a diving buddy Talin Cabanas speared and sucessfully landed a manta that was just under 4000 pounds..He was at that time the hero spearfisherman of all Mexico.
In his 1941 book "Forgotten waters" (J.P. Lippencott & Co) Randolph Leigh displays a 38,00 pound manta (called mobula in the book) It would exceed 25 feet wing span.
...He watched a diver die from squeeze at only 70 feet.
>>>The Japanese divers were not using check valves in their helmets and this was very common hazzard. The US made Mark V always had check valves.
One only needs to submerge a few feet in a helmet, turn off the air supply to fell the crushing efffects of the water. A drop of 70 feet would crush the diver into "strawberry jam" as a serious squeeze is called by vetern helmet divers
I was having my doubts about any of this but the story ends with the worlds deepest dive on helium in a self contained hard hat about to happen because of him. Turns out that this part is true. He sponsored his partner Stohl and in 1937 using the Craig-Stohl (NOLH !) dress did a self contained Helium enriched dive to 420 feet. Decompression stops for a safe accent were based on small animals and verified with chamber dives using the divers themselves as test subjects.
>>>The name is NOHL--MAX GENE NOHL--He was a brilliant MIT graduate, and a shaker and mover in early diving experiments which always pushed the envelope, making a 420 foot dive in 1937. He and his wife lost their lives in an automobile accident about 1965. His pioneering work has all but been forgotten as evidenced by the misspelling of his name in this thread.
Shortly afterwards Stohl ( NOHL) founded DESCO.
>>>Jack Brown founded DESCO in his garage.
Although written seriously the guy almost got himself killed out of stupidity on several occasions and did leave a wake of several deaths around him. Forgivable only when you consider the times he lived in.
>>>Wake up! It was all experimental! No one- absolutely no one- had any idea what they were doing! There were no organizations, no books, no manuals (except the USN diving manual written in 1900s), no magazines, no training, He was on his own!
FYI;
I knew John D Craig. I socialized with him, dove with him and visited each other's home often.
I do not know what happened to Gloria, his wife in the book, he never once mentioned her. He was married to Millie Day Craig when we met and they had two, at that time, lovely pre-teenage daughters, they would now be in their 60s. The younger one is living in Houston, I have lost track of the older sister.
John was an LA County UW instructor. He was, as would be expected from LA Co, NOT given any slack and he asked for none. He did every thing expected of him and did it well--and he was approaching 60 at the time.
John also produced and starred in a weekly Underwater TV program 10 years prior to Sea Hunt. It was syndicated and was broadcast in a number of markets.
He made a movie for LA county titled "Any one for divning" He was over 60 at the time...one thing he demonstrated in the movie was to cut his way out of a helmet suit and make a free asent leaving boots, helmet, etc on the bottom.
Millie always made a special Baked bean dish that she brought to gatherings. It was VERY good! John was getting old and so was Millie, In one letter to them I ask her for the recipe--she sent it. I shared with a few mutal friends. At the millennium "Free divers and Spear fishermans" recogninition party in 2000 one of the tribe made it! It was the hit of the party carefully guarded by his friends and consumed with relish!
In the last few years of Johns life he was living in Phoenix Arizona where he passed on at age 95 on August 30, 1997. He was buried at Rose Hills in Whittier California. He had a full and exciting life..
Yes I have his book, both of them. One is enscribed to Sam Miller, -best wishes- from one lousy diver to another, John D Craig, November 1, 1962.
There is so much I could write about John--he was one of a kind!
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