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Un daa symbotaa suivants apparaitra sur la damMra imago da chaqua microflcha. salon la eaa: la symbols -^ siqnifla "A SUIVRE". la symbcda ▼ signifia "FiN". Mapa. plataa. charts, ate., may ba filmad at diffarant raducdon ratioa. Thoaa too larga to ba antiroly includad in ona axpoaura ara filmad baginning in tha uppar laft hand comar, laft to right and top to bottom, aa many framaa aa raquirad. Tha fotlowiffg diagrama iHustrata tho mathod: Laa cartaa. planchas. tableaux, ate. . pauvant Atra fllmte A daa taux da rMuetlon diffArants. Lorsqua la documant aat trop giand pour Atro raprodult an un saul cliehA. il sst film* * partir do I'angia sup4riaur gaueha. da gaueha k droita. at do haut an baa. an pranant la nombra d'imagaa n4caaaalra. Laa diagrammaa i jiivants iNustront la m4tttoda. 12 3 12 3 4 5 6 THE STORY THE TELEGRAPH. s ^ir~^cc6L. •iwT'narajD, '' 'Vht\l line ii fins out throaffh all t)i< earth. Aim! tiieir wonU to llit lud a( 'Jia wurld." Pialuu III. 4 THT7 QT^^^PY TELEGRAPH, anu I Ml STOP V OF THi. GREAT LAXTIC CABLK; \i\i .•(■■ T\\\\ IMl'KrTlOM, PROGKES-* A'^'f' FrN«l. A\n vmtcK. «K '^Hf '..tsftratrt. Mlif^ nUl^l^ ex V^/\l\l^iL,lWi>l, 31 U DKOADWAY. M DCCC LVIII. ■^.■ #*■ 4f.- yu>t^ -h' du/cc. J^EWY^IU;KDDn\ •;,. I 1 ** Their tinr ii grna oiii ihraa^h all tkt Nirtli, Aud their worU« to Uit aud of Die vurld." Ptaiuu xli. 4 THE STORY OF 6? 0.1 THE TELEGRAPH, AND A HISTORY OF THE GREAT ATLANTIC CABLE; A COMPLETE KKOORD OF TIIK INCKPTION, PHOGKESS, AND FINAL Sl'CCKSS OF THAT UNDKIITAKING. A OKNEKAL H?STOaY OF LAND AND OCEANIC TELEGRAPHS. DEriCKIPTloNS OF TELEGRAPHIC APPAKATKS. AND BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF THE PKINCIPAL PERSONS CONNECTED WITH THE GREAT WORK. BY Charles F. Briggs, AND Augustus Maverick. V&unTiantIs snb ISrautifuIIs Slluttratttl. ^. NEW YORK: RUDD & CARLETON, 310 Broadway. M DCCC LVIII. Entered according to Act of CongreM, In the year 1868, by RUDD Jc CAELETON, m the Clerk'* Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern District of New York. I M K. CRAIOHtAD, Printfr, SiiTfuiyper, «nd EI«lro<7T)«r, Caitoii euilHiito, 81, 83, n/id S3 Cmtrt Stmt "What hath God Wrought 1" Firtt Meteage over Mor»e^» line— May 27, 18*4 irn t),„ M'l^ 0";^?""*^.^'* ^^^ President will join with her in iervently hopin- that the Llectrlc Cable which now connects Great Britai' *,th the United Stite^ wil prove an additional link between the nations whose iriendship is fo. ded upon their CO amon interest and reciprocal esteem." '^ FirH JfMtaffe (yttr M« AUanUc Cable— Auffutt 14, 1868. Dedication. The publishers of this work have great satisfaction in being permitted to dedicate this volume to the man whom the public recognise as the real author of the Atlantic Telegraph — CYRUS WEST FIELD. New Yobk, Auf^^ut, ISftS. Contents. CHAPTER I. The Science of Telegraphing — Ita Inception and PrograsB — Gradual Development and Perfection, 11 CHAPTER II. Land and Oceanic Telegraphs, . 23 CHAPTER 111. Origin of the Atlantic Telegraph — Organization of the New York, Newfoundland, and London Telegraph Company — wiih Biographical Sketches, 37 CHAPTER IV. The Atlantic Cable — Construction and Experimenta, CHAPTER V. Tlie First Expedition — Summer of 1857, .... CHAPTER VI. Tiie Expedition of 1858, • • . 56 . 92 . 116 . 172 CHAPTER Vn. The Third and Successful .\t tempt, . CHAPTER vnr Working the Atlantic Tel('grapli—Tli(« Tcrniiui of the Line, . 1U5 10 Contents. APPENDIX. I. Action of Congress in Kelation to the International Submarine Telegraph, 207 II. Lieut. M. F. Maury on the FeasibiUty of Oceanic Tele- graphs, 221 III. The Basin of the Atlantic, and the Telegraphic Plateau, 229 IV. Early Predictions of Professor Morse, .... 233 V. Use of the Telegraph in Connxtion with Longitude Operations, 235 VI. Velocity of the Gralvanic Current, . . • . . 239 VII. Table of Submarine Cables, 243 VIII. The Morse Telegraph Alphabet, 244 IX. Reception of the Tidings of Success in the United States, 245 X. Mr. Berdan as the Inventor of the New Paying-Out Machine, ......... 251 ILLUSTRATIONS, Portrait of Cyruy W. Field, Esq. Map of the Subma.ine Telegraph between America and Europe, with its Various Communications on the two Continents. Register of the Morse Telegraph. Signal Key of do. do. Re»(irding Apparatus. Pain's Telegraph. House's do. Splice of the Wirei in a Land Tel» 'raph. Cable for River Crossing's. Submarine Tclrgniph Cable, connecting Dover and Calais —exact sizi'. Holyhead Submarine Cable Vertical Section of the Atlantic Cable — cxart size. Profile View of the Atlantic Caole — exact size. View of the Atlantic Cable in Sections. The Spli.-e of tli Cjiiile. V erlua! J^cction ol Shore end ol Atlaiilii,: Caliie — exact size. THE STOPY OF THE TELEGRAPH. CHAPTER I. THE SCIENCE OF TELEGRAPHY — ITS INCEPTION AND PROGRESS — GRADUAL DEVELOPMENT A.- ^ PERFEC- TION. THE completion of the Atlantic Telegraph, the unap- proachable triumph which has just been achieved in the extension of the submarine electrical Cable between Europe and America, has been the cause of the most exult- ant burst of popular enthusiasm that any event in modern tiin(>s has over clii'itcd. So universal and joyful an expres- sion of public syiiipatliy betokens a pn^found emotion that will not iniincdiatcly j)ass away. The laying of the Telegraph Cal)le is regarded, and most justly, as the greatest event in the j>resent century ; and it is with the desire to mcei ihcj popular demand for an authentic and 12 General Introduction. concise history of this great event that the authors of this volume have undertaken tlieir task, and not with the expectation that they shall be able, in the very brief time afforded them, to present the world with a volume entirely worthy of the importance of the subject. The history, such as it is, will at least have the merit of cor- rectness. The completion of the Atlantic Telegraph may be regarded as the crown and complement of all past inven- tions and efforts in the science of Telegraphy ; for great and startling as all past achievements had been, so long as the stormy Atlantic bade defiance to human ingenuity, and kept Europe and America dis,^vered, the electric Telegraph was deprived of the crowning glory which its inventor had proj)hesied it should one day possess. But now the great work is complete, and the whole earth will be belted with the electric current, palpitating with human thoughts and emotions. If we reflect for a moment that the great Atlantic Cable is the connecting link between Amerie;»'s web-work of forty-five thousand miles, and {Europe's system of lifty-five thousand miles of Tel'jgraph wircr, thus forming a vavst inter-connected system of a Imndred tlioi^^^and miles of wires, more tlum sufficient to put a quadru]il(i girdle round the globe, some conception of its immense significance may be gained. in tills history, it is the aim of the authors to include General Introd action. 13 within the scope of their work an account of the deve- lopment of the Telegraphic system, its beginnings and applications, its rapid improvements and almost miracu- lous extension over the civilized parts of the earth. Of all the marvellous achievements of modern science, the Electric Telegraph is transcendently the greatest and most serviceable to mankind. It is a perpetual miracle, which no familiarity can render commonplace. This ci. xracter it deserves from the nature of the agent employed and the end subserved. I or what is the end to be accomplished, but the most spiritual ever possible ? Not the modifica- tion or transportation of matter, but the transmission of 'hought. To effect this an agent is employed so subtle in its nature, that it may more properly be called a spiritual than a material force. The mighty power of electricity, sleeping latent in all forms of matter, in the earth, the air, the water; permeating every part and particle of the universe, carrying creation in its arms, it is yet invisible and too subtle to be analysed. Of the natural cifecta of electricity, the most palpable examples occur in atmospheric manifestations; but its artificial generation and application are the mightiest sciontitlc triiunjilis of our epoch. It was but little more than a hundred years ago that Franklin's immature experi- ments demonstrated the absolute identity of liglitning atid t'lectricity. Since then various meol-.anical contri- vances have been devised for liberating this subtle hut ,fi H General Introduction. potent power from its dark windings in the prison-house of material forms ; the result of which is, that the electric fluid may be produced and employed in any desired quantity and with any required intensity. Thus the same terrific agent which rushes with blinding and crushing force in the lightning, has been brought under the perfect control of man, and is employed at his will as an agent of his necessities. With dissolving energy it effects the most subtle chemical analyses, it converts the sunbeam into the limner's pencil, employs its titanic force in blasting rocks, dissolves gold and silver, and employs them in the gilding and plating of other metals ; it turns policeman, sounding its whistle and alarm-bell; and lastly, applies its marvellous energy to the trans- mission of thought from continent to continent with such rapidity as to forestall the flight of Time, and inaugu- rate new realizations of human powers and possibilities. The efficacy of the Electric Telegraph depends on the power to produce at will the three following eft'ects : — 1st. To develope the electric fluid in any desired quantity. 2nd. To t/ansmit it to any required dl tance without any injurious diminution of its force. 3rd. To cause it upon its arrival at any required point to produce some sensible eftects which may serve the purpose of wrtten or printed characttrii.* * Lnrdner Tho Kleotrio Tologrrnph. General Introduction. 15 Every practical application must liave its ground and [enesis in some scientific conception ; it must pre-exist in 16 mind as law, before it can assume substantive shape the world of concrete realities. Thus practical navi- lation is the result of mathematical discoveries and ob- 3rvations, that run back to the speculative labors of the rreek geometers ; and our ships now navigate the track- bss ocean with safety, guided by a knowledge of the [rinciples of conic sections disco\ered by Apollonius id Aristarchus. A praijtical embodiment is real and sting, just in proportion to its truthful relation to laws [eneralized from the observation of phenomena in nature, id any discovery is explained, when the ideal steps on ^hich it depends, are set forth in systematic order. It was not until the latter part of the eighteenth cen- iry, that the science of electrology began to receive )me of those great generalizations which give it a itional character, and which, in fact, constitute it a jience. The f rst serviceable steps were the distinction the two electricities, Muschenbroek's experiments rith the Leyden Jar, and Franklin's great meteorolo- [icid discovery, which was the first manifestation of the ifluence of electricity in the general system of nature, [he-je were followed up by the vfvst labors of Coulomb and lMpere, bringing electrical phenomena under the juris- iction of mathematics. In the year 1820, Oersted pub- Hshed to the world his beautiful and comprehensive dis- i6 General Introduction. covery, connecting the laws of Electricity and Magnet isra. Ten years afterwards, Arago and Faraday cam^ with their brilliant intuitions, bringing those grand gener-^ .xzations which have been the foundation of the magnificent applications of the science which have since bf.en made. Such is a brief and rapid view of the development ofl the science of Electrology. How practical applicatioi have kept pace with abstract conceptions, and the energyj and enterprise of intelligent men have been all the while fully abreast with the discoveries of science, remains to be proved. It would seem to be necessaiy to the perfection ofl every great discovery, that it should pass through a seriesl of rudimentary and embryonic stages before it can gain al serviceable and rational form. Through such stages didl the applications of steam pass, as witness the numerousi experiments for centuries previous to its receiving thel foundation in science, from which alone we derive alll our power over this force. Telegraphy, too, has had tol pass through analogous processes of development. Tol the present generation, who have seen this greatest of modern arts grow up under their own eyes within the past ten or twelve years, it can hardly seem possible that! they have been present at the very birth and adopiion ofl this great idea. But, notwithstanding that the art is soj^j^jy ^ new, ana has been so suddenly brought to j)erfection, theft sf)n General Introduction. 17 kdea is oM, and, like other great ideas, lias had to strug- gle through long ages for its perfect development. There jwere many abortive experiments through the century- land a half preceding the first practical success. Fruit- less though the greater part of these experiments were, ^•et they were all necessary oi inevitable to the final tri- nph. And as this History will be chiefly occupied idth the triumphs of the telegraphic art during the past twelve years, under the guidance of the great scientific laws previously evolved, it will be necessary to take a glance at the preliminary endeavors towards the consum- (lation of the great idea; though from the imperfect ievelopment of the science of Electrology, large and per- lanent results were not possible. t-'i The History of Telegraphy may properly be divided ito three periods : 1st. From the development of electricity by jfriction to the discovery of Galvanism, or the production of illectricity by the chemical union of acids upon metals, fn 1790 by Galvani, and by Volta in 1800. 2d. From the discovery of the Galvanic or Volt"'*'; battery at the beginning of the present century, includ- ing the discoverv of E^ectro-Mncmetisrr! bv Of^rsfpH in 1820, and Ampere's first application of the principle* i8 General Introduction. J i he evolved, up to 183?, when Professor Henry disco- vered the method of constructing improved magnets inl connexion with properly arranged batteries, so as to pro- duce mechanical effects at a distance. 3d. The Era of application, from 1837, when Profes-j sor Morse in America, and Cook and Wheatstone inl England, respectively patented their telegraphic inven-[ tions, and inaugurated the triumphant and almost mira- culous successes which the past twelve years have wit- nessed. In the year 1726 John Wood, of England, discovered! that electricity could be conveyed a long distance bj conducting wires, and in 1747 one of the earliest appli- cations of the discovery was made by Doctor Watson, who extended his experiments over a space of four miles, comprising a circuit of two miles of wire and an equal distance of ground. In 1784* M. Lomond, of France, communicated tele-l graphic signals to a neighboring room by means of a pith-ball electronometer, acted up-m by electricity, an account of which is narrated in " Young's Travels inl F.-ance." ^nd. according to the Comptes Bmdus, Stan(A lo38, M. Belancourt in 1798 established a telegraph! between Madrid and Aranjuez, twenty-six miles in length, through which a current of electricity was forced and gave signals for letters. * Phil. Transactions, Vol. XIV. General Introduction. 19 The first Galvanic Telegraph of which we have any iount was constructed by Soemering, of Munich: it lerated by the decomposition of water, and caused a ill at the opposite end of the wire to ring. This was e first decomposing or chemical telegraph, and it can en now be operated, according to " Jones's Book of le Telegruph," though less rapidly than Bain's. The year 1820 was signalized by the dircovery of lectro-magnetism by Professor Oersted, of Copenhagen, most important discovery was at once seized upon by Ampere, and embodied in the fii-st Electro-Magnetic legraph. This, however, proved more an experi- lental than a practical advance in the science.* The next advance was made by Mr. Sturgeon, of gland, who constructed the first electro-magnet by •lling a piece of copper wire around an iron of a liorse- loe form. He found that when the electric fluid passed >le- Jrough the coil the inclosed iron became a magnet, and again demagnetized in breaking the current. Addi- an»)nal advances were made in 1831, by Professor Henry, m^o discovered a method to which we have already ■JceMuded, of forming magnets of great intensity, making phBacticable the production of powerful effects at a great infttaDce. This was indispensable to the creation of ictro-magnetic telegraphing for great distances, and • Annales de Chemie et d© Physique, 1820. 20 General Introduction. was, of course, a sine qud ,ion to the possibility of tha crowning achievement of science, the Submarine Tek graph.* In the year 1823, Gauss and Weber first constructe the simplified Electro-Magnetic Telegraph. It was Gai who first employed the incitement of induction, and whfj demonstrated that the appropriate combination of limited number of signs is all that is required for i\\ transmission of messages. Weber discovered that copper wire, 7,400 feet long, which he carried over thJ houses and church steeples of Gottingen, from the Obseij vatory to the Cabinet of Natural Philosophy, require no special insulation. This was a most important discJ very in the construction of telegraphic lines, and hJ been of immense service in the art of Telegraphy. Such were some of the preparatory steps througij which the telegraphic art passed previous to the innn^ ration of the great era commencing in 1837. Thus yi{ see that the mighty achievements of the }>;ust twelve yean were the results of the conspiring labors and invostiga] tions of many generations of pacient workers, who wea denied the gratification of witnessing the final glories their discoveries. The world has now more tlian a hundred thousaiii miles of Electric Telegraph. To say that this nchiovfj TYinnt morl/^c oro 1 r» C/^/»1 rA 1 1 K^ ia n /-x* i t\ • SUi;inan> .Tiur. Vol. XIX. General Introduction. 21 iroper characterization. It marks an area in the unfold- ng of the human mind. The Telegraph has more than mechanical meaning; it has an ideal, a rehgious, and a (respective signifl^ance, far-reaching and incalculable in ts influences. The inspired author of the Book of Job exclaims In an interrogatory, mei^t to bear the burden of the mpossible, " Canst thou send lightnings that they may ;o, and say unto Thee, here we are ? " But this is pre- isely what science has done in the Electric Telegraph. n all our cities there are buildings in the cellars of which iiachinery exists for the fabrication of lightning, which supplied to order, at a very moderate price, in any uantity required, and of any desired force, which is ioiulucted for thousands of miles across rivers, through forests, over mountains, and down through the dark epths of the ocean. And this lightning is made the chicle of thought, to carry messages to the extreme ends •f the earth, between two boats of the pendulum of a clock. le fabled horses of v\rabian tales, and the famous legend f Ic Beau Peeopin's midnight rido round thu world, are ;uno in the comparison of the realities of Telegraphy. It lias been the result of the great discoveries of the ast century, lo efToct a n-volution in political and wn-ial fc, by ostablisliing a inon' intimate connexion between 22 General Introduction. nation and death. National health cuu only bt main- tained by the free an-^. unobstructed interchange of each with all. How potent a power, then, is the telegraphic destined to become in the civilization of the world I This binds together by a vital cord all the nations of the earth. It is impossible that old prejudices and hostilities should longer exist, while such an instrument has been created for an exchange of thought between all the nations of the earth. Such is the vista which this new triumph of the might of human intelligence opens to us. Every one must feel stronger and freer at the accession of such an in- crease of powc/. to the human family, as has been (con- ferred upon it by the success of the Ocean Telegraph. It] shows that nothing is impossible to man, while he keeps! within the sublimely impel ious orbit of Nature's laws. " The future liides in it GladnesT and sorrow : We press still thorow, Naught that abides in it Daunting us, Onward." CHAPTER II. LAND AND OCEANIC TELEGRAPHS. IHE entire history of the Magnetic Telegraph is compressible within very narrow limits. The first ■elegraphic line in the United States was erected only jourteen years ago. But twenty-one years have passed lince ihe first English patent for a Telegraph was issued. ' period of thirty-nine years has elapsed since the dia- ivery and first application of electro-magnetism. A )aoe of a trifle ovtT a third of a century, therefore, inibraces the era of Telograpliic; operations. The accom- lishment of the last great feat of underlaying the ocean iL'^'osts the propriety of a retrospect of early attempts. The disc-overy of electro-magnetism is due to Professor KHSTKI), of Coponliagen, who announced the new principle in 1819. ^rhe discovery was seize<l by M. 'mpkre, the emi.irnt ^r. nch pliysicist, who in the .'llOWMlir V(>'tv ini-..ii«.> I .>... .1, .,.«.., . .• . i t I- '■ " ::::::: V I : : ;: ;;.r; liri K" Ti iOjL^i.ipii, III Inch lie used as many wires as there w.tc letters, and 24 Land and Oceanic Telegraphs. broke and restored the circuit by keys, similar to thosJ used in the House patent. This attempt was purelj experimentid. It was never practically tested. ^ current was obtained of sufficient force t verse m considerable distance : — the idea of using the earth ^ complete the circuit; the possibiUty of employing single wire ; any method of recording the magnet current, in other words, of not only making it speak, bJ of reporting and preserving its utterances, all these we.j unknown elements, which it was left for the prestd generation to discover. The first advance was made ij ProfesstHi- Joseph Henry, then of Princeton Colleg now of the Smithsonian Institution, who, by the coJ struction and novel combination of magnets, in the ye 1831, demonstrated the possibility of transmitting current over long distances ; a revelation indispensable j the construction of a submarine telegraph. In I80I Weber, a German experimenter, found that a copd wire which he carried over sundry houses and churj steeples of Gottingcn, recpiired no especial insulation fact of great practical value to telegraphing ujion laij The year 1837 furnished several additions to previoj knowledge ; and, in fact, may be regarded as the e})" vi the inland telegraphic system. In July of tliat yt SlElNllElL put in use a regi.^'t<TMig electro-magn' •urrauh bftween Munich and lio^euhauseii, whcrj clock-work w:w employed to piu^s a ribbon of ]>ai Land and Oceanic Telegraphs. 2C through the mDx;hine under a deflected needle, which impressed updn it dots and marks, accepted as represen- tations of the several lettCiS of the alphabet. A few days before the Steinheil apparatus was set to work, Messrs. Cooke and Wiieatstone obtained their English patent for a telegraph using a deflective point, the patent bearing date, June 12, 1837. Their specific improvement was the use of transmitting or relay magnets. In the year 1835, Mr. Samuel F. B. Morse, of New York, constructed a rude apparatus for telegraphic expe- riments in the University of the City of New York. Seventeen hundred feet of wire were stretched around the walls of a small apartment, and connected with a recording machine of rougli construction. This experi- ment proved the practicability of the Telegraph. The first word indicated through the action of the electric current was " Eureka." Mr. Mowsk conducted further experi- ments until the year 1837, and in October of that year filed his caveat for tli- "American Electro- Mag- netic Telegraph," in which an incomplete outline of his actual system was presented. ^e represented th.at his ])ian had been devised in the year 1832, but waa then first rcluced to the t(\st of experiment. Dr. Cil .{LES T. Jackson, of Boston, hna always contended that th(^ iloRSE invention was due to his suggestion, made to the Pr(if(><j>anr rlnritio- •> Tr^,.^^., r.. ir i 1 ilitrii States, on board tlu> ship Sh//>/^ in the Summer ( ' 183'_*. 2 26 Land and Oceanic Telegraphs. m There is no proof, however, to contradict the averments of both gentlemen, that they had heard nothing of the Steinheil and Wheatstone inventions. Morse obtained his patent in France, in 1838, and in 1840 a patent in the United States. In 1846, a re-issue of the latter patent was obtained, in which the claim to the electric or mag- netic current was abandoned, but he claimed instead the use of electro-magnetism as a motor. The same year he patented a right to the invention of a local circuit. Sub- scquc: tly, Mr. Alexander Bain patented, in England, his claim for an improved Electro-Chemical Telegraph, where the message was recorded by electricity upon paper chemically prepared; and in 1848, entered his claim for an American patent, which \. as confirmed in 1849. In 1848-9, Mr. Royal E. House, of New York, obtained an American patent for a Telegraph, in which the message was recorded by types, and the circuit broken and resumed by means of keys similar to those of the piano-forte, answering to the letters of the alphabet. The first electro-magnetic line in the United States was tliat between Baltimore and W.ushington, the dis- tance forty miles, completed in 1844. Congress contribu- ted $80,000 t(^wards its construction. The first message over this line was sent by Miss Anne Ellsworth, of Connecticut, on f1i(? 27tli Afny, 1844, and the words transmitted were these four: " Whathalh God tvroughtr The operation of this initird ('i.tcrptisc promising sue- Land and Oceanic Telegraphs. 27 cess, a company was formed, with Mr. Amos Kendall aa President, for the continuation of the line; and in 1845 it was extended between New York and Wilming- ton, Del., leaving a gap between the latter point and Baltimore, which was filled up early in 1846. From this inception, the work has advanced until tha present day, when there are mooe than thiicy-five thousand miles of telegraph lines in the United States, connecting the coast of Newfoundland with the shores of Texas, and the great plains of the West, and the great lakes of the North with the Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico. There are more than five thousand miles in the British Pro- vinces ; in England there are over ten thousand miles ; and in the world a total length exceeding one hundred thousand miles. The lines of Telegraph now in operation in the United States, are (1) Morse's; (2) Train's; (3) House's; (4) Hughes'. The latter is a new invention, possessing won- derful sensitiveness, and combining the advantages of Morse's and House's. A general description of these diiferent systems may be usefully introduced in thLs con- nexion. 28 Land and Oceanic Telegraphs. The engraving exhibits the Eegister of the Morse Telegraph, as used in the telegraph otHces : REGISTER OF Till: N.OIIKF TKI KGIiAPU. In this illustration, the magnet, the armature, the rollers, and the clock work, are shown. Thn m.ip]iin« m Bet in operation by a Icvor-kc}-, placod at the other end Land and Oceanic Telegraphs. 29 of the telegraphic route, which, beiDg raised or lowered by the pressure of a finger, breaks or closes the circuit. A signal-key is also used, ^:rA the apparatus for recording messages is simple and effective. The subjoined illustra- tions convey an idea of these parts of the machine : SIONAL-KST OF MORSk's INSTHIMKNT. RICCKDING APPARATUS. The writing by Morse's instrument is a series of dots :iih1 (lashes, a full descPMtion of which may be found in the Appendix. 30 Land and Oceanic Telegraphs. Bain's Telegraph is a modiiication of Morse's. Its form is shown in the following cut : BA.Ji 3 TELEGKAPH. In this Telegraph, chemically prepared paper is marked Lj the passage of the current, and the message is recorded upon the disc. House's Telegraph is a printing instrument. Its gene- ral character is shown in the subjoined engraving. The operator with this instrument manipulate." a let- tered key-board, arranged like a piano-forte; the circuit being closed by pressing down the keys ; a type- wheel revolving at the extremity of the line, records the mes- sage in printed Roman letters. Hughes' Telegraph resembles House's, and, like thfit prints its messages. Th - principal advantage claimed for Land and Oceanic Telegraphs. 3' tliia instrument, is its peculiar delicacy ; a feebler current of electricity sufficircr to set it in motion. In principle, it is a combination of the Morse and House Telegraphs. HOUSES TELEGRAPH. The method of erectin.r a line of Land Telegraph is so familiar, that any description is superfluous. The opera- tion of splicing the wires, at points of junction, is not, however, so generally known. It is exhibited in the accompanying engraving. Submarine Telegraphs have a very rect at history. One of the earliest difficulties to be overc< me in terres- trial telegraphing, was the extension and - .feet insulation oft] IP wiro ovf^r °.trp.r'.TT>.s is^r' al^or 1 t C«i/S_/A . XXi/ llioi/. the transit was effected by using bridges, where bridges 32 Land and Oceanic Telegraphs. existed ; and in their absence, of suspending the wires over the water, from carefully-selected Prominences on either bank. In time, the non-conducting quality of S 8PUCE OF THI WIBSS IN A LAND TKLIGaAPH. water suggested the idea of submerging the line, and permitting it to sink to the bed of the stream; and with the application of india rucber or gutta percha, as a coat- ing to^ prevent oxidation, ihe plan was successfully | leaorted to. ' — I Land and Oceanic Telegraphs. m The Cable generally used for river crossings has the following size and shape : — OABLB FOR EITBR CUOSSINGS. The employment of Submarine Cables for telegraphic communications was first successfully accomplished seven years ago. In October, 1851, a deep-sea Cable w^^ laid in the English Channel, between Dover and Calais ' Is Cable had four p.onHnctine' wires inenlnfpri hir miHo percha, and afterwards enveloped by tarred rope-yarn 2* 34 ^-and and Oceanic Telegraphs. and galvanized iron wires. Its general plan of construc- tion is indicated in the engraving : Bu»«AHir<k l&LtUHAni CABI.K. (XNNWTINO WVUI ANO OAUOi, Land and Oceanic Telegraphs. 35 This Cable was manufactured in the space of three weeks. It weighed seven tons to the mile, and was twenty-four miles in length. It will be observed that the principle differs essentially from that of the Atlantic Cable; four conducting wires being used instead of seven, and the aggregate weight being six times greater. Owing, however, to the chafing of the wire upon the rocks near the French coast, this Cable severed at th^ end of a month, and a new and stronger Cable had to be laid. This is now in perfect working order. A similar Cable was soon after made and laid down by E. S. Newall & Co., between Ilolyhead and T)ublin, which worked perfectly for several days; after which its insulation became imperfect. Its size and form are exhi- bited in the accompanying cut. -A Cable entirely of hcnip, without any galvanized wire covering, was laid down be- tween Portjiatrick and Donaghadf"'e by the same firm, for tiie Magneto-Electric Telegraph Company. This has entirely failed. Including the Atlantic Cable, the aggregate length of the Submarine Tehgraph lines of IIOI.THKAII SCHHARINK CARLE. the world, is now little short of three thousand miles.* •Appendix — " Table of Submarine Telegrapha." 3^ Land and Oceanic Telegraphs. The immediate result of the first apparently successful attempt with the Cable across the Straits of Dover, was the suggestion of various projects of a similar character. The plan of a trans- Atlantic Cr,ble does not seem to have been among these. The idea wa^ too stupendous, per- haps, and seemingly impracticable to be conceived ; or if conceived, to be entertained otherwise than as a desirable impossibility. In 1851, however, a speculator was found boldenough to propound the enterprise, using the columns of the London Aihenceum for the purpose. He proposed to use a single stout wire, enveloped, firstly, in a gutta- percha coat, and secondly in hemp, saturated with some imperishable matter, and to extend it directly from the coast of Ireland to Newfoundland. The suggestion fell 8till-bom,-only, however, to be revived in a year or two afterwards, under the auspices of the Company of whose history it is now time to treat. CHAPTER III. OUICIN OK THE ATLANTIC TELEGRAPH-ORGANIZATION OF THE NEW YORK, .EWFOUNDL.U^D, AND LONDON TELEGRAPH rOMPANY. riONFUCTING claims are always set up for the lionor3just;v due to the originator of sful cnter- pns..s. Crude iucas, when first broached, rarely receive tl.e degree of attention to which they are often really entitled, and it is not unft^quently the ease that the aetua projector of a plan of vast magnitude fin.^s an .ncredulous audience to receive his demonstrations. In the h>st<,ry of the inception of the Atlantic Telegraph 't .s probable that many new elements will enter The ero,ht of the original inv,.nti„„ of Submarine telegraph- jns W.11 undoub...dly be elaimed by various partL. "nd tins wonderful work proved a total failure, aspiri.. mventors would perhaps have l«en less anxious to clain'^ 'J-^ r.ATnity. Having become a fi«,t in the hisK.rv „f ""= won,,. It ,„ not a matter of surprise to fln,l a host of 3^ Origin of the Atlantic Telegraph, &c. rival claimants springing up ; each pressing his demand for priority, and each unwilling to yield to the preten- Bions of others. We do not propose to enter into any elaborate discussion of this knotty question. The great ftict remains unaltered, that a Submarine Oceanic Tele- graph is not only possible, but actual. It is idle to attempt to compress within the compass of a single chapter any complete record of the conflicting claims which are put forward in connexion with the story of this undertiiking ; indeed, a work much larger than the present one would scarcely suffice for the presentation of the plans for which their authors require the endorse- ment of the public. We, therefore, content ourselves with a general summary of the facts of the case, which seem, after careful comparison of data, and conauentious investigation .f the merits of opposing claims, to be t^tiiblished beyond the reach of cavil. The question of the priority of discovery of the principle of the Electro-Magnetic Telegraphy as lying between Prof Morse, Prof Henry, and Dr. Jackson, does not properly enter into this department of the history of Telegraphing. The merits of the claims set up for tht^se parties are treated elsewhere. For the l)re8ent. we have to deal solely with the record of the origin of Submarine Telegraphs ; and in order to arrive at a satisf ictory conclusion in regard to this particular branch of tlio subject, it is oisential to refer briefly U) Origin of the Atlantic Telegraph, &c. 39 events which occurred at interval.- from the years 1847 to 1856, a period covering some nine years. While dis- claiming any intention to slight the claims of ingenious iuventon-^, whose skill and industry will insure them the grateful remembrance of posterity, even if their names be disconnected from the historical record of the Atlantic Telegraph, we are led to the belief that tlie credit of the inception, progress, and successful completion of that great undertaking, which forms the existing Unk between Europe and America, is due to the foresight, prudence and unwearying energy of three or four gentlemen, all of whom have contributed to the enterprise the results of long -^xperience and the fruits of enlarged scientific knowledge. One fact should be stated at the outset. It is undoubt- odiy true that the success of Submarine Telegraphing dri)ends upon a single point. That point, once gained, nusures other conditions, necessarily consequent U]>on It. In other words, no submarine cable for telegraphic purposes can be perfect until its insulation is rendered positive. But one material is known to possess this insulating property. But for the discovery of gutta percba, the Atlantic Telegraph would not hav^e been worked ; the ciectric current would have been di^ssiput^-d ".the depths of the sea; the triumph of mechanical ^^ 1 and scientific goniua over wliic!, two tuitions ha== - become ecstatic, could not have been accomp^isheil 40 Origin of the Atlantic Telegraph, &c. Prior experiments, on shorter lengths of submarine cables, demonstrated the useful properties of this new material. From these early attempts sprang the project for underiaying the ocean. Diligent industry, the application of fertile resources, and the hearty co-opera- tion of two countries in the work, have made the Atlantic Telegraph the fitting climax to a long series of careful investigations. The utility of the insulating material, known as gutta percha,* has been abundantlv tested, both by scientific experiment and in practical service. But a few years have elapsed since its introduction a^ an article of trade ; fewer still have passed since its suitabi- lity as an insulating material for telegraphic wires was first definitely established. The credit of the discovery of • " Gutta rercha.—A valuable substance, known only within the last few J .jara. It is the concrete juice of a large tree (Isonavdra gutta), grow- ing in certain parts of the Malayan Archipelago. The first specimen of the inppiaoated juice which appeared in England, was presented to the Society of Arts in 1843, but two or th.ee years elapsed before a just sense of the importance of the substance began to gain ground. In 1845 the importation of gutta pcrcha into Plngland amounted to only 20, GOO lbs. ; in 1848, it had reached 3,000 000 lbs. ; in 1851, it amounted to 30,580,480 lbs. The honor of having drawn attention to its real nature and uses is duo to Drs. D'Alnieida and W. kontgomerie. The purposes to which gutUi percha is applied, are tcx) numerous for recapitulation. It resists the action of water, and is at tlio samo time a bad conductor of electricity ; it is, therefore, etnployed for enclosing the metallic; wires used in tlio Kicctric Telegraph. Tlie emciency of the Submarine Telegraph is largely due to this valuable 8ubBUince."—IJomati.i' Cydopmiia of Commerce. Origin of the Atlantic Telegraph, &c. 41 this peculiar virtue seems to be justly awarded to Mr. S. T. Armstrong, of tae City of New York. This gentle- man was invited to visit England in the year 1847, for the purpose of examining the new material, then just coming into notice as an article of commerce. The practicability of its application to many useful purposes was considered settled. A new branch of trade appeared to be opened by its discovery. A company was formed in New York, of which Mr. Armstrong became President. The first shipment made from England to the United States, was an invoice of five tons, which was received here in the year 1847. Various experiments demonstrated the utility of the new material for manufacturing purposes, but it was not until the autumn of 1848, that the insulat- ing property was so far developed as to be relied upon with certainty. At that period, a number of experiments were made, the result of which ved that copper wires became perfect conductors of electricity when coated with gutta percha, resisting the action not only of the air, but of the water; and that a telegraphic wire, encased in this material, became a safe conductor of au electric current under conditions which would otherwise prove an insuperable bar to success. This was the germ of tl'.e Submarine Telegraph, and it would be unjust to Mr. Armstrong U^ detract from the merit to which his early Next came tlie practical solution of the problem. In 42 Origin of the Atlantic Telegraph, &c. this branch of the subject the first practical experimenter seems to have been a telegraphic agent in an office at Montreal, Mr. F. N. Gisborne. Other persons had con- ceived general ideas of the principles of constructing oceanic telegraphs; but the facts in the history of early experiments upon this point demonstrate that the first practical apphcation of the principle, at least on this •side of the Atlantic, was made by Mr. Gisborne. In 1851-2, Mr. Gisborne, then recently from England, went to HaUfax, and thence to New Brunswick and the' United States, endeavoring to find responsible parties who would undertake the work of laying a submarine line. He was unsuccessful in this quest ; but in a few months afterwards received partial aid, and accom- plished the experiment of laying a smaU insr' ted Cable from the main land to Prince Edward Island. His next step was to lay a submarine hue from New- foundland to Cape Breton, and in a prehminary survey he underwent many hardships. In the interval which elapsed before arrangements could be made for perfecting this project, his backers failed. In the Spring of 1854 Mr. Gisborne came to New York, placed himself in communication with Mr. Cyrus W. Field, enhsted the sympathies of other influential gentlemen, and finally received an appointment as Superintendent of the Com- pany which wasforme.] about that time to establish a line of Telegraph between Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. Origin of the Atlantic Telegraph, &c. 43 The connexion of Mr. Cyrus W. Field with the Atlantic Telegraph enterprise, therefore, dates from the early part of the year 1854. Receiving with undoubt- ing faith the plan for co necting the continents by means of an Oceanic Telegraph, seeing no obstacles which could n.t be overcome by patient perseverance, and possessed of an indefatigable energy, to Mr. Field may be accorded the honor of sustaining the nmin burden of an extraordinary effort. When others sank, discouraged by the pressure of untoward evente, and dismayed by the prospect of failure, this gentleman revived hopes that were nearly extinguished, infused fresh energy into the efforts of his associates, and finally succeeded in arousing a spirit of enterprise which has reaped its own reward. The history of the organization of the Telegraph Company, and the record of the steps in the progress of the Atlantic Telegraph are so intimately a.s«ociatod with the name of Mr. Field, that we may be pardoned for a brief digression from the main subject of this narrative, in order to give a running sketch of that gentleman's personal history. Cyrus West Field is a native of Massachusette, hav- ing be. 11 born in the town of Stockbridge, in that State, in the year 1819. Tis father was the Reverend D. d! F^fELD, a native of East GuiLord, Connecticut, a graduate of Yule, and fust settled at lladdum, Ot. Dr. Field had nine children— seven sons and two daughters. The sons m H Origin of the Atlantic Telegraph, &c, have all risen to distinguished positions. The elder bro- ther, the Hon. David Dudley Field of New York, is well known on both sid^s of the Atlantic as one of the Revisers of the Code of the State of New York. Maith^w Dick- INSON Field is a leading citizen of Massachuse* d, and was recently or still Senator. Jonaphax I^dwards Field IS a Judge of the Supreme Cc .fc of California. The Rev. Henry M. Field was foiwerlj Pastor of a Congre- gational society in West Springfield, Massachusette, and no^ Editor of the Mw York Evangelic. One son Timothy, went to sea, many years since, and has nevei^ been heard from. Cyrus West Field, in early life came to New York, a id was engaged as clerk in the esta: bshment of Mr. A. T. Stevart. He subsequently returned to Massachusette, and was employed in the paper manufactory of his brother Matthew, in the town of Lee; and on attaining his majority entered into the same line of business on his own account, at West, field, Massachusette, but failed during the panic of 1837 He then returned to New York, and established a large paper commission warehouse, of which he is still the head. Some four or five years ago, Mr. Field's attention was directed to the project of an Oceanic Telegraph. In the spring of 1854, his ideas on that subject first took definite shape, and the active and earnest cooperation of several prominent citizens of New York-among whom | -were Messrs, Peter Cooper, Moses Taylor, Mar- ~" Origin of the Atlantic Telegraph, &c. 45 SHALL 0. Egberts, Chandler White, S. F. B. Morse and David Dudley Field— was given in aid of his enterprise. The further development of the plan is recor;^ed in these pages. In p .,r3on, Mr. Field is slight and nervous. His weight is about one hundred and fortj pounds. His features are sharp and prominent, the most striking pecuharity being the nose, which projects boldly. His body is Hthe and his manner active; eyes grayish-blue and small ; foreLiead large, and hair auburn and luxuriant. He does not appear as old as he is. The steel portrait which accompanies this volume conveys a perfect idea of the appearance of the man. Another name,-that of Professor MoRSE,-has been intimately associated with the early history of the Atlan- tic Telegraph, and merits particular mentior Although not actively connected with the last stages o. xt under- taking, yet Professor Morse has freely given his co-opera- tion and sympathy to it ; while the acknowledged value of his services in the cause of Telegraphy enlitles him to grateful remembrance. Samuel Findlay Breese Morse, like Mr. Fi]:ld, is a native of Massachusetts. He vas born at Chariestown, Mass., on the 29ih April, 1791 ; graduated at Yale College in 1810 ; and then went to London to study the art of ^ minting under Benjamin West. Retnmmo- fr^ flio tTt.^'*'--^ c*..i.„„ :.. -i o-i ^ i the iie I) egaii practice of his art in the city of New York, and '■V. i w 46 Origin of the Atlantic Telegraph, &c. about the year 1820 was one of the founders of the National Academy of Design. He revisited Europe in 1829, and on his return to America in 1832, seems to have worked out the plan of an Electro-Magnetic Telegraph ; the honor of which invention, however, is claimed by Dr. Jackson. Of this point, we treat brieJy else- where. Since the year 1835, the attention of Prof. Morse has been chiefly directed to Telegraphic ope- rations ; and during the past year a handsome remune- ration has been voted him by the Continental Govern- ments. We return to the narrative of the primary stages of the Telegraphic enterprise. The organization of the New York, Newfoundland, and London Telegraph Company dates back to the year 1854 xn Marcn of that year, Mr. Cyrus W. Field, his brother, David Dudley, and Mr. Chandler Whtte were commissioned to proceed to Newfoundland, to obtain ^.om the Government of the Province an act of incorporation. On arriving at St. John's, they called upon the Governor, who convoked the Executive Coun- cU the same day. The Governor gave a favorable answer to the Commissioners, and immediately F3nt a spec'al . message to the Legislature, then in session, recommending them to pass an act of incorporation, with a ^'uaranty of mterest on the Company's bonds to the amount of £50,000, arxd a giant of fifty square miles of land on the island of I jf ! Origin of the Atlantic Telegraph, &c. 47 Newfoundland, to be selected by the Company. The . tenns were agreed upon. Additional grants wore subsequently received frcn. the Canada, and the Sta,« of Maine, and afterwards from the Goveniments of Great Britain and th. United States T r 1 ,,,^^ negotiations may be su...mari,ytd • .^H for future .ference. in this place, as upo^ the .._al nature of the grants depended the ultimate results ot the project. The governmental p^ts extended to Company, from fim to last, have therefore been as NEWFOUNDLAyD. Exctoive p^-leges for flftj, years of tading Chle, „„ New- foundland, Labrador, and Iheu- dependencie. The exctaive right euAr^, , eoaat Une extending ft„m fte e„- t™n« of Hudaon's Strait, southwardly and westwJdly ll 1" CO.S. of Labrador, Newf„™dl.nd, Prince Edward ll^ 'cl ^^.u.^^^™SeoUa, and the State Of Ma.e, and .eir.;e:r .C::r.?''""°""- -''-' °" -P-- -t TeUgraph amilar oo.ce^ion of additional fifty „„,„ mite when th» Cable '..an have been tad between Ireland and Newfoundland of the Telegi^ph! '" "'""" "''™" '"'"'"^ """ *"^ "^ ""» SH 48 Origin of the Atlantic Telegraph, &c. Kemission of duties on importation of all wires and materials for tlie use of the Company. ?RINCK EDWARD ISLAKD. Exclusive privilege for fifty years of landing Cables. Free grant of one thousand acres of land. A grant of X300 currency per annum for ten years. CANADA. Act authorizing the building of telegraph hnes throughout the Provinces. Remission of dutiee m all wires and materials imported for the use of the Company. NOVA SCOTIA. Grant of exclusive privilege for twenty-five years of landing Telegraphic Cables irom Eurcne on the shores of this Province. STATE OK MAINE. Similar grant of exclusive privilege for like period of twenty-five years. GREAT BRITAIN. Annual subsidy of £14,000 sterling until tiio net profits of the Company reach 6 per cent, per annum, on the whole capiul of X3r)0,000 sterling, the grn:it to bo then rediirod to X10,000 sterling per annum, for a period of twenty-five years. The aid of two of the largest sfoainships in the English navy to liiy the Cable, with two subsidiary steamers. A Government steamship to take any turtlier necwsary sound- iDs?Ss and vyrify fiiosp a.!ri>a;!v ♦sL-i^r-. Origin of the Atlantic Telegraph, &c. 49 >1 CNITED STATES, Annual sutady of $70,000 until the net profit, yield 6 per cent. per annum, then to be reduced to $60,000 per «>num, for . period lwenty-fl,e yea,^ ^^j^, ^ ^^^^^ ^^ ^^^^^^ ^ alter ten yeare, on givmg one year's notice. The Uuited Stau. ateamship ArcHc to make and verify so^uding,. Jteamalups 2„a,cra and Su^ueianna to aa^iat in ,,y^, ^ The original organisation of the Company waa cj n' NEW YORK, NEWFOUNDLAND, AND LONDON TELEGRAPH COMPANY. DIRBOTOHS IN NEW YORK: Peter Cooper, Moses Taylor, Peier Cooper ^ F. B. Morse, Moses Taylor, . Ckandler White, David Dudley Field, F. N. (JraBORNE, Chandler White. I . '^'^'^^ ^'^^ '^T in the great ^nk. Cyrus W. Field, Marshal 0. Roberts, President. Vice President. Treasurer. Secretary. Counsel. Enpiueer. -..-jn>iiso. now r.)i.l,r '"-'Kurato.!, wa^ the connexion of St. Joi.n h with the f 3 : m p so Origin of the Atlantic Telegraph, &c. Tele^Tapliic lines already in operation in Canada and the United States. The first attempt to lay these wires wa^ made in 1855, but it then proved unsuccessful. In 1856 the effort was renewed with success, and there has been little interruption of the union between the two islands. The Cable employed for this sen-ice is quite large, composed of three strands, and has three conduct- • ing wires. From Port-au-Basque, the Cable station on the western part of Newfoundland, the telegraph extends directly across the island to Trinity Bay, the American terminus of the Atlantic Telegraph. In the year 1856, the Company dispatched Mr. Cyrus W. Field to England to enlist the aid of ca])italists in that country. The most complete success attended his efforts. The capital stock of the New York Company was fixel at $1,750,000, and the whole wa^ subscribed for,— one hundred and one shares in London, eighty -eight in America, eighty six in Liverpool, thirty-seven in Ghusgow, twenty-eight in Manchester, and the' remainder in other part« of England. Tlie capital, however, had to be subsequently increased to $2,500,000, to meet the failures that occurred in the various attempts to sub- merge the Cable. Tiie project, when brought to the notiee of the British aid American govcrmruMit^, was received with a like degree of favor and liWral subsidies were granted ; the Bubstjince <W uuin'/il. Ur.^ ..i_ i.. i „•_'•_ • ■■■-1 :..-_ ....;.;:;, {„,,, lllUiCillcU. Origin of the Atlantic Telegraph, &c. 51 The Act of Congress, approved March 3, 1857 and the Charter of Incorporation, granted by Parliament, are given m the Appendix. The stipulations contained in these acts form an interesting nart of the general history of the Telegraph. ^ The Charter of the New York, Newfoundland, and London Company, conferring upon it the exclusive right to land telegraphic cables on the shores of Newfoundland and other parts of North America, and for twenty-five years to do the same thing on the shores of Nova Scotia, was made over to the - Atlantic Telegraph" Company- the Direction of which is now constituted aa follows : Chairman. Samuel Gcrnky, M.P., London. Vice-CUairmaK. T. H, Brooking, London. liirector*. Brett, J. W., London. Brown, William, M.P., Liverpool DuoDALE, James, Manchester. Uankey, T. a., LoiHon. Harrison. IIenhv, Aigburth, near Liverpool. Hornby, Tuomas Dyson, Liverpool Johnston, Edward, Liverpool Lampbon, C. M., London. Le Breton, Franoih, London. LooiK, William, Glaogow. Tkauody, Gforue, London. Tender, Jou..^ Miuicl eatt-r. 52 Origin of the Atlantic Telegraph, &c. TlCKKRINO, C. \V. 11., L'vorp,K,I. ScHWAHE, Gl-stav Ckis., Liverpool. Thomson, I'n.fossor W., LL.D., Glasgow. Arouidald, Hon. E. M., II.Af. Consul, New York. Belmont, Ar-GrsTE, Banker, New York. Cooper, rETEu, Arerchant, New York. CoRBfN, Francis P., New York. HcNT, Wilson G., Merchant, New York. Low, A. A., Merchant, New York. MoROAN, Matthew, Bank<>r, New York. Sherman, Watts, Banker, New York. Cartier, Hon. Georoe E., Quebec, Lower Canada. Ross, noN. JcuN, Toronto, Upper Canada. YoDNO, Hon. John, Montreal, Upper Canada RoBK«rsoN, Hon. John, St. John, New Brunswick. General Manager: Cyrus W. Field.* Engiueer : Ch.viu.es T. Bright. Electrician: E. O. W. WHiTEnouflt Secretanj: George Sawarp. Solicitors: Frehhueuvs & Newman. ^,.i/^„.,.--,TovArHAN R,oG, No. 17 Mark Lane, Lon- •'"". Merchant ; Hknrv W. IkACKBiRN, ^*'"'"«'-'0*ork.shire, Public Ac.o,u,Uuit.' Bankas: The Bank ok England. The New Vork Con.pany niso made ov. to tlu- n, w -pon..on all oo..ssions hoari ,, ^ ^': - -1' niav W l..n.afl.r ohtained, and ali ti.o patent nght. of Mc.srs. Whitkho.sk u.kI BuiaHT, Origin of the Atlantic Telegraph, &c. 53 which in any way concerned the working of instruments m murine circuit of great length, were prospectively secured to it. In order that the capital subscribed might be entirely applied to the immediate object of the under- taking, the projectors, Messrs. Brett and Field and Messrs. Bright and Whitehouse, considerately ar- ranged that compensation foi the privileges assigned, and ior past expenditure and exertions, should be left entirely dependent on the successful result of the undertaking Tlie final agreement with these gentlemen was, that upon attaming success, a half-yearly dividend of ten per cent per annum on the capital should first be paid to tlie shareholders, and then one-half of any further profit should be given to them, and the other half be retained by the Company, it having been estimated upon a very moderate computation of the probable amount of reve- nue, conjoined wllh a consideration of the comparatively small working expenses, v, here there can only be two ter- inin stations to be maintain,.!, that a very satisfactory res. might be seeure.1 to all j.arties u|K>n this ground. «UL \\o, the electrical and financial })reparations had terminatol so favorably to the views of the Company, thrre were other tx)pi<.s of equal moment not yet satis- li"'ton!ydeterm.ned. Tlie solution of or.e momrntous «in.«stion rc^mained to bo given. Could a telegraphic wire be laid on the bottom of the Atlantic? Everv caro was, therefore, taken to bring U)gether all the evidenco 54 Origin of the Atlantic Telegraph, &c. that could be gleaned of the actual character of the vaat 00 an,c ba.,n, which waa to be th. scene of the Z ente^nse. and to collate then, with the labo. o C strafed the existence of an AUanti. fhUau* twelv thousand feet below the level of the sea and xten ed .„ , eontinuous ledge fro. Cape Race, in N w foundland, to Cape Clear, in Ireland. It, JZx depre.„on was declared to be in n^d-ocean, whence .mpcreepfblx ascended to the shore on eithe Imc In order ;o verify the theo^ of such a plateau, the i^d of the government „f the United States w'as inv;^ ^ th rMAN, IJ.S.N., was twice dispatched in the steamer^..,^ to make soundings along the pro^o^i i« 1'° ™f /' ""-ations.'Her BritTn^^ Majcstj s steamer Cyclop. traver«,d the ground i„ an onciu ,ve. The plam was gently levelled, so deep •« to be below the reach of ,,i,,turbi„g superficial cZeT and composed of particles of shells, so minuMv tritu: ra^d as to render their character mdetectible savl w ^ ho a.d of a microscope. Their presence, examined by he ights of science, proved how little thase profound <^eptha had bc-en d,.,turbe., i„ the eou.e of ^J^ * o -«|'J/CUU1A. Origin of the Atlantic Telegraph, &c. j^ ages, and encouraged the hope .hat the Cable, when once la.d along with them, might rest as tranquil,;_pe " haps aa long. The tendency „f ,^^ ^^^.^,^ ^ men,s to agglutinate to any metallic centre exposed to tht.., held out the expectation that the submerged Cable would soon be thickly envelope, by them, and a fresh element of security so obtained. The accompanying map compnses a complete view of the plateau, L i! stretches from shore to shore. Thi^ submarine plateau is «aUy a gentlylevelled plam, lymg just so deep as to be inaccessible to the anchors of ships, and to other sources of surface-inter- ference, and yet not so far depressed but that it can be reached by mechanical ingenuity without any very .xtn,- vagant eifort. It seems, indeed, that it is a portion of a great .one of table land, which entirely engirdles the earth, or which at least stretehes from the western side oi America to the Asiatic coasts of the Pacific. CHAPTER IV. MENTS. JN the construction of the Atlantic Cable many i,. • 1 portant consideration, we. necessaHl, '^2 ^ount. There were certain characteristics which the Cable must possess, to enable it to ™eet the "ult c^unstan^ of the ca., and the conditions inTh I It would be Dlapprl Tk^ wnicn w piacea. 1 he success of any nlan f..r +;, layng of an Oceanic Telegraph w. Z'^/Vt g^eatl, dependent upon the for. and charalrfil^ trlct; •: ^""" ."^ ^^'■■^^-'°^'^ P-->'^'^ to ct "t '"™"''' '" <=°™P»^^ <Jiff"™t Plans of «avepa.ientatt:;;;:jret::::'hM:""r bofore them, and .fu,, , ,„,,,,, ^ " - <1 t've ments of plans submitted r... .... "''"■ -•i^v-.i au up Lion, Cable— Construction and Experiments. 57 awarded the contract for the construction of the g -eat Submarine Cable to the firm of Glass & Elliot of Greenwich, near London. The beautiful workmanship of this Cable is not less creditable to the establishment in which It wa£ manufactured, than honorable to the scientific skUl and assiduity of Mr. Glass, the senior partner of the firm, to whom the Directors unanimously accorded the praise due to his indefatigable exertions in their mterest. A contract for the construction of onp- half of the Cable wa3 subsequently awarded to Messrs R. S. Newall & Co., of Birkenhead. The general plan of the Cable havirg been adopted certain specific calculations became necessary. The first important point to be settled was the weight of the Cable Whib it must be sufiiciently heavy to sink quickly u, the bottom of the sea by its gravity, when launched from the stem of the paying-out vessel, it was requisite that any excessive weight should be avoided; else the difficulty of management in the deep sea would become an obstacle almost insuperable. The Directors, in an- nouncing to the stockholders the results of their lon^r investigation, dwelt with much earnestness upon the difficulty which they encountered, in the commencement of the enterprise, in the determination of this delicate problem. They cited tlie account given by Mr. Brett, of his unsuccessful attom.pt in o^nncct Euro-;c --'' Africa by a Cable of massive construction ; and'Irrued j8 Cable— Construction and Experiments. from tlu, experience of that gentleman, that the man.^e- men of heavy Cables in the <.ean would be an imprL ^eable undertaking. I,; „„ ^he contrary, the Cable were too hght, n would be at the merey of the currents Its mtegrity would be greatly risked, its strands .nigh^ be separated, and its insulation destroyed. Again it was obviously desirable that, size and specific weight l«.ng given, the Cable should be made aa strong as material and dimensions allowed. Its positive require- ments were tenacity and flexibility. The ingenious eombmafon of these qualities with a perfect electrical condition, which were attained as the result of the careful experiments of Mr. Glass, aided by distin- guished scientific gentlemen, justified the choice of his plan by the Directors of the Company. The Atlantic Cable, now lying at the bottom of the ocean ,s an extremely simple contrivance. No altera- tion has been made in its construction during the entire progress of the Telegr.nph E.xpeditions. Severe tests have failed to develope defects in ite practical operation: elec- trical experiments have established its fitness for the pur- pose designed ; the frigate m.ara has tested its strength by swinging to it as though at anchor in mid-oeean • its wonderi-ul flexibility has been proved by repeats! trial,. Had the Atl..ntic Telegraph enterprise developed onl^ this remarkable result of mechanical ingenuitv, the work would not have been un,iertik,.„ in ,.„:„ " , _, , Cable— Construction and Experiments. 59 thread, laid by powerful mechanism at the bottom of a va^t ocean, and laid without a flaw or breaV, linking two worlds together in bonds of amity, and marking a new era in the history of the earth, is in itself a triumph. The iUustration on page 62 sliows the exact size of tLc Atlantic Cable. The profile view of the Cable (p. 63) gives a general -iea of ite appearance when ready for use. In order to show more fully the process of manufacture, an illus- tration of sections of the Cable is given on page 63. The central conducting wire is a strand made up of seven wires of the purest copper, known in the trade as No. 22. The strand itself is about the sixteenth of an inch in diameter, and is formed of one straightly drawn wire, with six others twisted round it; the twisting hav- ing been accomplished by dragging the central wire from a drum through a hole ir a horizontal table; the table itself revolving rapidly, under the impulse of steam, carrymg near its circumference six reels or drums, each armed with copper wire. Each drum revolved 'upon its own horizontal axis, and delivered ite wire as it turned This twisted form of the conducting wire was first used in the Submarine Cable laid across the St. Lawrence in 1856. It was then employed with a view to the reduc- tion to the lowest possible amount of the chance of an intcirupiion of contmuity. It was considered improba- 6o Cable -Construction and Experiments. hie that a fracture would occur in more than one of the wires m this twisted strand at precisely the same spot • so that, although the .vhole seven wires migh^ be broken at different parte of the strand, the capa^y of the Cable for the transmission of the electric current would not be •destroyed. During the process of manufacture at Green- wich, the copper used in the construction of the Atlantic Cable was assayed from time to time in order to insure absolute homogeneity and purity. Experiments upon the strand itself proved that, when subjected to strain it was capable of stretehing 20 per cent, of its length w/th- out breakage, and without material interference with ite conducting power. ^ Thi. yielding temper in a strand of pur^ -x,pper inspired grave doubte in the minda of many gentlemen connected with the early stages of the undertaking It was a, tk-.pated that when the Cable was subjected to Btram, the yielding core would become attenuated to such an extent that it. capacity for the transmission of a cu^nt would be virtually destroyed. To meet thia objection, and dispel the growing apprehension, Mr Whitehouse, a capable eLctrician, who had taken an active part in ,he scientific investigations pertinent to th« undertaking, devised a simple and veiy effective experiment. He connected three lengths of the Cable of 200 miles each into a continuous line, and then passe] a currert from two 36.inch double induction coils excited I ^ Cable-Construction and Experiments. 6i by 10 Smee cells, each having plates of 100 square inches of area, through the 600 miles of Cable to the magneto-electrometer. The weight of 745 grains was raised on the end of the steel yard, and wa. thus the measure of the current after transmission through the Cable. He next made a ^»-o,.k in the Cable at the distance of 400 miles from the nearer end, and introduced into the gap one mil ^ fine insulated wire, which possessed only one-eleventh of the capacity of the copper strand. This prop, rtion was ascertained by .ei-hing equal lengths of the wire and the str. . The pieco of wire weighed three grains, and the piece of strand weighed thirty-thre. and a half gx-ains. A current from the same induction coils was now again passed through 600 miles length of Cable to the m.^gne^ -electrometer with the one-mile length of fine wire interpolated in its course, and 725 grains were lifted on the steel-yard Only twenty gr.. ;fting power out of a force equi- valrat to 745 gr:..._, aad been lost in consequp- o of the introduction of the imle of fine wire, measuring .ut one- eleventh of the central strand. The fear that a st-ctch of two feet in a mile for six miles of the Cable would render it electrically unfit for service, was thus '4. by showing that, if the entire copper strands of the Cable ^crc stretehed 96 feet in every mile, the loss of con- ducting capability would amount to no more than a ~^^ V Cii Lli L/cir*tJ, 62 Cable— Construction and Experiments. A subsequent experiment determined the fact that the copper strand bore twenty per cent, of th. elongation without mjurj to its integrity of texture, or in other words, it could be stretched one thousand feet in a mile not only without breaking, but without impairing it^ tele- graphic utility. The copper strand, indeed, wps never broken until elongated to the extent of twenty five or thirty per cent. These experiments having satisfied the incredulous-a troublesome class of persons who ^way. swarm upon the track of a new invention, and w, e lit- tle faith is sometimes a serious bar to progress-tbc con- struction of tiie Cable wa^ pushed forward with remark- able vigor. The general plan of manufacture is exhi- bited in another page. The following is a veilical section of the Atlantic Cable, showing the position of the central conducting v. ires, with their cover- ings of guttji-percha, rope-y^rn, and twisted wires. The principal processes tlirough which the Cable passed were four in .iuniber--! tho ^'""■^•""'•^■".•« + _• .• r 1 , ' "•'Till A.I.ANTKl twistingofthe conducting wires; 2, a triple i*;!''^-"*^' coating of gutta-percha; 3, a covering of fhic thread yarn soaked in a mixture of pit.h, tar. oil, and tallow; 4, the final enclosure - f twisKxl wire. We shall describe these ]m^co,sc, in their order The copper strand of the Cable having hoen prepared m ,he manner already indicated, wiw rnll,..l i _ Cable— Construction and Experiments. C3 PROFILB VltW OF THE A 1 ANTIC OALLK^HAOT SlZft I iffl VIE OF TUK /I ri.ANTIC CABI.R IN HECTTONS. 1. Kxtorior . „vori„K ..f wirc« oiKhteoii in number, ornc-von slranis each. U. ('<)vi'rii)j( of tarrt'tl ropo-ya. u. 3 Thrco coatiiiKH ■iVutta-j.enlui. 4. CoppiT conducting wiros, seven in uumhrr 64 Cable-Construction and Experiments, waa comploted, in lengths of two „i,es. It was taken from thse drums to receive a eoatin. of three separate ye. of refi„e.l gutta-pe.ha. The original diameL of the conducting wire before this coating waa one-sixteenth of an mch After receiving the coating, the diameter was ...creaaed to three-eighths of an inch. These preiimi. .iury processes were by far the most important of the whole for the perfection of the insulation of the CaWe depend, upon the integrity of the i„sul.ating materia, Tree coatings of gutta-percha were applied at suitable .ntcrvals to insure the efficiency of the work. The gutta P-cha employed for the purpo.,e waa proparei with tlie utmos possible care. Lumps of the crude substa placed with.n a hollow eaae. The raspings we^ th™ P-i between rolle., and niacera J m' hot w.^ alterwards „,.hed in cold water, and driven, ata b<,ili„: water temperature, by hydraulic power, through w Kauze .,,eve.s, atUched to the bottom of „,dc veitic , Pjpes. The gutta-percha came out from „.e.,e sieves .l-t,c ,n,y of remarkable purity and fiuenes.. ," tl.cn pa..ed into an apparatus known .x, a mas,i,.a,o. —ug of a series of interrupted S...W., „,,.,,,i,,, „; ...How cylinders; -I.. ,„„,.,ri,„ ,,„.,„^ ,.';;*'■ "^^'^ -- -n ".-.,a,„.er, i ,„„„„' JH" 'l-e wa er and render ,l,e ,ubs,an,,. pern.Hv , ,. goneou.,. Ib.rizonudcylinde^hea..... I.,:.., ^ rrci-j v'cti Cable— Construction and Experiments. 65 the purified gutta-percha. Screw-pistons driven down slowly, but with resistless force, pressed the material through a die, which at the same time had the strand of copper wire moving along through its centre. The strands entered the die naked, bright copper wire, and emerged as thick, dull-looking cords, having received one complete coating. The same process was repeated until three coatings inclosed the copper strands. The Cable, having been prepared thus far in lengths of two miles, rigorous tests of insulation and electric continuity were applied. Each length was coiled on a wooden drum, with a short piece of the copper con- ductor projecting at each end. These drums were then immersed in water, and the task of the Electricians hogan. The continuity was a^ertained by passing a voltiuc current of low power through the strand, from a battery of a single pair of plates, and causing it to record a signal aft.^r issuing from the wire. The amount of insulation was determined by a different plan. One 1-lc of a voltai,. battery, consisting of 500 jairs of plates W.-US connoctcl wit), the earth ; the other pole w.s unitecl to a w.rc coil.Hl around the needle of a sensitive hori- y.ouia\ galvanomeU-r, and runn.ng thenee to the exposed strand of th. Cab!., whu-h w.u Ml without any .,h- 'Inet.ng ...nununieation. If th. insulation w.us porl-rt »!'<' <'nith forme.l on.' pojr of th,. i,,,ti,.rv 'vu\ .1.. ..-i p "ic insulated strar.d the other pole, the'eircuit n.nahiini, tl 66 Cable-Construction and Experin.ents. open: consequent!,, no current passed, and the needle d g* ^t~7.- "<" <J^«-ed in the slightest degree. If the msulafon was imperfect, or there was undue electrical permeability in the sheath of JZ percha a portion of the current forced its way fro^t e Tt *?«" '^' ^"""^ P'-- » *e covering of gutt percha, and the needle of the galvanometer was dcflecid n!t rr: ■■ "" '°""' *"' *^ "-' coating was not a thorough n.sulation, a slight deflection being pro- duce ,n the needle, but insufficient to cause 'Z mterferenee wuh te' -graphic operations. A certaL an safe. It was only when this degree wa, exceeded hat the core was condemned. While the test for coa .nu,ty was ab-so.u^ that which determined the i su . t.on was ,„ a measure relative. A vety powerful bl ! ~d .„ the tests for insulation, in 'order to ZZ he tnal a.s severe .as possible. During the prog^ss of hese c,p,„„,„.,_ - ing-nious method .LS^Z for the purpo,,e of testi,,, at the s,ame time both the eontunnty and the insulation. The oper2„ follows- TJ, , operation w.xs as follows. The euuro, hn^rtk ..f t},,, Cable whs ini l into a loop or enclJ(.ss rin,. i ^ ''''''^ oi .MM) pairs of n hfeo ,. ., . . . , , ->' „.,, ,/ I r'ans >•'- '••-nncet.un.v one of ifa poles w,, he ,.n.,re,v i,,.,u,at „d of „.. c.ble, an ^ JUS other i)ol(> with ♦!.., „.._.! r.„ -^ "" '• "'^' circuit wa.s thus Cable— Construction and Experiments. 67 insulated aa a whole, and charged a« a Levden jar. But a eharged I.,,de„ jar may be made a part of a voltaic crcmt; and therefore this charged ring of wire waa able to tmnamit a low-tenaion circuit without it, charge being interfered with. A small insulated battery was then mtroduced into the circuit, and its low current flowed from pole to pole through the strand. A bell, also insulated, waa so placed in the same crcmt that any break of continuity dropped a needle prevously held by magnetic attraction, released some whed-work, and sounded an alarm ; the bell was eonse- quently heard whenever the contmuity of the strand f^dcd. Another bell was so placed as ,0 be rung when- ever the current from the fivc-hundred-cell battery lain '""^"' '"''"' '" '""'^1"™'^'^ "f f»lty insu- Klectriea! experimenta having finally established the perfecfon of eontinu.ty and insulation, the Cable waa now ready to undergo the proces., of j„ini„g the lengths. The tw„.m,le eoils of completed nn,l proved core were wound on large ,lrums, with projecting llanges „n each s.cle, the rims of whieh were shod with iron tires, so 1 .at they could be rolled about ,u, broad wheels. When tl.e core w.« in position on ,hc« ..hannellod dnuns ,ho creumfcrcnc. of e.,eh .Irum was ,.|ose,i in ..an.fuUv bv a slKvt of KMJtta-norch.T T).-. «,..>u . i- ., " ' n.nnufaclur,.rs ended will, thi., final preparation. The 68 Cablc-Constructfon and Experiments. corcfiUcl ,lru,„, p,„.e.l from il,.i, |„„a, i„t„ ^j^^ ^^ t<« V or tl,o j„i„.,.. fei, j,„,„ „^, ^^^^_ _^^^_^^^ w.th axlc«, the gutta.porclM covering removed, and the Jirojectrng on,h of the c„,.,,,er strands carefully braral t"g.>ther. This process may b« ,k«riW aa follows- A p.e,« of copper wire wa., attached by firm bra.!,,, an - .ortwobeyon,! the point of junction on one side tiKb ly woun,I roun.1 until it reached to the san.e extent ".. the other side, and was then f,„„ly brazed on again A seen, pic.ee of copper wire w,u, then bm.ed over the .rst „, the same hushion, and extended a little wav b-Tond .t; and «,^„, „„,,,„ ,,,^^^ _,^ J «- e,.re,„lly ,a,„ over and around the joint by .he - o hot ,rons. This operation is identical with ' -tof -Tl-ng the Cable, which h,^ been repeatedly ollected w,th entire success, and by mean, of which the ■'.v".K ..f the wire in „,i,|.oec.au w,. accomplished during tbe h.t voya,.,. of the AV,,v„,„ and A,a„..nnon. A cle.tr ulea of the sUges of this delicate man.pul.Uon is B.ven ni the snbj„ine,l illustration. ,'",'" ,"■''*'"■" "■ II- ■"'■'1">J of "Plicing the Cable winch lu« already be. u given, will suffice for a compre' l.™.s,ve vew of ,, part of the Telegraphic enterprise npon whu., depended ,he suece^ of the whole. Jt w.ll be. seen ■■"''"■'"■•■' ■"'•"-^"-'"■tncd connexion mu.st b.' preserved even ,r,l,e joint in the Cable yields. In tlJC event. <)(' 1 .iii.f..^.. i> .1 ., . . . ^■^"'' '-' '''^ ^"^'^. i>y which the euro Cable — Construction and Experiments. 69 on each side sliould be dragged opposite ways, the electric condition would still remain perfect. The outer investment of the wire would unroll spirally aa the enda <^^^^^\\NS««!^>^HA^9^Nv^vv«v^^\«> '«>V>C.«!S>iVS«w; 'i'fNS'WNNXXVSN ^*>!«««W««S iNW**>8<8*<V 4mB||^^- THE 81'LICE or THE CABLE. of the Cable were pulled asunder; so that however the mechanical continuity of the strand itself might be broken, the conducting power would still remain. Aa(!r the lengths l.ad been joined in the manner iiulieated, the Cable underwent another j.rociess, passing to a "serving" maehino, litte<l with a hori/,unt^il wheel, "H which were j)laeed five bobbins. Kaeh b.>l)bin was «ii|ii)iu'd with soiiK' hiuidreds of vMrdq -.r nve.*i.r^=-...i ro])e-yarn, prepared for the purpose by a previous 70 Cable-Construction and Experiments. he wheel, and as u pa^d up, the bobbins, revolving at the r^te of three hundred and seventy-five fmla -nute. spun the five strands of yarn tiJhtJaLuTit not leavng the smallest incemice. At this stal '^ preparation the Cable passed fro. this ma eh e tXt of an rneh; while the eleetrie current with which it wa. that the connexion and insulation of each fathom as i The Cable bemg now in a state of great forwardness only remained to "close" or bind it up i„ Z 2 this purpose another horizontal t-M. T one for th. «„ ■ ™'"' '^'''<'' a^anged like the for the serving process, was provided. It carried ear its circumference eighteen bobbins or drums ^ drum fi led with bright charcoaLiron wire, S^t t-o motions, one round ita horizontal alls and 2 round an upright pivot, inserted into the revoU-ig tabic centre of he. tabic as it was carried swiftly round The ™ns^^ndwasoft,.esamedianiel..aatLwhthwl u^.<] for the copper core, each strand consisting of seven onwires Wit,.eachwh,,.lof.hoclosii,g.maehne I ^:::t:''';:;^'™''^"^-^™'^«™-^tre vcuuai core. Ihe coro. ncfnr.f^.7 u,. .1 -'•- - ^j tiiU runLis 01 the Cable— Construction and Experiments. 71 machinery, rose through the middle of the table and ascended towards the ceiling; the metallic twist, as it passed, tightly embracing it. One hundred and twenty- six iron wires were, therefore, woven about the Cable m order to complete the process of ite manufacture. Twenty-one of these machines were kept constantly at work in the factory of Messrs. Glass & Elliott, and about an equal number in Newall's establishment at Birkenhead. The labor accomplished at Glass & Elliott's establishment in the course of twenty-four boura, by the use of twenty-one machines, was as follows: Two thousand and fifty-eight miles of iron wire were daily twisted into two hundred and ninety- four miles of strand; this length of strand sufficing to cover about ten miles of the Cable. The Cable thus completed was drawn from the closing- machines at the rate of thirty feet per minnte, or eighteen hundred feet per hour, parsing through a gauge of five- eighths of an inch diameter. It was then carried by revolving wheels through a tank of hot tar, issu- ing forth into the yard thoroughly fitted for the duty to which it was to be devoted. In the yard it was coiled away in huge piles, ready for shipment; each day's labor adding some inches to the height and bulk of the mass. The weight of the main Cable was eiffhteon hundred and sixty pounds, or nearly one ton, to the mile. For 72 Cable-Construction and Experiments. the shore-ends, a heavier style was provided, of a„s n.»t^,.e„.ion3andg.eat.,ino.easedpowe;of.Z ance but constructed upoa the same general plan Tt,. m.Ie, and the diameter at the shor« is about one and a half -t orthitrirr^ -^■•^^^ ^ -- the exact size. This part of the Atlantic line is encased by twelve sohd charcoal-iron wires of No. 1 gauge. The No. 1 wires pass gradu- a% into No. 2, and No. 2 into No. 3, as deep water is reach- .^ ^. The gutta-percha casing '™-„.„^..o,.»,..^.„ and serving of tarred hemp *"-"™ "•"-"«-«-. are also thicker upon these "shore-ends" a. well aa the outer iron coat. '°® The Directors of the Companv, in their official mani festo, pubhshed last year, took occasion to explain th reasons why a return circuit had not bee,. p.ovi d n planmng this Cable. It wa., well known that in ve y and telegraph yet brought into use, the earth itself hid been found sufficient for the completion of :,e cireul and encc a return wi. could not be deemed absol ,y essential. Moreover, thp n,U;*;..^ ^^ -^ - . ■ ^ - -I. ^-.. >to,^v/»jiia WHO would Cable— Construction and Experiments. 73 have adaed largely to the si^e, weight, and expense of the Cable, and would have unavoidably deferred the completion of an Atlantic Telegraph to another year The total cost of the Atlantic Cable wa^ nearly five hundred dollars per mile. The aggregate outlay of the Company in the year 1857, en account of the construe tion of the Cable alone, was stated as follows:— Price deep-sea wire per mile, Price spun-yarn and iron wire per mile, Price outside tar per milu . Total per mile. For 2,500 miles. For 10 miles deep-sea Cable, at $1,450 per mile. For 25 mUes shore-ends, at $1,250 per mile. Total cost . $200 265 20 $485 $1,212,500 14,500 31,250 $1,258,250 The scientific experimente which were undertaken by competent electricians in the employ of the Company established the fact, that a wire across the Atlantic was not only practicable, so far as mechanical possibility was concerned, but that the scientific difficulties, wbi'-.], were naturally suggested as the efl'ect of distance, and ti.e peculiar conditions in the son, were not insuperable. i^- general vi.'w oltlie n'sults ut ear, i 4: m . : U u ui c.\p( riinents, 74 Cable— Construction and Experiments. which finally decided the Directors upon .he adoption of the plan of an Atlantic Cable, now succe^^.my carried out, presents a record of industrious scit <>[[c ^^'^lication that may uot inappropriately form a pa^ . . 'e history of the enterprise. In the ordinary arrangement of the w': > r the Elec- tric Telegraph, where they are stretched upon posts, and msulated by glass and the surrounding air, the current of electricity runs along as a simple stream, and with a velocity that is almost inappreciable lor ordinary dis- tar^ces. But when the wires are inclosed i:. a sheath of msulating substance, like gutta-percha, and placed in a moist mc( im, or a metallic envelope, the case is very -■■•-Terent. The mfluence of induction then comes into play as a -etarding power. As soon as the insulated central wire is electrically excited, that excitement ope- rates upon the adjoining layer of metal or moisture, and calls up in it an electrical force of an opposite kind. Each of these forces disguises, or holds ilist, an equiva- lent portion of the ,3thcr,-and the electricity of the cen- tral wire is thus prevented from moving freely onward as It otherwise woul .. T: i, found, in short, that the Submarine Telegraph Cable is virtually a lengthened Ley den jar, and ^rarsmits ignals while being charged and duscharged, instead of merely by allowing a stream of the electrical innuence to flow dynamically and evenly along it. And evcrv time >* I- n=n.i -.i- 1 1.--IT .. -l UU.J: iirsr 10 be iilied Cable— Construction and Experiments. 75 and then emptied. In the case of a long submarine wire, this was found to be a task requiring considerable time,- and this was found, moreover, to be very muc' ' icrealed with an increase in the length of the wire. And -. hen experiments came to be made in 1851, upon telegraphic lines running underground, between London, Manches- ter, and Glasgow, and upon others partly underground, and partly submarine, between London, Paris, and Brus- sels, it was found that the speed of the current did not exceed 1,000 miles per second. In that year, Mr. White- house invented a veiy ingenious method of detennining with precision the force of currents thus transmitted; and the result of his investigations was to show, that in submarine telegraphs the wires act as reservoirs, and not as mere channels,— that the larger reservoir receives and holds a larger quantity than the smaller one, and that this naturally produces the most powerful eifects when allowed to escape from its imprisonment. By 1855, the scientific corps provided themselves with muc^ more con-.lete and perfect instruments for pursuing these inquiries,^ and the construction of new Telegraph lines also furnished them with better opportunities of making thei: .-xperi- .nents. It was soon found that a magneto-electrical cur- rent took a second and a half to discharge itself, when it moved through 1,146 miles of wire, m consequence of tne rctardimr now. . of ^nr^no+,•r^„ ;« *i,; x . ^ -, dium. This was a rate of speed not at all compatible ■■-rt 76 Cable— Construction and Experiments. ;vitli any profitable employment of a Transatlantic Tele- gra])h f.r comniorcial i)urpo.se.s,- and the next step was to devise some remedy for this iiuhietive obstacle. The in-st tliing done was to send dilFerent kinds of eh>etricity aion<. the wire in succession, in the hope that eacli trans- in.s:sion of one kind would clear away the residue of the other which h.Hl immediately precede<l it. The result vas a complete succe.ss. Although the s.'une wire, and tiic same magneto-electric combination were rmj.h.yed Avhich had before demande-l a second and a half for\he completion of a single disc.harge, seven and eight cur- ivnt.s now readily recnlcd themselves in a single second >V hen positive f .llowed negatuv, and negative fallowed positive, in exactly equal proportions, the electrical ^■M'"!.bnum of the wire was continually restored as fast n-s It was disturl,ed-eac-h current chining awav the in. <l"clive mduence which the other ha.l left behind it. Jt w.'Lsprove.!, moreover, in the course of these exj.eriments, that su,.essive charges of ehvtric-al influen<.c,-eith(.r of the sa.ue kin.l, or of alternate oj>posite ki,n!s,-m,v be travelling along length.ned c<.n<l„cting wires sanultane- -sly, the one following the oth.«r, l.ke sueeessive waves "!-n the sea. Allen.ate posU.ve an.I negative si.^-als ^v.'-v sent ah.ng!..lOnules .^f wire, .r the- rate ..f ei-ht signals n.ea<.h see.. n,l. - .n.Ji uo signals aniv e.Jat t he einl -"I'own-e ale r the acts of tn,.,H,„ssion ha.l l.ee,Ml,s..on '"'""'• '" '"'^^thci .■xj.Mni.r,.. I.S ,he use of a u.re, Cable — Construction and Experiments. 77 1,020 miles long, three signals of a single-stroke bell were distinctly heard after the movement of the hand which originated the current had ceased. This, therefore, indicated a way in which the rapidity of transmitting ek'ctrical currents along a submarine wire could be in- creased , it was necessary only to employ opposite kinds, — positive and n( :;ative alternately. Tlie next point to be investigated was the ratio in which increase of distance in a gutta-percha covered telegraph wire augments tlie difficulties of rapid transmission. It had been supposed that the available force was diminished in the ratio of the stpiare of tlio distance travers<Hl, — that is, that a current whieli has traversed 600 miles has only a thirty-sixth j)art of the working force of a prccisv'ly similar current which has travelled only 100 miles. In experimenting upon tliis ])i)liit they liad to consider: Firsi — th(^ diminution of tlie current's power 10 j)roduce mechanical eluN-l-]; ami, Second — its loss of speed. A voltaic balt(>ry of 72 pairs of jilatcs, each with a surface of 1() iiicliis, was set to work, ami it was ascertained how many grains the currrnt would rais(> upon IxMug trans- mitted through a wire just long enough to effect the con- nexi>u. The numhrr of grains lifted was 20,000. 'i'lio cxperii:i Mil being rej)e;iteil with the sanii' current thm ; 2' If) mill's ol' wire, tlie nunilier of grains lil't.d w;is Id.d.'n ■ ; with 40<) niihr. of wire it was ;i,2">0; and with (KX) niili s it w IS l,i(M). Clearly the loss of meehaniea! jiower in 78 Cable-Construction and Experiments. been supposed, I„ „g„j ^ ,„^ „, housand observations were made, with wire^ var.L „ engt from 83 to , .020 „i,es, to dete™i„e it. ratfo ■ I I from the. a appeared that with a wire 83 miles long" m.les m .14 of a second; with 249 „,i|es in .36 of a than h.ad been supposed. The result of the experiments w^sto establish, w,th tolerable aceuraey, the fact that the v.loc,ty of n,ovemcnt of a m.^gneto-electrio current through a gutta-percha cov ored wi e, is 300 miles in frcn' one-twelfrh to one..si.x.een.hofa second; ,100 n.ilesi" f-„onc.s,.xM,toon,...mn.hofaSK.ond;and«oOmi,: ."fr„mo„e..mhtoone.four.hofas,.eond. S.,li further exper„„eu,.s p.oved that a rate of tran..,„issi„u eould bo «l>ta,ned by the e,„p,,,vm,.nl of n,a.,„.,...,.l.vtriecur..nu 0-™,twoa„da,,a,f,o,hree,i,„es.sgroatas,hatof:y -n,cvol,a,ein.puU. which ean be used. Thenu.xin,u,n speed a„.a„,ed byvohaic elee,n,.,,v was 1. sou m.les per «'-'Md; the n.aximuM, i;,r ,1k. ,„agne,n.,.|ee,r,c curr „t ""'"'" '■^"' -™^-'"- ^M u.piove,,. .,\„:I ;' "■';, ^''r '-''"' ' "'■" '•■"- ■• I u.res, „.„, ."■'"""',"": ^'''""^ "^ ' ■.h,an.w„rs ,„„,„,_„ lar ,us velocy of transnu..siou ,s coneerued, than .,;,n Cable — Construction and Experiments. 79 ones ; and it was this which led to the adoption of the small-sized copper wire which was finally decided on as the conductor by the Atlantic Telegraph Company. After these . -^ints had been established by experiment — rendering it theoretically probable that there would be no difficulty in using a wire, if it could once be laid down across the Atlantic — *he next point Wiis actually to reco- d a signal by a current sent through a circuit of 2,000 miles. For this purpose, in 1856, the various lines of Telegra})h under charge of the English and Ir! jh Magnetic Telegraph Company were used, and they are so extc.isive, have so many ramifications, and < aoh line contains so many sejia- rate wires, that a continuous length of nearly 5,000 miles could be made up among them. The experiments were made with great care, under the supervision of Mr, BinoiiT, the P]ngincer; and Mr, Whiteiiousi.. subse quently the Elc'trician of the Company, On the 9th of October, l6.>(), ten gu a-percha covered wires, each fneasuring over 20C miles, were connected, so that a continuous circuit was formed of above 2,000 miles, and signals were distinctly and satisfactorily ti'legrnjdied througli the wliole n-ngth, at the rale of 210, 241, ami, upon one ocea-si'-^'i. 2,0 per minute, ^ iperimcnt having shown that 1 conditions present in insuhilrd wiics j)laet'd Uhtlui the ground and bi'iieath the sea are strictlv n"aK'gous, ihi icsult wa.s regarded as estabhshing, beyond 80 Cable-Construction and Experiments. all reasonable doubt, the practicability of working the Transatlantic Telegrapl,. The Company was therefore indebted to Mr White -tab .bed certam ™portant faets. (i.neral results n,ay be in.beated .n a few wonls-viz : That gutta-pereha eovere.l subn.arine wires do not transnnt as sin.ple insulated conductors, but that they have .0 be charged ,as L.ydcn ja,., before they e-.n transmit at all. ^ '" That consequently, such wires transn.it with a velo- t-uy mat is m no way acronlinf t,< <i ^ y .itconiant to the Jnovement of the olee neal current .n an uncn.barra,-se.l way along simple conductors. *= ai"if)ic That magneto-eleetric enrn-nts tr.cd „„,„ quieklv "long such w,res than sin.p,.. volume currents Ihat n,ag„eto.elee,rie currents travel more quieklv wh..nn,l.,ghencrgy,|,„„,,,„.„i„, , 1 .^ ""',".' '^"■-'' ""^■'«i'>' ''" "ot travel m„.e quickly than vollaic currents of small intensity ^ Th^.t the vel..i,yf,,,etransmi.ss,,;n of sig,,,a,s along ">..!., .d ..dnncrgcd w,r,.s can be enorn.onslv inen...,! ;;™;^-^■H.-ed.o^,ne in, wo .,,,,,, -,,,,,,,; «»'-l>u.h.e.,rrc„tofd,n;,,„,„ ,,,„,,.„ '";; "(WU.ve, and negative n,ilo«.in.- p,.„ive "'^"'■■- '""'inntion of the veloc-hy or,l,e ,ran.„is.„„ Cable — Construction and Experiments. 81 of tlic magneto-electric current in induction-embarrassed coated wires, is not in the inverse ratio of the squares of the distance traversed, but much more nearly iv the ratio of simple arithmetical progression. That several distinct waves of electricity may be travel- ling along different parts of a long wire simultaneously, and within certain limits, w^ithout interference. That large coated wdres used beneath the water or the earth arc worse conductors, so far as velocity of trans- mission is concerned, than smidl ones, and therefore are not so well suited as small ones for the purposes of sub- marine transmission of telegraphic signals; and That by the use of comparatively small coated wires, and of electro-magnetic induction-coils for the exciting agents, telegraphic signals can be transmitted through two thousand miles with a speed amply suilicient for all commercial and ei'onomical purposes. About the Tine that the maiiufocture of the Cable was com])lt'ted, tlie London Tinu\s rather startltMl its readers by the announcement that tlie enterprise nmst necessarily l>r(jve a failure. " It will scarcely be credited," said that jounial, " but it is nevertlieless true, that the twist of tlie spiral wires of the liirkenliead half of tlie Cable is in exactly the opj)osite direction t^) the twist of the wires made at CireiMiwieh. TIius, when joincMl in tlieeentn^ of tlie Atlantic, ;Iiey will form a right and a left-hand senw, and the tendency of each will be to assist each other to 4* Sz C='bIe-Constrnct,„n and Experiments coal tbarll i-e "°T' '"' """"^ ''"<""P' '° -- ".. .1..T „,,"?,, "r"""- ""°— '->"i'ci\ihion ot the encinepr of fl.o n t ma, not bo un„Uo,....sti,.« to give „ g.,„„ ,,,,„,, 'J-M.g he progress „f ,i„. ,i.,,t Kxpcli.i,,,,, .„ „.. ,„„, -•^ .rov...l s,, ,„..,,,,,,,„,,,,,, ,,,,,,^^,, J our casHn,,, .sbeave., or evli,„ler,, about fi^'e feet in Cable — Construction and Experiments. 83 diameter, were ranged in line witli one anotliei , fore and aft. The first, commencing forward, was single-grooved ; the second and third were double-grooved, and the fourth was single-grooved. The Cable, as it came up from the hold of the ship, passed over one of the grooves in the second drum, — then under it backwards and over and around the nrst single drum, — thence it returned over the remoining groove in the second, — then it went directly across 10 one groove in the third, following but a small arc in its periphery,— thence to the last single drum, and downward around this, back to the preceding double one, and, finally, over the unoccupied groove in that to a fifOi grooved drum standing out upon rigid arms the stern, from which it was dropped into the sea. The g.<->oves in all these drums were exactly adapted, in si/e and form, to the Cable. The passing and repassing of the Cable over them served to afford friction-service for controlling the velocity of the r.ope in passing out. But additional checks for tiiis purpose were provided. The four drums were so connected by gearing that their motions were exactly coincident — the motion of any one oi them involving corresponding motion in all the r.st. Upon two of the shafts, more- over, friction-brakos — the same in j)rin(Mple as tlioso used upon railroads — wire applied, to control tlu^ velocity of tlie drums; and to those, which were worked by a screw, was attaclird u balaiico, which was to inaicnto tuc 84 Cable-Construc-on and Experi.n.nts. precise amount of strain tLron-u upon th,^ r,I,, . -mont. The see. .. worked'; trr.,:! - stationed an offieer whose dut, it was to 'J tcl bajnee and regulate the friction of the brakes accor^inl / Ihe shipment of the Cable speedily followed the completion. The portion received h. ,f a -nufactured b, /e... N.^r.^ ': JX:; - ntX?y'"^'"^^^-™''''«-^--.'-^^^ of Meirrrcr.t-^ "r '^^ ^-"-^ lon.4h nfr n ^^"°". 0' Greenwich. The total m f In r™"'^-"""" -- '-"'-V-six hundred wh5; the ct *" "f """" ''' "- ™»™- coils in • ■"oia 01 that vessel was eleare.l nP +i i • , o-.ni T 1 LiL.irea oi the cliain-Iockers! uM.unke. and tanL, and fitted .it. a level floorove; the kelson, the beams havij^. eaeh bo.n f . double st^v^ f^ ^''"^''^'-'^ with u'>it stajs to com])ensate for the romov.l p .i -■tanchions. I'art of the Cable was airi'. Z- ''" ^Pncewhichhadbcenclearedonto,. .,';'/' «b^Ul.ecn,i„e.roon,b,diHp,aei,,, ,.„,.; /:„^:^^^^ '«■'"'» ""J oiieroa,.|,i„„ „„ ,|,e „.,,,! r , „ 'In' part taken on b<nrd t]„> v " Cable — Construction and Experiments. 85 The operation of shipping the Cable was begun in June and completed in the early part of July, 1857. The event was celebrated in England with high festivity and rejoicing. A fete champetre was given on the 23d of July, at Belvidere House, by Sir Culling Eardley; an immense marquee pitched upon the lawn in front of the mansion, affording accommodation for some eight hundred and fifty invited guests, among whom were many distinguished gentlemen, both English and Ameri- can. The unvarying success of the enterprise, thus far, inspired strong hope, and the greetings interchanged on the occasion of this festivity were enthusiastic and cordial to a degree. In the latter part of July, 1857, the Niagara and Aga- memnon sailed for Queenstown, Ireland, the appointed place of rendezvous. During this voyage, various suc- cessful experiments were made. On board the Aga- memnon, the mechanical appliances for regulating the delivery of the Cable into the s.a were kept continually in motion by the small engine ua board, which was con- nected with them, and the wltole worked with great ])re- cision and facility. The ex].eriments th(>n made bv the .•l/yawew??o/iJustilied hopes of ulthnate triiim])h. A 13- ineh shell was attached to the end of a sjiare coil of the (.'al.le, for th(> ])urjiose of sinking it rapidly, and was tli'Mi c'lst int'> {\\v sea. drawing iiltrr It a suflieicnt (jiian- tity of slack to enable it to tak(> hold of the ground and 86 Cable-Constructfon and Experiments. so set the machinery in motion Th^ fenced at the rate of t„o C J^f 'T' "' """■ ^-aa.o„,t:eL:::;~;:rcf"- coating of tar hn<^ h . "terprise. The exterior ^ oi tar iiad been completely rubbed oif h^ y. • drawn through the s.nri,. K .. 7 "^ ^^'°S ugu tne sandy bottom of the sea n« ^i day after this experiment, a length of Q^', ' opposite the Isle of wd, . T V ""^ ""■ ''"' feet ea.e-.be led 1 1 T "'"^ " "'" P"" to five tnot. t: , : rr ™f '"" "■-^^'^ run out and hauled in wh le ^^ T "' "'^"^ "" six and a half knots The V " ""^ ""^'^^^<1 '^ Cork, whe. he:"« t'l^""'"^"'""""' arrived. ' ^' ^"'^''™' !'»<» alreadj terTf'!!!!;' ^"""""'°" ""' '''^''™ '■■'y '"»"* a quar. ter 01 a mile apart in the Cove of Cork tl,„- t , Cable, were passed to each other l';" T""""'' ;--the.:::ri:!rdi:ei;rrr tery, an eleetrical current was lund to ' "'" ately, though at first slowly- atone ^ '""""''• the question of tr,„ • ' P'"*'"^ «' fe't ^ ""'"' o' transmission throueh si.nl, „ i -e.T.3 demonstration was th^;:::S:^- ! Cable— Construction and Experiments. 87 from the fact that the force developed lifted twenty-five grains on Dr. Whitehouse's galvano-electrometer, when three grains had been found to indicate sufficient power to record intelligible signals. There was no time that night, however, to attach the recording instru- ments ; and when the Agamemnon swung at her moor- ings, she unluckily fouled the wire and broke the con- nexion. The whole of the next day was spent in reco- vering and re-uniting the Cable-ends ; but, in the mean- time, the Agamemnon sent aboard a large iron buoy, and several wooden ones, to be used, in case of necessity, for securing the Cable in soundings. On Saturday, Au- gust 1, connexion was re-established between the ends, and each of them connected with the earth, as in lines actually laid out. A distinct message was then immedi- at€ly telegraphed through the whole cope of two thou- sand five hundred miles ^'' Land in 6ighi : alVsweir— w^ere the first memorable words. In this experiment one current occupied, in its passage, an interval of one second and three-quarters ; bui three successive signals, each perfectly intelligible, could be passed through twenty-five hundred miles in two seconds ; thus confirm- ing observations made on shorter circuits, by which it appeared that one ware may, at the same instant, be engaged in conveying several distinct electrical waves, with well-marked intervals between them. It had been at first decided by the Directors of the IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) W- // / V 'i< u. i/^ ■^ I.C I.I 1^ |Z8 125 ■IP L25 III 1.4 2.0 I 1.6 V^ W m 9^ f i iiUlUj^^tipiiiL Sciences Corporation 73 WfST MAIf4 STRUT WItSTIR N Y I4JI0 ! Tl«) •77.4»(,3 :<,N^ ^v ^v :\ \ .\ if k 88 Cable-Comtruction and Experiments. some strong opposition m tlie Board T, was „„,v determined that the JV'Vam should %in.do.„.eCa.erromthe'';:rr:~ i t; ft ^ ''""""'"'"''' '^ ^" *^ ^-^'^ oTi ncct, and that upon re:.ching mid-ocein tho A :r:hf:::"t'°'^^'"^'^"^-~ pjt-ie ine connexion by nrocopfh'no- +^ +1 foundland \ Proceeding to tie coast of New- be a« lost in event o^an e al? ?? f T" """ tended «k . V ■ "'■'-lacnt. It was furtlior con- tended that by this plan (here would be m„el, . ve.ght of Cable to be sustained .t „ "" '"e vessels of the «eet wo^d t ,^~;- , '^™ eaeh other aid in an.v eme^eno,, Ldlwr^ ^ WJLS be] evofl pnni,! 1^ . worK, so It Mas than bv ,1 ""'"' ^"''toorily p..rf„™,<, ^ •i.is than by the „iid-,K>ean arrangement. ^ The seientific arrangement, o„ Wrd both vessel, wer. I- -tl. the frigates, a eoneerted plan „f «;,,„„,,, „,, °\ <-il, in ord.T to te.st Ihu eflivt ,.r ,1 . • PW'Vid. the C,;,!,. I • '""'^""-"'''"^f'eenm.ntupon th (.,..e,l,„.H,.ev,.ly...,p.,f„„.„,„,;^, These W,| . .n..u.at.,t„„ebys,eond,,,andw,..pa.^.dt,.:;;r;i:': 1 i Cable — Construction and Experiments. 89 whole extent of the wire. At the side of tlie Niagara and Agamemnon, patent-logs were placed, which dipped into the sea, and were fitted with vanes and wheels, the latter turning with a degree of velocity exactly prcpor- tioned to the rate at whicli the vessel dragged them tlirough the water. One of these wheels was so ar- ranged as to make and break an electric circuit at every revolution, and record upon the deck of the ship, by apparatus provided for the purpose, the speed of the vessel. A bell also sounded upon every passage of tlic electric current through the Cable. The brakeman, therefore, watched the balance which indicated the strain upon the Cable, and tightened or relaxed it as occasion required. He was also to listen for the bell, and if at any time its sound ceased — indicating an interruption in the circuit — he was to stc^p the machinery, the vessel would be backed, and a winding machine, provided Tor the purpose, and worked by a horizontal steam-engirn^ of about 20 horse power, would be at once set at work, gathering up the slack-rope as the vesst^l moved asteni — the electrician all the while testing the insulating con- tinuity of the Cable, yard by yard, until the defective ])ortion had been discovered. This would then be cut out and the gap Gup[)lied by joining up the ends of the uninjured part.s, when the ]>aying-out and testing would be resumed as at the first. Special provision, too, was made for storms. In ordi- I ■ i .p Ca!,l.-Constructi.m and Ex,.rrin,c„ts. z, ::"":"' "\ """ "■' -^ -'-•« ^ind^ dthor nli«<it(i or iwtoni, tl.o work oouM t""i, <U4 tho nu)ti( >n Would ?jot I K*> on without w so <'«'' inm^liiiuTv from <^"»»lo. Hutiftho wimi HhouM 1 ri'Uuniiiir lis (<» '»ako it iKHM'SHary for tl <•»«' wind. UM upparutus iiitorrup- RTout fts to }»n'vont "K '^i»m|)lou» control of the >low iwti'rn 8o luuivily '0 vt>as.«l to come up lica<i to Iho I) W.W pn>pHrtHl for paying out »v, Hirnilnr to that alrni.lv dosrHUnJ i)vor H tVKular ^alo whou!,! And Hi case ai Jinp-.K-wihJo (or tl "**'• «^>c.nK rni)ugh to rend ^ ahlo at all «o vossol «,ilMv to or it Ion . pn-parations wciv nimlo 1 r^'t^iin Ijold of tl !jo l>o'-'nlv. IV>" thodtvlc stood wound ix.und will lor abandoning it two largt» nvls, oaoh P'^^^'hI of i,x,n win' onlv. and > » v.Mv sti\>ng auxiliary oaM li\ o»Mn- of ti'u or t niil w« vo tons, or this tl oapahlc of n»sisUng a strain HMld •^•'.•nxia halfonoarh n^>l. I u'n» wcn^ ttlH-.ut tw o »TI •«g UiVimirv the al>and " oiu^i'ofa hoavv stA)nn wouM Ik' out, and tl U> S<' o'uuont of th,. Cablo. it of tl > <''«d attaohod to tho end of wouiul ujH>n the nvl. Tl one us ><^•'e stn.ng iron ^h>^i '';"™^": '•'■••"-« '• -1.0 «m..vi., ,,.„;. :, 7^;"""' , "-■- ""• •-. or .,.,„ .>M „.o,u; ■'"■. '-1 ..- un,.,,.,,., ,,,,,,, ,, ko ,W ,„i„,,, , " • ,'" '■*"'> ■•^^•"' «l'"'. «-.M Iv ..v^xl ovcrlHvmi Cable — Construction and Experiments. 91 sii]).si(li>, when tliey wmild again be picked up, the Cable ivcovert'tl and rejoined to the part remaining upon the .sliij>, and the work proceed as before. Such were the preparations and precautions made in t...' year 1857, for paying out the Atlantic Cable; and eomph'te and perfect as they were then thought to be, yet were they insufficient to insure success. CHAPTER V. THE FIRST EiPKI.ITION_£UMMER OP 1857. ^HE first attempt to lay the Atlantic Cable waa made ^ ear y >„ the month of August, 1857. A period uf less t,.an thirty days suiEced for the completion of the final arrangements for this Expedition, the festivities n.^de„t to the occasion, the departure of the fleet frol ^alontm, the tnal, the defeat, and the return At 6 .••H. on Tuesd.ay August 4, the Telegraph Squadron i ft Queenstoun Harbor for Valentia Bay. It arrived at Valenfa on the day following. The fleet detailed for flTr" "' f r""™ ^''^'^'••"' "' ■»"•" vessels, lou. American and four English, as follows :_ 1. The us. ....m-frigate A1V^„,.„, c»pui„ Hcn^,, ,„ ,,„ tl,e half of the Coble from Ireland. ^ 2 Th. U.S. ,t..,.rH^,.„ ,,„^„^,„„,„^^ ^__^^,^. ^ ^^^ ^^ upon tiie Aiiigara. 3. Tlie U.S. steamer Arrtir, Oap.ain Bkrhtmak, to make further «otmdmffs on the coast of Newfoundland. First Expedition — Summer of 1857. 93 4. The U.S. steamer Victoria, Captain Slutter, to assist in land- in 2r the Cable at Newfoundland. 5. H.M. steamer Agarnemnon, Captain Noddal, to lay the half of the Cable on the American side. G. H.M. steamer Leopard, Captain Wainwright, to attend upon the Agamemnon, 7. H.M. steamer Cyclops, Captain Dayman, to go ahead of the steamers and keep the course. 8. H.M. steamer Advice, Captain Raymond, to assist in landing tlie Cable at Valentia. The presence on tlie Island of the representative of Royalty in Ireland contributed in no small degree to the popular idea of the importance of the occasion , and the idea found development in bonfires, pyrotechnic displays, music, feasting, dancing, and cheering, and the charac- teristic attributes of an Irish merry-making. Ills Excellency, the Lord Lieutenant (the Earl of Carlisle), attended by his suite, and accompanied by Sir Edward M'Donnell, Chairman of the Great Southern and Western Railway, several of the Directors of the Company, and Mr. G. E. Ilbery, the courteous and efficient Superintendent of the line, proceeded by special train on Monday morning to Killarney. The Vice-regal party vvere received at the King's Bridge Station by ^Ir. Ilbeiiy, and conducted to the state carriage. An elegant (icjeuiirr had been ])rovid('d at Valentia by the Knight of Kerry; the festivities 94 First Expedition-Summer of 18^7. ot the place. Th« storehouse wa.: handsomely dcc„. rated for the ocoasinn xt , •' takpn f r^ P"''"^ '''"' ='^'°^ of date taken from the extensive quarries in the vicinity and the tables at which the Company sat were formed o^ h ri "^'^"f ^"^ >=anquetrng.oom was draped wh TTt;, '^^' *^' ^"-^ °^ "'^ Irish Welcome «-^ i^««= FuMa, we,, prominently displayed Tnd thTun^ :t "' ''^ ''™^" ^"« iced'th^fla^: t:^. '^ZTtrH ^--^^^^^o., wit^h the , ana ^r, b. suspended below in hand- some wreaths. The KnVI,* „«■ ir banouet »„^ ^^ ^""7 P'^^^'J^'l "' the banque^ and gave a toast in honor of the Queen, which havng been duly honored, the Chairman again r;srand proposed the health of the Lord Lieutenant anlp :s pentj to Ireland. ^ eloqul!nd""'' " ""'"'"''"^' "»''« "'<= ^°"-ing eloquent and appropriate remarks :— holo ^^^ "'.'*"'™ ^°" "'^ ""^' ''^""^ "'"■■k' for the Lai Th r '"" "^ '" ^ ■'■"^'^ 0-king my hmted, that I am probably .he fi,.t Lieutenant of J ^:::z it' "■"- ""^ '°-'^ ^'-''- ^' jou on an oeca„on I.ke the present. Amidst all tTe pnde and the stirring hopes which c„«ter around tt First Expedition — Summer of 1857. 95 work of this week, we ought still to remember that we must speak with the modesty of those who begin and not of those who close an experiment; and it behoves us to remember that the pathway to great achievements has frequently to be hev^n out amid<?t risks atiJ difficulties, and that preliminary foilure is even the law and condi- tion of the ultimate success. Therefore, whatever disap- pointments may possibly be in store, I Tiust yet insinuate to you that in a cause like this it would be criminal to feel discouragement. In the very design and endeavor to establish the Atlantic Telegraph there is almost enough 01 glory. It is true if it only be an attempt there would not be quite enough of profit. I hope that will come, too ; but there is enough of public spirit, of love for science, for our country, for the human race, almost to suffice in themselves. However, upon the rocky frontlet of Ireland, at all events, to-day we will presume upon success. We are about, either by ti.^ sundown or by to-morrow's dawn, to establish a new material link between the Old World and the New. Moral links there have been— links of race, links of commerce, links of friendship, links of literature, links of glory ; but this, our new link, instead of superseding and supplanting the old ones, is to give a life and intensity they never liad before. Highly as I value the reputations of those who have conceived, and those who have contributed to carry out this bright design— and I wish thot so many I Ill 96 First Expedition— Summer of 1857. of them had not been unavoidably prevented from bein., amongst ua at this moment-highly as I estimate their reputation, jet I do not compliment them with the idea that thej are to efface ord,m the glory of that Columbus who, when the large vessels in the harbor of Cork yesterday .-eighed- their a„cho,s, did so on that ve^ day 365 years ago_it would have been called in He- orew writ a year of years-and set sail upon his glorious enterprise of discovery. They, I say, wiU not dim or efface h,s glory, but they are now giving the last finish and consumma^n to his work. Hitherto the inhabitants of the .™ worlds have associated perhaps in the chilling .mospherc of distance with each other-asort of bowinf d.=.tance; but now we can be hand to hand, grasp t^ grasp, pulse to pulse. The link which is nol to L- nect us, hke the insect in the immortal, couplet of our poet ; r v«t While exquisitely fine Feels at each thread and moves along the Une. And we may feel, gentlemen of Ireland, of England, and of Amcnca, who may happen to be present, that we may take our stand here upon the extreme rocky edge of our beloved Ireland ; we may, as it wore, leave in our rear behmd us the wars, the strifes, and the bloodshed of the elder iurope, and I f.ar I may say, of the elder Asia- and we may pledge o„,«elvos, weak ,« our agency „»; First Expedition— Summer of 1857. 97 be, imperfect as our powers maj be, inadequate in strict diplomatic form as our credentials may be, yet, in the face of the unparalleled circumstances of the place and the hour, in the immediate neighborhood of the mighty vessels whose appearance may be beai:Hful upon the waters, even as are the feet upon mountains of those who preach the Gospel of peace-r^ a homage due to that serene science which often affords higher and holier les sons of harmony and good-will than the wayward passions of man are always apt to learn-in the fa<;e and in the strength of such circumstances, let us pledge ourselves to eternal peace between the Old World and the New. Why, gentlemen, what excuse would there be for misun- derstanding ? What justification could there be for war, when the disarming message, when the full explanation,' when the geni-d and healing counsel may be wafted even across the mighty Atlantic, quicker than the sunbeam's path and the lightning's flash ? I feel, gentlemen, that I shall best embody the sentiments which I am sure per- vade this entire meeting-the sentiments most akin to this company and this hour, if, after having drank the health of the gentle mistress of the British Islands, I now call upon you to drink, with congenial honors, to the lasting friendship of the British Islands and of America, and to the health and welfare of the President of the United States." On the afternoon of Wednesday, August 5, the shore- 5 •N . ^ 98 First Expedition— Summer of 1857. end of the Cable was safely landed at Yalcntia. Tlie Lord Lieutenant formally received it from Lieut. Pennock of the U.S. steamer Susquehanna, to whom the duty of the landing had been assigned. As his Excellency received it, he gave expression to a hope that the work so well begun would be carried to a satisfactory completion. The scene in the harbor of Yalentia at this time was extremely animated and exciting. The shore was covered with an immense multitude, attracted by the extraordi- nary interest of the occasion. The bay was dotted with vessels of all descriptions, filled with eager spectators of the scene. His Excellency the Lord Lieutenant was among the first to seize the end of the Cable, as it was passed on shore, and in a few moments the attachment was firmly made on the Irish coast, in the telegraph house at the head of Yalentia bay. The wire having been safely secured, the Reverend Mr. Day, of Kenmore, pronounced the following prayer ; O Eternal Lord God who alone spreadest out the heavens, and rulest the raging of the sea; who hast compassed the waters with bounds, till day and night come to an end ; and whom the winds and the sea obey ; Look down in mercy, we beseech thee, upon us thy servant, who now approach the throne of grace; and let our prayer ascend before thee with acceptance. Thou hast commanded and encouraged us, in all our ways, to acknowledge thee, and to commit our works to thee rProv. iii. 5, 6; xvi. 3); and thou hast I First Expedition — Summer of 18^7. 99 graciously promised to direct our paths, anu to prosper our handi- work. We desire now to look up to thee ; and believing that with- out thy help and blessing, nothing can prosper or succeed, we humbly commit this work, and all who are engaged in it, to thy care and guidance. Let it please thee to grant to us thy servants wisdom and power, to complete what we have been led by thy Providence to undertake ; that being begun and carried on ia the spirit of prayer, and in dependence upon thee, it may tend to thy glory : and to the good of all nations, by promoting the iucrease of I'nity, peace, and concord. Overrule, we pray thee, every obstacle, and remove every difP- culty which would prevent us from succeeding in this important undertaking. Control the winds and the sea by thy Almighty power, and grant us such favorable weather that we may be enabled to lay the Cable safely and effectually. And may thy hand of power and mercy be so acknowledged by all, that the language of every heart may be, " Not unto us, Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory," that so thy name may be iiallowed and magnified in us and by us. Finally, we beseech thee to implant within us a spirit of humanity and childlike dependence upon thee ; and teach us to feel as well as to say, " If the Lord will we shall do this or that." Hear us, Lord, and answer us in these our petitions, according to thy precious promise for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen. The Lord Lieutenant then addressed the assemblage, as follows : " My American, English, and Irish friends, I feel at such a moment as this that no language of mine can be becoming except that of prayer and praise. However, it * i 100 First Expedition— Summer of 1857. IS allowable to any human lips, though they have not been specially qualified for the office, to raine the ascrip- tion of 'Glory to God in the highest; on earth peac^, good will to men.' That, I believe, is the spirit in which this great work has been undertaken; and it is this reflection that encourages me to feel confident hopes in its final success. I believe that the great work now so happily begun will accomplish many great and noble purposes of trade, of national policy and ' f empire. But there is only one view in which I will present it to those whom I have the pleasure to address. You are awaro— you must know, some of you, from your own experience— tliat many of your dear friends and near relatives have left their native land to receive ho8j)itab]e shelter in America. VV\-11, then, I do not expect that all of you can understand the wondrous mechanism by which this ^^roat under- tiiking is to be carried on. But this, I think, you all of you understand. If you wished to communicate some piece of intelliLrcnt c straightway to your relatives across the wide world of waters— if you v.\shvd to tell those whom you know it would interest in their heart of hearts, of a birtli, or a marriage, or alas, a d<'atii, among you, the little cord, which we have now haulcvl >ip to shore, will imi)art that tidings quicker than the flash (\C i\:,. MA. lifL u« IIHU lU 11(}I)( th pc, let lis })ray that c hopes oC those who have set on foot tl lis great First Expedition — Summer of 1857. 101 design, may be rewarded by its entire success ; and let lis hope, further, that this Atlantic Cable will also, in all future tin.c, serve aa, an emblem of that strong cord of love which I trust will always unite the British islands to the great continent of America. And you will join me in my fervent wish that the Giver of all Good, who has enabled some of his servants to discern so much of the working of the mighty laws by which he fills the universe, will further so bless this wonderful work, as to make it even more to serve the high purpose of the good of man and tend to His great glory. And now, all my friends, as there can be no project or undertaking which ought not to receive the approbation and applause of the people, will you join with me in giving three hearty cheers for it. Three cheers are not enngh for me— they are what we give on common occasions— and as it is for the success of the Atlantic Telegraph Cable, I must have at least one dozen cheers." Mr. Cyrus W. Field was called upon. He said : " I have no words to express the feelings which fill my hoar* to-night— it beats with love and affection for every man, woman, and child who hears me. [Cheers.] I may say, however, that, if ever at the other si<le of the waters now before us, any .'i,o of you shall pre8«>nt yourselves at my door and say that you took hand or i part, even by an approving smi le, in our work hero 'o^ First Expedition-Summer of 18^7. to-day, you shall l.ave a true An.eriean wcico.ne. I cannot bmd ,ny,elf to n.ore, and eball merely put asunder.' " - On the evening of Friday, the 7th of August, 1857 I.e Te ,.gra;,hie Squadron bore away from the eoast ol' Ireland, delivering the Cable into the sea at a slow and atten,,,t to lay the Cable by eommeneing at the Irish 8b.>r.., and efleeting a spliee in midoeean, the wo:k of pa..mg.out waa begun by the Xiajara alone. Unfor- tunately the eommeneement of the Expe,litio„ was .nau«,,.eious. When about four miles of the thiek abore-end of the Cable had been payed out, it beeame entangled w>th the maehinery, owing to a momentary want of watchfulness, and parted. An attempt wal .mmed,ate.ly „,a,le to reeovr the lost portion Th» Au,3.„-a eame to aneho. for the „i„l,t. On the foliowin.I day, the Cable w., reeovorci, a spliee was ,„ade, and the work was resumed without further aeeident to the snoie-end. At p,„ on Suadav, August 9, ninoty-five m^^^^ Ul.le luul boon oxpondod, the continuity of tho olootric current ronuuning perfect, ..d signals pass.ng between the .\uu^am and the station nt VaL-ntia On M:^!. 1 •-.. ' ^»"K«at luiM, at t< 45 P.M. and for i wo First Expedition— Si- mmer of 1857. 103 hours afterwards, the electricians failed to receive signals, the continuity being now, for the first time, interrupted. Towards midnight the current was re-established, but the hopes which this circumstance revived were of short duration. On Tuesday, August 11th, at 3 45 A.M., the machinery stopped, and with the strain the Cable parted. Three hundred and forty-four miles of the Cable were lost; the depth of water in which it was submerged being about two miles. The first Expedition having thus come to an untimely end, nothing remained but to return to Ireland. The Niagara accordingly put about, and headed for Valentia. The following letter from Engineer Bright was pub- licly read on board the Niagara by Captain Hudson, on the return trip. It expressly exculpates the officers and men of the Niagara from any responsibility for the disaster; i At Ska, on BoABn the Niagara, Thumdoy, Aug. 13, 1857. Sir— I feel it my duty bof.re U-avin- the Niagara to sUte thai I do not attribute the fract.re of the C.Me to bo in the least degree atU-hed to any one -onnccted with the .hip ; on the contrary, I nmst ta'--o thus opportunity of .-.xi-ressinp, on the part of the Com- pany, the great obHgatio.. whu-h we are under to your«eU; your otVicers and men, anw ' - "^ ^ ^ == t CilfMll ' 04 First Expedition— Summer of 1 8^7. fern, o„ „„, behalf, for tha „ever.f^li„g «„ „, ,.^„„„„ hM been «c universJIj- displayed in our cause. I am, Sir, 4c., &c., &c (Signed,) „ CnAEiEs T. Briohi, Engines to Ihe Atlantic Tdegraph Cm.^ny. To Captain Hcoso,, U.S.N., &., ic., &c. It appears that at the time the Cable parted, there was a heavy swell in the sea. and that while the vessel waa making some three or four knots an hour, the Cable was running out at the rate of five or six, and some- times even seven knots. Mr. Bright, believing that the quantity of w-. provided for the Expedition would, at this rate, be exhausted before the Newfoundland shore could be reaehed, adopted a measure which unliap- pdy pn>ved fatal to the enterpri.,e. On the afternoon previous ,0 the accident, tlie Cable w,« thrown out of the controller on two different occasions, and suffered severe strains. These mishaps had given rise to gloomy apprehensions. The pressure upon the Cable was gra- dually increased until, at the time of the rupture a force 01 3,000 pounds was apph.,,,. At this mon^.t the s„.rn of tl-.c X„ya™ was low ,,„,„ in the trough of the .sea. As the ship rose „„ the back of the wav.t, tbe extra strain thus occasioned was more than tl,': tiie CiiiHo c()uj(i bear. It ^Mve way \in. First Expedition— Summer of 1857. 105 der tlie pressure, and, parting at some distance from the ship's stern, sank like lead. On the afternoon of Friday, August 14th, the Niagara and the Agamemnon, having joined company, arrived at Plymouth, England, attended by the Susquehanna. Here the fleet awaited further orders. So much of the Cable had been lost, disasters had appeared 10 multiply with such marvellous celerity, the season was so for advanced, that a new attempt seemed nearly impracticable durmg that year, and the further progress of the Expedition be- came a matter of serious consider? ti on. Grave errors in the management of the enterprise had been developed during this Expedition ; the operation of the machinery for paying out the Cable was disco \ered to be defective; a suspicion was excited that the plan needed a radical alteration ; the length of Cable provided by the Company had pro-, ed inadequate to meet unforeseen contingencies. In view of these circumstances, the necessity of a recon- struction and thorough modification of the programme became evident. The Directors, after a series of meet- ings, held at their office in London, finally resolved to postpone, but not to abandon the enteq)rise. Tlio following is Mr. Brigiit's official report of this disaster : — London, Tuesday. Aug. 18. Gentlemkn— T forwarded by the Leopard a brief statement of tlie circuni5>tani('8 aiu'iiuiug Uit- ira* lUio 5* tlwk 1 1 i\-i inat io6 First Expedition— Summer ot" 1857. and I have now to lay before you the fuU particulars connected with the expedition. After leaving Valentia on the evening of the 7th inst, the paying out of the Cable from the Niagara commenced most satisfactorily until immediately before the mishap. At the junction between the shore and tlie smaller Cable, about 8 mdes from the starting point, it wa.. necessary to stop to renew the sphce ; this was successfully ellected, and the end of the heavier Cable lowered by a hawser until it reac-hed the bottom, buoys being attached at a short distance apart to mark the place of union By noon of the 8th we had paid out 40 miles of Cable, including the heavy shore end, our exact position at that time being in lat 51° 59' 36' N, long. 11° 19' 15^ W., and Uie depth of water, according to the soundings taken by the Cychps, whose course we nearly followed, 90 fathoms. Up to 4 P.M. on that day, the egress of the Cable had been suffi- ciently retarded by the power necessary to keep the machinery in motion at a rate a httle faster than the speed of the ship; but as tlie water deepened, it was necessary to place some further restraint upon It by applying pressure to the friction drums in connection with the paying-out sheaves, and this was gradually and cautiously in- creased from time to time as the speed of the Cable, compared with that of Uie vessel, and thedopths of the soundings showed to be requisite By midnight 85 miles had been safely lai.' ; the depth of water being then a httle more than 200 fathoms. At 8 o'clock in the morning of the 9th, we had finished the de.k cod in tlie after j.art of the ship, having paid out 120 miles The change to the coil between docks fu, ward was safely n.ado By noon we had laid 130 miles of Cable, the Niagara having veached lat 52» 11' 40' K, long. 13° 10' 20' ^^'., a„d the d.,, h of First Expedition — Summer of 1857. 107 m In the evening the speed of the vessel was raised to 5 knots per hour. I had previously kept down the rate at from 3 to 4 knots for the small Cable, and 2 for the heavy end next the shore, wish- ing to get the men and macliinery well at work prior to atuinmg tlie speed which I had anticipated making. By midnight 189 miles had been laid. At 4 o'clock in the morning of the 10th, the depth of water be- gan to hiciease rapidly from 550 fathoms to 1,750 in a distance of 8 miles. Up to this time 7 cwt strain sufficed to keep tlie rate of the Cable near enough to that of the ship ; but as the wat(;r deep- ened the proportionate speed of the Cable advanced, and it was necessary to augment the pressure by degrees until in the depth of 1,700 fathoms, the indicator showed a stram of 15 cwt, while the Cable and ship were running 5i and 5 knots respectively. At noon on the 10th we had paid out 255 miles of Cable, the vessel having made 214 miles from shore, being then in lat. 52° 27' 50' N., long. 16" 0' 15' W. At tliis time we experienced an in- creasing swell, followed later in the day by a stro.ig breeze. From this period, having reached 2,000 fathoms water, it was neces^sary to mcrease the strain to a ton, by which the rate of tlie Cable was maintained in due proportion to that of the ship. At 6 in the evening some difficulty ai(»se through the Cable getting out of the sheaves of the paying-out machine^ owing to the tar and pitch hardening in the grooves, and a sphce of large dimen- Bions passing over them. This was rectified by fixing additional guards, and softening the txir with oil. It was necessary to bring up the ship, holding the Cable by stop- pers until it was again properly disposed around the pulleys. Some importance is due to tliis event, as showing that it is possible to lie to in deep water without continuing to pay out tlie Cable— a pomt upon which doubts uav« been frequenily expressed. n i io8 First Expedition— Summer of 1857. Shortly after this the speed of the Cable j^ained considerably upon that of the ship, and up to 9 o'clock, while the rate of the latter was about 3 knots by the log, the Cable was running out from 5i to 5i knots per hour. The strain was then raised to 25 cwt. ; but the wind and sea increasing, -.nd a current at the same time carrying tlie Cable at an angle from the direct line of the ship's course it was no. found sufficient lo check the Cable, which was at midnight mak- ing 2i knots above the speed of the ship, and sometimes imperiUing the safe uncoiling in the hold. The retarding force was therefore increased at 2 o'clock to an amount equivalent to 30 cwt., and then agam, m consequence of the speed continuing to be more than it would have been prudent to admit, 35 cwt. By this the rate of the Cable was brought to a little short of 5 knote, at which it continued steadily untU 4 45, when it parted, the length paid out at that time bemg 335 miles. I had, up to this time, attended personally to the regulation of the breaks; but, finding that aU w^ going on well, and that it being necessary that J should be temporarily away from the machine to ascertain the rat. of the ship, and to see how the Cable was coming out of the hold, and also to visit the electrician, the machine was for the moment left in charge of a mechanic who had been engaged from the first in its construction and fitting, and was acquainted with Its operation. I was proceeding to the fore part of the ship when I heard the tnacme stop; I iramediately called out to ease the break and re- verse the engine of the ship, but when I reached the spot the Cable was broken. On examining tlie machine, which wa.s otherwise in perfect order I found that the breaks had not been relea3ed, ana to this, or to the handwheel of the break bemg turned the wrong way, may be attri- vavcra tue jtoppago, aud the consequent fracture of the Cable. When First Expedition — Summer of 1857. ^°9 the rati^ of the wheels grew slower aa the ship dropped her stern in the swell, the break should have been eased; this had been done regularly before, whenever an unusually sudden descent of the ship temporarily withdrew the pressure from the Cable in the sea ; but, owing to our entering the deep water the previous morning, and having all hands ready for any emergency that might occur there, the chief part of my staff had been compelled to give in at night through sheer exhaustion, and hence, being short-handed, I was obliged for the time to leave the machine without, as it proves, suffi- cient intelligence to control it. I perceive that on the next occasion it will be needful, from the wearing and anxious nature of the work, to have three separate relays of staff, and to employ, for attention to the breaks, a higher degree of mechanical skilL The origin of the accident was no doubt the amount of retarding strain put upon the Cable, but had the machine been properly mani- pulated at the time it could not pospibly have taken place. It has been suggested as a cause of the failure that the machinery is too massive and ponderous. My experience of its action teaches otherwise ; for three days in shallow and deep water, as well as in rapid transition from one to the other, nothing could be more per- fect ihan its working, and since it performed its duty so sn.oothly and efficiently in the smaller depths, where the weight of the Cable had less ability to overcome its friction and resistance, it can scarcely be said to be too hea\/ for deep water, where it was necessary for the increased weight of Cable to restrain its rapid motion by apj)ly- ing to it a considerable degree of additional friction. Its action was most complete, and all parts worked well together. I pee how it can be improve.l by a modification in the form of sheave, by an ad- dition to the arrangement for adjusting the breaks, and some other' slight alterations; but with proper management, without any h.. 1 'r 1 ii. 1 1 1 : 1 no First Expedition— Summer of 1857. ' I m^ change whatever, I am coDfident that the whole length of the Cable might have been safely laid by it, and it must be remembered, as a test of the work which it has done, that, unfortunate as this termination to the expedition is, the longest length of Cable ever laid has been paid out by it, and that in the deepest water ^et passed over. After the accident had occurre'^, soundmgs were taken by Lieu- tenant Dayman, and the depth found to be 2,000 fathoms. It will be remembered that some importance was attached to the Cables in the Niagara and Agamemnon being manufactured in oppo- site lays. I thought this a favorable opportunity to show that prac- tically the difference was not of consequencs in affectmg the junc- tion in mid-ocean. We therefore made a splice between the two vessels, and several nules were then paid out vrithout difficulty I requested i} e c^jnunanders of the vessels to proceed to Ply- mouth, as the docks there afforded better facilities than any other port for landing the Cable, should it be necessary to do so. The whole of the Cable on board has been carefully tested and inspected, and fouud to be in as perfect condition as when it left the works at Greenwich and Birkenhead. One important point presses for your consideration at an early period; a large portion of the Cable already laid may be recovered at a comparative small expense. I append an estimate of the cost, and shall be glad to receive jour authority to proceed with thia work. I do not perceive in cur present condition any reason for dis- couragement, but I have, on the contrary, a greater confidence than ever in the undertaking. It has been proved beyond a doubt that no obstacle exists to prevent our ultimate success, and I see clearly how every difficulty which has presented itself in this voyage can be affft<^f iml1 g Aam}t nrifVi ;r> *V.^ ..._i. First Expedition — Summer of 1857. 111 The Cable has been paid at the expected rate in the great depths ; its electrical working through the entire length has been most satis- factorily accompUshed, while the portion laid actually improved in efficiency by being submerged, from the low temperature of the water, and the clope compression of the texture of the gutta percha. The structure of the Cable has answered every expectation that I had formed of it, and if it were now necessary to construct another Hne I should not recommend any alteration from the present Cable, which in its working has confirmed my belief that it is expressly adapted to our requirements. Its weight in the water is so adjusted to the depth that the strain \a within a manageable scope, while the efifect of undercurrents upon its surface proves how dangerous it would be to attempt to lay a much Ughter rope, which would, by the greater time occupied in sinking, expose an increased surface to their power. I have the honor to remain, gentlemen, Yours very faithfully, Charles T. Bright. Captain Hudson's, official report to the Navy Depart- ment was as followfc; : — United States Steam-Friqate Niagara, Plymouth, England, Friday, Aug. 14, 1857. Sir— I y we the honor, as well as the mortification, to report the arrival of the Niagara at this port, after having run out 334 miles of Cable, some portions of it in a depth of over 2,050 fathoms, or more than 2i miles, when it was brokei by too much pressure on the brake attached to the machinery for paying it out. I have every reason to believe, from what w* iiave thus far oxpenenceu «n wirs m 112 First Expedition— Summer of 1857. laying, that under ordinary circumstances of weather, and with -aclunery adapted to the purpose-for such as we have on board requires altering and improving-the Cable may be laid in safety on the track marked out for it over the Atlantic ocean At the time the Cable parted-Aug. 11, 3 45 x.M.-the ship was goiug along 4 knots, and had been running at the rate of from 3 to 4 knots through the night, with some motion from a moderate head sea, and the Company's chief engineer and men attending their brakes to lessen the expenditure of Cable, until they finaUy earned It away which made aU hands of us through the day hke a house- hold or family which had lost their dearest friend, for officers and men had become deeply interested in the success of the enter- prise. Mr. FiEtn left the ship soon after the accident occurred, in H B M steam-brig Cyclops, for Valentia Bay, Ireland, requesting that 'the I^^agara, Susqv^anna, and Agamemnon should proceed to this place after making certain experiments with the wire and machinery ixi deep water. The Leopard proceeded at once to Spithead. Whether the Company intend to supply additional Cable, and try It agam this season, or defer it until next summer, I am as yet un advised. // the latter, the wire will have to be taken out of the ship and retarred, to save it from the effecta of rust. I presume a few days W.U solve their present difficulties as to further action- and if their eflfort is not to be renewed at this kte season of the'year I shaU require further instructions to govern my ,-,, ,eeedin<^ with this sliip. " I herewith inclose a copy of communications received from th. Telograpbc Company, while at Queenstown, or Cove of Cork Ire- land; also the certificate or letter of their chief engineer. Mr Bright exonerating aU the officers and men connected with the Niagara I ^ First Expedition— Summer of 4857. 1 13 from 8 ay accountability or blanu.> in relation to the parting or loss of the Telegraphic Cable. I am respectfully, Your obedient servant, William L. Hudson. Tlie operations of the Electricians' department, during this trip, having been superintended by Prof Morse, thai gentleman gave pubhcity to certain reflections upon the conduct of Chief Engineer Bkight. In a journal of the voyage, published with the sanction of Prof. Morse, the following language was employed : Our ship was going at the rate of four miles and two fathoms per hour, and the Cable running out at greater speed, perhaps at the rate of five miles the hour. Mr. Bright spoke to the man in charge of the brakes, asking him what strain was on the Cable, to which the answer wa;s returned, " About three thousand pounds." ..;.r. Bright directed him to put one hundred pounds more of force upon the brakes, to check the speed of the cable. This was demur- red to by the man for a moment, who expressed a fear that it would not be prudent. Mr. Bright persevered in his orders. An ample retraction of this aspersion was subsequently made by Prof. Mouse, on the receipt of an explanatory letter from Mr. Bright. This letter was published in tlic; American papers, towards the end of October, 1857, at the request of Prof Morse. In the course of his explanatory statement, Mr. Bright observes : I am quite willing to take the reproach to i yself which always 114 FJ^'st Expedition — Summer oi 1857. belongs to a want of success in any enterprise, but will you allow me to coiTect your narrative ? I had been on deck all night; the brakes had been regulated by myself or Mr. Clifford, one of the Assistant Engineers on board, the whole time. The strain which was on the Cable when it parted had been on for some time; I gave the man at the brake no orders to alter the adjustmeat, nor did ho demur to any, nor make any such observation as you allude to. I set the brakes three-quarters of an hour, at least, before the accident, and watched tho efiect carefully, until I was obliged to leave the machine, .<V.r the first time in two hours, to visit the hold and the electrical room, and to ascertain the rate of the ship, as reported to the officers of the deck. Before I had been absent two minutes, the accident occurred. My only reason in troubling you with this is to correct your impression that I pei-sisled in increasin-,' the strain when the men undt • my command hesitated. I am, my dear sir. Very truly yours, Charles T. Bright. Prof. S. F. B. Morse, Poiujhkerpsie. It is right that the opjwrtuHity of exculpation should be accorded to Mr. Bkigiit, in cornexion with thia history. CHAPTER VI. THE EXPEDITION OF 1858. THE Directors of tlie Company, undismayed by the failure which had attended the initial attempt in the summer of 1857, immediately proceeded to revise their j)lan of operations, with the view <^f introducing such improvements as should render thti ultimate success of their enter])rise more certain. It was a natural effect of failure that the mass of the public, both in England and America, lost conlidence in the Mracticability of the won- (l rful })roject, and that the Company sliould be called to experience the fate that invariably attends the movers in a new field. The Submarine Cable began to be looked up(m by the disbelieving as a suspicious s{)ccu- lation, in whie.li unlimited capital might })e sunk, and iniiunuM-able hopes cru.shed, with'Mit the smallest ehanee f'..r a profitable n>tarn. The magnitude of the work was regarded with j)ride ; its projectors were accorded tiie meed v,i praise wiiieii cannot be willilieui from tae ii6 'jjt- The Expedition of 1858. most unsuccessful, when it is once fairly understood that an honest faith has underlaid the attempt to bring forth a new work ; and the utility of a means of instantaneous communication between two nations so closely linked as England and America was universally acknowledged Yet the expression of distrust became general. The dis- asters which had attended the first attempt to lay the Cable, the enormous expenditure that had been incurred, the apparently insurniomitablc difficulties which remained to be encountered, all became powerful arguments in opposition to the new programme of the Company. Capitalist, usually eager to embark in gigantic enter- prises, were unwilling to venture investments in an ope- ration tlia*. promised distant returns, or none at all. The tone of the Press, with a few sagacious exceptions, was lukewarm, if not absolutely hostile. The progress of tlie work was regarded with disfavor by all parties, with the exception of the small number of determintd ^rontlemen who constituted the Direction of the Company, whose co!.fidence remained firm, and whose energy knew no rest. To these gentlemen, among whose names that of Mr. CvKrs W. Fikli, occupies an h<m..re.l place, the final triumph seemed a matter (.f,.i,.sy aee(,mj)lishment,— easy, because wisdom had be.>n gained by exj/'Henee,'— easy, from the fact, that lh,« dangers already <l.veloped in the course of careful experiment eanie.l witli them the HUggestion of methods f or overeomin'f them. The Expedition of 1858. n? Accordingly, the Directors began their preparations early in the fall of 1857. A general invitation was ex- tended to scientific gentlemen to fi • h the results of their experience, as guides to futuic operations. The assistance of skilful mechanics was invited. The coope- ration of adepts in matters of scientific importance, and in the details of mechanical arrangement, was secured, and the plan of 1858 began to assume definite forms before the end of 1857. Frequent conferences, held at short intervals from October to December, 1857, resulted in the adoption of a number of important modi- fications, which may be generally indicated under four divisions, viz. : 1. A junction of the Telegraphic Cable in mid- oooan. 2. The provision of a greater length of Cable. 3. The selection of an earlier season of the year. 1. An improvement in the paying-ou^ -nachincry. The reasons for these changes appeared irn^futablo. It was argurd that the Subniarino Cable would be h^ss liable (n breakage if paid out from mid-ocean, than if it were starUMl fn>i:i ouc end of ihc lin.- an.l taken up by the see.... 1 vessel at a \H,\ui e(}uidistant fn.m th.> two shores. A gieatrr length ..f Cable was ( rdered, to j.ro- .....•.♦j.w.riM.i^v of iVi'sli nimliMps. Tb ; orable season V 11 If mon th of Jun(> was regarded as a more iiH The Expedition of 1858. of tlie vear tl.an August. The payiug-out m.u^binery having prov...l .lumsy at.d mcmci.nt upon the first trial un.lcTwent cssontiul chanp,vs, an.l w.-us rnuhred a.s nearly I)orfect a.s mechanical ingenuity could niaku it Thr:8r- were the ra,lieal alteratiors which entered into the man- ugeuKMit of the nvcund Expedition. While theCon,,,any were engaged in perfecting the arrang,.,nents for a new Expedition, efforts were made under the direction of their Chief Engineer, Mr. Bright,' to recover the stibmerged portion of t!ie Cable which wa^ lost at the ti.ne of the first fail.ire. The ]iritish steamrr Leipsic w,us det^iiled for this service. Operations were .•onnnenccl Oct. 22, 1657. The Cable had be<m secured to the Irish snore by a heavy shore-line, mad.' ftust in the station at Valencia. An i.igcnious apparatus w.xs oonsfrwcted for under-running this shore-cable to the point «.f junction with the .nain line. A heavy frame of tind>er (technically, a caUimaran), bearing a saddle fixed between (wo iron buoys, w.us ru.i under tlu' shorc- ^>'^d, and then towel .n.t by the A.v)./.. The operation of hauling in and recoiling was .muv. ^sfujlv pr<..-,e,.uted "ntd some (iftythr.v n.iles were recovered, when the weather becoming l)oist<>rous, with heaw gales, the work ■'*^'^^^"'-^' ^'"'"''^- ^ •J.e partmg or the wire, and this "ttc upt ended. The nart of ,],. Cable which was re- . 1.: injury, ai,<t w..s T.und available f; -l'«ouio„ ,„,re „o aj)peai. .ce of T use. Xdne of tlu The Expedition of 1858. 119 gutta-percha coatings were disturbed, and the tarring of the wire remained perfect. While these move- *-' were in progress, the frigates Niagara and Agamei ...,v lischargcd the Cable at Key- ham Docks in England. The portion shipped on board tlie latter vessel was discharged very slowly, at a rats of speed -lot exceeding one mile per hour. The share ccnsigned to the Niagara was unshipped with great rapidity, in order to permit the return of that vessel to the United States. As the Cable was paid out, it passed through a composition of tar, pitch, hnseed oil and bees- wax, and was coiled, in compact circles, in tanks con- structed for the pur|wse. Ilore it remained undisturbed until again shipped on board the Niagara and Agamem- non for the hust Expedition. The Niagara returned to this port in the winter, ;ind underwent examination, but was ft.und to be in excellent condition, requiring but slight repairs. In the course of the winter, the Company applied to the British and American Governments for the re-em- ployment of the vessels ol the squadron of 1857, in the TU'W attenq)t resolved iqxni for the summer of 1858. To the credit of both Governments, this request was met by .1 cordi.illy aOirmative resjionse. The British Govern- ment again ])Uiced the fme ship Ag'nunnnnn, Captain ruiDDlK, with the steam-tenders Vaionyiia and (iurgnn^ nn<ler the direction of the Company. Our own Govern- 120 "he Expedition of 1858. inent, with coinincndable promptitude, rc-assigncd the N'ugara to a siinihir serviee. The Secretiiry of the Navy wrote to the Directo , in December, 1807, us follows :— Navy Department, Dec. 30, 1857. Gentlemen— Your communication of tlie 23d inst has been recoived. I have to inform you, in reply, that by direction of the President of the United States, the steam-frigiite Niagara will again be detailed for the purpose of assisting in laying the Telegraphic Cable next Summer. The Department will, agreeably to your request^ give Chief-Engineer Everett leave of absence, with per- mission to bave the UuiUnl States, that the Telegraphic Company may avail itaelf of his services in connexion witli this work. I am, roHpectfully, your obedient servant, Isaac Tojcnr. The Kiwjara was again placed under command of Capt. W. L. Hudson, U.S.N.— a most capable and energetic officer, to whose unwearied exertions and unbounded enthusiasm in the work, no small share m the fnial success of this enterj^rise is due. The Niagara sailed from the port of New Vork iya the 9th of March, 1858, on her return to Kn<,'huid, and arrived at Ply- mouth on the 24th of tht> same month. With the oiuming of the Sj)ring, the Company began active proparati(^is for tlie ntw E.\])edition. Pending the negotiations with tlie Governments for the use of the 1.1:.: 1 ... • - cS- -i — . .. ^ ., •"•rr iiLo v'i liiv" Viiuie iia<i been maiiul',.tiire«i in Knglaml, the new paying-out The Expedition of 1858. 121 machines were already under way, and all things were ordered.to bo in readiness for a second attempt early in the ensuing Summer. A description of the new machi- nery is embodied in another r-.ge of this work. The re-shi])ment of the Cubic for the Second Expedi- tion was commenced at Key ham Docks (Plymouth, Eng.) on Friday, March 19, 1858. At first, the Arjamfmnnn alone received the wire; the Niagara not having been fully prepared for the stowage of her portion. Various important alterations were made on board both vessels, with a view, not only of insuring greater safety in paying-out, but in order to accommodate the enlarged bulk of the Cable. The preliminary trial had demon- ttrated the existence of seriovs defects in the manner of shipment on board the Againemnon. These errors were corrected. Instead of coiling the Cable in an oval form in the hold of that vessel, it was arranged in a circle, winding around a huge circular cone, twelve feet three inchc3 high, ten feet in diameter at the base, and five feet at the ai)e.c. " It wa.s the breaking of this cone which afterwards so seriously i.;>perilled the Agamem- non, during the lieavy storms shc^ encountered in Juno. A new coil w;i.s laid upon the upj)or deck, aboft the foremitst; and another on the orlop deck. A new ^uard w;us also fixed nt the stern of tiic shij), protecting rhf: proju-llcr, in order to ;>revent contact with the Cable during the process of jiavuig-out. tn .s, 122 The Expedition of 1858. The labor 0^ coiling into tlie Niagara was accomplislied at the rate of 30 miles per day ; a portion was stored in the ward-room circle, and a portion in the lower for- ward hold, the work going on day and night without intermission. The ward-room circle had 31 li miles of the Cable coiled round a cone in the centre of the circle, the diameter of which ',yas 38 feet, the cone itself being 9 feet diameter at bottom, by 4 feet 6 inches at the top, and extending to within 2 feet 6 inches of the deck. Around the cone were suspended three iron-bound bar hoops, about 18 inches from the cone, intended to guide and direct the Cable out as it passed from the tier. In this tier there were 89 flakes, laid down with great care, each flake averaging 270 turns round the cone, and there were employed constantly ir. the circle, to receive and coil away, 40 men, 30 of whom were of the ciew, and 10 Company's men. As these men had to be relieved every four hours, eighty and sometimes more, were detailed for the dutv in that circle, while at the same time another ffanjr was similarly employed in the lower hold, the forwnrd gang, consisting of 50 men from the ship, and 10 Company's men. The lower 1k)1(1 <lifrered very little, if any, from the ward- room circle or cone, except in being higher. In this part of liie ship tliore were 351)^ miles of cable. Immediately above this lowvr (Mrward cone was the orlop-deck circle, the span and diameter the same as in the ward-rooms. The Expedition of 1858. 123 The third circle was immediately over the orlop- deck circle, with the same dimensions <is the others. The berth deck received its portion of 2vjO miles. Directly over this circle was the upper-deck circle. Here 250 miles were coiled. Its diameter was 27 feet 6 inches. There was still another circle on the quarter-deck circle. It was somewhat smaller, and contained 150 miles only. All the circles and cones were fitted the same in every respect, with great precision . In addition, a massive structure 11 feet high, 20 feet long, and eight foet bread, was placed on the quarter- deck, intended to sustain machinery. Besides this, and independent of the coils of Cable ir- the circles (in the aggregate some i,G0O miles of Cable) a large portion of the old Cable lost last yea. prd recovered was placed on the forecastle deck, being put on board for experi- mental purposes. The presence of a hxge force of men was rendered neces- sary on board the ships, in order to effect a proper arrange- ment of the Cable and insure its safety during the process of pay ing-out. Thus the company on board the Niagara, wlio were actively engaged in the operations, consisted of a director, one or two superintendents, several cable- inspectors, four or five overseers, not less than six :;tricians; with eamenters. black-smi 3a rp cabl< coilers, and 40 to 50 of the crew constantly emjiloyed )24 The Expedition of 1858. and when two gangs were at work the complement was doubled. There was also, one of the ship's officers cons antly on hand by day and by night, whose relief took place as regularly as the men's. Among the new contrivances was an immense iron shield, called a " bird-cage," extending from quarter to quarter around the rudder, intended as a guard or pro- tector from the cable fouling the rudder or propeller, as it was paid out from the ship. The appearance of tlie Agamemnon, after receiving her portion of the Cable, was described as follows, by a cor- respondent of the L'^iidon Times, who let no opportunity escape for disparaging the Niagara: " Both the Agamemnon and Niagara are astonishingly deep. The lower deck ports of the former are very near the water, and they are being fastened and caulked before starting. But iu spite of this, the Agamemnon carries her share infinitely better than her long black-looking rival of the United States, wliich is immersed very deeply indeed by her load. The Agamemnon only draws 26 feet, or actually one foot less than her draught at starting last year : but even at this depth she bears her- self well, and looks a noble ship, and one that should be seaworthy in any weather. The Niagara, howjvcr, draws no less than 27 feet 2 inches aft, and this great draughi ciTecis u nuirveilous and most unpleasant change in her appearance, since it leaves her s])ar deck scarcely The Expedition of J 858. 125 8 feet above the water's edge. In fact, tlie main deck is actually below the water's level, and if her lofty bul- warks, some nine or ten feet high, were taken away, she would appear to be almost the last vessel in the world in which it was desirable to venture across the great j^.tlantic." The stowage of the Cab. 3 on both ships, conducted slowly and with great care, occupied several weeks, and was completed in the early part of May. In addition to seven hundred miles of new Cable provided by the Com- pany, condemned wire was shipped for the purpose of undertaking preliminary '^eep-sea experiments ; so that the total length of Cable on board both ships on the 18th day of May was 3,008 miles, distributed as follows : Miles. Niagara. — Good Cabl'*. 1,488 Experimental Cable 22-1,510 Agamemnon. — Good Cable 1,477 Experimental Cable 17—1,494 Aggregate. — Good Cable 2,965 Experimental Cable 89 Total 3,004 The new paying-out machines were placed on board receiving the Cable. It is proper to state that the l4« : "* i 126 The .Expedition of 1858. improved plan upon which these machines were con- structed, belongs to Mr. Hiram Berdan, of New York, who furnished the Company with a model, a gentleman of remarkable scientiHc ability, widely known as the inventor of various important ratchanical appliances. The manufacturers of the machines were Messrs. Easton and Amos, Southwark. The principle of the operation of the Paying-Out Machine was simple. The whole of the important part of this apparatus consists of Appold's self-regulating brake, which is so adjusted and constructed as always to exert a certain amount of resistance, which can be regu- lated by the revolution of the wheels to which it is applied. More than this fixea amount of resistance, whatever it may be, it cannot produce, no matter whether the machine is hot or dry, or covered with sanri • and neither can it be worked at less than this amount, no matter to what extent all the friction sur- faces of the wooden brake itself may be oiled, ''^his well-known brake was first exhibited in the Great Exhi- bition of 1851, in the new labor machine constructed for prison^?, in order to insure a certain amount of work from each convict. For this l-.rd-labor purpose the brake is still extensively employ m It is made of bars of wood laid lengthwise across the edge of the wheel, over which it laus down finnlr nnrl f,^ wl.^ok u :^ v„ij with massive weights fixed to the ends of levers. It is The Expedition of 1858. 127 the number and size of these weights which regulate precisely the degref^ of resistance to the revolutions of the wheel, and which, of course, enable those in charge of the machine to fix the pressure of the brake at what they please, and when so fii.ed nothing can alter it. In th<^. new Telegraphic apparatus, this brake is attached over two drums connected with the two main grooved wheels, round which the actual Cable passes in running out. The latter are simply broad, solid, iron wheels, each cut with four very deep grooves, in which the Cable rests, to prevent it flying up or " overriding." It passes over these two main wheels, not in a double figure of eight, as in the old ponderous machine of four wheels, but simply wound over one, to and rounu. le other, and so on four timos, till it is finally paid down into the water. Thus, ihe wire was wound up from the hold of the vessel, i ssed four times over the double main wheels, connected wi*^^h the brake or friction drun^, past the register which indicated the rate of paying out and the strain upon the Cable, and then at once into the deep. The strain at which the Cable breaks is 62 cwt., and to guard aga'-st any chance of mishap, not more than half this s! was to be put upon it. The brakes, as a rule, were fixed to give a strain of about 16 cwt., and the force required to keep the machine eroiner, or about 8 cwt. more, \^'as the utmost that was to be allow^ed to come upon the wire. 128 The Expedition of 1858. Thus, tliereforo, the force required to sever the cable eould never bo exerted even by aeeident or mishap, no matter who might be in charge of the maeliine, nor now much the vessel might pitch rmd roll. The brake of the pjiving-out machine used on the t^ccasion of the first .v.v;mpt, was capable, by a movement of tbe hand, of exerting the most j)rodigious resistance to the turning of the wiieels, and this formidable invention was used with so little care, that not until the injury was irre- parable was the danger seen. The chief beauty, how- ever, of the new machine was that, while nothing could add to the fixed strain of the brakes, any one could in a moment ease them as much as might be considered neces- sary, and until, in fact, tlu>rc was no resistance at all beyond the 8-cwt. strain on the wire, which, as we have said, was required to keej) i. ■ machine turning. So sim{)le was the operation, that a child could remove the wliule resistance of the brake and put it on again as often :h 20 or 30 times a mirmte. For this ])urpose, at a few feet from ilie paying-out machine, the Cable passed over a wheel which registered precisely the strain in j)ounds at which llic coil w;is run- ning out. PV-ing this register, was a stcfring wheel, ])recisely similar to that of an ordinary vessel, and eon- iiffteil in the same way with compound levers, wliich acted upon tiie brak-.'. Tims the oHieer in charge of the ajiparatus stood by this wheel, and watched the register The Expedition of 1858. 29 of strain or pitch of the vessel, opened the brakes by the slightest movement of his hand, letting the cable run freely a& the stern rose. The same officer, however, could not by any possible method increase the actual strain on the cable, which remained always according to the friction at which the break was at first adjusted by the engineer. The value and simplicity of the whole apparatus were made so manifest that it waa evident, as far as the paying- out machine vfoa concerned, all that mechanical skill could effect in aid of the great undertaking had been accom- plished. The Niagara and the Agamnnnon were each fitted with one of these machines, which, whcii operated by steam, could be used for the purpose of under-running or drawing back the Cable in case of any hitch rendering Huch operation necessary. The Niagara and A^inrnemnov, having been fully l.repared for the service, sailed from Plymouth for Queenstown, Ireland, on Saturday, May 29; and on the same day put to sea from the latter port, to Uiidertake an exprrimental trip for the purpose of testing the Cable. On Iheaistof May, when in hvtitude 47° 12' north, longitude 9° 32' west, the de}.th t)f water being 2,0:50 fiithoMis, a series of dei>j) sea experiments was commenced. The Niagara and Agamruwon were connected by hawsers, . ,„.. '... ,.t..,-T, :i;_if-!!>< !'!■<•!!> (■■u'h uth<.r Hoiiif twelvi' huu- dred feet. The Cable wius i)aid out and spliced on board 30 The Exjieditiori of 1858. tho Ar/amemno», and the first experiment began. Two nuK's uf Cable were paid out, when the wire parted. On the following day (Tuesday, June 1,) the Cable was re-spliced, and three miles were paid out; but in the attempt to haul in, tli. wire again parted. On Wednesday, June 2, the Cable was i gain spliced, but in a few minutes l)art(>d on board the Arjamemnon. These experiments having been continued during three days and on.- night, cetwed with this last attem])t, and, after various trials of the operations of splicing, lowering and heaving-in the wire, the squadron set sail for Plymouth, whence reports of the results were forwarded to th. Directors of the Company. The following is Capt. Hudson's official report of the results of this trip : — United States Steam Fhigatk Niagara, Plvmoutu Sound (End.), June 3, 1858. S.n,~T Imve tli- honor to roport that the Telopraphic S<,ua.Iro.,, r..ii8is(inf,. „f tlM. Xiagura, n.ul II.M. ships Ai/amnnnon, V.danJ, iuu\ Oonjon, i,„l to s,.a from Piy.nouth Sound at 5 r.M. „„ the l.'!»<h ulf., ftu.l proocci,.,! to lut. 17^ 12' north, ami lon^. 9" .32' west, wh.Mi SYv hov(> to, .M,I tho a.mjon oblainod two .wIh of ^o.in.hn-^ with h.T <l.'(.p-!„.a apparatus and f.mn.l th." doplh of water to ho tuvnty-fiv.. hnn.lr.Ml a.ui thirty fathoms. W,. irnn.o,hat,.Iy ro,,,- x'fiuvd om-.xp,.nnH'nt-s by hanpin- the .V/ajnm an-l Agmnrvwon toKotiuT h.v hnws,.rH, st.-rn t., nn.l .li.stnni from ..ft.l. uthor m.nio twelvi< hlin<]ri>ij i<>i>> Tl,,. ...1 i : ■_ _ . . ..-.^j ..;. .,,r oil i>uiii .tiiipM was s|.lKed together ou tho Agamnnnon, ui.l the Cah!o '..wcred down The Expedition of 1858. 131 by the new machinery of Mr. Everett, until the bight of it was laid on the bottom ^{ the ocean. Some additional wire was paid out, and in this position the electric current was found perfect througli the whole length of the Cable, about three thousand miles. In our various experiments of spUcing, lowering down, and heav- ing in the wire, this ship and the Agamemnon were several times tied together stern on. We have also liad a fair test of Mr. Everett's m.chincry for lowering and heaving up the Cable from the ship, as weU as miming it out under a speed of five or six knote. Indeed, our experiments, occupying three days and almost an entire night, have, I think, entirely settled some mooted points in relation to the electric current passing freely at great deptlis under the ocean. We hope to have in our additional forty miles of new wire, to coal ship, and be ready to leave this port with the squadron, on the 10th inst., for our great work. The officers and crew enjoy good health. I am, respectfully, yours, &c. W. L. Hudson, Captain. Hon. I. ToccY, Secretary of tlic Navy. The report of Chief Engineer Everett was as fol- lows : — United States Steam Frigate Niagara, At Sea, Thursdxy, June 3, 1858. Cyrus W. rhld, General Mnmujer of the AOaniir TeUgrnph Com- jntny : Sir,— For ihr informatiop >,f yourself and the Directors, 1 submit the following sUtc.ncnt of exp«'rimenta made during tliis trip. attnolu'd iuuuu-i^ I' in., iJ*t*y ing^ 2,530 fftthoins, this ship and J 70 i.>( XT 1....... u" yy vv iiamevi) »32 The Expedition of 1858. stem to stern by a .'lawser, 180 fathoms of Cable were veered out for the end to be t^ke.i on board that ship to be sphced. At 5.1 o'clock, signal heing n-ade "AU ready," in accordance with pre- vails arrangement, one mile of Cable was veered out. We then commencev. hauling it in. At 61 six o'clock had recovered half a n:ile, when Mr. Bkigiit's message was icceived saying he de- sired to make a new sphce. At 9 40 received message "AU is vady," a .d again commenced paying out as before. At 10 34 p.m. two miles were out. Afler this aiiiount was paid out, the strain upon the cable was 3,G00 to 4,100 pounds. At 11 28 commenced hauling in, but very slowly, as the strain nearly approached the breaking point of the rope. At 11 45 the hawser securing the ships together parted on tlieJ^aTnernnora, but the ships were retained nearly in the same relative positions by working the engine when required. At 1 40, having hauled in one mile, 5061 fathoms, the contmuity was reported broken. We continued to haul in until 2 15, when the end came, having lost of the two miles paid out 110 fathoms. On Tuesday, at 8 40 a.m., the ships having oeen secured and splice made ps before, a quarter of a mile was paid out, hawser released and ships started ahead slov.ly, at the same time the Cable wa.s allowed to run quite freely until two {niles had been paid out, when a gradual restraint was applied until an additional one mile, 387 fathoms, had been paid out, making m all three miles, 387 fathoms. At this fnuo (10 23, commenced hauling in, and had I'vovered 190 fathoms when the Cable part«"d. At 1 44 p.m., the two -lids of the iH-w Cable having been spliced, we paid out two and a half mil.'s at a rate which had been previously agreed upon, (he elect rieianspa.s.sing signals through the whole leii, (h of (^ihle. At 6 15 P.M., the Aytimemnnn made .signal tiie CaMe wa.s Darted. U'.. .>. „ ,,_... .uiiuij^ icf f<iriiiu iiuuiing up '■.) ,), 100 pouihlH duriii/: the rcceivMi'' uf ll ir lir-it (juarter ..f m mile. At 9 20 The Expedition of 1858. 133 the end came in. having lost 80 fathoms on the two and a-half miles paid out Wednesday, June 2, at 7i o'clock, experimental Cable was again spliced, one quarter of a mile paid out, hawser released, and the ships started ahead. In a few minutes the Agamemnon made signal Cable parted. ' We continued to pay out until three and a quarter miles were out. The ship was then backed — large buoy and watch buoy attached to the Cable. Ship again run ahead, and when three hundred fathoms had been paiu out, the Cable parted on the machinery. The phip then made for the buoy, with the hope of recovering the end of the Cable ; but while hauHng in the watch buoy, the large buoy suddenly fell over, showing that it had separated from the Cable. Upon recovering it we found the rope stopper (3i^-inch rope) had been cut off by the Cable. At 12 55, by the request of Mr. Wooduouse, we paid over th'' end of experimental Cable to ascertain how rapidly it could be run off the coil with safety, but no grea er speed was attained than seven knorta, as the Cable was being often stranded on the machine by the accumulation of tar in the grooves, which was so hard Ihat no scraper could be mads to remove it at any speed. All the Cable used to-day was that brought from Greenwich expressly for ex- lii'riruonting and was lung since condemned. Undoubtedly it has liofu much expo.sed to the weather, and stowed where consider- able sand or dirt has been thrown upon it. With the Cable whiih wa.H recovered \&Ht year, and used by us trying the experiment, we liad no serious difficulty in keeping the tar out of the grooves, it being comparatively soft, though tlu^ amount was beyond what I could have believed. Tho amount of tar upon tliia Cable is much greater than tliul upon tho Cable intemled to be laid di)wn ; iiKTi'iiMc I bciirvc we cau maivu such provision as liiht it siiaii not become a serious obstacle. •1 134 The Expedition of 1858. The result of this experimental trip has demonstrated that we have the capability of hauling in the Cable to a greater extent than I had expected. Not that I believe any great distance could be recovered, but in the general depth of vrater where the Cable is to be laid, in good weather, should a fault go overboard before the ship could be stopped, I am of opinion sufficient of the Cable may be hauled in to .emedy the fault, The operation of the machinery generally is certainly satisfactory, and there is no alteration I can suggest c^her than in the tar-scrapers, which will require moditica lions. The amount of tar accumulating is so much beyond what could have been expected from last year's experience, owing to the repeated coatings it has received since it was unloaded from this vessel last October, that extraordinary provision will be required. A.3 regards the attaching of buoys, we can attach them, but at a great risk of breaking the Cable, and they should not be used in deep water, except &s a last resort. The arrangements for coils, provisions for leading the rope, and all tlie other many particulars incidental to this work, which have been under the lireotion of Mr. Woodhouse, do not require any alteration, and fully meet the requu-ements. I am, respectfully, your obedient servant, W. E. EVERBTT. But a single week elapsed from the return of the fleet from this tri]), when the Expedition set sail from Ply- mouth for the second great ocean trial. A distinguished Russian naval ofTiccr sailed in the Niagara^ the reason of whose visit is explained by the f()llowi!i0' h>tt(>r' — The Expedition of 1858. 133 Legation of the Ukitkd States, St. Petersbubo, Monday, March 22, 1858. Captain, — ^I have the honor of making you acquainted with the bearer of this letter. Lieutenant the Baron Boi-e, Aid-de-camp to his Imperial Highness the Grand Duke Constantine. Although he will need no special recommendation from this quar- ter, there is a duty devolving on me in the presen'. instance which makes it proper that I should briefly notice the object of his visit to the Niagara. It is doubtless known to you akeady tliat the Presi- dent of the United States, on the appUcation of Mr. Stoeckl, the Russian Minister at Washington, has consented tliat one officer of the Imperial Na.vy of Russia, such a one as hia Imperial Highness the Grand Duke Constantine might be pleased to designate, should go ou board the Niagara to witness the laying of tlic electric Cable between Europe and America. In consequence of tliat consent, which I have reason to beheve was most cheerfully given. Lieutenant Boye has been designated by liis Imperial Highness the Grand Duke Constantine, for the pur- pose which you have before you. It has, Uierefore, become my duty, in accordance with the advices from the Department of State, tliat I should furnish the officer with a suiUble letter of recommen- dation to the Commander of the Niagara. The duty thus incurred may be considered, perhaps, as alreadv fulfilled in the statement I have just made, nothing more being re- quirer., I am sure, by way of ins-iring Lieutenant Boyk tlie recep- tion to which he is justly entitled. The circumstances which have led to the selection of Lieutenant Boye for the mission with which he is charged, should justify the addition of a few n-imuka in-h fail to see in the arrangement 1 uiUiSi irMI nnf .36 The Expedition of 1858. i»g proof of tlie friendly relations which subsists between the Go- vernment of his Imperial Majesty, the Emperor of Russia, and that of the United States. Such a view would, of itself, enhance the pleasure of receiving on the deck of your vessel an officer of the Imperial Navy. Russia, though at some distance from the shores of the great ocean which it is to be hoped may soon be connected by the electric Cable, is not indifferent to the subUme work in which you are about to engage. She sends as her representative, an officer of rank and abilities, one high in the confidence of his distinguished chief, the Grand Admiral of the Russian Navy, that he may be witness to an undertaking which, if successful, wiU be hailed with joyful satis- faction throughout the civilised world. la recommending Lieutenant the Baron Boye, to your kind con- sideration, I not only carry into effect the wishes of President Bu- CHAKAN on the subject, but at the same time discharge a duty in Uie highest degree agreeable to myself. Your position in the naval service of our country must have given you opportunity for 'earning something of the courtesies which offi- cers of the United States Navy have been accustomed to receive from those of the Russian Navy, when the ships of the two nations have come together on distant seas; an.l no one, I may say. Cap- tain, more fully appreciates the value of such courtesies, or knows better how to return them tlian yourself. Respectfully, Your obedient serv't, Thos. n. Sevmocr. To Capt. W. L. Hudson, U.S. Steamer Niagara. On Tluirsdjiy, Juiu^ 10, tlio oiitiro Toloirr;,!-bic Fleet steamed out of Pljnioutli Harbor. The Squadron con- The Expedition of 1858. »37 sisted of four vessels — the United States steam frigate Niagara, with TLB.M. paddle-wheel 8tearaei» Valorous as tender; II.B.M. steam-frigate Agamemnon, with H.B.M. paddle-wheel steamer Gorgon as tender. The Government of England detached two naval engineers from actual duty, for the purpose of assisting in taking charge of the machinery on board tho Aga- memnon. Mr. Amos, of the firm of Easton & Amos (who man ifactured the machinery), and who had given a great deal of time and attention to the interests of the under- taking, was also present on board the Agamemnon, for the purpose of assisting in the regulation of the machinery. The arrangements on board the Niagara, were as fol- lows : Messrs. Everett & Woodhouse were in charge of the operations, with Captain Kell as an assistant, and Messrs. Follansbee an.. McElwell in charge of the machinery. After having been three days at sea, the Expedition was overtaken by a fearful gale, which ^-^"tinucd with- out intermission for nine days. On th3 seventh day of this heavy weather, the ships, which continued to keep together, had to part company, and the Agamenmon was obliged to scud before the wind for thirty -six hours; her cojJs got adrift, and a coil of her Cable shifted, so that her c^aptain for some time entertained serious ap{)rehen- siona for hor safety, and from the immense strain her waterways were forced open, and one of her ports was 138 The Expedition of 1858. broken. Two of the sailors were severely injured, and one of the marines lost his reason from fright. Yet such wa^ the consummate skill, good seamanship, and intrepidity of her commander, Captain Priddie, that he was enabled to bnng her to the appointed rendezvous lat 52° 2', long. 33° 18'. The Niagara rode out the storm gaUantly, having only carried away her jib-boom and one wing of the figure-head, the American Eagle The results of this severe gale on board the two frigates showed the gross injustice that had been dore°the Niagara by the English writer, whose remarks about her before she left Plymouth, we have quoted. All the vessels having at length arrived at their cen- tral point of junction, the first splice of the Cal - was made cu the 26th. After having paid o- t two and a half miles each, owing to an accident on board the Niagara, the Cable parted. The sh.^s having agam met the sphce was made good, and they commenced to pay out the Cable a second time ; but after they had each paid out forty mUes, it was reported that the cur- rent was broken, and no communication could be made between the ships. Unfortunately, in this instance, the breakage must have occurred at the bottom, as the elec- tricians, from the fine calculations which their sensitive instruments allowed them to make, were able to declare sueh^to have been tlie fact, even before the vessels came tot^.-thcr again. Having ca^st off this loss, they met for The Expedition of 1858. »39 the third tune, and recovered the connexion of the Cable on the 28th. They then started afresh, and the Niagara, Having paid out over one hundred and fifty miles of Cable, all on board ciitert?>.iiied the most sanguine antici- pations of success, whf 1 the fatal announcen )nt was made upon Tuesdr.y, the 29th, at 9 p.m., that the electric current ha ..eased to flow. As the necessity of abandon- ing the project for the present was now only too manifest, it was considered that the opportunity might as well be availed of, to test the strength of the Cable. jl\ ccordingly , the Niagara, with all her stores, was allowed to swing to the Cable, and, in addition, a strain of four tons was placed upon the brakes, yet, although it was blowing fresh at the time, the Cable neld her as if she had been at anchor, for over an hour, when a heavj pitch of the sea snapped the Cable, and the Niagara bore away for Ireland. Eefore starting, an arrangement was made that should any accident occur in giving out the Cable before the ships had gone one hundred miles, they were to return to their starting-place in mid-ocean ; but that, in case that distance should have been exceeded, before any casualty happened, they should maLe for Queens- town. In accordance with this understanc ing, the Nia- gara, having made one hundred and nine miles before this mishap, returned to Queenstown, arriving July 5. '1 Mii nir/%r»+a r\t +l-»ia tt ■r-» nm nrhr\c3 o A 1 1 fix* 1 -1 1 ack o T»p T»tior\Tn Ori 1 W connected form, in the following '4° The Expedition of 1858. JOl^RXAL OP rUK yoYAGE OF THE NIAGARA. Tlm,.d.y, June 10,_At U a.m. cast off from the moo„ng.bu.y in Pl^,„outh Sound, and proeeeded to sea m company with the A,ur,.,n„on. Valorous, and Gordon. \V eather fair ; at night, nearly calm. Friday, June U.-Calm, and a smooth sea. Captain Uvuso^ sent a boat to the Asame,unon, tendering a tov. which was declined. T.he Capuin of the ^,a,„™„„; ^tated, that he would accept the oflcr if the light breezes held a day or two longer. The progress made this day was very slow, the N^jara continually stopping for the bquadron to come up. Weather calm; lat. 49° 12' • lor,,. 6»53'. ' Saturday, June 12.-Light N.N.E. winds and plea- s^int ; the J^amm«M, Valorou,, and Oorjon made all sad poi^sible; the A'ic^.ara set no sails. Lat 49» 42' • long. 10° 12'. Sunciy, June 13,-Commenced clear, but soon >. came squally; wind hauled to S.S.W. The AYaaam «et topsails and shut off steam. The wind freshened and ram set in. Lost sight of the Valorous and Gordon. The wmd mcreasing, the AVajrara triple-reefed topsails and reefed foresail. The Agamemnon w.os at this time one mile distant. Lat. 50° 11'; long. 13" IT ^Monday, June 14. -Squally, rainy weather: win,] o. W ., Darometer lell from 30.35 to 29.17 ; wind increased The Expedition of 1858. 141 to a gale, with a high sea. The Niagara close-reefed topsails, furled mizen-topsail, set storm fore-staysail, and furled foresail, keeping within one and a half miles of the Agamemnon throughout. Lat. 50° 22'; long. 15° 57'. Tuesday, June 15. — fccrong gales from S.S.W., the Niagara under easy sail ; at 4 A.M. wind moderated, and ship made more sail. Before night the wind again in- creased, and the ship was put under clos" . fed fore and niaintopsails, with storm fore-stu} sail. Lat. 51° 22'; long. 18° 47'. Wedne- day, June 16. — Strong gales; the Agamemnon in company ; the Valorous and Gorgon out of sight. In the latter part of the day wind died away, and the Niagara made more sail. Distance sailed, by log, lo5 miles, on N.W. by N. course. ;^ay ended misty and. foggy- Thursday, June 17 —Weather still foggy, with stiff breeze; the Agamemnon in company; exchanged sig- nals. During the day the Niagara passed a ship's boat, bottom up. The speed of the ship was five knots an hour, with small head of steam and little sail. Disco- vered a strange sail to the south w\ard. Lat. 52° 35'; long. 23° 16'. One week at sea. Friday, June 18.— The day commenced clear, with strong brcLv.t's fiuiu S. VV . Wy o. , inc biiip u sail and but little steam; the Agamemnon in company; 142 The Expedition of 1858. the Valorous and Gorgon invisible ; lat. 53° 18' • Ion? Saturday, June 19— Weather overcast ; wind strong ; signaled a clipper-ship bound west. This day all hands on board the Ma^ara were mustered, and the Articles of War were read to the officers and crew. At noon strong winds from W.S.W. Lat. 54° 23' ; long. 27° 50'. Sunday, June 20.-Heavy gales and a high ma, the ship under very short sail; the Agamemnon one and a half miles distant, laboring terribly ; from 4 a.m. to noon gale increases in violence ; the squalls come more heavy and more frequent; the Agamemnon telegraphs, "We are going to wear ship ;" she wears -ound on other tack- ^ind W.S.W.; the Magara does the same; the Aga- memnon again telegrapuH, - We have lost our stern- guard;" the Niagara, at this time rolling heavy, brings the large iron buoys lashed outside under water; the lashings to the starboard buoy part, and carrv away the cranes which support the buoys on each quarter, 'it is found necessary to cut adrift the starboard one and let it drift away ; the port buoy is with (liffioulty s(<eur.>d and taken on board; at 4 p.m. the A. signalises, " We shall wear ship;" both shij.s rolling heavy, A. mere especi- ally; two straiiLT vessels in sight; en.ls heavy gules; the barometer falls down to 29.19 ; at noon lat.' 54' 12'' and long. 29" 36' W. ' Mondry, June 21. -Heavy gales, high sea, b.,f clear The Expedition of 1858. H3 weather; wind S.W. by S.; at 6^ a.m. a very heavy sea strikes the jib-boom, which carries away the flying jib-boom and all attached to it. The sail and riggers, however, are saved. The Agamemnon distant one and a half miles ; she ia observed to have a heavy list, laboring very heavy ; she is suddenly lost to our view ; we con- jecture she must have wore ship without signalising. At noon there is no prospect of its abating ; the Niagara hove to, no observation ; lut. by account 54° ; 25° N. long., barometer 29° 21', air 53°, water 51°. From noon to 6 P.M. blows the same ; at 8 p.m. it moderates, and at midnight but little wind, and the sea becomes smooth. Tuesday, June 22. — Fine weather, smooth sea, wind moderate from the westward ; chased a ship bound west, mistook her for the Agamevmon. Noon furled all sail, the wind light and dead ahead ; lat. 53", 42', long. 30" 17' west. From noon to midnight same variation of compass 3i points W. ; local attracticm 23° W. ; position to start from S.S.W. three-fourths W. true, distant 155 mili's. Wednesday, June 23.— Clear weather, smooth sea, light breezes from W. by b. ; steaming <m\y ; lat., noon, 51" 50' K, long. 32" 48' ; at p.m. made two sail ahead tliat soon prove to Ixi the Valorous and (lorgon ; the Valorous lowers boat and boards us; congratulations pa.'ss on escaping the fury of the gale ; both these shij)^ sustain some uama;j:e; tlie three of liie Sijuai Iron on iinnM n(>ar the position ; all heave to, to remain stationary till »44 The Expedition of 1858. Agan^mnon arrives ; at miduight it is foggy, neither the \ ahroits nor Oorffon to be seen. Thursday, June 24.-The day commences foggy • ship headn,g W.N.W.; we drift rapidly to north at rite of two miles per hour per log, yet at noon find we have experienced a powerl.il south current of 35 miles No- thing in sight at noon, 5V 15', long. 23° 3'. After obtain- ing tiie latitude the Niagara squared yards, made sail run before the wind, in ord.r to recover lost latitude! At 71 It commences to blow and increases to a gale • furled mizen-topsail and foresail ; put ship under snug sail ; the wind at N.W. Nothing seen of any of the S(piadron ail this day. Friday, 25th, A. M.-Strong gales, clear weather ; ship mider clce-reefed fore and inain-toi>sails and storm fore- staysail; considerable sea. Noon, no observation: lat. by account, 52^3', long, by account, 33° 18'. At noon -inured away t.) run nortl, to make up lost northing, and also to search aftvr the i.b.sent 8(,uadron ; wind S.S.W.; cl.-ar. At 7. p.m. blowing strong; close-reefed the toj)-' sails, furled foresail and mi/.n-fopsa.], wore ship and stood S.W. Friday, June 2r,.-Stnnig gale., but clear, some sea- """>, lat. 52^ 3', l,>ng. 33^ IH W., at 1 p.m. .aw 3 sail ahead. Soon diseoven>d they were tlr> Telegraj.h Squadron. Furl.-d all s.il and stood f„r tl.rm. Th.,> weatluT became U-autiful. All the 8<iuadrou have boat^ The Expedition of 1858. '45 down, visiting each other's ships. The Captain of the Agamemnon informs us experienced same gale we did — suffered heavy damages — the entire coil of Telegraph Cable had shifted ; his ship was in a very critical situa- tion, and he must re-coil a portion of the Cable before it could be ready for splicing, and could not be ready before 24 hours. Day ends very fine in every respect. Saturday, June 26. — Calm, beautiful weather; Squad- ron close together; at 8 a.m. a telegraphic message from Ag'^meynnon says : " Will be ready to splice at 9 o'clock." Preparations are immediately made ; hawsers sent on board of her, as also the end of the Telegra})h Cable. Everything auspicious and favorable — lat, 52° 2', long. 33° 18' W. We are 15 days out at noon. At 1 o'clock \vc commence paying out Cable. At 3 o'clock we had 200 fathoms out; it is calm ; the haws(>r is cast off from tlie Agamemnon^ and the Niagara commences to pay out in earnest, as does the Agamemnon. At 3 45 jiLst tlirec miles of Cable had been paid out, the pressure 2,360 ])Ound8, when, at that instjint, as the Cable was corning out of the circle, the Cable got out of one of the grooves of the wheel and into another groove, and, before it could be HberatCvl, it ])arted, by being cut by a tir-H(;raper attached to the wheel. Thus the three miles from our ship was lust, and probably the same amount from the Ana^nrmnrm nn nn flniiht. shn diil nfit mjikn nnv nttptntif. to save it The ships then again neartd each other; '4" The Expedition of J858. spliced again at 5 r.„, took in haw,cr, and commenced paymg out under the most favontble prospect,,- sea smooth aa a mill-pond, and weather calm. The si.ht i, beauty.,. The G^yon heads the Ni.,„a-.,U ^2ro,. i.eads the Againemnon. We follow the N.W i N -the Ajamemnon a S.E. i S. course; our rate of spe-ed,' three m.les per hour. At 8 p.m., 12 miles and 270 fathoms have run out most beautifully, the pressure being very uniform at 2,400 pound.,. The same continues till mid! night, when this day ends. Sunday, June 27.-Th.. sea continues smooth; wmd hght, from the westward; coun« and rate of .sailing the same. At 1 a.m. the electricians report the continuity ha.^ <=e»«'- Every pe„on who hea,^ this report is struck w.tn eon.,ttrnatio„, for everything seemed progres,,ingso -y fine and .satisfactory; the dynamometc-r indicating -,400 poun,Is; the roton.eter 35 miles, 270 fathon.s, .•« l-ng out. Although this di.scovery is reported at 1 " Ccic, A.>,., the Cable is continue,! to K- pai.l out slowlv nn. the ship's speed is reduced, until ^ .,.„. -Phe table then out is 4;i n.iles, 280 fathon,.s. The ,lv„.„„„ .net<-r r.scs from .3,00,, to .3,200 and 3,400 pounds' shin's l>«'grcss is slowed down ,0 one ,nile p,.,- hour'. The -.g"u- ,s.set in „,ot,on to haul in Cable, and ll.at ,xsk is c<)niint<ncf(] .-if ,-)l o'clock' Tl.n n.i i ^, ^ ouuck. I ho Cai)lo comes m slowly t'H> prcs,suro increaso.s fo -l.'iOO pounds, .t wl..,.. .ll the Cabh. .naps, nn.l :.ll oxcvpt about thrce-r.urths'or'a The Expedition of 1858. 147 mile hanging out is lost. What little we succeed in hauling in is very much snarled and badly kinked. The very long-jawed wire is nearly separated from the inside covering of gutta percha, and is totally unfit for any service. The ship is now put head about towards the point of starting, in order to re-connect the Cable the third time with the Aganumnun. The opinion prevails on board our ship, ounded on some trials and scientific principles, that the cause of failure of continuity must have occurred close to or on board the Agamemnon. All confidence is given that actual trial proves the break did not occur on our side of the splice, but that it was between the splice and the Agamemnon. We were at this time 84 miles apart, and the splice was suf)posed to be mid- w'iiy. At 10^ A.M. — it is calculated we are on ihe precise spot from whence we started to lay the Cable." The Agamemnon is not here, but the Gorgon is. At 11 a. w. lowered a boat, and boarded the ship ^/wr Munroe^ four- teen (lays from Liverpool, bounl for Boston. Noon, light N.W. wind and a. smooth sea— lat. 51=' north, long. 32° 4(3' west. Afternoon, calm, sea smool. I 'kod up fires. From midnight till noon fine weather. Monday, Junt '>P— At I r.M. discovrrcd three sail; soon made ^hc'monr, to bi^ the iV'rgraph Stpiadron. At 4i TWf. all three sent boats to the Niagara. At fi P.M. .-;:;;. iur.vsrr ;un'i v ai'ic Tk Agduift/inon ; puKl out 2iU f'.ithonw Cahle ; indicator standing al f)82-lt]8, and m -^1 m 148 The Expedition of 1858. previous to paying out any, it was 582-100 ; wind quite light, at W.N.W. ; all sail is furled on board both ships —the Valorous in position ahead of the Arjamemnon, and the Gorgon ahead of the Niagara; the Valorous and Agamemnon heading S.E. -J S.— the Oorgon and Niagara N.AV. % N. ; our supposed depth of water, 1,670 fathoms, at 6 13 P.M. ; we start for our respective destinations at 8 2 P.M. precisely, there i? just three nautical miles of Cable paid out; at this time and quantity out the dyna- mometer first shows an indication of pressure of 2 100 pounds ; up to midnight the speed of ship is 3i of a mile per hour— (by log hove every fifteen minutes)— while the Cable speed is 5i miles per hour; the pressure is very regular and uniform at 2,200 pounds ; ends beauti- ful — the Gorgon close to us. Tuesday, June 29.— Commences beautiful weather, sea perfectly smooth, wind light, at W.S.W. ; course, N.W. I N.; speed, 4 miles per hour, Cable going out iinely. At 4 A. m. the Niagara has paid out 48 nautical miles; at 8 a.m., 08 nautical miles and 200 fathoms. The; actual distance run from point of starting is 46 miles, pressure, 2,200 pounds; from 8 o'clock to noon, rate of sailing is 4 knots. At noon, ♦•i^ amount of Cable out is 39 miles, 8«)0 futhnms; pressure, 2,200 pounds; fine weather, He;i smooth; ban-mel.-r 80°38'; air, 56': wuUt, 58^ ; lat. 54° 4' : long. 85" 2 '. 'jM,,. ]-a\u^v -art of this 24 hours is pleasant, wind at W.S.W.— speed of ship 4 I Wi The Expedition of 1858. 149 knots. At 4 o'clock one hundred and eleven miles and 600 fathoms (nau+ical miles) have been pa. J out. The Niagara has scarcely any motion, and Cable runs out beautifully. At 9 hours and 10 minutes vue electi icians from their station give the fatal word, " The rontinuity has stopped.'''' 140 miles, 570 fathoms of Cable out up to this hour. From this time till 27 minutes after 12 mid- night, the speed of the vessel was as slow as possible, and the Cable paid out as little as it tould be. It had previously been understood, in the event of ihe failure of the continuity, six hours should elapse before paying- out should cease, or Cable suffered to part. Meanwhile, rockets were sent up, which the Oorgon answered, and she sent a boat to us. So ends this day. N. B. — The actual distance run since leaving the Agamemnon is 107 miles, up to midnight. Wednesday, June 30. — The Niagara is riding wholly by the Telegraph Cable ; speed of ship stopped ; no mo- tion to engine, and no paying out of Cable ; pressure is applied in order to have Cable })art, for it is now useh'ss, but all to no purpose; 4,900 pounds are :tp})lied, and the weight of several persons upon the breaks; at 12 31 A.M. the Cable parts out from the stem ; an attem])t is made to haul it in, but in vain ; the axe had to be ap- plied, and 144 miles, 800 fathoms Cable, is lost on this • >•!:■! Tlnm f!Hl.«d tri'd No. 8. The Cautain of the Oorgon now return . to his vetssel, while Captain Iludson 1r I 150 The Expedition of 1858. issues his orders to up helm and put on steam, and our ship is under full headway, bound for Cork harbor, Ireland and at 8 a.m. set topsails. Afternoon, stiff breezes; driving more ahead; furled all sail. From this time till midnight heavy rain. Eate of sailing 8i knots per hour. Thursday, July l.-Commences th^^nk, rainy weather at 4 A.M. ; set double-reefed topsails and foresail ; speed 9^ miles per hour; course E. by S. on^half S ■ wind SM.hy W., lat. 52° 26'; long. 29° 40'. Afternoon, overcast and squally ; considerable rain at times ; mid- night rainy. Friday, July 2. — Misty, rainy weather; moderate winds from W.N.W. ; course E. by S. ; sailed by log 258 miles; lat. 51° 55' ; long. 23° 2'. Saturday, July 3.— Fine, steady breezes ; sea smooth ; all sad set and full steam; speed 10 knots; sailed from noon to noon 230 miles; course E. by S., half S • hit 61° 15' N. long. 17° 27' W., 23 days from Plymouth; ends the same. Sunday, July 4.— Fine breezes from W.N.W. throuoh- out the day; lat 51° 17' N. ; long. IF 54' W. ; at 6 F.u. made Cape Clear Light, distant 10 miles. Monday, July 5.-Stiff breezes; ship lying by for pilot; at 2 A.M. took pilot on board; at 5 a.m. came to anchor, abrciust of QueonsU)wn, Cork harbor. In layi.ig the Cable, every possible care and attention The Expedition of 1858. 151 was given to the eflfort, and every preventive was used to guard against accident or misfortune. Even the captain and first lieutenant of the Niagara stood watch during the process of laying, day and night. The officer of the deck gave his constant attention to the log and courses, and the log w? eaved every fifteen minutes. In the Cable-circle, twenty men were stationed. Ten men were at the paying-out machine, while another gang was stationed on the platform leading from the circle to the machine. The engineer of the Company was con- stantly at his post, or was reh'eved by the chief engineer of the Niagara. There were also two other engineers detailed to assist. Then there was a master's mate stationed at the brake; also two gentlemen connected with the Company, and the general business manager, all standing watch and regularly relieved ; while one- half of the electricians were conctantly on duty; in which department alone there jvere eight persons. The whole number of persons on board the Niagara in pay of the Company was twenty-two. The scene at night was beautiful. Scarcely a word was spoken ; silence was commanded, and no conversa- tion allowed. Nothing was heard but the strange rattling of the machine as the Cable was running out. This music was singular, without variation, Tlie ^ \\ j-\ r^ \-\ M'i *»+ y-\-** ^J*-»y-»l^ to the singularity of the spectacle ; and those who were I 152 The Expedition of 1858. r on board the ship describe the state of anxious suspense m which aU were held a^ exceedingly impressive. The news of the successive disasters to the wire appeared to strike as though a personal hope had been extinguished The mode adopted by the ships in splicing was as follows :-The Magara and Agame7nnon made fast to each other-stern to stem-by a hawser. They kept 200 fathoms apart until two miles of Cable had been paid out (sufficient to reach bottom), ^hen cast off and pursued separate cou 3es at a rate generally of Jive miles per hour, while the ships' progress would vary from 3^ to 4i miles per hour. The highest pressure at any time was 4,500 pounds, the lowest 1,900. One remarkable circumstance attended the laying of the Cable. Every time the ships were prepared to splice the weather was exceedingly fine, and the sea smooth' and so continued until the breaks occurred. Such wal the case in every instance until tne ships met again. In fact the only favorable weather was while the ships werp engaged with the Cable. The cruise of the Agamemnon was described as fol- lows by an English Correspondent:— " As we approached the place of meeting, the Valorous hove in sight at noon ; in the aflemoon the magara cams in from the north, and in the evening the Gorgon from the south ; and then, almost for the first time since .-'arting, the squadron was reunited near the spot where The Expedition of 1858. 153 the great work was to commence. The rendezvous actu- ally agreed upon was 52° 2' north lat., 33° 18' west long., but the place where the vessels met was in 51° 54' lat., 32" 33' long., or about 30 miles more toward the Eng- lish coast than had been agreed upon. On the even- ing of Friday, June 25, the four vessels lay together, side by side, and there was such a stillness in ■ ""^.e sea and air (as would have seemed remarkable in an iniand lake) on the Atlantic ; and after what we had all so lately wit- nessed, it seemed almost unnatural. We have said how, during the awful rolls which the Agamemnon made on the 20th and 21st, the upper part of the main coil shifted, and became a mere shapeless tangled mass, with which it seemed impossible to deal in any conceivable way. For the first 24 hours the labor seemed hopeless, for so dense was the tangle, that an hour's hard work would some- times scarcely clear half a mile. By-and-by, however, it began to mend, the efforts were redoubled, and late on Friday night 140 miles had been got out, and the remain- der was found to be clear enough to commence work with. " On the morning of Saturday, June 26, all the prepara- tions were completed for making the splice, and com- mencing the great undertaking. The end of the Niagara's Cable was sent on board the Aqamemnon^ the splice was made, a bent sixpence put into it for luck, and at 2 50, Greenwich time, it 'vas slowly lowered over the side and disappeared for ever. The weather was cold and foggy. 154 The Expedition of 1858. with a stiff breeze and dismal sort of sleet, and as there was no cheering or manifestation of enthusiasm of any kind, the whole ceremony had a most funereal effect, and seemed as solemn as if we were burying a marine or some other mortuary task of the kind, equally cheerful and enlivening. It is needless making a long story longer, so we may state at once, that when each ship had p id out three miles or so, and were getting well apart, the Cable broke on board the Niagara, owing to its overriding and getting off the pulley leading on the machine. The break was, of course, known instantly ; both vessels put about and returned ; a fresh splice was made, and again lowered over at 7^ o'clock. According to arrangement, 150 fathoms were veered out from each ship, and then all stood away on their course, at first at two miles an hour, and afterwards at four. Every- thing then went well— the machine working beautifully, at 32 revolutions per minute— the screw at 26— tlie Cable running out easily at five and five and a half miles an hour, the ship going free. The greatest strain upon the , -Tiometp was 2,500 pounds, and this was only for a few minutes— the average giving only 2,000 pounds and 2,100 pounds. At 12 at midnight twenty-one nautical miles had been payed out, and the angle of the Cable with the horizon had been reduced considerably. At 3^ o'clock 40 miles had gone, and nothing could be morf^ perfect and regular than tlie working of everything. The Expedition of 1858. ^55 when, suddenly, at 3 40 a.m., on Sunday, tlie 27th, Professor Thompson came on deck, and reported a total break of continuity that the cable, in fact, had parted, and, as was believed at the time, from the Niagara. The Agamemnon was instantly stopped, and the brakes ap- plied to the machinery, in order that the Cable payed out might be severed from the mass in the hold, and so enable Professor Thompson to discover by electrical tests at about what distance from the ship the fracture had taken place. Unfortunately, however, there was a strong breeze on at tne time, with rather a heavy swell, which told severely upon the Cable, and ere any means could be taken to ease entirely the motion on the ship, it parted, a few fathoms below the stern-wheel, the dynamometer indicating a strain of nearly 4,000 pounds. In another instant a gun and a blue light warned the Valorous of what had happened, and roused all on board the Aga- memnon to a knowledge that the machinery was silent, and that the iirst part of the Atlantic Cable had been laid and lost effectually. " The great length of Cable on board both ships allowed a large margin for such mishaps as these, and the arrange- ment made before leaving England was that the splices might be renewed, and the vroik recommenced, till each ship had lost 250 miles of wire, after which they were to riio_oor,t.ipiip. their efforts and return to Queenstown for orders Accordingly, after ihi breakage on Sunday morn- i J 56 The Expedition of 1858. ing, the ships' heads about. of were |: time the Agamemnon affain beating up against the wind for tke everlasting rendei^vons which we seemed destined to be always seeking. It was bard worlc beating up against the wind; so hard, indeed that It -vo., not till the noon of Monday, the 2dth, that we rojoinod the Niagara; and, while all were waiting with impatience for her explanation cf how they broke the Cable, she electrified every one by running up the inter- rogatory, . Uow did the Cable part V This was astound- "IS- As so<.u as the boat* could be lowered, Mr. Cybus iiELi,, with the electricians from the Niagara, came on board, and a comparison of logs showe<l the painful and mysterious fact that, at the sa,nc second of time, each vessel discovered that a tot.-,I fracture had taken place at a distance of cerfciinly not less than ten miles from each » "p-m fact, as well as can be judged, ..: the bottom of the oecau. That of all the many niisnaps connected with tlie Atlantic Telegraph this ,.-, ,h.. „„rst and most dis- ■<-rtcn,ng is certam, si,.c it |,roves that, after all that buman skill and .^-icncc .an ,.ff„a to lay the wire down will, safety has been ac^onipHsh, :, there may be some f.it.-d obstacles to success al tl„. b.Htomof the ocean whi.h can never be guarded agaii.sl, i;,r ,nTn the „M„re .,f l!,e penl mus. always renmin a, .secret an,l UMk.i.un a, ,|,c depth.-! Ill wlneh it is lo be eneounlered. "No,i,„ew,...l,w,,.,ne,.,|„,,.,,,|,,,,.,i„^,,,^.,^^^^^^.^^^^ » / The Expedition of 1858. 157 the third and last splice, which was lovered over into 2, Quo fathoms water at 7 o'clock by ship's time the same night. The Cable, as before, paid out beautifully, and nothing could have been more regular and more easy than the working of every part cf the apparatus. At first the ship's speed was only 2 knots, the cable going 3 and 3i, with a strain of 1,500 pounds, the horizontal angle averaging as low as 17, and the vertical about 16. ]^v and by, however, the speed was increased to 4 knots, the cable going 5, at train of 2,000 pounds, and an angle of from 12 to 14. At this rate it was kept, with trifling variations, throagnout ilmost the whole of Mon- thly night, and neither Mr. Bright, Mr. Canning, nor Mr. Clifford ever ([ulud the machines for an instnnt. Towards the middle of the night, while the rate of tht ship continued the same, the sp(ed at which the Cable -layec' out slackened nearly a kno* an hour, whiK' the ( vnanometer inculcated as l(^w as 1,800 })(<un(l.s. Tins chiMigc could only b(; accounted for on the suftposition that the water had shallowed to ;. considerable ox<ei)* and that the ves)*c\ was mi fact passing over some ^ui)- murine Ben Nevis or Skiddaw. " After an interval of about an hour, tiie strain and ra*- ol nrt*'fn;ss of the Cable ai^'iin increased, while the in- crease of the vertical angle seem(>d lo indicate that the this there w;us no variation throughout Monday night, ov, Ili^ ^S^ The Expedition of 1858. indeed, through Tuesday. The upper deck coi], whieh had weighed so heavily upon the ship, and still more heavily upon the minds of all during the past storms was fast disappearing, and by 12 midday on Tuesday,' the 29th, 76 miles had been paid out .0 something like eO miles' progress of the ship. All seemed to promise most hopefully, and the only cause that warranted anxiety was that it was evident the upper deck coil would be 5nished by about 11 o'clock ^t night, when the men v,ould have to pass in darkness along the great loop which formed the communication between that and the coil in the main hold. This was most unfortunate but tlie operation had been successfully performed in duyhght during the experimental trip in the Bay of Biscay, and every precaution was now taken that no accident should occur. At 9 o'clock by the ship's time when 148 miles had been paid out, and about 112 miles' distance from the rendezvous accomplished, when tho last Hake but one of the upper deck coil came .n turn to bo uso<l, in order to make it easier p^ussing to the main ^•o.I, the revolutions of the screw were reduced gradually l.y two revolutions at a time from SO to 20, while the Puyuig-out Machine went slowly from 36 to 22. At this 'ate, the vessel going three knots and the Cable thno ■nul a half, the operation was continued with perfect regularity, the dynamometer i' dicitinir a strain iA'^2 H^*^ pounds. Su.ldcnly, without an msUuit's warning, Jr the The Expedition of 1858. 159 occurrence of any single incident that could account for it, the Cable parted. The gun that again told the Valor- ous of this fatal mishap brought all on board the Aja- inemnon rushing to the deck, for none could believe the rumor that had spread like wildfire about the ship. But there stood the machinery, silent and motionless, while the fractured end of the wire hung over the stern wheel, swinging loosely to and fro. It seemed almost impossi- ble to realise the fact that an accident so instantanecis and irremediable should have occurred, and of course a variety of ingenious suggestions were instantly afloat, showing most satisfactorily how the Cable must and ought to have uroke." The amount of Cable lost from this ship was about one hundred and fifty miles ; nuiking an aggregate loss of about three hundred miles of Cable^ during the progress of this Expedition. Th'^ Niagara arrived at Queenstown on Monday, July 5,- one week in advance of the Agamemron, Captiiin Hudson's official report of the Expedition was as follows : " Umtkd Statics Stkam Fkiuatk Niauara, QlitKNSTowN, Ireland, July 8, 1808. "Sir, — 1 am sumowhat mortified und disaupoiuted lu report tl:e arrival of the Niayna at this port on the 5tli ■ i • « * I he Ti-h'graphic Cable fi4^> If 1 60 The Expedition of 1 858. "% last dispatch, of the 10th ult, informed you that the squadron were off Plymouth harbor, bound to the appointed rendezvous for uniting and running out the Telegraphic Cable. " During the first three or four days of our passage, we had calms and light variable winds ; the following eight days almost con^hiuous gales from the west to the south- west, and the greater part of the time heavy sea ; when the weather again moderated, and our vessels, which had separated during the gales, met together at the rendez- vous on the 25th ; the Agamemnon liaving shifted about one hundred miles of the ui)per portion of the Cable on her main hola tier during the gale, which portion they were engaged in running i„ the gun-deck when we fell in with them. " On the 26th (Saturday) we commenced our operations by securing the Naujara and Ajamcmmm together, stern to, with hawsers, splicing the Cable, and easing it'.]<nvn gradually with two hundred futlioms paid out Iroiii each Hhip; the hawser let go by signal, and ihe ships sepa- rated on their resj.ectivc courses, at a rat^^- of three-fourths of a mile the hour. ^Vh,.n we had paid out two miles and forty fithoins, as shown by our indicator, llie Cable, hehoj hauled in thr ,rrnnrj direction, through th, ejri/r- '»''»f or carelessness of on" of the men statinnnl h, if, caiiLrhtand i);irt<'d in ',ho Vi,i,„ ,;,\. ,.,o,.i.: a 1 _• • -it- iiv <i V V fog and mist had set in soon after the ships sepn rated. The Expedition of 1858. 161 "We were fortunate enough, however, to get together again in a short time, spUce, lower down the Cable, and separate from each other as before stated. The Xia- fjara's speed at starting was short of one mile the hour, and gradually increased to two knots six fathoms up to 7 o'clock P.M., the Cable being paid out three and a half knots per hour; and from that hour till midni-ht, a uniform speed was maintained of three and a half miles the hour, and the Cable was paid out, as shown by the indicator, at four and a half miles the hour. Our machinery was working as well as we could desire, Cable running from the coils and going over it with ease and regularity, when to our great surprise, at 14 o'clock, A.M., on the 27th (Sunday), .he electricians rci)orted that there had been no signals from the Aju- memnon for the la.st ten minutes. We kept going cu slowly, as previously agreed uinm, until 4 40 a.m. (mi tlie meantime the electricians tested the C;tble m the sluj), and rei)orted tlie continuity and insulations per- fect), when the chip's headway w;us entirely stopped, and we commenced h(>aving in with die machinery. The Cable parted at 4 ')() A.M., and we lost on this occasion as m.>asured by the iiulicator, 42 miles, 300 fathoms of Cable, and slarltd tor the rendezvous, wliere on Mon*lay the 28lh, the A'/anin>ni"„ :uid Xiacjaro were secured tngottier, liie spiice niatif, iuvVt-n .i .i..v»;i, ii;;;; ;;:v- . :;;i-.. separated. !us h;us Ixvmi ah-eady described, nt 7 '60 I'.M. l62 ft The Expedition of 1858. Our speed for the first hour was only three- a i-quarters ""xc, second hour. 2^ miles; third hour, 3 miles; and the fourth hour, 3^ miles. From that time until 9 10 on Tuesday evening, the 29th (when we ceased to gel signals from the Agamemnon, and the engines slowed down), the speed of the ship had been 4^ miles the hour and the Cable paid out 5i miles the hour, as shown by the indicator. "The engines were stopped at 10 p.m., and the ship hung m a measure by the Cable until twenty minutos after midnight, when :. parted, the indicator showin.. a loss on this occasion of 145 miles, 930 fhthoms of The Ca})le. Our electricians again thoroughly tested all tLe Cable on board ship, and found the insulation and conti- nuity all perfect, and there was but one opinion among those gentlemen, that the Cable parted rt or near the Agamemnon, which we shall ascertain when she arrives at this port to fill up her coal. ''^ n arrangement had been made, when the sliips sepa- rated on the 28th inst., that in the event of any accident to the Cable befvre either should have run one hundred mik. we were to return to the rendezvous, unite the Cable, and uutke another attempt to lay it ouf if beyond that dis- tance, the vessels were to proceed to Qucenstown, fill up with coal, and again renew our ( fVorts. "In the Xiagara we hud uU the coal that wo r.2..^iTM for h.y ing down our part of the Cable. There were'seri^ The Expedition of 1858. 163 ous doubts, however, if we ran further, or any distance beyond the one named, whether the Agamemnon'' a coal would hold out (without any expenditure in getting back to the rendezvous) and leave her enough to insure steam- ing back to Valentia Bay with the cable, in the event of no further casualty to it on the way there. *' Mr. Everett's n.achinery has paid out the Cable with apparent ease and uniformity of strain, and we find it admirably adapted to the work it has to perform in all its parts. " Iler Majesty's steamer Gorgon, which accompanied us, arrived here with the Niagara. We now await the arri- val of the Agamemnon and the Valorou.^, when we hope to be oflf again for the rende/.vous in seven or eight days, under more favorable auspices of weather than we expe- rienced in the monlh of June. " It affords me pleasure to report the continued good health of officers and crew. "I have the hono*- to be, respectfully, ' Your obedient serv't, " Wm. L. Hudson, Captain. " Hon. I. TOUCEY, Secretary of the Navy, Washington, 1). C" The Electricians on board the Niagara made the fol loiwinrr ronr »rt. • — • 164 The Expedition of 1858. m "At Sea, on 3oard U. S. Steam Frigate Niagara, Electricians' Department, July 2, 1858. To the Directors of the Atlantic Telegraph Company: "GENTLEMEN-We beg to submit to you the following statement of the proceedings in our department during the expedition of the Telegraphic Squadron, from the sailing on the 10th to the 30th ult. On the passage cut to the rendezvous we practised the staff of manipulating clerks in the working of the instruments until they were thoroughly proficient in the system. The instruments in circuit were a battery of 240 elements of copper and /.inc, reversing key, magnetometer, ordinary galvano- meter, Professor Thomson's marine galvanometer and four plug-switches, in conformity with your directions and the system of signalling authorized by your Board. On the 26th ult., at 1 58 i'.m., Greenwich time, the iViagara's and A:jramemnon's Cables having been united on board the latter ship, we commenced signalling through the Cable, (the whole of the iVicf/am's Cable b(Mng in Cer- ent, with the exception of about 100 miles that had been cut out of circuit for the purpose of testing, there being faulty insulation in a part of it). We continued signal- ling through the Cable in t lie most perfect and satisfactory laannrr until 3 28 p.m., (Ireonwieh time, when the Cable parted on b„;,nl this ship. The telegraph ships then n-tunied tt) the rendezvous, and Prof TnoMooM r^,,,^ ..;: board tliis ship to examine our record of signalling The Expedition of 1858. 165 and testing with him. We arranged some new signals that did not materially alter the system authorized by you, but which increased our list of signals so as to meet some possible r.equirements, viz., signals to be used in case of the necessity of cutting and buoying the Cable, and also for any temporary stoppage that mi^ht occur. " The two Cables were then spliced, and at 6 50 p.m., Greenwich time, we commenced passing signals lo ana from the Agamemnon until 3 32 A.M., Greenwich time, on the 27th, at which time we ceased receiving signals from the Agamemnon. After waiting fifteen minutes for the signals, and getting none, we informed Mr. Everett thereof. On applying all the different electri- cal tests in our power to the Cable, we found that there was 'dead earth' upon it, and informed the engineers of the fact. The Cable on board was then cut at about 100 miles from the bottom end and tested, and found perfect. Another cut was made, leaving about 196 miles in circuit on board, and this part of the Cable was found perfect. A third cut was made in the Cable, leaving only 20 miles in circuit on board, in addition to that paid out, the short end carried to our testing-room, and tested. All the Cable on board this ship was found to be perfect in all n'speels, h\\i the tests applied to the Cable paid out showed that it was electrically bn^ken, L 1 uliu liiut TiKiO Vv'iuS ■ iiC again returned to tlie rendezvous, and on Monday, Juno m 166 The Expedition of 1858. 28, having joined the Agamemnon, at Mr. Evekett's re- quest, Mr. De Sauty proceeded to the Agamemnon to confer with Prcf / : r Thomson, and compare the records of the sip ^ a- ■ V ' . z:^. At 9 24 p.m., Greenwich time, the Ago: 'ie7:inon's and Niagara's Cables having been again united, we commenced signalling to and from the Aga- memnon in the same pe.fcpt -nanner, until 11 44 p.m., Greenwich time, on the 29th, when, during the time we were receiving signals from the Agamemnon, they sud- denly ceased, and on cutting the Cable, so as to have only about twenty miles in circuit in addition to that paid out, and testing it, we found 'dead earth' upon it. The Niagara then continued paying out slowly for a short time, and finally stoppered the Cable until 2 57 A.M. During this time we kept continually test- ing the Cable paid out, and every test showed that it was electrically broken a great distance from this ship. " We cannot speak too highly of the system used for signalling, and can suggest no alteration or improvement, as we were not in the slightest degree embarrassed dur- ing the whole time that the Cable was being submerged. " We are also very much pleased with the way in which the manipulating clerks, viz. Messrs. Smith, Geriiardi, Irwin, and Linde, and Messrs Murray, McFarlane,' •••-• _:i.f_vi L\j tiioii uuLiCH. iiicy ciiii every- thing required of them most cheerfully and readily, and The Expedition of 1858. 167 gave us every assistance in their power. "We are, gentle- men, your most obedient servants, C. V. De Sauty, J. C. Laws. " Chief Engineer Everett made report : — • " United States Steamer Niagara, AT Sea, June 30, 1858. To the Directors of the Atlantic Telegraph Company: " Gentlemen — We beg to make the following report relating to the paying out of the Telegraph Cable from this ship. We sailed from Plymouth in company with the steamers Agamemnon, Valorous and Gorgon, on Thursday, June 10th inst,, but did not meet the Aga- memnon at the appointed rendezvous (latitude 52° 2', longitude 33° 18'), until the 26th inst, as most of the voyage had been one continuous gale, and the vessels were unable to keep sight of each other. At 12 18, local time, the splice connecting ti Cables of the two ships had been made, and we commenced paying out. At 1 -45, the leading on the part oi the Cable ran into the adjoining groove, and in the excitement of first starting, while attempting to put it into the proper groove, it tvas thrown completely off the tvheel, and was parted on the handle on the f r-scraper. Two miles and forty f' _i\, o i\ r^ 1 1 _ u I 1 „ ■ ' i iUliiUuiS 01 tuC vyciOic uClvi uCCii I'iiKl OUT. " The splice was again made and we commenced paying 141 i68 The Expedition of 1858. out at 5 20 P.M, the ship going slowlj ahead, and the Cable half running knots per hour until 7 o'clock, when the ship's speed was increased to three knote, and from this gradurlly to three and three-quarter knots, and the Cable was paid out from four and a half to five knots, the strain varying from 2,100 to 2,300 pounds. At 1 40 (27th) Mr. De Sauty, the electrician, reported that no signals had been received for the la^t quarter of an hour, and that from his tests he believed the Cable had parted at a considerable distance from the ship. The shio's speed was reduced as much as possible, in order to pay out the least amount of Cable practicable, whUt the electricians made further experiments, ^.t 4 50 .^.M. the electricians having given an unqualified opinion that the Cable was parted, we decided to attempt hauling in. The engines were connected, and about one hundred fathoms recovered, when the Cable parted near the surface of the water. The wind was fresh, with con- siderable sea. Forty-two miles and three hundred fathoms had been paid out, and the running of the Cable from the coils and the mechanical arrangements for paying out had been perfectly satisfactory. "On the 28th, soon after midday, the ships again met at the rendezvous, when Mr. Everett visited the -v-ri-i •---" ^"C -oiigiiicero, ana aactJitameci that the Cable had not been broken on board that ship, The Expedition of 1858. 169 but that they had supposed it had been broken on board sive that the Cable must have om either ship, but from what lace, we have no means of ascer- the Niagara. It is parted some a,'--. cause, or the pr taining. "At 6 7 P.M. ''i. •■■'lice was again made and lowered, the ship moving ahead slowly, and we payed out the Cable as before, until 8 o'clock, when the speed was increased to three kr\ots, and further increased to four knots by midnight. " At 12 o'clock A. (29th), by observation, the ship had run 67 miles, and we had paid out 89 miles and 360 fathoms of Cable. During the past twelve hours, the speed of the ship had averaged about ij knots, and 5^ knots of Cable had been paid out per hour. Nearly the same rate of speed of ship and Cable as before was maintained until 6 18 p.m., when signals were again reported to have failed by the electricians. The ship's speed was reduced, and the Cable paid out very slow^.'. At 11 o'clock, the electricians addressed us a note, and wc determined to stop paying out a...d to let .he ship ride by the Cable until it parted. Although the wind was quite fresh, the Cahh held tlie ship for le hour and forty minutes hfore breaking, and not- v'ithstanding a strain of four ions. By soundings on chart tlie water was 1,650 fiitlioins. " The ship had run on her rourse 109 miles, and 142 8 1 70 niles. The Expedition c{ 1858. or fathoms of the Cable had been paid 01 about thirty per cent, more Cable than the distance run ; but an allowance of ten ->nes at least must be made for the excess of Cable paid out immediately after the splice was made, which will reduce the per ccntage of loss to about twentyone per cent. There had been at no time a strain of a ton upon the CM. since the splice was last made, and the angle at wli ,1, it was running out varied frcm twelve to nineteen d. -ivus with the horizon. The paying-out machinery worked perfectly, and wo have not had the slightest difficulty in any department; and np to the time of tne failure in the receipt of signals we bad the utmost confidence in the successful termination of the enterprise. "There is now remaining in the shi]) 1,000 miles of cable, or about thirty per cent, excess over the distance to be run, and should you think proper to renew the at ten.pt, we fed confident rlicro is suifiei.-nt Cable now in tiio ship to meet the r(>quirements,and are readv to return so soon as the ship has obtained rhe nece.ssary" ^uppiy of coal. W. II. ^. OoDHOrsK." T],o announcement of the departure r,f this Expedition ''•"I '-..viv.Nl the anxiety with whi.-h everv strp of the •••'t'-rprise was rrganle,!. TidinL's ihuu th.« fl-et uere awaited on this side of tlie Atlantie in painful suspense. The Expedition of 1858. 171 Meanwhile, a stormier June than had been known on the Atlantic for many years, inspired fears for the result. Days passed away, and still no news came. Weeks fled and yet no tiJings. Finally, on Monday, July 13, when upwards of a month had passed, a brief dis])atch from Newfoundland brought the first word from the fleet. The small steamer Blue Jacket^ from Liverpool, reported that she passed a " large and a small steamer, both Bri- tish," in a latitude near the ])lace of rendezvous for the Niagara and Agamemnon ; and that " in the evening," she " observed a large steamer bearing down upon the others." This indefinite information aggravated the con- dition of suspense. But a day or two afterwards came tli" Alice 3funroe, a sailing packet, at Boston, with fuller })articulars ; and close upon the track of the Alice Manroe, a European steamer, bringing detailed accounts of *he second failure. The events which resulted in the final success, will lorm the subject of a fresh chapter. 3ili^ I CHAPTER VII. THE TniRD AND SUCCESSFrL ATTE^^PT. rrilE Afjamemnon and Gorrjon having arrivod at J- Queenstown on tlie 12th July, the news of the second great disaster was too fully eonfinned. The Expedition had not only ended, but three hundred miles of the Cable had been lost in mi<l-oeean, durin- this second trial. Doubts and fears again gathered tlnekly around the enterprise. Pn.phots of evil, flattering them- selvcs that tlieir aj^pndiensions were firmlv grounded, wisely shook their h.>ads, and indulged in sclf-eomplaeent observations ujmn iheir forecast an.l pn..lene.^ Worse than all, the ere.lit of the Company fell rapi.llv. On the 6th of July, on the nreipt c,f the news of thJ re.urn of the Xur^ara \r Lon.lon, the .£1000 shar.>s of the Com- p.nv receded from .dm, nt which they l,a,l be,-,, n.uni- nally quoted, to .€200. The dosing ra,es on that ,hy ranged from C200toj:iOO. That want of ..onfi.len.v, wl.ieh haswreeke.l ..,, n.anv enterprises ..,,,,1 blaste,l ,!> many h.)].es, ret.irne.l in f:.ll vigor npo,, ,l,o h,.,ds of The Third and Successful Attempt. 173 the unfortunate projectors of tliis great undertaking. It is not necessary to add that the reception of the untowD rd intelligence in the United States chilled the popular en- thusiasm, and created doubts in the minds o^ the most sanguine. The Atlantic Cable was virtually consigned to the long catalogue of impracticable fallacies. Still, the noble-hearted and self-denying Directors did not falter. A special meeting of the Company was called, to meet in London early in July, in which a reso- lution to put forth a new effort was agreed to unani- mously. It was found tluit the wise provision of an extra length of the Cable had relieved the Company from the necessity of further delay for the manufacture of a new ^vipply. More than the necessary quantity of wire to compass the ocean yet remained unharmed on board the yiagara and Agamemnon, notwithstanding the heavy losses incurred during the second trip. The weatlier,in the latter partof tlie summer, promised more favorably than the remarkably erratic course of the winds and waves in Jun(>. The ofiicers aiul men em- plovod in the flei't were full of ^"uthusiasm lor ihe work. These were all valid n-asons for renewing ihe elTort. The summer waned, and no time was to be lost. Wit'i- out wasting \.. .s In elaborate discussion, the Directors took their course, the Kxixnlition was again oi\\ red to Pen. nno 'e entetprise went on. The last ships of the Telegraphic S<iUauron -.rrived ui 174 The Third and Successful Attempt. Queenstown on the 12th of July, and on Saturday, July 17th, the entire fleet was again under way, bound to the mid-ocean rendezvous. At noon on Thursday, August 5, the city of New York was electrified by the announcement of the arrival of the magam and her tender, the Gorgon, at Trinity Bay, Newfoundland; with the astounding tidings that the Atlantic Cable was safely laid, and already in perfect working order. There is a homely proverb which says of unoxp(^cted intelligence, that '' it is too good to be true." The adage was thoroughly verified in this instance. Men were generally incredulous. The sanguine shook their heads in doubt. That the news of a comi)lete success, after so many disasters, should have coi.ie with the suddenness of a flash along the wire itself, was an event of no com- mon moment. The fact failed to obtain credence for some hours after its announcement. Then came con- firmatory despatches from Trinity Bay. Doubts w. re set aside, and the whole country brol-o out in u])r()ari()us rejoicings. The confirmation of the news being immedi- ately telegraphed from New York to all parts of tlic United States, the event was made ilie occasion (,f impromptu celebrations without number. Bells weio rung, iKmiires l.lax.ed, business eeased, illuminations sprang up, the Press became jubilant. Rarely has I'lere been heard so univei*sal a shout of joy. ^) The Third and Successful Attempt. 175 The first telegram announcing the success of the enter- prise, was sent from Trinity Bay by Mr. Cvias W. Field, directed to the Pre^ of New York. It was as follows : — " Trinity Bay, Thursday, Aug. 5, 1858. " To Vie Associalcd Press of Xew Y../c: "The Xutgara and Gorgon arrived at Trinity Bay yesterday, and the Atlantic Cable, the working of whi<-h is perfect, is being landed to-doy. "The Atlantic Telegraph Fleet sailed from Queenstown on Satunlay, July 17, met at mid-o-oan on Wednesday, the 28th, made the splice at 1 p.m. on Thursday, the 29th, and then separated, the Agamemnon and Valomu, bound to \'aUuL..n, Ireland, and the Xiagwa and '>nrgon for this place, where they arrived yest.n-day, and this morn- iu. the end of the Cable wiU b.^ landed. It is sixteen lumdred and ninety-eight nautical or nineteen hundred and fifty statute miles from the Telegraph house, at the lH,,i of VahMitia harb..r, to the Telegraph ho.ise, Bay of Bulls, Trinity Vy.xy, and for nu.re than two-tLirds of this distance the water is over two mius in depth. The Cable has Invn pai.l out fnun the .1,7'"""""">" at about the same spe. d as from th.' Xi"'j.,ra. The electrical signals seta and nv. ived thn.ugh the whole Cal.le are j.'^.t'eet. Tin- maeh.nerv for payiiig out the Cable worked tn the r.ost satisfictory manner, and was not 176 The Third and Successful Attempt. stopped fur a single Moment from the time the S2)lieo wus made until we arrived here. " Captain Hudson, Messrs. Everett and Woodhouse the Engineers, the Eleetricians and o&cers of the ships' and in fact eveiy man on board the Telegraph Fleet, has exerted himself to the utmost to make the expedition Huceessful; and bj the blessing of Divme Providence it hiis succeeded. " After the end of tlie Cable is landed and connected vvith the land line of telegraph, and the Magara has discharged some cargo belonging to the Telegraph Com. pany, she will go to St. John's for coals, and then pro- ceed at once to New York. " Cyrus W. Field." Subsequent dispatches, exchanged between Mr. Field and the Presi.Vmt of the United States, the Afayor of the City of New York, and others, added to the fever of the popular excitement. We present these dispatches as a valuable portion of the historj- of the Telegraphic enterprise:— DisPArcn to the Pklsidsnt ok tuk United States. To the President of the United States, Washington : Deah S.k: The Atlantic Telegraph Cahle on bo,,..] the Unite,! States ir^KHte Xi,.,ara, un,l HUM s,,.an.e:- Ar,„nn> .-as jomecl UMn.l-oeean, .ruly ... and ha. .e,.n sueeesslhlly l.Hi • an,. .H -on a. the ..... ,.,„,. „, ,.,.„„„„„„, ^^.,,,^ ^,^^_ ,^^_^^^ -^^ The Third and Successful Attempt. 177 Victoria will send a Message to you, and the Cable viU Ye kept free until after your Reply has been transmitted. With great respect, I remain your obedient servant, Cyrus W. Field, The President's Reply. Bedford, Penn., Friday, Aug. 6, 1858. To Cyrus W. Field, Trinity Bay : My Dear Sir : I congratulate you with all my heart on the suc- cess of the great enterprise with which your name is so honorably connected. Und«!r the blessing of Divine Providence I trust it may prove iustrumental in promoting perpetual peace and friendship between the kindred nations. I have not yet received the Queen's dispatch. Yours very respectfully, James Bucti, an. Second Dispatch to the President, Trinity Bay, Saturday, Aug. 7, 1858. His Excellency James Buchanan, President of the Unikd States, Bed- ford Springs : Yoin- telegraphic dispatch has been received. "VVe landed here in a wilderness, and until the telegraph instnnncnts are all perfectly adjusted, no message can be recorded over tli.> Cable. You shall have the earliest information, but some days may elapse btfore all is ellected. The lirst message from Euruj>e ?hall be from the Queen to yourself, and the first from America to Euf^'laiul, your reply. "With great rc-prcf. Very truly your friend, Cyrus W. Field. 178 The Third and Successful Attempt. Dispatch to the Mayor of New York. Trinity Bay, Thursday, Aug. 5, 1858. Mayor of New York : Sir: The Atlantic Telegraph Cable has been successfully laid. C. W. Field. The Mayor's Reply. Mayor's Office, New York, Friday, Aug. 6, 1858. Cyrus W. Field, Esq., Trinity Bay ; SiK : Your dispatch ha<. been received. I congratulate you myself, and for tlie people of this City, on the success of the great work of uniting the old and the new worlds by the Electric Telegraph Science, and skiU, and perseverance, have <inaUy triumphed. Daniel F. Tiemann. A journal of the third and List voyage of the iViaffara carefully posted from day to day by Mr. Field," and published by his permission, embodies a complete history of the final triumph. It is as follows :— "Saturday, July 17.-This morning the Telegraph Fleet sailed from Queei .nown, Ireland, as follows: The Valorous and Gorgon at 11 a.m.; the Niagara at 7^ P.M., and the Agamemnon a few hours later. All the steamers are to use coal as little as .ossible in getting to th.- ivndezvons. Up to 5 p.m. elear weather and blue ^^ky ; from 6 to 9 p.m. overcast, threatiming weather and The Th'iTL Lnd Successful Attempt. 179 drizzling rain; from 9 to 12 p.m., overcast, hazy and squally. Sunday, ISth. — The Niagara passed Cape Clear in the morning. Wind varying from W. by W.N.W. Heavy atmosphere, cloudy and squally. Monday, 19th.— Wind varying from AY. to N.W. Hazy atmosphere, cloudy and rainy, Tuesday, 20th.— AVind from N.W. to K Ilazy at- mosphere, cloudy and squally. Wednesday, 21st. — Wind N.W. with slight variation to the eastward, and cloudy. Thursda;y, 22nd.— Wind N.W. by W. Blue sky and cloudy. Friday, 23rd.— Wind from W. by S. to W.S.W. and cloudy and hazy atmosphere and rain. The Xiagara ar- rived at rendezvous, lat. 52° 5', long. 32° 40', at 8 30 p.m. Saturday, 21th.— Wind W.N.W. and hazy auno- sphere, cloudy and squally. Sunday, 25th.— Faforous arrived at 4 P.M. Calm, hazy atmosphere and cloudy. Monday, 26th.— Calm, hazy atmosphere, cloudy. Capt. Oldham of the Valorous came on board of the Xiagara. Tuesday, 27th.— Calrp, hazy atmosphere. Gorgo7i ar- rived at 5 P.M. Wednesday, 28th.— Slight wind N.N.W., blue slcy and hazv atmosphere. Agatnannou arrived at 5 P.M. Thursdav, 29th.— Lat. 52° 9' north, long. 32 27' I \v 1 Ilfl 1 80 The Third and Successful Attempt. west. Telegraph Fleet all in sight; sea smooth ; light wind from S.E. to S.S.E., cloudy. Splice made at 1 p.m. Signals through the whole length of the Cable on board both ships perfect. Depth of water loOO fathoms ; distance to the entrance of Valentia harbor 813 nautical miles, and from there to the telegrapli house the shore end of the Cable is laid. Distance to the entrance of Trinity Bay, Newfoundland, 822 nautical miles, and from there to the telegraph house at the head of the bay of Bull's Arm, 60 miles, making in all 882 nautical miles. The Niagara has 69 miles further to run than the Agamemnon. The Niagara and Agamemnon have each 1100 nautical miles of cable on board, about the same quantity as last year. At 7 45 P.M. ship's time, or 10 5 P.M. Greenwich time, signals from the Agamemnon ceased, and the tests ap2)lied by the electricians showed that there was a want of continuity on the Cable, but the insulation was perfect. Kept on paying out from the Niagara very slowly, and constantly applying all kinds of electrical tests until 9 10 ship's time and 11 30 P.M. Greenwich time, when again commenced receiving perfect signals from the Aga- memnon. Friday, 30th.— Lat. 51° 50' N. Long. 3-4° 49' W., distance run by observation the last 23 hours 89 miles. Paid out 131 miles, 900 fathoms Cable, or a surplus of 42 miles, 900 latlioms, over the distance run by observation, equal to 48 per cent. Lej)th of water 1550 to 1975 fathoms ; 1* The Third and Successful Attempt. i8i wind from S.E. to S.W. Weather thick and rainy, with some sea Gorgon m sitr lit. At 5 30 A.M. finished the main deck coil, and commenced paying out from the berth deck. 723 miles from telegraph house at Bull's Arm, Trinity Bay. Friday 30, at 2 21 p.m. received signals from the Agamemnon that they had paid out 150 miles. Saturday, 31st.— Lat. 51= 5' north, long. 38° 14' W ; dis- tance run from observation the last four hours, 137 miles; payed out 156 miles, 843 fiithoms of Cable, or a surplus of 22 miles; 843 fathoms over the distance run by observation, equal to 17 per cent.; depth of water, 1657 to 2250 fiithoms : wind moderate, S.W., and from 6 A.M. N.W. by N. ; weather cloudy ; little rain and some sea : Gorgon in sight. Total amount of Cable paid out 291 miles; 730 fathoms; total distance run by observation, 226 miles. Surplus Cable payed out over the distance run by observation, 65 miles, 730 fathoms, equal to 29 per cent. ; 656 miles from the telegraph house at Trinity Bay ; 11 4 P.M., payed out from the Niagara 300 miles of Cable ; at 2 45 p.m. received signals from the Agamemnon, that they had payed out from her 300 miles of Cable ; at 5 37 P.M., finished coil on the berth, and commenced ]);iying out from the lower deck. Sunday, Aug. l.-Lat. 50^ 32' N. long. 41° 55' W. ; distance run by observation the last 24 hours, 145 miles ; payed out 164 miles and Cs:', r,,th..ms of Cable, or a ,.'^.. IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) // ,%^ <i '^ C?. «> fA 1.0 I.I 1.25 Mill: til 2^ |Z5 Ki 1 2.2 20 tu m ■ 40 1.4 — 6" 1.6 .^ ^ ^ > .>'" ^;. ^ s^ ^>:i .^-.v V /A ^ y Photographic Sciences Corpordtion 4^^ \" 4^ ■^ \ \ 13 WIST MAIN STRUT WtBSTIR N Y MStO ( ;t«i I72-4S03 % l82 The Third and Successful Attempt. SU.PIUS of 19 miles, 630 fathoms over the distance rua NNEtNE T' "'"" """'-^'-"'l fr-H from N.N.E to NE weather cloudy, misty, and a heavy sweil • ^nues, 400 fathoms ; do. do mn 1 xr ^u Q , ^ , ' "°- ^^° ''7 observation, 371 Surp,„ Cable payed out over the distance run, 85 m/e ,' telegraph house; at 3 05 p.u., finished paying out coil on tne lower deck, and changed to the coiMn L hold Monday, 2d.-Lat. 49- 52' N. Ion. 45- 48' W ■ dis tance run by observation the last 24 hoa,^ 154 miles' payed out 177 miles, 15 fathoms of Cable, orasun^l-^o^ 23 mdas, 100 fathoms over the distance run, e,uaT "15 percent Depth of water 1,600 to 2,385 fathol mil N weather cloudy ; the Nu^^ra getting light, and rolling very mu h; ,t was not considered safe to carry sail to L s? fj' ': """ °' '"^"'™' ■' ■"'«>" ^ "--^ to stop the vessel a., soon as possible. At 7 a.m., passed and s,gnalled the Cunard steamer from Barton t: Liver pool. Total amount of Cable payed out, 633 mile.,, 500 ftthoms ; run by observation, 625 miles ; total surplus of Cable payed out over the di.stanee run, 108 mile.,, 500 fa horns, or less tl,,an 21 per cent.; 257 mdes from the telegrap,, house ; 12 38 ship's time, 3 38 Greenwich time' ■".perfect msnlation of Cable detected i„ .^ending and reccwng s.gnals from the A,a^„,^n, which continued ihe Third and Successful Attempt. 183 until 5 40 A.M. ship's time, or 8 40 A.M., Grcenwicli time, \/L(;a ail was right again. The fault was found to be in tli'j ward room, or in about 60 miles from the lower end, which was immediately cut out, and taken out of the circuit. Tu.\sday, 3d.— Lat. 45° 17' N. long. 49° 23' W. : dis- tance run, by observation, the last 24 hours, 147 miles ; payed ouc 161 miles 61 fathoms of Cable, or a surplus of 14 miles 613 fathoms, over the distance run, — equal to 10 ] 'T cent. Depth of water 742 to 1,827 fathoms ; wind N.N.W. ; weather very pleasant ; Gorgon in sight ; total amount of Cable paid out, 796 miles, 300 fathoms, liun by observation 672 miles ; surplus of Cable payed out, over the distance run, 123 miles, 300 fnthoms — less than 19 per cent. ; 200 miles from the telegraph house ; at 8 26 A.M., finished paying out coil from the hold, and commenced paying out from the ward room coil ; 305 miles of Cable on board at noon ; at 11 15 ship's time, received signals from on board the Agamemnon, that they had paid out from her 780 miles of Cable ; on the after- noon and evening, passed several icebergs ; at 9 10 P.M., ship's time, received signals from the Agamemnon that she was in water of 200 fathoms ; at 10 20 P.M., ship's time, Niagara in water of 200 fathoms, and informed the Agamemnon of the same. Wednesday, 4th.— Lat. 48" 17' N. long. 52 43' W. ; distance run, by observation, 146 miles; payed out 154 i84 The Third and Successful Attempt. miles, 160 fatUo„,s of Cable, ora.surpte of 8 miIes-3«o .tbon,. over the distant run-equal ,o 6 p" aepth of water less than 200 &tho,„s; weather'b au^^' pereetlycata; e„.,<,„ in sight. Total amount oC^I na.d out, 949 miles, 660 fathoms; surplus of Cabk pad ou , over the distance run, 131 mife, 666 fathom.' « ->es to telegraph house; received signals from'tS iirr"; " ™°"' """ ""=^ ''"•^ I'-d -^ from h entered Tnmty Bay ,at 12 30 p.m., ship's time; stopped sondrng .g ,3 to the A,„,n.„,non, for the p rpofof mak,ng aspl.ee. At 2 40 ship's time, commenced Tdin. sgnals agam u, the ^,a™«„„„,. ,, 5 p.„. ^^ ^7;^ O^K of the Porcu,,^, .,„ ,,j ^^,„ ^^^ ^ ^ J^^' " to.;!;; hof " """' -^ '- "-^-^^ - "^e Thursday 6th.-l 45 a.m.; .V,',^,™ ,„,^„^^ tan e run smce yesterday noon, 64 miles; amount of cable paid out, 66 mil ^s H'^'i f..fi, i • loss thn 4. , ' f^^thoms-bemg a Joss of . ' '''"" ^ ^''' ^^^"t- Tot.il amount of cable n.irl . «"ice the splice was m-idc 1 01 « •/ ^ ''''' ^•"^^ amount of distance run ^^o . -i Cable paid out over the di , ?' """""' "^ fath„n.s-heing a r. T ™"' ^'^ '""-• "«« c u, buipius ol li, per cent. At 2 a.m. The Third and Successful Attempt. 185 went ashore in a small boat, and informed the persons in charge of the telegraph house, half a mile from the land- ing, that the Telegraph Fleet had arrived, and were ready to land the end of the cable ; 2 45 a.m., received signal from the Agamemnon that they had paid out from her 1,101 miles of Cable. At 5 15 a.m. Telograph Cable landed ; at 6 the shore end of the Cable was carried into the telegraph house, and received a very strong current of electricity from the other side of the Atlantic. Capt. Hudson, of the Nuxgara, then read prayers, and made some remarks. 1 P.M., II.M. steamer Gorgon fired a royal salute of 21 guns. All day discharging cargo be- longing to Telegraph Co. ; all day Friday receiving strong electric signals fi-om the telegraph house at Valentia. Note. — "We landed here in the woods ; until the tele- graph instruments are all ready, and perfectly adjusted, eormiuuications cannot pass between the two continents, but the electric currents are received freely. You shall have the earliest intimation when all is ready, but it may be some days before eveiythmg is perfected. The first through message between P^urope and America will be from the Queen of England to the President of the United States, and the second, his reply. Cyius W. Field. A j)Cfiod of twelve days elapsed from the date of Mr. Fikld's first dispatch until the reer])tion of the i86 The Third and Successful Attempt. Queen's Message to the President of the United States. During this interval, daily dispatches were received in New York from the operators at Trinity Bay, giving positive assurances that the Cable was in perfect work- ing order, and that signals were constantly passing between the British and American termini of the line. Still, these assurances aroused a new suspicion in the public mind. The Cable, men said, might have been safely laid, signals might be received hourly through its entire length, the operation of the electric current might remain unimpeded,-but could messages be sent through it ? The question was one that no one answered ; nor did the electricians in charge at Trinity Bay vouchsafe the explanation that would have set doubts at rest. Days passed, and yet the promised Message from Her Majesty did not appear. Intense anxiety began to prevail. ':^he doubting part of the public renewed their prophecies of evil. Success was still fai from positive certainty,-when suddenly, in the afternoon of Monday, August 16, the tidings reached New York from Ne^v- foundland, that the Queen's Message was received. A few iiours afterwards, a short paragraph, purporting to be the congratulations of Her Majesty to the President, came to us. A general feeling of disappointment at the remarkable brevity, not to say curtness, of this message, found vigorous expression. The President himself, who returned to the White Kouse to receive the menage, The Third and Successful Attempt. jSy entertained doubts of its genuine character, but upon receiving assurances of its correctness, dispatched a reply. The following morning — I'uesday, August 17 — brought the explanaaon of the matter. The message sent on Monday was but a small part of Her Majesty's communication : the w^ires had ceased to work when the introductory paragraph was dispatched, but the mistake was rectified, the message transmitted entire, and the anxiety of the public was allayed, — for the Cable was a working mstrument — an accomplished fact. The message of Her Majesty and the reply of the President, were as follows : MESSAGE OF THE QUEEN. To the President of the United States, Washington : The Queen desires to congratulate the President upon the suc- cessful completion of this great international work, in which the Queen has taken the deepest interest. The Queen is convinced that the President wi'l join with her in fervently hoping that the Electric Cable which now connects Great Britain with the United States will prove an additional link between the nations whose friendship is founded upon their common interest and reciprocal esteem. The Queen has much pleasure in thus communicating with the President, and renewing to him her wishes for the prosperity of the r ted States. 1 88 The Third and Successful Attempt. REPLY 0^ THE PRESIDENT. VV/3HINGT0N City, Aug. 16, 1858. To Her r-^iesty Victoria, Quem of Great Britain: The President cordiaUy reciprocates the congratulations of Her M^jes^y, the Queen, on the success of the great international enter- prise accoinpUshed by the science, skill, and indomitable ener-^y of the two countries. It is a triumph more glorious, because far more useful to mankind, than was ever won by conqueror on the field of battle. May the Atlantic Telegrap:, under the blessing of Heaven, prove to be a bona of perpefual pe.«;c and fnanash^o between the kindred nations, and an in.strument destined by Divine Providence to diffuse religion, civilisation, hberty, and iaw throughout che world. In this view win not all nation, of Christemlom spontaneously unite in the declaration that it shall be for ever neutral, and tiiat its communica- tions shaU be held sacred in passing to their places of destinaUcn even m the midst of hostilities? (Signed) James Buchanan. Immediately after the transmission of the President's reply, the Mayor of the City of New York sent the fol- lowmg message to the Lord Mayor of London : Mayor's Office, New York, Aug. 17 1858 To the RioU Honorable Sir Robert Wa.ker Garden, M. P Lord Mayor of London : ' AUa^t Cab e „„,t,„, .^e continents „f Europe and America and tie cues of London and New York, the work of Great Britain The Third and Successful Attempt. 189 and the United States, the triumph of science and energy over time and space, thus uniting more closely the bonds of peace and com- mercial prosperity, and introducing an era in the world's history pregnant with results beyond the conceptions of a finite mind. To GK)d be all the praise. Daniel F. Tiemann, Mayor of New York City. The Governor-General of Canada, on the same day, forwarded his congratulations to the Home Government, in the following dispatch : The Honorable the Secretary of State for the Colonies. London, England : The G overnor-GenertJ of British North America presents his humble duty to the Queen, and respectfully congratulates Her Majesty on the completion of the Telegraphic communication between Great Britain and these Colonies. Edmund Head. The frigate Niagara, having accomplished the task allotted to her, returned to the port of New York on the afternoon of Wednesday, August 18, after an absence of five months and nine days. On the 10th of August, before the departure of the Niagara from St. John's, a banquet was given by the authorities in honor of Mr. Field, ^vho responded in a brief speech to a toast given in his honor. In response to a complimentary address from the f 1^ 4' M&v 190 The Third and Successful Attempt. Executive Council of Newfoundland, Mr. Field wrote the subjoined letter: ToV^e Honora^U the E:^ii,e CauncU of Nev,foundland : Mb. Pk^h>,,, ,,„ H0X0B.BLK G..XZ.MEK: I thank you with aU -y heart for this cordial .an^estation of your good wiU T^ e Upward of four years ago, when first I laid before the Legislature telegraphic communication, I received vnnr ^ whole view which has now wrived .t ;,. b , The te™, of .hat charter wcrm 1, 1, '"°'"P""'™'°^ your ocncib beea ^ided bv. d ^ T '"""'"«"'«' ""^ ''O cu gumea by a different spirit, the project wonl.J have been abandoned, and .ear, perhap, Z^l^J^^^CZ out w.tnea3,ng th,s happ, „„i„n „f „, ,„ J^^ '* ficent consequences it is destined to diffuse The exclusive privileges oonfe.red bj- a,e coW on the New ^or., NewfoundUnd, and London Telegraph Co^^ny, have Wei obse^e th approving terms in which you rc'er to then,. Every enlightened country recognises a right of property in fl,ose whT ; r "* ""'^^ '-'"'"' "' *'" - "P^"' <-- been" Thts protection is necessary to draw out the efforts of n,cn works of puWic uUlity, f„, who would sow ifle H ,'" "" Co.;::: :;:::: r ;r:rrcr ": --'-^ - *' and T th- 1 .V ' P'^'"^'P'e of copyright only is involved futuren^ay pX ve f 7: """ ' """""^"^ '™»' «- y product.ve of much bcneflt to your people from .te The Third and Successful Attempt. 191 great work which, from the beginning to the presett ''me, has had your consistent and liberal support. I shall looV with peculiar pleasure on the advantages you may derive from the proud position of this colony in the Telegraph connexion of the Old and New Worlds, and shall be ever ready to promote your views of advance- ment by all means in my power. I am, honorable gentlemen. Your faithful servant, Ctrus W. Field. In another communication, addressed to the Chamber of Commerce of St. John's, Mr. Field paid the following deserved tribute to gentlemen who have taken an active interest in the success of this enterprise : I could not do justice to my own feelings, did I fail to acknow- ledge how much is owing to Capt. Hudson and the officers of the Niagara, whose hearts were in the work, and whose toil was unceasing. To Ccramandcr Dayman, of her Majesty's steamer Gorgon, for the soundings so accurately made by him the last year, and for the per- fect manner in which he led the Niagara in the great "circle arc" while laying the Cable. To Capt. Otter, of her Majesty's steamer Porcupine, for the care- ful survey made by him in Trinity Bay, and for the admirable manner in which he piloted the Niagara at night to her anchorage. To Mr. Everett, who has for months devoted his whole time to designing and perfecting the beautiful machinery that has so success- fully paid out the Cable from the ships — machinery so perfect in every respect, that it was not for one moment stopped on board the Niagara until she reached her destination in Trinity Bay. '92 The Third and Successful Attempt. To Mr. W„„„„„,3., who superintended the coiUng of the CahU ^d .eaIou„y and abl, c„-ope...ed with hi. brother engineer durin"; the progress of paying out. ^ To the electricians, for their constant watcWulness tha?™' T:'" *" '"°"' ""*" '•""■ ""> I <•-■ "-Went that you w,U have a good report from the Commander, engineer, electncans, «,d others on board the A,a^^. .nd rLrol, the Irish portion of the fleet. ' To the Directors of the Atlantic Tele^aph Company, for the Ume they have devoted to the undertaking, without receiv,,,, any com P^nsafon f„. their services, and it must be a pleasure to mLTrf you to know that the Director who has devoted mo.e timcThl any other, vva, for many years, a resident of this piaee, and we^ known to a„ of you. I -htde to Mr. B»„o™o, o'f London. To Mr. a M W«o„, a native of New England, but who has for the h.t twenty-seven yea. resided in Londo.,, who appreciated the great .mportancc of this ente-prise in both countries, and gave i most valuable aid, bHn^ng his sound judgment and g-^eat buTn talent to the service of the Company. To that distinguished American, Mr. G.onoE PrxBonr, and his most worthy partner, Mr. Moaa,», who not only assisted it mos^ hberahy w.U> their means, but to whon; I could always go w ft confidence for advice. I shall rejoice ix> find that the commercial interests of this colony * t w,n now be drawn by the agency of the Atlantic TCegraoh between them, and the varied relations they hold throughouTthe wld; and w«h,„g you all every prosperity and h.ppine^, I am your very grateful friend, Cyrus W. Field. The Third and Successful Attempt. 193 In closing this record of the progress of the Atlantic Telegraph, it would be unjust to pass unnoticed the pubUc demonstrations of joy at the success of the under- taking. The whole Union rejoiced together. Every city, town, village, and hamlet in all parts of ;'ie country, sought to testify its sense of the importance of the work. The proclamation of a peace ai^ter an exterminating war- fare, could not have produced a more general outburst of enthusiastic congratulation. It is no unimportant part of the history of the entexprise to specify some of these spontaneous demonstrations ; a considerable spacs in the Appendix of this wo/k is accordingly devoted to a general summary of the popular demonstrations which occurred in diiferent parts of the United States, on the receptioix of tidings of complete success — demonstrations remarkable alike for their spontaneity and wild enthu- siasm. The Atlantic Telegraph is therefore a fact. A won- derful work has been accomplished within the compass of a few months. But two or three years elapsed from the inception of the enterprise to its triumphant accomplish- ment. England and America are placed within whis- pering distance of each other : a new link in the chain of destiny has been forged ; the electric current binds two great nations together in bonds of amity : the world has made a gigantic stride in tLp. path of progress : — the 9 194 The Third and Successful Attempt. men who live in this day have reason to hope for the accomplishment of undertakings hitherto considered impossil ic, and a new era dates from the laying of a Cable in the Ocean. CHAPTER VIII. i WORKING THE ATLANTIC TELEGRAPH — THE TERMINI OF THE : 'NE. TIME must test the practical operation of the Atlantic Telegraph. Messages have passed over its entire length, the Cable is in working order, and the- electricians express satisfaction at the operation of the current. But there is still a doubt whether a single small Cable will suffice for the accommodation of the business which must flow to this oceanic line. Another Cable, pcrliaps a number, will probably be found requisite to meet the requirements of Commerce. With new applications to meet the increasing demand, will come improvements suggested by experience. For the present, the initial enterprise accomplishes all that we can justly expect ; and with the future lies the solution of the difficulties which have accompanied the beginning of th£ enterprise. The primary source of the influence which was charged with the service of Atlantic Telegraphy, wa.s a giant volUiic battery, of ten capacit^us cells, termed the . i i^Ks^ 19^) Telegraph- The Termini of the Line. "Whitchouse Laminated or Perpetual Maintenance Batterj," a title designating one pejuliarity .vUich espe- cially fits it for employment. This battery is lade upon the Smee principle, so far as the adoption of a quadran- gular trough of gutta percha, wood strengthened outside, in which dilute acid is contained, the proportion of acid to water being one part in 15 or 16. Tliere are grooves in the gutta percha, into which several metal plates slide in a vertical position. Tiiese plates are silver and zinc alternately, but they are not pairs of plates in an electri- cal sense. Each zinc plate rests firmly at the bottom on a long bar of zinc, which runs from end to end of the trough, and thus virtually unites the whole into one continuous extent of zinc, presenting not less than 2 000 square inches of excitable surface to the exciting liquid Eacli silver plate hangs in a similar way from a metallic bar, which runs from end to end of the trough above the whole of the silver being thus virtually united into one continuous surface of equal extent to the fue^ of the zinc. The zinc does not reach so high as tiie upper longitudinal bur, and the silver does not hang down as low iuH the inferior longitudinal bar. The battery is thus composed of a s.-nglc pair o.f laminated plates, although to the eye it seems to bc^ made up of several pairs of l>]at<'8. Nat.ire ha.s srt the example of arranging ex- tended surface into redui.lieated folds, when i* . requiro.l that such Burfuce shall be packed away in a narrow space Teiegrapli — The Termini of the Line. 197 at tlie same time tliat a large acting area is preserved, in the laminated antenna} of the cockchafer. The antennaj, indeed, are the types of the Whitehouse battery. If any one of these reduplicated segments of either kind ol' metal is removed, the remaining portion continues its action steadily, the effect merely being the same that would be produced if a fragment of an ordinary pair of plates were tcmporariiy cut away. The silver laminas are of considerable thickness, and securely "platinated" all over- -that is, j)latinum is thrown down upon their surfaces in a compact metallic form, and not merely in the black pulverulent state ; consequently they are almost exempt from wear. Each zinc lamina is with- drawn as soon as its amalgamation is injuriously affected, or so soon as its own substance is iuainly eaten away by the action of the chemical menstruum in which it is immersed, and a freshly amalgamated, or new zinc lamina, is inserted into its j)lacr*. The capability of the piecemeal renewal of the consumptive element of the battery in this inteq)olutory and fragmentary way, is then llie cau?e of its '' juTpetual maintaining" j)owcr. The intensity of a voltaic arrang(>in«M't depends njM)ii tl.f number of it»s pairs of plates, or cells. If, in tli(^ experiment, the intensity <»f the electricity had be^-n incre.'use^l, without any ahi^'ratiou of (juantity, merely by multiplying tiie number of the eclls ciigagiMl, or by somo analogous ino<li(ieatioii of itistruMriital agency, the bo<ly 198 Tt.egraph-The Termini of the Line. wUicL resisted the eurront of the battery with sueh com- plete efieet, would have been flashed through and burnt up, like the frag„.ent of metal that had inferior powera 01 resistance. The flashes of light and eraekling sparks produeed on making and breaking cont.aet with the poles of this grand battery are very undesirable phenomena in oue partieu- tar. They are aeeompanied by a considerable w.nste of the n,etal of the pole. Eaeh .spark i. really a eonsider- ubio Iragment of the metal absorbed into itself by the eleetncal agent, so to speak, and flown away with by it To avo.d this danger, an ingenious eont.ivanee of the Eleetr,c,an of the Company will be u.s^.d. ,.i^t he amngnl a set of twenty br.^s. springs, .something of' the form and appearance of the keys of a musical instrument .n oppos.te pairs, so that a round horizont,.d bar, turning •..vot-ways on its own centre, and flattened a the top could ,,ft by an edge either of the sets of Urn sprin,^' If 7 t '" ;' "^" '"-"'• This enabled the cont;: to be .l,.,tn ,utc.d thr„ugh the entire length of the e,I.e ■■■"'• ''.vadth of the bra., springs, and the eou.e of ,t ^•;'"''V",'"^'"^'''-'''''' ••'•-"'■•"■•«'>■ -the right or ,ea •■■i«.' 1 .0 bar Keing w,.Ued by a ..nu.k.hand,e) w.. -■;'''>'-,gl,,,,,.,,.fl.vt..r..prings_therigl.t.,et,it . '";":"'"^^ '•'-"«"- .■-prosentat.ves of one ple urmiiL'-cnipt.f C >,,,.. r. (VI., ,- ., . ' - '** . .., ,,,,,,, ,,. .^.^ ^|,;irks uvrc drstroye.I, Telegraph — The Termini of the Line. 199 simply on account of the large surface of metal, through which the electrical current had to pass when contact was completed. Still there remained enough to consti- tute a very undesirable residue. This was disposed of finally, aftor sundry tentative attempts, by coiling a piece of fine platinum wire and placing it in a porcelain vess«il of water, and then leaving this fine platinum coil in constant communication with the opposite poles. The battery is unquestionably one of the most economical that has ever been set to work, considering the amount of service it is able to perform. It is calculated that the cost of maintaining the ten-celled battery in operation at the terminal stations on either side of the Atlantic, incluu! g all wear and tear, and consumption of materia], will nou exceed one shilling per hour. The voltaic current therefore passes to a silk-covered wire, in innumerable coils, enveloping a bar of sof^ iron immediately sheathed in gutta-percha. Several miles of this fine wire (No. 20) are twined about tliis iron centre ; then comes another coat of gutta-})ercha ; then another coil of wire, thicker this time, (No. 14,) and 1^ miles in length. The voltaic current, passing through the wires, anu reacliing the iron core, converts it into a powerful magnet, exciting acurrentof electricity, which is delivered to the No. 20 coil, and thence to tlie e;ibk', whence' it d('j)arts on its Tranaatlantie voynge. The traiisjriihsion current gcncnitcil in these double- H 200 Telegraph-The Termini of the Line. induction coils, on reaching the further side of the Atlan- tic, will of course have become somewhat faint and weak from the extent of the journey it has performed. It will not, therefore, be set in this state to print or to hard work ; but it will be thrown into a sort of nursery, known a^ the receiving instrument, where it. flagging energies will be restored. The conducting strand of the cable will be here made continuous with a coil of wire gut- rounding a bar of soft iron, which will become a tempo- rary magnet, strong in proportion to the number of turns m the coil, whenever the current parses. This temporaiy magnet will have its precise polarity determined by the direction in which the electric current pas.es along the wire. The pole which will be north when the current passes in one direction, will be south when the current runs the opposite way. The apparatus relied upon by the Company to effect this object is an improvement upon the relay magnet, which figured in Messrs. Cooke and Wheatstonk's patent. The advantage of it in, that the temporary magnet has no other work to do than to make the small permanent magnet traverse upon its almost frictionless pivot. On account of this peculiarity of con- struction, It ])osseasos the utmost sensibility. It may be J^ut into vigorous action by a sixi)eneo, and . frag.nent of z.nc placed on the moist t.mgue. When two or three of these instruments are scattered about in the room where the I;" ■••!' i] (J ,1.1. niauction coila ore at work, they Telegraph — The Termini of the Line. 201 are commonly heard clicking backwards and forwards automatically, and doing a little business on their own account, although no current of any kind is thrown upon their coils. They are then merely traversing upon their pivots, obediently to the magnetic attraction of the great bars, having their magnetism successively reversed some two or three yardc away, and, curiously enough, are sympatheacally recording, at such times, precisely the same signals and messages that the great magnets are sending off through the transmission coils. A description of the termini of the Atlantic Telegraph line appropriately completes this history. The American terminus is at Trinity Bay, in New- foundland; the British, at Valentia Bay on the west coast of Ireland. The position of these two points is indicated on the accompanying map. The approach to Trinity Bay is exceedingly pictu- resque, and possesses all that wildness and grandeur of scenery which distinguish nearly the whole coast of New- foundland. When the weather is clear, the peaks of the high headlands can be seen some thirty miles out at sea, and a nearer view shows a country of peculiarly mountainous character. The first thing that strikes the visitor is the baiTen and rocky nature of the land ; but there are some parts which are particularly susceptible of cultivation, and where, considering tlie inhos})itable cha- racter of the climate, farming has been successfully curried 9* M iv i\ 1 202 Telegraph— The Termini of the Line. on. It must be confessed, however, that the prospects for agricultural operations are not of the most encouraging kind, and that cod-fishing is, as it must always prove, the most lucrative occupation. Between those bleak,' wild mountain ranges there are some beautiful little val- leys, through which run streams of the purest, sparkling water. Indeed, there is an inexhaustible supply of this common but valuable and necessary article, both in the numerous lakes, rivers, and streamlets with which the whole island abounds, and which come gushing out of every rock in the summer time, or are frozen up m icy stillness and death during the long and cheerless winter. The entrance to Trinity Bay is about thirty miles wide, and on either side rise the bold headlands of Baccalo and Horse Chops— the latter of which is about five hundred, and the former seven hundred feet in hight. The shore of the bay is marked by indentations and smaller bays, and inlets have been worn into its rocky boundaries by the restless action of the sea, which breaks here with resistless fury. Large caves, running far into the moun- tain barriers, have been hollowed out by the same agency, and the dc:p scams that scar the front of the rocks show that time has also left his mark upon them. The other terminus of the line, is Valentia Bay, which is i)erhaps the most available point on the whole southern coast of Ireland, both on account of its being the nearest '■'■ - -wfouudluiui, and on account of its particular adapta- XT iiO IMC Telegraph — The Termini of the Line, 203 bility for a telegraph station. The county of Kerry, which is indented by Yalentia Bay, and in which the shore end of the cable was landed on the evening of the 6th of August, 1857, is very similar in its natural features to that pai-t of Newfoundland which we have just described. Huge mountains rise up on almost every side, and great masses of rock, in a thousand fan- tastic shapes, stand out in solitary isolation miles from the land. Two of these — of such gigantic dimensions that they almost approach the dignity of mountains — guard the entrance of Dingle Bay, like weather-beaten sentinels ; while farther in from the ocean is a long mountain range, the face of which is worn with deep fissures, while its base is hollowed out at irregular inter- vals by caves, some of which extend, according to the statements of the peasantry, several hundred feet into the very heart of the mountains. The bay has a depth in some places over a hundred fathoms, but it is so open to the sea, and the anchorage is so bad, that it is one of the worst places which a vessel could select in a storm. But Valentia Bay is more protected, and although not safr in a storm, affords much better anchorage. The land, for miles into the interior, is very rocky and barren, and affords a poor pasturr.ge for the diminutive but hardy race of cattle for which the county Kerry is so famous. The huts of the peasantry which dot the hill sides, show too })lainly the poverty of the lower cla^'ses of the people. 'i 204 Telegraph— The Termini of the Line. and ho^ miserably theij labor is rewarded. The ruins of churches, which were built by pious Cathohcs as long ago as the fourth or fifth century, are 3trikingly in accord- ance with the impoverished appearance of the land and of the people. The Island of Valentia suffered fearfully during the famine in Ireland, and hundreds died of star- vation on the road side or in the miserable dwfllings, some of which still remain, and in which their bodies were found many weeks after their death, unburied, and in a horrible state of emaciation. Within the last few years, it is said, the condition of the people haa consider- ably improved. About three miles from the head of Valertja Bay is the post town of Cahirciveen, and at the same distance, but in another dire^^tion, lies Knightstown, a small vil- lage of some five hundred inhabitants. This village is called after the Knight of Kerry, a gentleman who has been one of the strongest advocates of the Atlantic Telegraph. The small land cove in which the bay ter- minates wa& decided upon last year as the place for the landing of the cable, and has rot been changed since. It is, in fact, the very best spot that could be selected. J. bout four hundred yards from the beach, a telegraph building, somewhat similar to that at Trinity Bay, New- foundland, has been erected, and supplied with everything necessary for the business and accommodation of the operators. The iunction with tho. nahlp. xyi]] be formed Telegraph —The Ter.nini of the Line. 205 by a land line running to Cork, from Cork to Dublin, thence across the channel to England, and by other con- nexions with the great net work of telegraphs, which extends over the whole continent of Europe, and which has already embraced within ?t portions of Asia and Africa. E^G ^»? APPENDIX. I. ACTION OP CONGRESS IN RELATION TO THE INTER- NATIONAL SUBMARINE TELEGRAPH. In the Senate of the United States, Dec. 23, 1856, Mr. Sewakd sub- mitted a resolution which was unanimously adopted, requesting the President of the United States to communicate to the Senate such information as he might possess, concerning the condition and pros- pects of the proposed plan for connecting by submarine wires the Magnetic Telegraph wires on this continent and Europe. In response to this resolution, President Pierce, on the 29th of the same month, transmitted to the Senate the following message and accompanying correspondence : — To the Senate of the United States : In compUance with a resolution of the Senate of the 23d instant, requesting the President to communicate "to the Senate, if not incompatible with the public interest, such information as he may •• - lAeu 208 Appendix. have concerning the present condition and prospects of a proposed plan for connecting by submarine wires, the Magnetic Telegraph lines on this continent and Europe," I transmit the accompanying report from the Secretary of State. ^,r , . Fhankun Pierce, VV aslungton, December 29, 1856. Department or State, Washinoton, Decen^er 26, 1&56. The Secretary of State, to whom was referred the resolution of the Senate of the 23d instant, requesting the President "to com- municate to the Senate, if not incompatible with the public interest, Buch irxformation as he may have concerning the present condition and prospects of a proposed plan for connecting, by submarine wires, the Magnetic Telegraph lines on this continent and Europe," has the honor to lay before the President a copy of a letter of the 15tli instant, which he has aI.o referred to this department, ad- dressed to him by the President and Directors of the New York, Newfoundland, and London I'elegraph Company. W. L. Marct. To the President of Uio United States. Office of the New Youk, Newfoundland, and London Teleoraph Company, New York, December 15, I85G. 8iR-The undrr3inrn,.d, Diroct^ira of the New York, Newfound- InniJ on.l T,»...l..., T .1 1 /-<__ ' "'■" -"-"fs""!'" v.wiupr»ny, imvo tiie iionor lo mlorni you that contraofa have boon made Sbr the manufacture of the sub- Appendix. 209 marine telegraphic Cable, to connect the continents of Europe and America; and that it is expected to have the line between New- York and London open for business by the 4th of July, 1857. A communication to this effect having been laid before the I^rds Commissioners of her Britannic Majesty's Treasury, elicited a reply, of which we have now the honor to submit to you an official cqiy, just received by the United SUtes' mail steamship AtlarMc, from Cyrus W. Field, Esq., Vice-Proeident of this Company. As the work has been prosecuted thus far with American capital, aided by the efforts of your Adminis'-ation to ascertain the feasibility of the enterprise, it is the earnest desire of the directors to secure to the Government of the United States equal privileges with those stipu- lated for by the British Government. To this desire the LoiMs Commissioners of the Treasu-y have acceded in the most liberal spirit, by providing "That the British Government shall have a priority in the conveyance of their messages over all uiuers, subject to the exception only of the Government of the United States, in the event of their entering into an arrangement with the Telegraph Company similar in principle to that of the British Government, in which case the messages of the two Governments shall have priority in the order in whi.:h they arrive at the stations." In view of the great international interests of this Government, and th.,> con- stant recurrence of grave question., in the solution of which time will be an essential element, we cannot doubt that the reservation ,„ade in favor of the United Slates will he deemed of great mo- ment. We therefore hasten to eommuni-ate the facts to you, and to re.,ue.st. in view of the fact that llie pre.eut Conp-.^ss ;n il soon tonninate its existence, and that -lie Cable will Lc laid, if no ;hv,- .tent prevcnt.s, before the new (\nigress .nmmenees it.s se..ion, tl.at yiMi wi illlrii 11 tak e su( ■Il netion m Hn- ]uemises 11.1 yn ,f t!ii4 (foverntnrnt to re(iuire 210 Appendix. Tlic Company will enter into a contract with the Government of the Un-t^u States on the sauic terms and conditions as it has made with the British Governmp : such a contract will, we suppose, fall within the provisions of th, < titution in regard to postal arrange- ments, of which this is only a new and improved form. "We have tlie honor, also, to call your attention to the second proviso in the letter of the Lords Commissioners, to the following effect : " Her Majesty's Government engages to furnish the aid of ships to make what soundings may still be considered needful, or to verify those already taken, and favorably to consider any request that may be made to furnish aid by their vessels in laying down the cable." We are informed that no private steamships now built are adapted to laying a cable of such dimensions as is proposed to be used, but that the war-steamers recently finished by our Govern- ment are arranged to the very best advantage for this purpose. To avoid failure in laying ihe Cable, it is desirable to use every precaution, and we therefore have the honor to request that you will make such recommendations to Congress as will secure author- ity to detail a steamship for this purpose, so that the glory of a(;conip1isliing what has been justlv styled "the cruwning enterprise of the ape" may be divided between tlic greatest and freest Govern- ments on the face of the globe. With great respect, wo have the honor to be, Sir, your moat obe- dient servanta, 1'ktku CooPKii, President. M. O. RoBKUTS, Moses Tayi 'K, Wu.^'jN G. IIuvj'. Di'cctora. Tiif rr'-sulfiit ot'tlio rniti'd SfntivA. Appendix. 211 Treasury Chambers, November 20, 1855. Sib, — Having laid before the Lords Commissioners of her Ma- jesty's Treasury your letter of the 13th ultimo, addressed to the Earl of Clarendon, requesting, on behalf of the New York, New- foundland, and London Telegraph Company, certain privilege? :;ad protection in regard to the line of telegraph which it is proposed to establish between Newfoundland and Ireland, I am directed by their loraships to acqun at you that they are prepared to enter into a contract with the said Telegraph Company, based upon the follow- ing conditions, viz: 1. It is understood that the capital required to lay down the line will be (£350,000) threa hundred and fifty thousand pounds. 2. Her Majesty's Government engage to furni.^h the aid of ships to take what soundings may stiU be considered needful, or to verify those already taken, and favorably to consider any request that may be made to furnish aid by their vessels in laying down the Cable. 3. The British Government, from the time of the completion of the Une, and so long as it shall continue in working order, under- takes to pay at the rate of (£14,000) fourteen thousand pounds a year, being at the rate of four per cent, on the assumed capital a? a fixed remuneration for the work done on behalf of tlie Government, in the conveyance outward and homeward ol their messages. This paynitnt to continue imtil the net profits of the Company are equal to a dividend of six pounds per cent., when the payment shall bo nMlvuH'd to (C10,000) ten thousand pound.s a year, for a period of twcnty-iive years. It is, liow<-ver, understood that if the Govi-rnnient message n :uiy year shall, at the usual tariff rate diarged tothe puliiic, am -unt to a larger sum, sucti additional payment siiaii be made as is equiva- lent thereto. 212 Appendix. [, 4. That the British Government shall have a priority in the con vejance of their messages over all others, subject to the exoeptioi only of the Government of the United States, in the event of thei entering .n o^ arrangement with the Telegraph Company simila in princii *hat of the British Government, in which case th. messages of tl.-e two Governments shall have priority in tlie ordei ia which they arrive at the stations. 5. That t^e tariff of charges shall be fixed with the consent of the Treasury, and shaU not be increased without such consent being obtained, as long as this contract lasts. I am, sir, your obedient servant, James Wilson. CvRcs W. Field, Esq., 37 Jermyn Street. On the 9th of January, 1857, Mr. Seward obtained leave to intro- duce a bill (S. No. 493) to expedite telegraphic communication for the use of the Government in foreign intercourse; which was read twice, and referred to the Committee on the Post Ofiice and Post Roads; and on the 13th of January, it was reported back by Mr. CoLLAMER without amendment. On the 21st of January, the Se- nate proceeded to its consideration. In the course of the debate, in wliich Senators Seward, Hall, Risk, Douglas, Collamer, Toicet, and others participated, Mr! Seward used the following remarkable language: Mr. Sewar,.: Tliere was an American citizen who, in the year 1770, or •lu.r,.;.l„>ut, indicated to tiiis r.-untry, to Great Britain and to the world, the use of the lightning t.,r .lu- pu. poses of comnumi.v t.on ,T intelligen.H', an.l that w.-.s r,,. Franklin. I am .^ure that ?::ere in nut uAy no hivmbvi ui liie Senate, but no American citi- y.vn, however humble, who would bo willing to have struck out Appendix. 213 ted, Mr. the year Uin an<l irnuni('„ ure tliat can citi- uck out from the achievements of Americau invention thia great discovery of the lightning aa an agent for the uses of human society. The suggestion made by that distinguished and illustrious Ameri- can was followed up some fifty years afterwards by another sugges- tion and another indication from another American, and that was Mr. Samuel F. B. Morse, who indicated to the American Govern- ment the means by which ♦^he hghtning could be made to write, and by which the telegraph wires could be made to supplj the place of wind and steam for carrying intelligence. We have followed out these suggestions of these eminent Ameri- cans hitherto, and I am sure at a very small cost. The Government of the United Suites appropriated $40,000 to test tht practicability of Morses suggestion ; the $40,000 thus expended establishe<i its pnvtjticability and its use. Now, there is no person on the face of the globe who can measure the price at which, if a reasonable man, he would be willing to strike from the world the use of the magne- tic telegraph as a means of communication between different por- tions of the same country. This great invention is now to be brought into its further wider and broader use — the use by the general society of nations, international use, the use of the society of mankind. Its benefits are largo — just in proportion to the extent and scope of it^ operation. They are not merely benefits to the Government, but tliej are benefits to the citizens and subjects of all nations anc' of all States. I think there is not Uving in the StaU» of South Carolina, or Tennessee, or Kentucky, or Virginia, a man wlio would be willing to have the use of the telegraph dispensed with or overthrown in reducing the cost of exchange of ins particular pro- ducts to the markets of the United States. I think so beeaase of the celerity with which comtuuuication of the state of demaml and yupt'ly in a distant market alVects the value of the auicle in the luinds of the p oducer, and reduces by so much tlio cost of tlie agea- hi ; Pi pi ill ill 214 Appendix. t cies employed in its sale. Precisely the same thing w-hich thus hap- pens at home must necessarily happen wh.n you apply it to more remote markets in othe: parts of the world. I might enlarge further on this subject^ but I forbear to do so, because I know i^' ., at some future time I shall come across the record of what I have said to-day. I know that then what I have said to-day by way of anticipation, will fall so far short of tlie reaUty of the benefits which individuals, states, and nations will have de- rived from this great enterprise, that I shall not reflect upon it with- out disappointment and mortiiication. At the conclusion of the debate the bill was passed, as follows: A BILL TO ExpEDiTK Telkgraphio Communication for the Uses of TUE Government and its Foreign Intercourse. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the Secretary of State, in the discretion and under the direction of the President of the United States, may contract with any competent person, persons, or association, for the aid of the United States in laying down a Subamrine Cable, to connect < xisting Telegraphs between the coast of Newfoundland and the coast of Ireland, and for the use of such submarine communication, when established^ by the Govern- ment of the United Slates, on such terms and conditions as shall seem to Uie President just and reasonable, not exceeding $70,000 per annum, until the net profits of such person, or persons, or asso- ciation, shall be equal to a dividend of six per cent, per annum, and ihen not exceeding $50,000 per annum for twenty-five years : Pro- vided, That tlie Government of Great Britain shall, before or at the same time, enter into a Uke contract for those purposes with the same person, persons, or association, and upon terms of exact equa- hty witli those stipulated by tlie United States: And Praviikd, That Apj>endix. 215 the tariff of prices for the use of such submarine communication by the public shall be fixed by the Secretary of the Treasury of the United States and the Government of Great Britain, or its author- ized agents : Provided further, That the United States and the citi- zens thereof shall enjoy the use of the said Submarine Telegraph comraunication for a period of fifty years, on the san)-^ terms and conditions which shall be stipulated in favor of the Government of Great Britain, and the subjects tbereoi", m the contract so to be entered into by such person, persons, or association, with that Go- vernment: Provided further, That the contract 30 to be made by the British Government, shall not be diflerent from that already proposed by that Government to the New York, Newfoundland, and London Telegraph Company, except such provisions as may be necessary to secure to ea^h Government the transmis&ion of its own messages by its own agents, — [Approved, March 3, 1857.] The Charter of the Compant, passed by Parliamest. The Act of Incorporation of this Company obtained at the second Session of the English ParUament for the year 1857, and receiving the Royal assent July 27 of that year, is a document of twenty-ono pages. It is entitle! "An ict to incorporate and regulate the Atlantic Telegraph Company, and to enable the Company to esta- blish and work Telegraphs between Great Britain, Ireland, and New- foundland ; and for other purposes." It begins by setting forth that in October, 1856, a company vas estAblibhed in England to con- nect Great Britain or Ireland with Newiornuiuial hy a SuC'riianne electric Telegraph, thus establishing electric communication be- 2l6 Appendix. t\V(jen Europe and America, having a capital of three hundred thou- sand pounds divided into three hundred shares of one thousand pounds each. The number of shares was afterwards increased to three hundred and fifty, all of which wer' issued, and the sum of p'l: hundred pounds was paid upon each share. It also set forth that in consequence of agreements entered into with other companies and persons, and in order that the undertaking, which is one of great public and national importance, shall be speedily carried into execu- tion, it is desirable that a new company (including the original shareholders) should be constituted with the necessity powers to carry out the undertaking ; and the Atlantic Telegraph Company was therefore incorporated, with all the rights and privileges, and assum- ing all the liabilities entered into by the old company. The right was granted to the new company, by a two-thirds votf , to Increase the capital stock to £1,00,000, the Directors having authority to create additional shares of not more than £1,000 nor less than £20 each. The r'ght was given to boiTOw one-third of the capital on bond or mortgage, but one-third of the money icceived for calls must be applied to iV repayment of such money until the whole shall be discharged. Ten shareholders holding stock to the amount ( f £15,000, have authority to require the Directors to call an extraordinary meeting of the Company, the time of the annual meeting being fixed for the month of February, in London ; twenty shareholders having stock to the amount of £50,000 constituting a quorum. A two-thirds vote of the Company shall authorize the Directors to subdivide the £1,000 shares int ) fifty shares of £20 each, a £1,000 share con- ferring fifty votes upon the holder. The Board of Directors is fixed at eiglueen, but the number may be reduced at any general meet- ing, but not below eight. The qualification of a Director is the holding of £1,000 in the stock of the Company, and the Dir tors Appendix. -17 of the original Company shall be the first Directors of the ne',. Com- pany. The remuneration of the Directors is to be fixed by the stockholders. The Company has authority to elect fr'^m the share- holders ordinarily resident in the United States or tne British Pro- ■«^inces of North America, not more thin eight from the former and four from the latter, who shall be Honorary Directors, shall have the right to be present, take part in and vote at the meeting of Direc- tors, but are not to be counted in determining whether there is a quorum, and shall aceive no remuneration for their services. The British Government reserves the right to appoint an ex-ofllcio Director of the Company, for the purpose 01 securing Jie due fulfil- ment on the part of tae Company of all contracts for the transmis- sion of signals and messages ^or her Majesty or on her Majesty's service. This ex-officio Director is not to go out of office with the other Directors, but he is removable at the pleasure of the Government He is to be a shareholder in the Company or not, as the Government may think fit; he is to be present at all meetings of the Directors and of the Company ; and has power to examine all books and documents of the Company ; but has not the right to vote, and does not receive any remuneration from the Company, He has the powsr, in case he is of opinion that any act or course of the Company is prejudicial to the performance of tlie con- tracts with Government, or the regular, speedy, and impartial trans- mission if messages for the public, or otherwise disadvantageous to Government or the pubhc, to veto the taking of such course or tno doing of such act, when the matter shall be referred to the Lords Commissioners of the Treasury, whose opinion shall be final, unless the Board of Directors see fit to appeal to two Judges of the Supe- rior Court at Westminster, whose decision shaii be final and con- clusive on all parties. The election of Directors of the Company, lU i 2l8 Appendix. 'II I' ordinary or honorary, is subject to the appio"al of the Lords Com- missioners of the Treasury. The undertaking of the Company was set forth to be the laying down of one or more submarine Telegraph Cables betweer. Ireland and Newfoundland, or on the Continent of America, and the work- ing of such Unes. They are authorized and empowered to make arrangements with the New York, Newfoundland, and London and other Companies, for the transmission of messages and for the charges on the sume, a. may be necessary for the carrying out of the object of the Company. They are empowered to fix and receive reasonable charges for the transmission of messages, and may demand pre-payment of the same. With the exception of the pri- ority of government messages, aU others for the public are to be received and sent without favor or preference, according to the order of time in w ;h they shall have been received by the Com- pany. The following section m regard to the right of government priority, we quote entire: — " LVI. All messiges and signals sent or forwarded for transmis- sion and delivery lu. her Majesty or on Her Majesty's service shall have priority over aU other messages whatsoever, and it shall be imperative on the Company, their officers and servants, to transmi; and dehver such messages and signals accordingly, and to suspend the transmission of all or any other messages until the said messages and signals shall first have been transmitted; Provided, always tiiat the Company may, in consideration of a guarantee or subsidy granted or secured by the Government of the United States, equal in rate or amount to tliat granted by or on behalf of her Majesty's Government, grant ami extend to the Government of the United States the like priority for intelligence, on and for their service over all othci- messages and signals whatsoever, except those for her Majesty or on her Majesty's service, and after they shall have so Appendix. 219 done, and shall have notified their having so done to the Lords Commissioners of her Majesty's Treasury, the messages and signals on the service of the Government of the Uni "ed States shall thence- forward be entitled to, and shall have, during the continuance in force of any such guaranty or subsidy, the Uke priority as messages and signals for her Majesty or on her Majesty's service over those of all other persons whomsoever, and thenceforward messages and signals for her Majesty or on her Majesty's service, and those on the . service of the Government of the United States, shall, as between themselves, have no right of priority, but be transmitted and deli- vered respectively in the order of time in which they may be respectively tendered for transmission and dehvery." If the Government and the Company cannot agree upon the rate of remuneration for sending public messages, tlie matter is to be settled by referees. The Company is authorized, whether or not they shall grant for the Government of the United States any such priority as is stated in the section before quoted, to make arrangement with that Govern- ment for the transmission of their messages. The following section authorizes the English Government, under certain circumstances, to take possession of the works of the Company. " LXII. At all times from and after the period of twenty-five years from the opei '.ig of the said l-nes of TelagTaph conmmnica- tioii for the transmission of messages, whenever one of her Majesty's principal Secretaries of State for the time being shall be of opinion tliat 'ircumstances render it expedient to vest in her Majesty's Goven ment the control of the operations of the Company, it shall be lawf 1 for such Secretary of State, by warrant under his hand, to .ase possossion to be taken of all the Telegraphs and Tele- '"aphic apuaraliis di iiie VaiiuuS pinuOiiS Oi liic vOmpany, UiCir licenses or assigns, for the space of one week from the date of such 220 A^jpendix. i|^ ■warrant, for the purpose of preventing any communication being made or signals given, save such as shall be directed and authorized by any sucii Secretary of Stute, and also by further successive war- rants to cause possession of the said Telegraphs and Telegraphic apparatus to be retained from week to week, so long as any such Secretary of State shall deem such possession expedient for the public service : Prv/vided always, that for every week during which possession shall be so retained, the Company, their hcensees or assigns, shall receive from and be paid by the Lords Commissioners of her Majesty's Treasury, the same amount of profits as the Com- pany ivould have made in case they had continued the working of the said Telegraphs, such profits to be computed upon an average of the weekly profits of the Company for the three months imme- diately preceding the issuing of the first of the said warrants." Any negUgence or delay in the transmission of a message, makes the officer liable to a fine not exceeding £20. ^^., damage to the works of tlie Company is lecoverable bj a suit at la^v, and any per- son committing 'nich mjury is liable also to punishment as for the commission of a misdemeanor. Appendix. 221 II. LIEUT. M. F. MAURY* ON THE FEASIBILITY OF OCEANIC TELEGRAPHS. On the 22d of February, 185^, mor. than four years and a half ago, Lieut Maury addressed the following letter to the Secretary of the Navy. Its predictions have been signally vonfied : National Observatort, * WAsmifOTON, February Z2, ''854. Sir,— The United States brig Dolphin, Lieutenant Commanding 0. H. Bkrkyman, was employed last summer upon especial service connected with the researches that are carried on at this office con- cerning the winds and currents of the sea. Her observations were confined principally to that part of the ocean which the merchant- men, as they pass to and fro upon tlie business of trade between Europe^ and the UrHed States, use as their great thoroughfare. Lieutenant Berryman availed himself of this opportunity to carry along also a Une of deep sea soundings from the shores of New- foundland to those of Ireland. The result is liighiy interer^ting, in so far as the bottom of the sea is concerned, upon the question of a Submarine Telegraph across the Atlantic ; and I therefore beg leave to make it the subject of a special report This line of deep sea soundings seems to be decisive of the ques- tion as to the p. . McabiUty of a Submarine Telegraph btftween the two .continents, .>^ so far as the bottom of the deep sea is concern^. Flora Newfoandland to Ireland, the distance between the nearest points 222 Appendix. l-i* is about 1,600 miles ;* and the bottom of the sea bet\/een the two places is a plateau, which seems to have been placed there especially for the purpose of holding the wires of a Submarine Telej^'raph, and of keepmg them out of harm's way. It is neither *oo deep nor too shallow ; yet it is so deep that the wires but once landed, will remain for ever beyond the reach of vessels' anchors, iceb. rgs, and drifts of any kind, and so shallow that the wires may be readily lodged upon the bottom. The depth of this plateau is quite regular, gradually increasing from the shores of Newfoundland to the depth of from 1,500 to 2,C )0 fathoms as you approach the other side. The distance between Ireland and Cape St. Charles, or Cape St. Lewis, in Labrador, is somewnat less than the distance from any point of Ireland to the nearest point of Newfoundland. But whether it would be better to lead the wires from Newfoundland or Labrador is not now the question ; nor do I pretend to consider the question as to the possibility of finding a time calm enough, the sea smooth enough, a wire long enough, a ship big enough, to lay a coil of wire 1600 miles in length; though I have no fear hut thut the enterprise and ingenuity of the age, whenever called on with those problems, will be ready with a -;itisfactory and practical solution of them. I simply address myself at this tirii(> to the question m so far as Che bottom of the sea is coiicenietl, and as fur as that the greatest practical dinicultiiM will, I apprehen<l, be found after reaching sound- ings at either end of the line, and not in the deep sea. ♦ * A wire laid across from either of the above-name.l places on this side will p.u^s to the north of tiie Gran<l Banks, and rest on that beautiful j)lateau to which I have alluded, and where the waters of • From r(iiu> Freels, Newtoundlaini. to Krris Hcaii, Ircliuid. the di.stn nee in i,tiii imi-'f*; iTum riijK' Ciiarit's, or (.apo .St. Lowis, Labrador, to ditto, the distaiico in 1,(J01 miles. Appendix. 223 the sea appear to bo as quiet and as completely at rest as it is at the bottom of a mill-pond. It is proper that the reasons should be stated for the inference that there are no perceptible currents, and no abradin- agents at work at the bottom of the sea upon this Tele- graphic Plateau. I derive this inference from a study of a physical fact, which I Uttle deemed, when I sought it, had any such bear- ings. Lieut Berryman brought up with Brooke's deep-sea sounding apparatus specimens of the bottom from this plateau. I sent them to Prof. Bailey, of West Point, for examination under his micro- scope. This he kindly gave ; and that eminent microscopist was quite as mu< h surprised to find, as I vas to learn, that all those spe- cimens of deep-soa soundings are filled with microscopic shells ; to use his own words, '' not a particle of sand or gravel exists in them:' These little sheila, therefore, suggest the fact that there are no cur- rents at the bottom of the sea whence they came— that Brooke's load found them where they were deposited in their burial-]. lace after having lived and died on the surface, and by gradually sinking were lodged on the bottom. Had there been currents at the bot- tom, these would have swept - oradod and mingled up with these mien scopic remains tl.o dw .5 01 the bottom of the sea, such as ooze, sand, gravel, and other n' itter; but not a particle of sand or gravel was found among lUtm. Hence tlie inference that tiioso depths of the sea are not disturbed either by waves or current.'^. Consequently, a telegraphic wire once laid there, there it would rcnuain, us completely beyond the reacli of accident as it would be if buried in air-tight cases. Therefore, so far as the bottom of the deep sea between Newfoundlaml, .^r the North Cap.', at the luoutli of the St. Lawrence, and Ireland, is concerned, the practicability of _ _^ . •••_■■„_> * * a Submarine leiegnipii mro:<^< iin- Aii.ni.u: ■- i-.r..;;;. In this view of the subject, and for tlic purpose of hastening the 224 Appendix. ^li completion of such a line, I take tlie liberty of suggesting for your consideration the propriety of an offer froin the proper soiirce, of a prize to the Company through whose Telegraphic Wire the first message shall be passed across the Atlantic. I have the honor to be, respecLfully, &c., » M. F. Maury, Lieut. U.S. Navy Hon. J. C. DoBBiy, Secretary of the Navy, Washington, D.C. In December, 1856, the follovring correspondence passed :— House or Representatives, Washington, December 30, 1856. Sir, — The submarine communication which now excites so much attention, both in the Congress of the United States and the coun- try, will, I perceive by the map of the ^ rvey, terminate on tiisside the Atlantic in the British possessions, t.'. in Newfoun 'land. Will you do mc the favor, at your earUest convenience, to answer the following questions, to wit : Is there a point, U7ider our flag ^ which would answer for the west- ern terminus ? If not, what are the obstructions? What influence would it have in a miUtary point of view? Very respecCuUy, your obedient servant, , . , , ^, „ C. C. CUAFFEE. l.ieut. Maury, U.S. Navy. U.S.N. Ohservatory and HvDRoa. Okhce. Washinqton, Dcceiuher 31, IbSG. :. ,-c rirtivvii joiir ri..i<- ui liic SOVn iusiant, making cei- tain ui<iuiri.'9 in relation to tlie Subinanne Telegraph of the Atlantic, a Appendix. 225 and -ishing to know what are the obstructions which p event the western end of the wire from being brought straight across the sea to our own shores. The difficulties are manifold, and in the present state of the tele- graphic art, th3y may be considered insuperable. The shortest telegraph distance between the Bn.ish Islands and the United SUtea, without touching English soil by the way, i., in round numbers, three thousand miles, and the lightning has never yet been made to bear a message through a continuou i wire of such a length. Here, therefore, is an obstruction. The distance from the Western Islands to the nearest point on our shores is about equal to the distance between Newfoundland and Ireland; and the distance between 3 Irish coast and the Western Islands is about (itleeu hundred nules. Therefore, with a relay on ihe Western Islands a line from Ireland, via those Islands to our own sho'<:s, is electrically piacticable. But wire by that route would have to cross the Atlantic at its deepest part, and then the Portuguese Government, as well as the English, would have control of the line ; so that, in a miUtary, com- mercial, or pohtical point of view, nothing would be gained by underrunnmg the Atlantic with the telegraphic wires by that route. Moreover, that route would lead the wires across a volcanic region. These constitute obst.-uctions that, in the present state of our know- Knige, are fatal to such a route. The onl> practicable route for a Submarine Telegraph between the United States and Eiighnd appears to be along the " plateau" of tiio Atlantic, whereon it is proposed to lay the wire that is now in process of construction. But suppose a Imo were to be constructed by A erican entcr- .1 T>_:.:^i. ^1 .-...^ ..II •!>.. »....«r »,\ otiki ivf liijr kujji-nyrk ;;;:' x;:;;.;.^:i . :f--;t.- , zzi: ':-.• — --j — ^ ._ bonof In time of pfuce the hue along the " plateau"' towns: cui 226 Appendix. woul<1 by reason of iU groiit ivdviintagca, take all the business ; and in war Uio British authorities need but cut the Anierean cord, or t.ikr charge of its oll'iee at the otlier end, to render the whole hno inoperative or perfeetly useless to us. It eunnot but be regarded by every wise and good man as a for- tunate circunisUince, that this great enterprise of the sub-Atlantic Telegraph is the joint work of England and Ameriea. This eir- euuistance ought of itself to serve as a guarantee to the world that, in ease of war— should war unhai)pily ever be waged between these two nations— that eord is never to be broken, or to be used otherwise than freely and fairly alike by the two nations, their citi- zens and subjects. We have just seen the great nations of Europe emerging from the horrors of a fierce and bloody war ; and yet, to their honor and the glory of the ag" be it said, that that strife, ven-^eful though t was, was nut savage enough to break a single line of telegraphic^ wire. Thf lightning ran 'o and fro with messages between St. Peters- burgh and the capitals of France and England, as it now does. And in ease of war with this eoinUry, after that electric cord is .«tretehed by the joint means and enter[irise of tiie two jicoph' upon the quiet bottom of the deep sea, neitiicr of the two Govcrnnunts would dare take tlmt cord, and, in tin' lace of the Chri.^lian states and people of the age, convert it into a military engine to be turnetl against iUs joint-owners and partners. Our fellow-citizen.i who contrived, planned, and brought forward this noble work, are too sagneious and patriotic not to have per- ceived that lyinf as it does wlioUy within the control of a foieiKu pow.T, that power, were it a nation of (Joths and Vantials, miglit tr.ru the path they were about to make ft.r the lightning along the be.l of liie ocean a^rainst their owi co-uitry in war; but (hey knew (he people on the other side, and trusted to higher and nobler .sen- Appendix. 227 timente. The Biili^h Government, iuterfeie with the free use oi' that Cable even in war! The spu-it I' the age i. against such an act, and no SUte within the pale of Christendom, much less that great English nation of noble people, would dare to do such a thing. Her people and rulers would not if they could; they could not if they would. We might as well think of tearing up now, in peace, the railways between Canada and the States, or of abrogating d.e steam-engine because it may be turned Pgainst us in war. Wl'on Captain Cook was on his voyage of discovery, France and England were at war. The king of France was requested not to lei his armed cruisers destroy the records of that expedition in case any of them should fall in with it. You recollect the noble reply : "I war not against science;" and forthwith every French man-of- war had orders to treat Cuok as a friend, should they faU in with him ; and assist, not interrupt, him in the object of his cruise. To tliis day the memory of tliat king is held in more esteem for that act and sentiment than for any other act of his reign. A little more than three years ago, at the n.a-ilime conference of Brussels, where the principal natio.is of the world assembled in the persons of their representatives, to d.-vise a uniform plan of physi- cal research at sen, and to report th.' best form for the abstra.:t h.g to be used on board ship for marking the observations upon its winds and current.s, those functionaries alluded to this sentiment of ,lu. French monarch, and a.^pealed each to his own Government to ,„,,,.,. that, in case of war, this abstract log should also be regarded as a sacred thi.a^ It is made s... The armed cruisers of the var:ous nations that are co-operat.ng in this system of research are requued to touch that record with none but friendly hands. This Submarine Telegraphic line is an achiev.-ment whicli tins , . _ 1 1 . »l,: t.> i\i\ in liriiiirinnr .ibout : very system of resean-u Tirij n;ui r. ;:::c>.:::::^ ■ ,, . ..,n.i IS it likely that it will or can be monopolizcl by any po^>■.•r f,.r 228 Appendix. war purposes ? Fairly and dearly it may be considered as the joint property of those who are operating as r -workers and joint co- laborers in that beautiful r^stem of physical research by whi'.h a way for the hghtning has been discovered under the sea and across the ocean. This system of research, it has been proclaimed over and over again, was not undertaken for the exclusive advantage of any one people or nation, but for the benefit of commerce, the advancement of science, and for the benefit and improvement of the whole human ft-rnily ; and with this understanding the nations of Europe entered into it. ' Being joint owners and equal participators in such a great enter- prise as this, we may, w' h propriety, under these circumstances, demand a fair participation in all its advantages. But suppose we should stand aloof, and that the enterprise now on foot should be abandoned by our citizens and government, and then suppose war to come ; in less than six months after its decla- ration, the British government could, on its own account, have a wire stretched along this telegraphic plateau between Newfoundland and Ireland. You do not desire me in your note to consider the Chnstianiiiing, political, social, and peace-preserving influences Avliich tnis fascicle of copper threads, when once stretched upon tlie bed cf the ocean, is to have, and therefore I do not offer any of the vie%/s which pre- sent themselves from such a stand-point. This much, hov.ever, I may say : Submarine Telegraphy is in !:s infancy, but it is in the aot of making the =>trido of a full-grown giant ; and no problem can to my mind be more satisfactorily demonstrated than is the practi- cability of readily, and almost without risk, laying tlit» wire from land to land upon this telegraphic i)latcau of the Atlantic. Respectfully, Ac, 'SI F. Mauht. Hon. C. C. CiiAKFKK, lIi>ii=!o of llt'pre'^enfative-, Washiiig'on. Appendix. 229 III. THE BASIN OF THE ATLANTIC, AND THE TELEGRA- PHIC PLATEAU.* There is at the bottom of the Atlantic, between Cape Race in Newfoundland and Cape Clear in Ireland, a remarkable steppe, which is already known as the telegraphic platoau. A Company is now engaged with the project of a submarine telegraph across the Atlantic. It is proposed to carry the wires along this plateau from the eastern shores ol Newfoundland to the western shores of Ire- land. The great circle distance between these two shore-lines is one tliousand six hundred miles, and the sea along the route is pro- bably nowhere more than ten thousand feet deep. This Company, it is understood, consists of men of enterprise and wealth, wl o. .Uould the inquiries that tlioy are now making prove satisfy tovy. u . jr. pared to undertake the establishment forth A-ith of a Suliuu- rii e Tclci^'ruph across the Atlantic. It was upon this plateau that Brooke's sounding apparatus brought up its first trophies from tlio bottom of the sea. These s,.e- ciinens Lieutenant Bekryman and his officers judged to be clay ; but they took the precaution to label them, carefully to preserve them, and, on their return to the United States, to send them to the pro- per'bureau. They were divided: a part was sent l.r examination to Professor Ehrkn-hkug, of Berlin, and a part to Professor Bailev, of West Point-eminent microrcopist^s both. I have not heard _ _. - -^.^_ < .. ..r .1.,. u„., " l,,T Li"UL M 1*^- Maurt. * IToin the •• t io""-"' "^'^''^'"'i""^ " —- - , New York: ITarprr * Brothers, 1855. 230 Appendix. I from the former, but the latter, in November, 1853, thus re- sponded : " I a;., greatly obliged to you for the deep soundings you sent me last week, and I have looked at them with great interest. They are exactly what I have wanted to get hold of. The bottom of the ocean at the depth of more than two miles I hardly hoped ever tc have a chance of examining; yet thanks to Brooke's contrivance, we have it clean and free from grease, so that it oan at once be put under the microscope. I was greatly delighted to find that all these deep soundings were filled with microscopic sheUs; not a particle of sand or gravel exists in them. They are chiefly made up of per- fect httle calcareous sheUs {Foraminifera;\ and contain, also, a small number of silicious shells (Diatornacea;)" These httle mites of shells seem to form but a slender clue indeed by which the chambers of the deep are to be threaded, and myste- ries of the ocean revealed; yet the results are suggestive; in right hands and to right minds, they are guides to both light anJ know- ledge. The first notice.' le thing the microscope gives of these spe- cimens is that all of them are of the animal, not one of the mineral kingdom. The ocean teems with life, we know. Of the four ele- ments of the old philosophers— fire, earth, air, and water— perhaps the sea most of all abounds with Uvir^ --ptur-.s. The space occu- pied on the surface of our planet by the different families of animals and their remains are inversely as the size of the individual. Tljc t^maller the animal, the greater the space occupied by liis remains. Though not invariably the case, yot tliis rule, to a certain extent, is true, and will, therefore, answer our present purposes, which m- simply those of illustration. Take the elephant and his remains, or a microscopic animal and his, and compare them. The contrast', a.s to space orcui>ip(l. ig as atn'L-i'ricr "° 'i^"* -<■ 'i - 1 " __ • • ■ • <■-> '" ■■■■•■- ■" !"L i.A;.iii r.i I ui jsiiinii Will, the dimensions of the whale. The grave-yard that would Appendix. 231 hold the corallines is larger than the grave-yard that would hold the elephants. We notice another practical bearing in this group of physical facts that Brooke's apparatus fished up from the bottom of the deep sea. Bailey, with his microscope, could not detect a single particle of sand or gravel among tliese Uttle mites of shells. They were from the great telegraphic plateau, and the inference is that there, if anywhere, tlie waters of the sea are at rest. There was not motion enough there to abrade these very deUcate organisms, nor current enough to sweep them about and mix up ^\ ith them a grain of the Quest sand, nor the smallest particle of gravel torn from thj loose beds of debris that here and there strew the bottom of tlie sea. This plateau is not too deep for the wire to sink down and rest upon, yet it is not so shallow that currcuts, or icebergs, or any iibrrding force can derange the wire, after it is or lodged. As rrofossor Bailey remarks, the animalcula, whose remains Brooke's lead has brought up from the bottom of the deep sea, pro- bably did not live or die there. They would have had no hght there, and had tliey Uved there, their frail little textures would have been subjected in their growth to a pressure upon them of a column of water twelve thousand feet high, equal to the weight of four iiundred atmospheres. They probably lived and died near the sur- face, where they could feel the genial influences of both hght and boat, and were buried in the Uchen caves below after death. Brooke's lead and the microscope, therefore, it would scorn, are jibout to teach us to regard the ocean in a new light. Its bosom, which so teems with animal hfe; its face, upon which time writes no wrinkles— makes no impression— are, it would now seem, as obedient to the great law of change as is any department whatever, cither of the animal or the vegetable kingdom. It is now suggested tlia:, henceforward we should view the surface of the sea as a nur- iMliWMBigiMiiiMieiii 232 Appendix. sery teeming with nascent organisms, its depths as the cemetery for 'amilies of Uving creatures that outnumber the sands on the sea- shore for multitude. Where there is a nursery, hard by there will be found also a grave-yard — such is the condition of the animal world. But it never occurred to us befo'-s to consider the s.-face of the sea as one wide nursery, ito every ripple a cradle, and its bottom one vast burial-^)l6ce. ^n those parts of the sohd portions of the earth's crust which are at the bottom of the atmosphere, various agents are at work, hvel- hng both upward and downward. Heat and cold, raiu and sun- shine, the winds and the streams, all assisted by the for es of gravi- tation, are unceasingly wasting away the high places on the land, and as perpetually fiUing up the low. But in contemplating the levelling agencies that are at work upon the sohd portions of the crust of our planet which are at the bottom of the sea, one is led at first thought ah-^ost to the conclusion that these levelling agents are powerless thert. In the deep sea there are no abrading processes at work ; neitlier fros'a nor rains are felt there, and the force of gravitation is so para- lysed down there that it cannot use half its power, as on the dry land, in tearing the overhanging rock from the precipice and casting it down into the valley below. Appendix. 2^3 IV. EAKLY PREDICTIONS OF PROFESSOR MORSE. New York, Atig'"st lOth, 1843 Sir : I take this opportunity of communicating to the honorable Secretary the result of the experiments made on the 8th inst, with the prepared wiie in one continuous hne of 160 miles. Professors Renwick, Draper, Ellet, and SchaefFer, with my assistants Professors Fisher and Gale, were present by invitation; Professors Silliman, Henry, Torrey, and Dr. Chilton were also invited, but were prevented by official duties from attending. In the letter to the honorable Secretary dated March 10th, 18-13, in which I propose my general plan, T have this remark, speaking of the wire after its insulating preparation should be completed : " Many interesting experiments bearing upon the general result can then lie tried bev the wire is enclosed." The ex J. iments alluded to were tried on Tuesday, and with per- fect success. I had prepared a galvanic battery of 300 pairs in order to have a.T^ple power at command, but, to my great gratiucation, I found that 100 pairs were sufficient to produce all the effects I de- sired through the whole distance of 160 miles. It may be well to observe that the 160 miles of wire are to be divided into four lengths of 40 miles each, forming a fourfold cord from Washington to Baltimore. Two wires form a circuit; the electricity, therefore, in producing its eflects at Washington from E-li! , .,»o,a .o r...^>v^ TlnU ;.«<-..•<-> in VVaaliinort/^n Iind hftf'k ftfai.l i,0 Baltimore, of course travelling 80 miles to produce its result. One 234 Appendix. hundred and sixty miles, tlierefore, gives me an actual distance of 80 miles, double the distance from Washington to Baltimore. The result, then, of my experiments on Tuesday is, that a battery of only 100 pairs at Washington will operate a telegraph on my plan 80 miles distant with certainty, and without rijquiring any intermediate station I Some careful experiments on the decomposing power at various distances were made, from which the law of propulsion has been deduced, verifying the results of Ohm and those which ^ made in the summer of 1842, and alluded to in my letter to the Hon. C. G. Ferris, and published in the Ho- report No. 17 of the last Congress. The practical inference from this law is that a telegraphic communi- cation on the eleciro-magnetic plan may, unth certainty, be established a.ross the Atlantic ocean/ Startling as this may now seem, I am confident the time unU come when this project uriU be realized. The wire is now in its last process of preparation for encbsing in tlie lead tube, which will be commenced ou Tuesday, the 15th inst. I have the honor to be, sir - nth sincere respect, your most obedi- ent servant, SAMUEL F. B. MORSE, Superintendent of Electro-Magnetic Telegraph. To the Hon. John C. Spencer, Secretary of the Treasury of the U. States. Appendix. 235 V. USE OF THE TELEGRAPix IN CONNEXION WITH LONGITUDE OPERATIONS. At th Second Annual Meeting of the American Association for tlie Advancement of Science, held at Cambridge, Mass., in August, 1849, a valuable paper, embodying the results of Telegrpphic obser- vations of Longitude, was read by Mr. Sears C. Walker, a capable astronomer, since deaeased. The investigations upon tb^ subject were undertaken by Mr. Walked, under the direction of the Super- intendent of the Coast Survey. The question of determining longi- tudes by the use of telegraphic wires, is now invested with fresh interest. The material portions of the report of ! • "^alker may, therefore, be reprodu'^ed in -annection with this hi Lory. Mr. Walker said : "The first mention of the electro-magnetic telegraph, in connec- tion with longitude operations, i-s far as I know, was made, in 1837, by M. Arago to Dr. Morse. " The first practical application of the method was by Capt.WL-.es, in 1844, between Washington and Baltimore. Two chronometers, previously rated by astronomical observations in the vicinity, were brought to the two telegraph ofl&ces, and were compared together through the medium of the ear, without coincidence of beats. This process is accurate enough for geographical or nautical purposes : but its precision stops short of the mark where the requirements of when placed side by side, cannot be compared together, by the human 236 Appendix. ear, with sufficient precision for geodetical purposes. The subse- quent experience of the Coast Survey has shown, that where several astronomers make independent comparisons of clocks, in tl is man- ner, two seconds of an arc, or twelve hundredths of a second of time, is ati average discrepancy between their results. " The subject of telegraph operations for longitude had engaged the attention of the Superintendent of the Coast Survey previous to the experiment of Capt. Wilkes ; but the orders received by me for this purpose bear date November 24, 1845. In 1846, the very I'rst season in which two astronomical stations of the Survey were brouglit in connection by the Morse telegraph lines, the work of connecting them together in longitude was commenced in earnest by the superintendent of the Coast Survey. The cooperation of the Nationai Observatory, as one of the stations, was freely tendered by its Superintendent, Lieut. Maury, U. S. N., and accepted by Prof. Bache. " Another station was established ut Philadelphia, under the super- intendence of Prof. Kendall, and still another at Jersey City umler Prof. Loorais. "Owing to the imperfect insulation of the lines, the connection of Jersey City with Washington failed tliat year ; but the Washington and Philadelphia stations were connected togoiher astronomically on the 10th and 2'2d of October. The method (1 comparison by cuiiici- deuce of beats of solar and sidereal timekeepers, was not introduced this year; but the e<)uivak'ut one was employed, viz., the exchange o* star-signals. These are the dates of instants of the pas.sage of a stAr over the wires of the eye-piece of the transit instrument, sig- nalized by ijipping on t)ie telegraph key at one station, and record- ing it on the Morse register at both. "In 184n, we connected together in longitude the Wa,shingfon niid i'liiiiiiicijiiiiu slaiiuii:^. in io4i, iiic* |nugi .iiiiiiif i<;il tiiiiiiii^iicti in iy4G, by the imperfection of the lines, was re-Jiuued and com- Appendix. 237 pleted, and Washington, Philadelphia, and Jersey City vere con- nected together. On the 27th of July, 1847, the method of coinci- dence of bfjats, used so successfully by R. T. Paine, Fsq., in the chro- nometric operations for longitide in Massachussets, and by Strave and Airy in their chronometric enterprises, was applied to the tele- graphic comparisons of the Philadelphia and Jersey City clocks. This method of coincidences was used in combination with exchangi's of star-signals in the telegraphic operations of ihe Coast Survey in 1848, when the Cambridge Observatory, under Prof. Bond, and the Stuyvcsant Station in New York, were connected together by the Coast Survey. " In October, 1848, Cincinnati was connected with Philadelphia. The labors of the year 1848 comprise some 1,800 observed transits of stars, 800 comparisons of chronometers by coincidences of beats taken at the stotions, 5,000 transits over wires, for determining the personal equations of the officers of the Survey, many thousand exchanges of personal clock signals, and 600 star-transit signals. " Of the different kinds of registers I prefer the sheet of Mr. Sax- ton. One sheet filled on both sides, or two pages, will contain an ordinary night's work. A year's work will make a book of some three hundred pages, on the margin of which may be entered the ordinary remarks for an observing-br>uk, relative to the state of the level and meteorological instrument.^, names of stnrs observed, and iustruraentid devittti(ms. If fjliod up, or buuiid and put away for a century, the reduction of the work will thm be as ea.«y as at first. In fact, we may, with the metallic cylinder, electrotype tlie jilatp; or, using copper, we tiiay print from it witlxMi^ " W[\cn we reflect that the probable error of oii- tran«i» over on.« wire is only the sixteenth of a second, and that with five win-^ it is only a thirty-s xt>i part, or tliree humhedtli ol a second, it is iiiaiii- fest tliat one uUy, ot five wires, is ample for all urdinary work. In 238 Appendix. fact, one wire is sufficient for most of the purposes of astronomy, j have been led, on consideration of all the facts known from the expe- rience of the Coast Survey, to make the following remark relative to the precision of our work, after proper adjustment of the transit instrument, or measurement of its deviations from a normal state : — The printed transit of a fundamental star over any one wire of Wur- deman's diaphragm, and that of a star, planet, or comet, whose place is sought, over another wire, — both reduced to the centre, on the suppo- sition of uniformity of interval,— give the place of the object sought with a precision not much below that on which rest the present elements of aU the bodies in the solar system." Appendix. 239 VI. VELOCITY OF THE GALVANIC CURRENT. In the year 1850, the American Association received a paper embodying the results of experiments on the velocity ol" the Galvanic Current in Telegraph wires. These experiments were made under the direction of Prof. A. D. Bache, Superintendent of the Coast Sur- vey ; and a very excellent summary of them was prepared and laid before the American Association, by Dr. B. A. Gould, Jr., from whose report we copy : — The ingenious experimenL* of Prof. Wheatstone, in 1834, tended to conhrm the general opinion previously existing, that the velocity with which the electricity was transmitted by a metallic conductor was so enormous — so immense, indeed, compared with all other ve'ocities known to us, excepting that of hght — as to warrant the assumption of our incapacity to determine it. On this account, Wheatstone's elegant experiment obtamed for its autlior the more distinction, and for his results the greater confidence. One of iht^se results, as aiipounced by liini, was, tliat the velocity of electricity through the topper 'vir«\s used, was indeed appreciable, — but ex- ceeded tiiat of Ught through the i)UinetArj space,! that it could not be les.H than 2H8,0()0 miles in a aecoiid, wliile light traverses about ISf),000 during the same time. Tiie telegraphic observations, instituted under the immediate direction uf Mr. Walker, by tlie U. S. Coast Survey, for determin- lUL' lli(! ilifTeretiocs ot lu^iyitude between reiiiot'.' HfjifinT'.j ■!! *]•.!' ♦ Tbir TruM , l-*i. j>. tm. t Phil. Trans.. iSfti, p. B91. 240 Appendix. i United States, led to a very unexpected result, — viz. : that to obtain the greatest harmony among the several observations, a smrll correc- tion must be introduced, depending on the relative distances between the telegraphic stations. No explanation of this phenomenon offer- ed itself, excepting the hypothesis suggested* by Walker, and com- municated by Prof. Bache to the Am. Phil. Society in March, 1849, that the time elapsing during the passage of the signals between remote stations was much more considerable, and the velocity, con- sequently 'cSS than had been before imagined. Since >Valker's results were first published, the subject has engaged the attention of numerous astronomers and physicists in Europe and America, among whom Mitchel, Fizeau, and Steinheil are conspicuous. The subject belongs in itself far more properly to the domain of physics than to astronomy, but its special bearing upon the problem of longitude, and the manner in which it has fon.'cd itself upon the consideration of astronomers, have made it nicumbent ii[)i)n them to enter into a full disi:ussion of the subject While in Washington in the month of February last., I accepted with plc'isure an invitation from Mr. Walker to take part in »n ex- periment on a very large scale, for which he had been long engnged in making preparation in behalf of the Coast Survey, and from which he anticipated results so ample as to put an end to the controversy. Tiie Seaton St^ation of the Survey in ^ ishingtidi, north of tlie Capitol, and the city of St. Loui.s, were i;o (M'ted on the 4th Febru- ary, in one colossal galvanic ciiciiit, and but the damage occa- sioiicd by a storm on tlie siitic day, the i ircuit would havt> extended even a )ubuque, in tJie Territory oi Iowa, a distance of some 15()0 milc^. On the night of Oct. 31, 1810, a series of experiments was made • Proo. Am. riill Soc, v. p. T«. A«tr. Nschr., xxix. 64. Appendix. 241 for the express purpose of determining the time needed for the transmission of signals. The results are pubhshed in No. 7 of the Asir. Joum., with a detailed account of the methods which he used, and an analytical investigation of the effects of those circumstances which could interfere with the accuracy of his results. The mea- surements of all the registers gave him fbr the velocity on that night 16,000 miles a second,— differing less than 1900 miles from his previous result, and tending in general to confirm it. The final result at which he arrived was the general theoren, — that a signal given by breaking or closing the galvanic circuit at any point, was observed at other points on the circuit after intervals proportionate to their distance from the place where the signal was made, — and corresponding to a velocity of from 16,000 to 19,000 miles. Prof Mitchel, of the Cincinnati Observatory, dissents from the view taken by Ts^r. Walker, and attributes tlie rosults obtained by him to the effect of various sources of error and uncertainty in the methods which Walker has used. He devised a special and very curious apparatus for investigating the question, — and with the inrenuity and n-echanical skill for which he is so eminent, con- structed it at the Cincinnati Observatory, and ma e a largo series of interesting experiments on the Telegraph hne between Cincinnati ftnd Pittsburgh. Prof. M.'s view of the matter is, that after a sig- nal is given by closing or breaking the galvanic circuit, an appre- ciable time elapses before the signal is communicated to any other station, and that it is then received by all aimu'iUmeously. He con- sidci s this in connection with the details of his experiment to indi- cate that two fluids cu-culato m onposite directions between the [)t>lt!a of a battery, but that neither makes its influence perceptible until co.nplete cii' illation of each has taken place from pole to pole. The velocity of tiu.T circulation Prol. Mitchel inters to be about 30,000 miles a second. 11 'SiB 242 Appendix. Were the arrangement of the Telegraph such now as it was at firSt, one source of uncertainty would perhaps have been avoided in the experiments ; but the opportunity of solving tliis latter problem would have been lost Until telegrapuers availed themselves of the discovery of Steinheil, that no control over the circuit was lost when one half of it was formed by the earth, each Telegraph line was double — consisting of one wire to the terminus and another back. But in all the lines in use in this country, the earth forms one half of the circuit. Are we to consider, when the two distant extremities of a line of wire communicate with the earth at a dis- tance of many hundred miles from one another, that there is a special line of tension through the earth from one extremity to the other ? and that a signal is communicated from terminus to termi- nus through the ground, m the same manner as it is through a wire? or may we consider tlie earth as a huge receptacle, to speak metaphorically, capable of receiving or imparting any amount of electricity at any time ? The former opinion is held by my friend Mr. Walker. But does it not seem improbable that the slight activity of a galvanic battery, traversing a circuit of 1000 miles of wire, should be sufficient to establish a s})ec%cd line of electric tension extending through the earth in a rord or parallel wiJi the surface for 750 niilw ? For my own part, when I remember not only the grand phenomena of tcrrwtrial magnetism, but the immense galvanic force wliicli imret be exerted by the mutual influence of the huge masses of metal in the b )Wola of the earth, — when I consider the miirhty electiioal activity developed in the great processes of nature, — T will confoas that I cannot bring myself to believe that one 1: r _i. :., «i,« A Kr»fMfoori ixMrn remote st.iiions can be established athwart all tliese colossal forces by the actio! >f a puny Telegraph battery. Appendix. 243 VII. TABLE OF SUBMARINE CABLES. Boute. Bate. Miles. Dover aiid Calais, 1850 24 Dover and Ostend, 1852 76 Holyhead and Hpwth, 1852 65 England and Holland, 1853 115 Portpatrick and Donaghadee (two Cables), . 1853 26 Italy and Corsica, 185d 65 Corsica and Sardinia, 1854 10 Denmark— Great Belt, 1854 15 Denmark— Little Belt, 1854 5 Denmark— Soun'I, ''.855 12 Scotland— Frith of Forth, 1856 4 Black Sea, 1855 400 Soland, Isle of Wight, 1855 3 Straits of Messina, 1856 6 Qulfof St Lawrence, 1856 74 Straita of Northumberland, 1856 10^ Bosphorus, 1856 1 Gut of Canso, Nova Scotia, 1856 2 St Petersburg to Cronstadt, 1856 10 Atlantic Cable- Yalentia Bay to Trinity Bay, 1858 1950 2,862i 244 Appendix. VIII. THE MORSE TELEGRAPHIC ALPHABET. Letters. Figure* and Punotustion A - — - - 1 B P 2 Q 3 D R 4 E - S --- 5 F - - T — 6 a U 7 H V 8 I -- w- 9 J X K Y -- -- (.) L Z (?) M & - — (I) N — &c .- Appendix. H5 IX. RECEPTION OF THE TIDINGS OP SUCCESS IN THE UNITED STATES. The tidings of the mechanical success of the enterprise, first received in New York on the 5th of August, gave the first impulse to a uni- versal jubUee. That the Cable had been safely laid, was a fact which justified a warm expression of popular feeUng. The successful laying of an Oceanic Telegraph was justly regarded by the American peo- ple as an achievement which carried rich compensation for previous triald and dangers. For the space of a w^ ek, therefore, whUe the question of overcoming the scientific difficulties of transmission of the electric current yet ren-- ned unsettled, the country gave itself up to a general jubilation. The announcement of the landing of the Cable at Trinity Bay reached the quiet town of Andover, Massachusetts, while the Alumni of the Theological Seminary at that place were celebrating their semi- centennial anniversary by a dinner. One thousand persons were present, all of whom rose to their feet, and gave vent to .heir excited feeUngs by continued and enthusiastic cheers. When quiet was restored, the Alumni sang the Doxology to the tune of " Old Hun- dred ; " brief addresses, referring to the great event as a new Unk in the influences of Christianity, were deUvered by the Rev. Wm. Adams, D.D., of New Turk, the Rev. Dr. Hawes of Hartford, and others; a prayer was offered, and the dinner was then resumed xiiu iic *v*3 Vv'iio .,,-,__,,:.,. -.J -;* \xT««u,iM£,f/irj with unboundod Gntliiisi- asm. Labor was entirely suspended in the Government Depart- 246 Appendix. ments, and the tidings spread over the city with extraordinary rapidity. The President was not in town, having retired, some days previously, to Bedford, Pennsylvania, at which place the an- nouncement was made to him. At Albany, New York, the proceedings of the Courts, of the Board of Trade, and of the Raiboad Companies, were instantly ar- rested, and intense er ^''tement prevailed. In that city, and at Utica, Syracuse, Rochester, Buffalo, and other cxt j and towns in the State cf New York, pubUc and private buildings were illuminated, and enthusiasm found veui in various demonstrations. In the city of New York, the first new ^ was received with some degree of caution. Hence the celebration of the event on the night of the 5th of August was not equally enthusiastic with the demon- strations elsewhere. The city reserved itself for a future occasion. On the reception of the Queen's Message, its exuberance knew no bounds. At Fishkill, New York, an impromptu celebration took place, at which speeches were delivered by the Rev. Henry Ward Beechek, and others. In the course of his remarks, Mr Beecheb said : — im " Here I mark one thing, viz. : That while this wire, with those other co-related telegraphs on either side, will, in the first instance, work towards monopoly, in the second and main instance they will work towards diffusion and the common weal ; for although com- merce and poUtics, and the merchant class and the political class will in the first instance be the users, and so be benefited first by it, yet, in the main, the people will be the ones who will reap the benefit, for whatever thing brings now whole communities into circum- stances of greater prosperity must needs, iu the spirit and temper of our time, be distributive. If il vvuie post-luic fur KiiOvvic-age to no confined to the minds of the many, if it were possible for mono- Appendi 247 polista to lock up the two ends of this wire, holding, on either side, the power of its intelligence, it might be disastrous to governments and to the people. But now it has a tendency to make knowledge co-extensive with the globe instantaneously." lUuminations took place in Brooklyn, the city of Captain Hud- son's residence. Among the transparencies was one hung over the Mechanics- Bank, which bore the words of a telegraphic dispatch forwarded by the commander of the Nio^ara to his family- ^. : " TRimTY Bat, Aug. 5, 1858. "God has been with us. The Telegraph Cable is laid without accident, and to Him be aU the glory. We are all well. " Yours affectionately, Tm. L. Hudson." SimUar demonstrations occurred on the 5th and 6th of August at the South and West. The citit. of Philadelphia and New Orleans were especiaUy jubilant. In the city of Boston, salutes were fired, illuminations took place, and bonfires were lighted. The reception of the Qui^en's Message on the 16th and 17th of August, however, produced the most remarkable effect. Celebra- tions which had been promised, but were postponed until the cer^ tainty of success became assured, took place under circumstances of unusual impressiveness. That which occurred in the city of New York, on the evening of Tuesday, August 1 . , was in many respects the most remarkable popular demonstration that has occurred foi many years. Without preparation, and without the settlement of a programme, the city suddenly exult. 1 It was a momentary im- nnlse. ended as speedily as it began, and, being a short-lived excite- ment, brought no reaction with it. Two thousand workmen irom sss^ 248 Appendix. ■ ' il li I the Central Park appeared in Broadway at noon, marching in orderly procession, bringing with them their implements of labor which they had ceased using for a day. From the City Hall, the hotels and oiBces, flags flc-^ted. Banners were displayed in the leading thorough- fares, as night drew on ; and at dusk the City Hall, the Astor House, the newspaper estabUshments, stores and dwelhngs in the lower part of tlie city blazed witli the Ught of a spontaneous illumination. Unfortunately a display of finepyn.iechny which took place in front of the City Hall, resulted in a disaster to that fine edifice; the un- consumed remains of the fireworks igniting the roof of the Hall and producing a partial destruction of the upper floor. The celebration was marked by the burning of a City liaU, and the two events became 'lif torical together. Among the devices displayed upon transparencies during the illumination, the foUowing expressed the popular feehng in a signi- ficant manr er : — "Victoria. Ah hail to the Inventive Genius and Indefatigable Enterprise of John and Jonathan, that has succeew^d in consum- mating the Mightiest Work of the Age; may the Cord that binds them in the bonds of International Friendship never be severed, and the Field ot its Usefukess extend to every part of the EartJ "let nations shout, 'midst cannons' roar. Proclaim the event from shore to shore." " The old Cyrus and the new— the first conquered the land for himself, the second the ocean for the world." "Lightning Caught and Tamed by Franklin. Taught to . Read and Write and go on errands by Morse. Started in the Foreign Trade by Field, Cooper & Co., with Johnny Bull and Brother Jonathan as Special Partners." Appendix. 249 In the city of Brooklyn, on the succeeding evening, a jubilee recei>tion was given to Captain Hudson. In response to an address of vfelcome from ex-Mayor Hall, Captain Hudson made the follow- ing pithy little speech : — "Mr. Mayor: If I were not a sailor ' s^ ■" stay back and nrt open my mouth to reply. But I am surprised ... what I see before me; for I have done nothing to deserve this — it is entire'y -lade- served. I have done nothing m- e than "• r'uty — nothiuf, thaL calls for anything of this kind. We liMve been engaged in a work that will make a sensation over the wV '.e world. It ushers in a new era in the commercial community. Inrough its means we shall be able * carry the gospel to all parts of the earth. We have been simple ^struments in Higher Hands to bring about the accomplish- L ant of this enterprise. There is < )ne higher than us, and to Him should be given all the praise. I hardly know how to speak. But you would not expect much f *m a sailoi . and therefore you will noi be disappointed." The jubilee was general throughout the country, after the recep- tion of the Message of Her Majesty ; so general, indeed, were the demonstrations of unbounded joy, that it would be difficult to exag- gerate any ac- ^nt of the rejoicings. The jubilee of a Nation is a rare event, ana ^'stifies a p sing notice in this record. At Belfast, Mair e. the c lebration was ver^ spirited. H. 0. Alden, Esq., Vice-Preside) t of the American Telegraph Company, and a stockholder iu tb'> Atlantic Company, caused the Queen's Message to be generaUy t .• :u kted among the citizens. At Detroit, Micb^^an. the display of enthusiasm was totally unpre- cedented. The demonstrations commenced by the firing of one hundred guns at sunset; fire-bells rang merry peals, rockeU. were 11* 250 Appendix. fired, bonfires lighted in tlio crowded si: eeta, the thoroughfares gaily decoratod with streamers and appropriate transparencies. The pub- lic buildings and p.ivate dwellings were illuminated. An imposing torch-light procession, headed by the Mayor of the city and officers, marched through the principal streets to the Campus Martins, Avhere addresses were delivereu, and expressive resolutions passed. The city of Cincinnp^i, Ohio, was brilliantly illuminated in honor of the Ocean Telegraph. At the corner of every street barrels of tar were buriiing, donated for the pr.rpose by the Gas Company. The bells of Gil lati, Covington, and Newport were rung, and 100 guns were 1- u. At Pittsburg, Pennsyl' ia, the celebration was a brilliant afTair. At li)ur o'clock, p.m., r.ll business was suspended, all the bells in the city were i-ung, and a salute of 100 guns fired. In the evening there 'vas u torchlight procession by the civic societies, and a gene- ral illumination of public and private liouses. On die rivers there was an illuminated regatta by all the boat clubs. The reception of the Q'leen'a and President's Messr.gcs was hailed nt St. Louis witli <lolight. The Messages were read on 'Change, and elicited hearty acclamations. Congratulatory remarks were made by seveial gentlemen. A meeting was convened i ler the direc- tion of the President of the Chamber of Conunerce, .nd the follow- ing resolution unanimously adopted: — Resolved, By thj Chamber of Commerce, that St. Louis will inite with the countiy in the celebratiuii of this great iulc'-.i-'ii nul enter- prise. Appendix. 25 » X. MR. BERDAN AS THE INVENTOR OF THE NEW PAY- ING-OUT MACHINE. [The name of Mr. Hiram Berdan, of New York, having been mentioned in the body of this work, in connexion with the inven- tion of the Paying-out Machine, which was successfully employed in layirg the Atlantic Cable in the Suninior of 1858, we deem it proper to produce certain proofs, establishing the claims of thi.t gentleman as the original inventor of that beautiful apparatus :] Soon after the failure of the Telegraphic Expedition of 1857, and as soon as the causes of such failure could be satisfactorily ascer- tained, Mr. H. Berdan, of thij city, set himself to the task of inves- t'^'atmg the subject and devising a paying-out apparatus which would supply the defects of that already used, and in hia judgment, successfully lay the Cable across the Atlantic. About the IsL of January of the present year, Mr. Berdan had completed his design and bail a working luodcl constructad on such a scale oa to show clearly the full operation of all the diflercnt parts of the appariiius. Mr. Field's attention had been called to Mr. Berdan's .avention, and expressing his anxious desire that Mr. Everett should examine the apparatus, a day 'vas a) mtcil lur him to do so, which wan the Monday previous to tlie sailing of the Persia, wliich took Mr. Fiki.p iukI Mr. Everett to Liverpool in .laiuiary last. Mr. Field, Mr. Everett, Peter Cooi-er, Capt. liupMON, unti inuiiy oii -t gi'uiicmiMi, witc pn'!'«'iil wiiiii Mr. Ev.-. RETT made hia first visit to, and examination of, Mr. Bkrdan's model. 252 Appendix. When Mr. Everett first examined the model and noticed that the tension on the Cable was to be tested by a counter weight, he remarked with reference to it, " Oh, that won't do, a counter weight cannot be used on board ship, the momtatum is too great. "We have thought of that and abandoned it." To which Mr. Berdan replied, that he doubted if Mr. Everett yet understood the operation of the machine and its eflfect upon the Cable to give elasticity to it ; that there was no serious difficulty in placing the counter weights on board ship. Mr. Berdan then operated the model, showing the effect of the counter weights and the various parts of the machinery so satisfactorily that Mr. Everett appeared to change his mind at once, and observed, " I came here with nr expectations of seeing any thing new. Wo have had a thousand suggestions from various sources, but this is new and interesting, and I am now satisfied tliat we must adopt a compen- sating movement." Mr. Everett then remarked that he had no plan of his own as yet, was wedded to no system, and was deter- mined to seek for the best, and use it ; that he was much pleased •with Mr. Berdan's plan ; that he wished Mr. B. would let him t&i.e tlie model with liim that he might study it on his way out to Lon- don. Mr. Beroan consented, and thj model was .acoordingly boxed and sent to Mr. Everett's state-room, on board tluf Persia, and was taken by Mr. Field and Evkrktt to London. The following is a copy . f a letter acknowledging the receipt of the moi' 1 by the Atlantic Telegraph Company : "Atlantic TELEORApn Company, " 22 Old Boi.d street, London, "Enoinkerj}' Department, March Ath, 18,58. ^ * .1 ^; _ >tu-giapii X (jiii[iiiiiy, ijomiuii : " Mt Dear Sir,— I have read the vory interesting communica- Appendix. 253 tion commuaicated by Mr. Berdan, of New York, addressed to yourself, and have also examined the model of his apparatus which you brought from America. I must say that he deserves our very best thanks for the elaborate attention he has devoted to the subject which has resulted in the design of a paying-out machine, embody- ing many of the conditions requisite for success. " The most important fe.-.ture of his plan is the arrangement to compensate for the motion of the vessel, and this you are aware has engaged our attention for some time." On the 25th of January last, Mr. Berdan forwarded to Mr. Field drawings of his paying-out apparatus, accompanied by a letter giving his views generally, and full explanations of his machine in par- ticular. This communication from Mr. Berdan to Mr. Field was laid before Mr. Bright, the Engineer-in-chief of the Company, who wrote to Mr. Field in reply, of which tho followi-.g I3 an extract: "The Atlantic Telegraph Company Limited, " 22 Old Bond street, "London, E. C, January 19<A, LS58. " Sin, — I have received, by the hands of Cyrus W. Field, Esq., one of ti.e Directors of this Company, your very beautiful and elaborate model of a paying-out machine for depositing tli.> Atlantic Telegraph Cable in the Ocean. " I beg (o tender you tho warmest thanks of tho Directors for the lively interest you have so evidrntly evinced for tlie success of this undertaking. " The marliine shall bo submitted to tho English and American BcientUic authorities who are engaged in afflisting vm with thrir judgment as to the right means fur laying th<) Cable next auiuiuor, 254 Appendix. and I am quite certain it will receive at their hands a perfectly fair and especial consideration. Again thanking you for your kindness, " I am, Sir, yours very truly, " Geo. Slward, Secretary. "Hiram Berdan, Esq., 110 Broadway, New York." It is pertinent to remark that in ilr. Berdan's letter to Mr, Field of tlie 25th of January, the former laid great stress upon the importance of properly adjusted scrapers to remove the tar from the sheaves. In that letter, in describing his machinery, Mr. Berdan writes: — " At a convenient point in the frames B anil D, as well as the other sheave frames, I place shafts, having scrapers attached there- to, of auch forms as to fit the grooves in the sheave wheels. The axes of these shafts are placed at such a distance fiom the periphery of the sheave wheels as to allow the shaft to rotate freely on its axis, the scrapers just touching the whole inner surface of the grooves in the sheaves; a handle on tl'o outer end of the shaft serves to hold the scrapers in a proper position to remove any tar that may be adheriiii,' to the surface of the sheaves. On the top of tlie frames, and inuuciliatoly over the sheavus, I place water cans, having an outlet over eacli sheave to wet the Cable, and prevent in Jiart the a ■(mmulation of tar on the slicav.-s, as well as to assist in the cleaning operation of the rapcrs." Again, in Mr. Berdan's letter to Mr. Fl Id, dated tlio 27th of March last, Mr. Berdan writes as follows: — "Constant, drijjping of wa'er on the shi'aves, together with tlie use of an iustruiueut whicii can be applied with accuracy every lew moments to take olVllie aceuiiuiiatiou of tar, is also very important, — water is preferable to oil, a-t the latter would dissolve the tar on the Cal>le, which is not desirable." ()n tiie M[ ol June lollownig, Mr. Everett makes a report to Mr. Field in which occurs the following:— " The operation of the ma- Appendix. 255 chinery generally, is certainly satisfactory, and there is no alteration I can suggest other than in the tar scrapers, which will require modification ; the amount of tar acc«mulating is so much beyond what could have been expected from last year's experience, owing to the repeated coatings since it was unloaded from the vessel last October, that extraordinary provision will be required." It clearly appears from Mr. Everett's report that Mr. Berdan did not attach too much importance 10 the tar scrapers, and that his recommenda- tions, which ought to have been adopted at first, were found abso- lutely necessary at last. The question now accrues, and it is one o'' importance : To whom is the credit due for devising the paying out apparatus which was used in successfully laying the Atlantic Cable ? Mr. Everett is doubtless entitled to a full share of credit for superintending the constructing of the machinery, and for the exercise of a sound dis- cretion in adoptiUj,' from the numerous difforent suggestions sub- mitted to the Company, such iis appeared to him most feasible. 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