CYRUS W. FIELD.
Cyrus far we have been considering the struggles of men who have risen
from obscure positions in life, by the aid of their own genius,
industry, and courage, to the front rank of their respective callings.
We shall now relate the story of one who having already won fortune,
periled it all upon an enterprise in which his own genius had recognized
the path to fame and to still greater success, but which the almost
united voice of the people of his country condemned as visionary, and
from which they coldly held aloof until its brilliant success compelled
them to acknowledge the wisdom and foresight of its projector.
Fifteen years ago very few persons had heard of Cyrus W. Field. Ten
years ago he had achieved considerable notoriety as a visionary who was
bent on sinking his handsome fortune in the sea. To-day, the world is
full of his fame, as the man to whom, above all others, it is indebted
for the successful completion of the Atlantic Telegraph; and those who
were formerly loudest in ridiculing him are now foremost in his praise.
"Nothing succeeds like success," and what was once in their eyes mere
folly, and worthy only of ridicule, they now hail as the evidences of
his courage, foresight, and profound wisdom, and wonder that they never
could see them in their true light before.
Cyrus West Field was born at Stockbridge, Massachusetts, on the 30th day
of November, 1819, and is the son of the Rev. David Dudley Field, a
distinguished clergyman of that State. He was carefully educated in the
primary and grammar schools of his native county, and at the age of
fifteen went to New York to seek his fortune. He had no difficulty in
obtaining a clerkship in an enterprising mercantile house in that city,
and, from the first, gave evidence of unusual business capacity. His
employers, pleased with his promise, advanced him rapidly, and in a few
years he became a partner in the house. His success as a merchant was
uniform and marked--so marked, indeed, that in 1853, when only
thirty-four years old, he was able to partially retire from business
with a large fortune as the substantial reward of his mercantile career.
Mr. Field had devoted himself so closely to his business that, at his
retirement, he resolved to seek recreation and change of scene in
foreign travel, and accordingly he left New York, and passed the next
six months in journeying through the mountains of South America. Upon
his return home, at the close of the year 1853, he declared his
intention to withdraw entirely from active participation in business,
and to engage in no new schemes.
He had scarcely returned home, however, when his brother, Mr. Matthew D.
Field, a successful and well-known civil engineer, informed him that he
had just become acquainted with a Mr. Frederick N. Gisborne, of
Newfoundland, who had come to New York for the purpose of interesting
some American capitalists in a company which had been organized in
Newfoundland for the purpose of procuring news in America and Europe,
and transmitting it between the two continents with greater dispatch
than was possible in the then existing mode of communication between the
two countries. The scheme of Mr. Gisborne had commended itself to Mr.
Matthew Field, and he urged his brother to meet that gentleman and hear
his statements. Mr. Cyrus Field at once declined to undertake any share
in the enterprise, and said that it would be useless for him to meet Mr.
Gisborne; but his brother was so urgent that he at last consented to
grant Mr. Gisborne an interview, and at least hear what he had to say.
At the appointed time, Mr. Field received Mr. Gisborne at his house, and
was there made acquainted with the proposed plan of operations of the
"Electric Telegraph Company of Newfoundland." This company had gone into
bankruptcy a short time previous, but Mr. Gisborne hoped to be able to
revive it by the aid of American capital. The scheme which he laid
before Mr. Field, can not be better stated than by quoting the following
extract from the charter which the Legislature of Newfoundland had
granted the bankruptcy company:
"The telegraph line of this company is designed to be strictly an
'Inter-Continental Telegraph,' Its termini will be New York, in the
United States, and London, in the Kingdom of Great Britain; these points
are to be connected by a line of electric telegraph from New York to St.
John's, Newfoundland, partly on poles, partly laid in the ground, and
partly through the water, and a line of the swiftest steamships ever
built, from that point to Ireland. The trips of these steamships, it is
expected, will not exceed five days, and as very little time will be
occupied in transmitting messages between St. John's and New York, the
communication between the latter city and London or Liverpool, will be
effected in _six days,_ or less. The company will have likewise
stationed at St. John's a steam yacht, for the purpose of intercepting
the European and American steamships, so that no opportunity may be
lost in forwarding intelligence in advance of the ordinary channels of
communication."
Mr. Field listened attentively to his visitor, but declined to commit
himself to more than an expression of sympathy with the enterprise.
After the departure of his guest, he took the globe which stood in his
library, and turning it over, began to examine the proposed route of the
telegraph line and the distance to be traversed by the steamers. While
engaged in this examination, the idea flashed across his mind that
instead of undertaking such a complicated scheme, it would be better to
attempt to stretch a telegraph wire entirely across the ocean, from the
shores of Newfoundland to the coast of Ireland. The vastness of this
scheme pleased him, and its usefulness to the entire world, if it could
be carried out, was clear to his mind from the first.
He at once set to work to ascertain if such an undertaking as an
Atlantic telegraph was practicable. He wrote to Lieutenant Maury, then
the Chief of the National Observatory at Washington, and asked if the
laying of such a wire was possible; and to Professor Morse, the inventor
of the telegraph, to know if such a wire would be available for sending
messages if it could be laid. Lieutenant Maury promptly replied,
inclosing a copy of a report he had just made to the Secretary of the
Navy on the subject, from which Mr. Field learned that the idea of
laying a telegraph across the ocean was not original with himself. In
this report Lieutenant Maury demonstrated the entire practicability of
such an enterprise, and sustained his conclusions by a statement of the
recent discoveries concerning the bed of the ocean, made by Lieutenant
Berryman. Professor Morse came in person to visit Mr. Field, and assured
him of his entire faith in the possibility of sending telegraphic
messages across the ocean with rapidity and success.
The two highest authorities in the world thus having assured him of the
entire practicability of the undertaking, Mr. Field declared his
readiness, if he could procure the assistance of a sufficient number of
capitalists in the United States, to undertake the laying of a telegraph
across the Atlantic between Europe and America. Further deliberation
only made him better satisfied with the undertaking, and he set to work
to find ten capitalists, each of whom he proposed should contribute one
hundred thousand dollars, making the capital of the proposed company one
million of dollars. Mr. Field was convinced that the undertaking would
be expensive, but he had then but a faint conception of its magnitude,
and was very far from supposing that "he might yet be drawn on to stake
upon its success the whole fortune he had accumulated; that he was to
sacrifice for it all the peace and quiet he had hoped to enjoy, and that
for twelve years he was to be almost without a home, crossing and
recrossing the sea, urging his enterprise in Europe and America."
The scientific questions involved in the undertaking were so little
understood at the time by the public, and the popular judgment regarded
the attempt to stretch a cable across the deep, mysterious ocean with so
much incredulity, that Mr. Field had considerable trouble in finding
gentlemen willing or prepared to share his faith in the enterprise. His
first effort was to induce Mr. Peter Cooper, of New York, his next door
neighbor, to join him, and he succeeded so well that Mr. Cooper
consented to do so if several others would unite with them. Encouraged
by his success with Mr. Cooper, whose name was a tower of strength to
his cause, Mr. Field renewed his efforts, and succeeded in winning over
the following gentlemen, and in the order named: Moses Taylor, Marshall
O. Roberts, and Chandler White. These gentlemen were very slow to accept
the views of Mr. Field, but, once having done so, they never lost faith
in the ultimate success of the undertaking. The more thoroughly they
became acquainted with its magnitude and costliness, the stronger grew
their confidence in it, for this increase of knowledge not only showed
them more plainly its difficulties and dangers, but developed new
grounds on which to base their hopes.
Mr. Field was about to continue his efforts to procure additional names,
when Mr. Cooper proposed that the five gentlemen already pledged to the
scheme should undertake its entire cost without waiting for the other
four. The proposition was agreed to, and it was decided to take the
necessary steps to procure a charter for their company from the
Legislature of Newfoundland. Mr. Field consented to undertake this, and
at once set off for St. John's, accompanied by his brother, Mr. David
Dudley Field, who was made the legal adviser of the company. At St.
John's they were greatly aided by Mr. Archibald, then the
Attorney-General of the Colony, and afterward the British Consul at New
York, and by the Governor of Newfoundland. They succeeded in obtaining a
charter from the Legislature under the name of the "New York,
Newfoundland, and London Telegraph Company," with liberal grants in land
and money. This accomplished, they assumed and paid the liabilities of
the old Telegraph Company which had been brought to Mr. Field's notice
by Mr. Gisborne, and thus removed the last difficulty in their way. This
much accomplished, Mr. Field hastened back to New York, and on the 6th
of May, 1854, the Company was formally organized at the residence of Mr.
David Dudley Field. Messrs. Cooper, Taylor, Field, Roberts, and White
were the first directors. Mr. Cooper, was made President of the
Company, Mr. White, Vice-President, and Mr. Taylor Secretary. A capital
of one million and a half of dollars was subscribed on the spot, Mr.
Field contributing about two hundred thousand dollars in cash.
Work was at once begun on the section between New York and St. John's.
There was no road across the island of Newfoundland, and the Company had
not only to build their telegraph line, but to construct a road by the
side of it through an almost unbroken wilderness. It was a work which
required the highest executive ability, and the services of an army of
men. The distance across the island was four hundred miles, and there
were numerous rocky gorges, morasses, and rivers in the way. The country
was a desolation, and it was found that supplies would have to be
transported from St. John's. The execution of the work was committed to
Mr. White, the Vice-President, who went to St. John's to act as the
general agent of the Company, and to Mr. Matthew D. Field, who was
appointed constructing engineer. These gentlemen displayed such skill
and energy in their respective positions that in two years the Company
had not only built a telegraph line and a road of four hundred miles
across the island, but had constructed another line of one hundred and
forty miles in the island of Cape Breton, and had stretched a submarine
cable across the Gulf of St. Lawrence.[A] The line was now in working
order from New York to St. John's, Newfoundland, a distance of one
thousand miles, and it had required about a million of dollars for its
construction. It now remained to complete the great work by laying the
cable between Newfoundland and Ireland.
[Footnote A: The first effort to lay a cable in the Gulf of St. Lawrence
was made by this Company, in August, 1855. It was a failure, and the
cable was lost. The second attempt was made in the summer of 1856, and
was entirely successful.]
It being desirable to examine still further the bed of the ocean over
which the cable was to be laid, Mr. Field requested the Government of
the United States to send out an expedition over the route for the
purpose of taking deep sea soundings. His request was promptly granted,
and an expedition under Lieut. Berryman was dispatched, which proceeded
to examine the ocean bed, with the most satisfactory results. This was
accomplished in the summer of 1856, and the next year the same route was
surveyed by Commander Daymon, with the British war steamer Cyclops--this
survey being ordered by the Lords of the Admiralty, at Mr. Field's
request. These surveys made it plain beyond question that a cable could
lie safely on the bed of the sea, at a depth sufficient to protect it
from vessels' anchors, from icebergs, and from submarine currents, and
that it would receive sufficient support from that bed to free it from
all undue tension. There was no doubt of the ultimate success of the
enterprise in the minds of the directors, but it was necessary to
convince the public in both Europe and America that it was not an
impossibility, and also to enlist the sympathies of the Governments of
Great Britain and the United States, and secure their assistance.
Mr. Field, who had made several voyages to England and to Newfoundland
in behalf of the company, was elected Vice-President after the death of
Mr. White, in 1856, and was charged with the duty of proceeding to
England to obtain the assistance of the British Government, and to
organize the company in London. Thus far the directors had borne the
entire cost of the undertaking, and it was but fair that they should
seek the means for completing their work in the country which was to be
so much benefited by it. Mr. Field sailed for England in the summer of
1856, and upon reaching that country proceeded to consult some of its
most eminent engineers and electricians. The English people were slow to
believe that so long a cable could be successfully worked, even if laid
intact, and to remove their doubts, the opinions of Professor Morse and
Lieutenant Maury were published in their newspapers; and this
publication brought out communications from many scientific men on the
subject, a number of them advocating the undertaking. Thus, the
attention of the English public was gained. Experiments were made by
Professor Morse, Mr. Bright, and Dr. Whitehouse, which proved beyond all
doubt the ease with which a continuous line of more than two thousand
miles of wire could be worked; and Professor Morse was able, from these
experiments, to declare his conviction that an electric current could
pass between London and New York, on such a wire, in the space of one
second.
Science had now done its utmost, and had in every thing sustained the
great plan. It was now necessary to ask the aid of Her Majesty's
Government. This effort was intrusted to Mr. Field, who carried it
through successfully. The English Government agreed to furnish the ships
necessary for making soundings and surveys, and to furnish vessels to
assist in laying the cable. It also agreed to pay to the company an
annual subsidy of fourteen thousand pounds for the transmission of the
government messages until the net profits of the company were equal to a
dividend of six pounds per cent., when the payment was to be reduced to
ten thousand pounds per annum, for a period of twenty-five years.
Provision was made for extra payment, in case the government messages
exceeded a certain amount; and it was provided that the messages of the
Governments of Great Britain and the United States should be placed upon
an equal footing, and should have priority in the order in which they
arrived at the stations. This last provision exhibited a decided
liberality on the part of the English Government, since both ends of the
proposed cable would be in British territory. Indeed, throughout the
whole negotiation, Great Britain cheerfully accorded to the United
States every privilege which she claimed for herself.
Having secured the aid of the Queen's Government on such liberal terms,
Mr. Field now undertook the organization of the company, in addition to
the task of raising a capital of three hundred and fifty thousand
pounds. In both efforts he was effectively assisted by Mr. John W.
Brett, who had laid the first cable across the English Channel, and by
Mr. Charles T. Bright and Dr. Edward O.W. Whitehouse. The efforts of
these gentlemen were successful. In a few weeks the whole capital was
subscribed. It had been divided into three hundred and fifty shares of a
thousand pounds each. One hundred and one of these were taken up in
London, eighty-six in Liverpool, thirty-seven in Glasgow, twenty-eight
in Manchester, and a few in other parts of England. Mr. Field, at the
final division of shares, took eighty-eight. He did not design making
this investment on his own account, but thinking it but fair that at
least one-fourth of the stock should be held in America, he made this
subscription with the intention of disposing of his shares after his
return home. Owing to his continued absence from New York, and the
straitened condition of the money market, it was nearly a year before he
could succeed in selling as much as twenty-seven shares. The company was
organized in December, 1856, a Board of Directors elected, and a
contract made for the cable, half of which was to be made in London and
the other half in Liverpool.
The day after the organization of the company, Mr. Field sailed for New
York, from which place he at once made a voyage to Newfoundland, to look
after some matters which required his presence. Returning home, he
hurried to Washington, to secure the aid of the General Government. He
met with more opposition here than he had encountered in England. A
powerful lobby opposed him, and a spirit of hostility to his bill
exhibited itself in Congress, and to such a degree that the measure
passed the Senate by a majority of only one vote. It came very near
failing in the House, but at length got through, and received the
President's signature on the 3d of March, 1857.
In the summer of 1857, Mr. Field having returned to England, the cable
was declared to be in readiness for laying. The United States Government
now placed at the disposal of the Telegraph Company the magnificent new
steam frigate "Niagara," as the most suitable vessel for laying the
cable, and ordered the "Susquehanna," the largest side-wheel frigate in
the service, to accompany her in the expedition. The British Government
provided the steam frigate "Agamemnon," a splendid vessel, which had
been the flagship of the English fleet at the bombardment of Sebastopol,
and ordered the "Leopard" to accompany her as an escort. The "Niagara"
was commanded by Captain W.L. Hudson, of the United States Navy, and the
"Agamemnon" by Captain Noddal, of the Royal Navy. The "Niagara" took on
her share of the cable at Liverpool, and the "Agamemnon" received hers
at London. It was agreed that the "Niagara" should begin the laying of
the cable, and continue it until her portion of it should be exhausted
in mid-ocean, when her end of it should be united with the cable on
board the "Agamemnon," which ship should continue laying the line until
the shores of Newfoundland were reached. After taking on the cable, the
ships were ordered to Queenstown.
The vessels left England in the midst of general rejoicings, and arrived
at the rendezvous at the proper time. Thence they sailed for the harbor
of Valentia, which was to be the eastern terminus of the line and the
starting point of the expedition. They were greeted every-where with
enthusiasm, and the greatest confidence in the success of the
enterprise was manifested by those on board. Mr. Field, Professor Morse,
and several other officers of the company were on board the "Niagara,"
as that ship was to conduct the first part of the sinking of the cable.
At length all was in readiness. The shore end of the cable was landed
and made fast on Wednesday afternoon, the 5th of August, and the next
morning the fleet stood out to sea. "Before they had gone five miles the
heavy shore end of the cable caught in the machinery and parted. The
'Niagara' put back, and the cable was 'underrun' the whole distance. At
length the end was lifted out of the water and spliced to the gigantic
coil, and as it dropped safely to the bottom of the sea, the mighty ship
began to stir. At first she moved very slowly, not more than two miles
an hour, to avoid the danger of accident; but the feeling that they are
at last away is itself a relief. The ships are all in sight, and so near
that they can hear each other's bells. The 'Niagara,' as if knowing that
she is bound for the land out of whose forests she came, bends her head
to the waves, as her prow is turned toward her native shores.
"Slowly passed the hours of that day. But all went well, and the ships
were moving out into the broad Atlantic. At length the sun went down in
the west, and stars came out on the face of the deep. But no man slept.
A thousand eyes were watching a great experiment, as those who have a
personal interest in the issue. All through that night, and through the
anxious days and nights that followed, there was a feeling in every soul
on board as if a friend in the cabin were at the turning-point of life
or death, and they were watching beside him. There was a strange,
unnatural silence in the ship. Men paced the deck with soft and muffled
tread, speaking only in whispers, as if a loud voice or a heavy footfall
might snap the vital cord. So much had they grown to feel for the
enterprise, that the cable seemed to them like a human creature, on
whose fate they hung, as if it were to decide their own destiny.
"There are some who will never forget that first night at sea. Perhaps
the reaction from the excitement on shore made the impression the
deeper. What strange thoughts came to them as they stood on the deck and
watched that mysterious cord disappearing in the darkness, and gliding
to its ocean bed! There are certain moments in life when every thing
comes back upon us--when the events of years seem crowded into an hour.
What memories came up in those long night hours! How many on board that
ship thought of homes beyond the sea, of absent ones, of the distant and
the dead! Such thoughts, mingling with those suggested by the scene
around, added to the solemnity of the hour, had left an impression which
can never be forgotten.
"But with the work in hand all is going on well. There are vigilant eyes
on deck. Mr. Bright, the engineer of the company, is there, and Mr.
Everett, Mr. De Sauty, the electrician, and Professor Morse. The
paying-out machinery does its work, and though it makes a constant
rumble in the ship, that dull, heavy sound is music to their ears, as it
tells them that all is well. If one should drop to sleep, and wake up at
night, he has only to hear the sound of 'the old coffee-mill,' and his
fears are relieved, and he goes to sleep again."
Saturday and Sunday passed away without accident, but on Monday, when
two hundred miles at sea, in deep water, and safely beyond the great
submarine mountain, the electrical continuity was suddenly lost. This
interruption amazed and perplexed all on board, but no one was able to
remedy it, or to account for it satisfactorily. It lasted for two hours,
and then, just as the order was about to be given to cut the cable and
endeavor to wind it in, it came back as suddenly and mysteriously as it
had disappeared. The greatest delight was now manifested by all on
board. "You could see," says the correspondent of the London _Times_,
"the tears of joy standing in the eyes of some as they almost cried for
joy, and told their mess-mates that it was all right."
That night, however, the expedition came to grief. The cable was running
out freely at the rate of six miles per hour, while the ship was making
only four. This was supposed to be owing to a powerful undercurrent. To
check this waste of the cable the engineer applied the brakes firmly,
which at once stopped the machine. The effect was to bring a heavy
strain on the cable that was in the water. The stern of the ship was
down in the trough of the sea, and as it rose upward on the swell, the
pressure was too great, and the cable parted. The alarm was at once
given, and the greatest consternation and grief prevailed on board. "It
made all hands of us through the day," says Captain Hudson, "like a
household or family which had lost their dearest friend, for officers
and men had been deeply interested in the success of the enterprise."
The fleet immediately put about and returned to England, where Mr. Field
at once informed the directors of the extent of the disaster. The
remaining portions of the cable were landed and stored safely away, and
the vessels were returned to their respective Governments. Orders were
given for the manufacture of seven hundred miles of cable to replace the
portion which had been lost, and to allow for waste in paying it out,
and the most energetic preparations were made for another attempt.
Being satisfied that the machine used for paying out the cable was
defective, Mr. Field went to Washington and procured from the Navy
Department the services of Mr. Wm. E. Everett, the chief engineer of the
"Niagara," stating to that gentleman the necessity for a new machine,
and urging him to invent it. This Mr. Everett succeeded in doing during
the winter. His machine was regarded as a great improvement on that
which had been used on the "Niagara." "It was much smaller and lighter.
It would take up only about one third as much room on the deck, and had
only one fourth the weight of the old machine. Its construction was much
more simple. Instead of four heavy wheels, it had but two, and these
were made to revolve with ease, and without danger of sudden check, by
the application of what were known as self-releasing brakes. These were
the invention of Mr. Appold, of London, a gentleman of fortune, but with
a strong taste for mechanics, which led him to spend his time and wealth
in exercising his mechanical ingenuity. These brakes were so adjusted as
to bear only a certain strain, when they released themselves. This
ingenious contrivance was applied by Mr. Everett to the paying-out
machinery. The strength of the cable was such that it would not break
except under a pressure of a little over three tons. The machinery was
so adjusted that not more than half that strain could possibly come upon
the cable, when the brakes would relax their grasp, the wheels revolve
easily, and the cable run out into the sea 'at its own sweet will.' The
paying-out machine, therefore, we are far from claiming as wholly an
American invention. This part of the mechanism was English. The merit of
Mr. Everett lay in the skill with which he adapted it to the laying of
the Atlantic cable, and in his great improvements of other parts of the
machinery. The whole construction, as it afterward stood upon the decks
of the 'Niagara' and the 'Agamemnon,' was the combined product of
English and American invention."
In January, 1858, the Board of Directors offered Mr. Field the sum of
five thousand dollars per annum if he would assume the post of general
manager of the company. He at once undertook the duties of the
position, but declined all compensation.
Every thing being in readiness for the second attempt at laying the
cable, the "Niagara" sailed from New York in March, 1858, to take on her
portion of the cable at Plymouth. The "Agamemnon" was again ordered to
assist in the undertaking, and the "Gorgon" was made her consort Mr.
Field had hoped that the "Susquehanna" would again be the consort of the
"Niagara," but a few days before the sailing of the fleet he was
officially informed that he could not have the ship, as she was then in
the West Indies, with the greater part of her crew down with the yellow
fever. This was a keen disappointment, as every arrangement had been
made with the expectation of having the assistance of the "Susquehanna."
It was too late to ask the Government at Washington for another ship,
and it was by no means certain that the request would be granted if
made. In this dilemma Mr. Field frankly stated his disappointment to the
Lords of the Admiralty of England, and asked for a ship to accompany the
"Niagara." He was informed that the English Government was at that
moment chartering vessels to convey troops to Malta, as it had not ships
enough of its own, and that it was doubtful whether it could contribute
a third ship to the expedition. Still, so greatly did the government
desire the success of the enterprise, that a little later on the same
day the "Valorous" was ordered to take the place of the "Susquehanna" in
the telegraph fleet. This generous assistance was all the more
praiseworthy, as it was given at a time when the need of England for
ships was very urgent.
After shipping the cable, the squadron sailed from Plymouth on the 29th
of May, 1868, for the Bay of Biscay, where the cable was subjected to
numerous and thorough tests, which demonstrated its strength and its
sensitiveness to the electric current. This accomplished, the vessels
returned to Plymouth.
"Among the matters of _personal_ solicitude and anxiety at this time,
next to the success of the expedition, was Mr. Field himself. He was
working with an activity which was unnatural--which could only be kept
up by great excitement, and which involved the most serious danger. The
strain on the man was more than the strain on the cable, and we were in
fear that both would break together. Often he had no sleep, except such
as he caught flying on the railway. Indeed, when we remonstrated, he
said he could rest better there than anywhere else, for then he was not
tormented with the thought of any thing undone. For the time being he
could do no more; and then, putting his head in the cushioned corner of
the carriage, he got an hour or two of broken sleep.
"Of this activity we had an instance while in Plymouth. The ships were
then lying in the Sound, only waiting orders from the Admiralty to go to
sea; but some business required one of the directors to go to Paris,
and, as usual, it fell upon him. He left on Sunday night, and went to
Bristol, and thence, by the first morning train, to London. Monday he
was busy all day, and that night went to Paris. Tuesday, another busy
day, and that night back to London. Wednesday, occupied every minute
till the departure of the Great Western train. That night back to
Plymouth. Thursday morning on board the 'Niagara,' and immediately the
squadron sailed."
The plan of operations this time was for the vessels to proceed to a
given point in mid-ocean, and there unite the two ends of the cable,
after which the "Niagara" should proceed toward Newfoundland and the
"Agamemnon" toward Ireland, and it was supposed that each vessel would
make land about the same time. This was believed to be a better plan
than the one pursued in the first expedition.
The squadron sailed from Plymouth on the 10th of June. The weather was
favorable for the first two or three clays of the voyage, but on the
13th a severe gale set in, which lasted for over a week, and came near
causing the "Agamemnon" to founder beneath her immense load, a portion
of which broke loose in her hold. All the vessels succeeded in
weathering the storm, however, and on the 25th reached the rendezvous in
mid-ocean. The next day the splice was made, and the ships set out for
their respective destinations. Before they had gone three miles the
machinery of the "Niagara" caught the cable and broke it. A second
splice was made, but when each ship had paid out about forty miles, the
electric current suddenly ceased. The cable was cut promptly, and the
two vessels at once returned to the rendezvous, where they rejoined each
other on the 28th. A comparison of the logs of the two ships "showed the
painful and mysterious fact that at the same second of time each vessel
discovered that a total fracture had taken place, at a distance of
certainly not less than ten miles from each ship, in fact, as well as can
be judged, at the bottom of the ocean." A third splice was made without
delay, and the two ships again set out for the opposite shores of the
Atlantic. This time about two hundred miles of the cable were
successfully laid, when it parted about twenty feet from the stern of
the "Agamemnon." The "Niagara," being unable to communicate with the
English frigate, bore away for Queenstown, where she was joined a few
days later by the "Agamemnon."
This second failure greatly disheartened the directors, and it required
all Mr. Field's persuasiveness to induce them to sanction another
attempt. Yet he prevailed, and, hastening from London to Queenstown,
sailed with the telegraph fleet on the third attempt to lay the cable,
leaving Queenstown on the 17th of July. The rendezvous was reached on
the 28th, and on the 29th the splice was made; and the "Niagara" and
"Agamemnon" parted company. This time the undertaking was successful.
The cable was laid across the Atlantic, the "Niagara" reaching Trinity
Bay, Newfoundland, on the 5th of August, and the "Agamemnon" arriving
at Valentia, Ireland, a few hours later on the same day. Signals were
sent across the entire length of the line, from shore to shore, with
ease and rapidity, and nothing occurred to mar the success of the mighty
undertaking.
The successful laying of the cable was hailed with the liveliest joy on
both sides of the Atlantic, and those who had participated in it were
regarded as heroes. But great as was the achievement, it was not
destined to be a lasting success. After working for four weeks, the
electric current suddenly ceased on the 1st of September. It never
worked _perfectly_ at any period of its existence, but it did transmit a
number of messages with intelligibleness, and thus put an end to all
doubt in the minds of the scientific men of the expedition of the
feasibility of laying a successful line across the ocean.
The public generally and the directors of the company were greatly
disappointed, and many of-the latter and nearly all of the former
declared that all such attempts must of necessity fail. Some persons
even went so far as to avow their belief that the statements as to the
successful transmission of signals over the wire were false; but the
proofs that the wire did work properly for awhile are too strong to
allow us to accord the slightest weight to this disbelief. But whether
signals had passed over the wire or not, there could be no doubt that
the cable had ceased to respond to the efforts of the electricians, and
was a total failure, and the discouragement of nearly every one
connected with it was most profound.
Mr. Field and one or two others were the only persons who retained the
slightest confidence in the enterprise, and it was clear to them that
any further effort to secure the aid of private capital would be useless
just then. An appeal was made to the British Government. It was urged
that the work was too great to be undertaken by private capital alone,
and that, since it was to be more of a public than a private nature, it
was but just that the Government should undertake it. The company asked
the Government to guarantee the interest on a certain amount of stock,
even if the second attempt should not prove a complete success. The
failure of the Red Sea cable, to which the British Government had given
an unconditional guarantee, had just occurred, and had caused a
considerable loss to the treasury, and the Government was not willing to
assume another such risk. Anxious, however, for the success of the
Atlantic telegraph, it increased its subsidy from fourteen thousand to
twenty thousand pounds, and agreed to guarantee eight per cent, on six
hundred thousand pounds of new capital for twenty-five years, upon the
single condition that the cable should be made to work successfully.
This was not all, however. The Government caused further soundings to be
made off the coast of Ireland, which effectually dispelled all the fears
which had been entertained of a submarine mountain which would prove an
impassable barrier in the path of an ocean telegraph. In addition to
this, it caused the organization of a board of distinguished scientific
men for the purpose of determining all the difficult problems of
submarine telegraphy. This board met in 1859, and sat two years. The
result of its experiments and investigations was a declaration, signed
by the members, that a cable properly made, "and paid into the ocean
with the most improved machinery, possesses every prospect of not only
being successfully laid in the first instance, but may reasonably be
relied upon to continue many years in an efficient-state for the
transmission of signals."
Meanwhile, Mr. Field labored energetically to revive the company. The
war which had broken out in the United States brought home to our
Government the urgent need of telegraphic communication with Europe, and
Mr. Field had no difficulty in obtaining from the President an assurance
that this Government would be most happy to join with Great Britain in
promoting this great international work. He addressed meetings of
merchants in various American cities, and displayed the greatest energy
in his efforts to enlist the aid of American capital. Very little was
accomplished, however, until 1863. By this time the success of the lines
in the Mediterranean and in the Persian Gulf had demonstrated the
practicability of long submarine telegraphs, and the public confidence
in the attempt had been revived to such an extent that the directors
ventured to call for proposals for the manufacture of a cable. Seventeen
offers were made, from which that of Messrs. Glass, Elliott & Co., of
London, was selected. Mr. Field now renewed his indomitable efforts, and
in a few months the new capital of six hundred thousand pounds was
subscribed, Messrs. Glass, Elliott &, Co. taking three hundred and
fifteen thousand pounds, besides one hundred thousand pounds in bonds.
This was accomplished in 1864, and work on the cable was immediately
begun. The cable now adopted was very different from, and much more
sensitive than, those which had been used before. It was heavier, and
less liable to be injured by the water.
The "Great Eastern" steamship, the greatest wonder of naval
architecture, was at this time advertised for sale, and it occurred to
several of the gentlemen interested in the telegraph company that she
was the best vessel for laying the cable that could be found. They at
once organized themselves into a company, purchased the ship, and fitted
her up for that service. They were fortunate in securing the services of
Captain James Anderson, and placing him in charge of her, sent her to
Sheerness, where the cable was sent down to her in lighters from the
factory at Greenwich. When the cable was on board, and all the other
arrangements had been completed, the big ship left the Thames and sailed
for Valentia harbor.
The point of landing had been changed from Valentia harbor, five or six
miles, to Foilhommerum Bay. On the 23d of July, 1865, the shore end was
connected with the cable on board the ship, and the voyage was begun. It
would be interesting to follow the huge steamer on this remarkable
voyage, and to relate to the reader the almost marvelous manner in which
faults were detected in the line hundreds of miles from the shore, and
how the cable was successfully hauled in and the damage repaired. All
went well until twelve hundred miles of cable had been paid out, and the
ship was but six hundred miles from the shores of Newfoundland, when the
cable broke again and plunged into the sea.
Mr. Canning, the engineer in charge, was dismayed, but not disheartened.
For nine days the ship hung around the spot grappling for the cable, in
the hope of raising it, and sinking its grapnels for this purpose to a
depth of two miles. The cable was caught several times, but the rope
which held the grapnel broke each time, and the precious coil fell back
again into the deep. At length, having marked the place where the cable
was lost with buoys, the ship put back for England, and the enterprise
was abandoned for that year.
Though unsuccessful in carrying the cable across the ocean, this
expedition was by no means a failure. Its results are thus summed up by
the officers in charge of it:
1. It was proved by the expedition of 1858 that a submarine
telegraph cable could be laid between Ireland and Newfoundland, and
messages transmitted through the same.
By the expedition of 1865 it has been fully demonstrated:
2. That the insulation of a cable improves very much after its
submersion in the cold deep water of the Atlantic, and that its
conducting power is considerably increased thereby.
3. That the steamship "Great Eastern," from her size and constant
steadiness, and from the control over her afforded by the joint use
of paddles and screw, renders it safe to lay an Atlantic cable in
any weather.
4. That in a depth of over two miles four attempts were made to
grapple the cable. In three of them the cable was caught by the
grapnel, and in the other the grapnel was fouled by the chain
attached to it.
5. That the paying-out machinery used on board the Great Eastern
worked perfectly, and can be confidently relied on for laying
cables across the Atlantic.
6. That with the improved telegraphic instruments for long
submarine lines, a speed of more than eight words per minute can be
obtained through such a cable as the present Atlantic one between
Ireland and Newfoundland, as the amount of slack actually paid out
did not exceed fourteen per cent., which would have made the total
cable laid between Valentia and Heart's Content nineteen hundred
miles.
7. That the present Atlantic cable, though capable of bearing a
strain of seven tons, did not experience more than fourteen
hundred-weight in being paid out into the deepest water of the
Atlantic between Ireland and Newfoundland.
8. That there is no difficulty in mooring buoys in the deep water
of the Atlantic between Ireland and Newfoundland, and that two
buoys even when moored by a piece of the Atlantic cable itself,
which had been previously lifted from the bottom, have ridden out a
gale.
9. That more than four nautical miles of the Atlantic cable have
been recovered from a depth of over two miles, and that the
insulation of the gutta-percha covered wire was in no way whatever
impaired by the depth of water or the strains to which it had been
subjected by lifting and passing through the hauling-in apparatus.
10. That the cable of 1865, owing to the improvements introduced
into the manufacture of the gutta-percha core, was more than one
hundred times better insulated than cables made in 1858, then
considered perfect and still working.
11. That the electrical testing can be conducted with such unerring
accuracy as to enable the electricians to discover the existence of
a fault immediately after its production or development, and very
quickly to ascertain its position in the cable.
12. That with a steam-engine attached to the paying-out machinery,
should a fault be discovered on board whilst laying the cable, it
is possible that it might be recovered before it had reached the
bottom of the Atlantic, and repaired at once.
It was now placed beyond the possibility of a doubt that the cable would
be laid within the next year. More than this, it was determined not only
to lay a new cable between the two continents, but to fish up the cable
of 1865, splice it and continue it to Newfoundland, thus giving the
company two working lines.
It was necessary, however, to raise more capital, and in this effort Mr.
Field again put forth his restless and indomitable energies. As the
public confidence in the scheme had been effectually restored, it was
resolved to raise six hundred thousand pounds of new capital by the
issue of one hundred and twenty thousand shares of five pounds each,
which should be preferential shares, entitled to a dividend of twelve
per cent, before the eight per cent, dividend to be paid on the former
preference shares, and the four per cent, on the ordinary stock. They at
once proceeded to issue these bonds, when they were informed by the
Attorney-General that the proceeding was contrary to law.
In this dilemma work on the new cable was at once stopped, and the money
which had been paid in returned to the subscribers. As Parliament was
not in session, and a new issue of stock could not be made by the
company without its authorization, and as to wait for this would be to
postpone the laying of the cable for another year, Mr. Field was now
advised by Mr. Daniel Gooch, M.P., that the only way out of the
difficulty was to organize a new company at once, which should assume
the work, issue its own shares, and raise its own capital. Eminent legal
gentlemen sustained Mr. Gooch in this opinion, and Mr. Field again set
to work to organize a new company, under the name of the "Anglo-American
Telegraph Company." The capital was fixed at six hundred thousand
pounds, Mr. Field taking ten thousand pounds. The whole amount was
raised in a short time, and the company "contracted with the Atlantic
Cable Company to manufacture and lay down a cable in the summer of 1866,
for doing which it is to be entitled to what virtually amounts to a
preference dividend of twenty-five per cent., as a first claim is
secured to them by the Atlantic Telegraph Company upon the revenue of
the cable or cables (after the working expenses have been provided for)
to the extent of one hundred and twenty-five thousand pounds per annum,
and the New York, Newfoundland, and London Telegraph Company undertake
to contribute from their revenue a further annual sum of twenty-five
thousand pounds, on condition that a cable shall be working during
1866."
Once more the furnaces glowed and the hammers rang in the manufacture of
the cable. Great improvements were made in the cable itself and in the
machinery for laying it, and the "Great Eastern" was thoroughly
overhauled. The cable was completed and put on board in June, and the
big ship left the Medway on the last of the month and proceeded to
Berehaven, in Ireland, where she took on her final stores of coal. This
done, she proceeded to Valentia, where she arrived on the seventh of
July.
The shore end was successfully laid and made fast to the cable on board
the "Great Eastern," and on Friday morning, the 13th of July, 1866, the
huge ship set sail for Newfoundland, accompanied by her consorts of the
telegraph fleet. The voyage occupied fourteen days, the ship making an
average run of about one hundred and eighteen miles per day, and paying
out about one hundred and thirty-one miles of cable in the same period
of time. The weather was fair during the whole voyage, but the anxiety
of the officers in charge was none the less on that account. There were
accidents to be dreaded more than unfavorable weather. The ship was run
at moderate speed all the way, as it was thought she had once or twice
run too fast on the last voyage, and exposed the cable to danger. "The
total slack of the cable was less than twelve per cent., showing that
the cable was laid almost in a straight line, allowing for the swells
and hollows in the bottom of the sea.
"As the next week drew toward its close, it was evident that they were
approaching the end of their voyage. By Thursday they had passed the
great depths of the Atlantic, and were off soundings. Besides, their
daily observations, there were many signs well known to mariners that
they were near the coast. There were the sea-birds, and even the smell
of the land, such as once greeted the sharp senses of Columbus, and made
him sure that he was floating to some undiscovered shore. Captain
Anderson had timed his departure so that he should approach the American
coast at the full moon; and so, for the last two or three nights, as
they drew near the Western shore, the round orb rose behind them,
casting its soft light over sea and sky; and these happy men seemed like
heavenly voyagers, floating gently on to a haven of rest.
"In England the progress of the expedition was known from day to day,
but on this side of the ocean all was uncertainty. Some had gone to
Heart's Content, hoping to witness the arrival of the fleet, but not so
many as the last year, for the memory of their disappointment was too
fresh, and they feared the same result again. But still a faithful few
were there, who kept their daily watch. Two weeks have passed. It is
Friday morning, the 27th of July. They are up early, and looking
eastward to see the day break, when a ship is seen in the offing. She is
far down on the horizon. Spy-glasses are turned toward her. She comes
nearer; and look, there is another, and another! And now the hull of the
'Great Eastern' looms up all glorious in that morning sky. They are
coming! Instantly all is wild excitement on shore. Boats put off to row
toward the fleet. The 'Albany' is the first to round the point and enter
the bay. The 'Terrible' is close behind; the 'Medway' stops an hour or
two to join on the heavy shore end, while the 'Great Eastern,' gliding
calmly in as if she had done nothing remarkable, drops her anchor in
front of the telegraph house, having trailed behind her a chain of two
thousand miles, to bind the old world to the new.
"Although the expedition reached Newfoundland on Friday, the 27th, yet,
as the cable across the Gulf of St. Lawrence was broken, the news was
not received in New York till the 29th. It was early Sunday morning,
before the Sabbath bells had rung their call to prayer, that the tidings
came. The first announcement was brief: 'Heart's Content, July 27th. We
arrived here at nine o'clock this morning. All well. Thank God, the
cable is laid, and is in perfect working order. Cyrus W. Field.'"
There was no failure in the communication this time. The electric
current has continued to flow strongly and uninterruptedly from that day
until the present, and experience has demonstrated for the wonderful
wire a capacity far beyond the hopes of its projectors.
Having laid the cable, the "Great Eastern" proceeded with surprising
accuracy to where the line had been lost the year before, and succeeded
in grappling and raising it to the surface. It was tested, and found to
be in perfect order, messages being sent with ease from the ship to
Valentia, and from that point back again. A splice was then made, and
the line was continued to Newfoundland. Both cables are still working,
and bid fair to be serviceable for many years to come.
Many persons had contributed to this great success, but to Cyrus W.
Field must be assigned the chief praise. His energy and perseverance
kept the subject constantly before the public. His courage inspired
others, and his faith in its ultimate success alone kept its best
friends from abandoning it in its darkest hours. In its behalf he spent
twelve years of constant toil, and made over fifty voyages, more than
thirty of which were across the Atlantic. He devoted his entire fortune
to the undertaking, of which he was the projector and cheerfully
incurred the risk of poverty rather than abandon it. Therefore, it is
but just that he, who was the chief instrument in obtaining for the
world this great benefit, should receive the chief measure of the praise
which it has brought to all connected with it.
[Illustration: ROBERT FULTON.]
III.
INVENTORS