VICTORY AT LAST.
In these pages we have led our readers through twelve long years, and
have had to tell many a tale of disaster and defeat. It is now our
privilege to tell of triumphant success. Victory has come at last, but
not by the chance of fortune, but by the utmost efforts of man, by the
union of science and skill with indomitable perseverance. The failure of
the last year was a sad disappointment; but so far from damping the
courage of those embarked in the enterprise, it only roused them to a
more gigantic effort. They were now to prepare for a fifth expedition.
In this they set themselves to anticipate every possible emergency, and
to combine the elements of success so as to render failure impossible.
The Great Eastern herself, which they had come to regard with a kind of
fondness, a feeling of affection and pride, as the ark that was to bear
their fortunes across the deep, was made ready for her crowning
achievement. For months Captain Anderson and Mr. Halpin, his chief
officer, worked day and night to get her into perfect trim. She had
become sadly fouled in her many voyages. As she swam the seas, a
thousand things clung to her as to a floating island, till her hull was
encrusted with mussels and barnacles two feet thick, and long seaweed
flaunted from her sides. Like a brave old war-horse, long neglected, she
needed a thorough grooming, to have her hair combed and her limbs well
rubbed down, to fit her to take the field. But it was not an easy matter
to get under the huge creature, to give her such a dressing. Yet Captain
Anderson was equal to the emergency. He contrived a simple instrument by
which every part of her bottom was raked and scrubbed. Getting rid of
this rough, shapeless mass would make her feel easy and comfortable at
sea, and add at least a knot an hour to her speed.
The boilers too were thoroughly cleansed and repaired in every part, and
the paddle-engines were so arranged that in five minutes they could be
disconnected, so that by going ahead with one and backing with the
other, the ship could be held perfectly at rest or be turned around in
her own length, a very important matter when they should come to fish in
deep waters for the broken end of the cable. To prepare for this, she
was armed with chains and ropes and irons of the most formidable kind.
For grappling the cable, she took on board twenty miles of rope, which
would bear a strain of thirty tons, probably the largest fishing-line
used since the days of Noah!
The cable was manufactured at the rate of twenty miles a day, and as
fast as delivered and found perfect, was coiled on board. And now the
electricians tried their skill to outdo all that they had done before.
As Captain Anderson observed, it seemed as if never had so much brain
power been concentrated on the problem of success. The cable itself
furnished the grandest subject of experiment. As every week added more
than a hundred miles to its length, there was constant opportunity to
try the electric current on longer distances and with new conditions.
The results obtained showed the rapid and marvellous progress of
electrical science. Said The Times:
"The science of making, testing, and laying cables has so much
improved that an undetected fault in an insulated wire has now
become literally impossible, while so much are the instruments
for signalling improved, that not only can a slight fault be
disregarded if necessary, but it is even easy _to work through
a submarine wire with a foot of its copper conductor stripped
and bare to the water_. This latter result, astonishing as it
may appear, has actually been achieved for some days past with
the whole Atlantic cable on board the Great Eastern. Out of a
length of more than one thousand seven hundred miles, a coil
has been taken from the centre, the copper conductor stripped
clean of its insulation for a foot in length, and in this
condition lowered over the vessel's side till it rested on the
ground. Yet through this the clearest signals have been
sent--so clear, indeed, as at one time to raise the question
whether it would not be worth while to grapple for the first
old Atlantic cable ever laid, and with these new instruments
working gently through it for a year or so, at least make it
pay cost."
As other things were on the same gigantic scale, by the time the big
ship had her cargo and stores on board, she was well laden. Of the cable
alone there were two thousand four hundred miles, coiled in three
immense tanks as the year before. Of this seven hundred and forty-eight
miles were a part of the cable of the last expedition. The tanks alone,
with the water in them, weighed over a thousand tons; and the cable
which they held, four thousand tons more; besides which she had to carry
eight thousand five hundred tons of coal and five hundred tons of
telegraph stores, making fourteen thousand tons, besides engines,
rigging, etc., which made nearly as much more. So enormous was the
burden, that it was thought prudent not to take on board all her coal
before she left the Medway, especially as the channel was winding and
shallow. It was therefore arranged that about a third of her coal should
be taken in at Berehaven, on the south-west coast of Ireland. With this
exception, her lading was complete.
The time for departure had been fixed for the last day of June, and so
admirable had been the arrangements, and such the diligence of all
concerned, that exactly at the hour of noon, she loosened from her
moorings, and began to move. It was well that she had not on board her
whole cargo; for as it was, she drew nearly thirty-two feet. Never had
any keel pressed so deep in those waters. It required skilful handling
to get her safely to the sea. Gently and softly she floated down, over
bars where she almost grazed the sand, where but a few inches lifted her
enormous hull above the river's bed. But at length the rising tide bears
her safely over, and she is afloat in the deeper waters of the Channel.
At first the sea did not give her a very gracious welcome. The wind was
dead ahead, and the waves dashed furiously against her; but she kept
steadily on, tossing their spray on high, as if they had struck against
the rocks of Eddystone lighthouse. In four or five days she had passed
down the Irish coast, and was quietly anchored in the harbor at
Berehaven, where she was soon joined by the other vessels of the
squadron.
The Telegraph fleet was not the same as that of the last year. The
Government could spare but a single ship; but the Terrible, which had
accompanied the Great Eastern on the former expedition, was still there
to represent the majesty of England. The William Corry, a vessel of two
thousand tons, bore the ponderous shore end, which was to be laid out
thirty miles from the Irish coast, while the Albany and the Medway were
ships chartered by the Company. The latter carried several hundred miles
of the last year's cable, besides one of heavier proportions, ninety
miles long, to be stretched across the mouth of the Gulf of St.
Lawrence.
[Illustration: SHORE END--EXACT SIZE.]
While the Great Eastern remained at Berehaven, to take in her final
stores of coal, the William Corry proceeded around the coast to Valentia
to lay the shore end. She arrived off the harbor on the morning of
Saturday, the seventh of July, and immediately began to prepare for her
heavy task. This shore end was of tremendous size, weighing twenty tons
to the mile. It was by far the strongest wire cable ever made, and in
short lengths was stiff as an iron bar. As the year before, the cable
was to be brought off on a bridge of boats reaching from the ship to the
foot of the cliff. All the fishermen's boats were gathered from along
the shore, while H. M. S. Raccoon, which was guarding that part of the
coast, sent up her boats to help, so that, as they all mustered in line,
there were forty of them, making a long pontoon-bridge; and Irish
boatmen with eager looks and strong hands were standing along the line,
to grasp the ponderous chain. All went well, and by one o'clock the
cable was landed, and its end brought up the cliff to the station. The
signals were found to be perfect, and the William Corry then slowly drew
off to sea, unlimbering her stiff shore end, till she had cast over the
whole thirty miles. At three o'clock next morning she telegraphed
through the cable that her work was done, and she had buoyed the end in
water a hundred fathoms deep. Describing the scene, the correspondent of
the London News says:
"In its leading features it presented a striking difference to
the ceremony of last year. Earnest gravity and a deep-seated
determination to repress all show of the enthusiasm of which
everybody was full, was very manifest. The excitement was
below, instead of above, the surface. Speech-making, hurrahing,
public congratulations, and vaunts of confidence were, as it
seemed, avoided as if on purpose. There was something far more
touching in the quiet and reverent solemnity of the spectators
yesterday than in the slightly boisterous joviality of the
peasantry last year. Nothing could prevent the scene being
intensely dramatic, but the prevailing tone of the drama was
serious instead of comic and triumphant. The old crones in
tattered garments who cowered together, dudheen in mouth,
their gaudy colored shawls tightly drawn over head and under
the chin--the barefooted boys and girls, who by long practice
walked over sharp and jagged rocks, which cut up boots and
shoes, with perfect impunity--the men at work uncovering the
trench, and winding in single file up and down the hazardous
path cut by the cablemen in the otherwise inaccessible
rock--the patches of bright color furnished by the red
petticoats and cloaks--the ragged garments, only kept from
falling to pieces by bits of string and tape--the good old
parish priest, who exercises mild and gentle spiritual sway
over the loving subjects of whom the ever-popular Knight of
Kerry is the temporal head, looking on benignly from his
car--the bright eyes, supple figures, and innocent faces of the
peasant lasses, and the earnestly hopeful expression of
all--made up a picture impossible to describe with justice. Add
to this, the startling abruptness with which the tremendous
cliffs stand flush out of the water, the alternations of bright
wild flowers and patches of verdure with the most desolate
barrenness, the mountain sheep indifferently cropping the
short, sweet grass, and the undercurrent of consciousness of
the mighty interests at stake, and few scenes will seem more
important and interesting than that of yesterday."
As the ships are now ready for sea, and all who are to embark have come
on board, we may look about us at the personnel of the expedition. Who
are here? We recognize many old familiar faces, that we have seen in
former campaigns--gallant men who have had many a sea-fight in this
peaceful war. First, the eye seeks the tall form of Captain Anderson.
There he is, modest and grave, of few words, but seeing every thing,
watching every thing, and ruling every thing with a quiet power. And
there is his second officer, Mr. Halpin, who keeps a sharp lookout after
the crew, to see that every man does his duty. While he thus keeps watch
of all on board, Staff Commander Moriarty, R. N., comes on deck, with
instruments in hand, to look after the heavenly bodies, and reckon the
ship's latitude and longitude. This is an old veteran in the service,
who has been in all the expeditions, and it would be quite "improper,"
even if it were possible, for a cable to be laid across the Atlantic
without his presence and aid. And here comes Mr. Canning, the engineer,
whose deep-sea soundings, the last year, were on a scale of such
magnitude, and who, if he cannot well dive deeper, means to pull
stronger the next time. That slight form yonder is Professor Thomson, of
Glasgow, a man who in his knowledge of the subtle element to be brought
into play, and the enthusiasm he brings to its study, is the very genius
of electrical science; and this is Mr. Varley, who seems to have the
lightning in his fingers, and to whom the world owes some marvellous
discoveries of the laws of electricity. Mr. Willoughby Smith, a worthy
associate in these studies and discoveries, goes out on the ship as
electrician.
And here is Mr. Glass, the managing director of the Telegraph
Construction and Maintenance Company, which has undertaken by contract
to manufacture this cable and lay it safely across the ocean; and Mr.
Gooch, chairman of the company that owns the Great Eastern--two
gentlemen to whom the Atlantic Telegraph is under the greatest
obligation, since it was they who, six months before, when the project
seemed in danger of being given up or postponed for years, took Mr.
Field by the hand, and cheered him on to a last effort. Blessings on
their hearts of oak! Mr. Gooch accompanies the ship, while Mr. Glass,
keeping Mr. Varley at his side as electrician, remains on shore, to
receive reports of the daily progress of the expedition, and to issue
his orders. What a post of observation was that telegraph house on the
cliffs of Valentia! It commanded a far broader horizon than the top of
Fiesole, from which Galileo looked down on the valley of the Arno, and
up at the stars. Was there ever a naval commander favored with a power
of vision that could sweep the boundless sea? What would Nelson have
said, if he had had a spy-glass with which he could watch ships in
action two thousand miles away, and issue his orders to a fleet on the
other side of the ocean? With such a long range, he might almost have
fought the Battle of the Nile from his home in England.
Standing on such a spot, and surrounded by such men, representing the
capital, the science, and the skill of England, with all those gallant
ships in sight, one's heart might well beat high. But there were other
reflections that saddened the hour, and caused some at least to look
once more on the rocks of Valentia with deep emotion. Some of their old
companions-in-arms had fallen out of the ranks, while the battle was not
yet won. Brett, Mr. Field's first friend in England, was in his grave.
Beyond the Atlantic, Captains Hudson and Berryman slept the sleep that
knows no waking. They were not forgotten by their survivors, who mourned
that those who had toiled with them in former days, were not here to
share their triumph.
The feeling, therefore, of many on this occasion, was not one elate with
pride and hope, but subdued by serious thoughts and tender memories. In
harmony with this feeling, and with the great work which they were about
to undertake, it was proposed that before the expedition sailed they
should hold a solemn religious service.
Was there ever a fitter place or a fitter hour for prayer than here, in
the presence of the great sea to which they were about to commit their
lives and their precious trust? The first expedition ever sent forth had
been consecrated by prayer. On that very spot, nine years before, all
heads were uncovered and all forms bent low, at the solemn words of
supplication; and there had the Earl of Carlisle--since gone to his
honored grave--cheered them on with high religious hopes, describing
the ships which were sent forth on such a mission, as "beautiful upon
the waters as were the feet upon the mountains of them that publish the
gospel of peace."
In such a spirit two of the directors--Mr. Bevan, of London, and Mr.
Bewley, of Dublin--sent invitations to a number of persons to meet at
Valentia, as the expedition was about to sail, and commend it to the
favor of Almighty God. Captain Anderson had greatly desired to be with
them at this parting service, but the ships were at Berehaven, and they
were just embarking for sea. But though the officers could not be
present, a large company came together. Said an Irish paper: "Men of
different religious denomination, and of various professions in
life--Irishmen, Englishmen, and Scotchmen--joined in such a service as
has never been held in this island." It was a scene long to be
remembered, as they bowed together before the God and Father of all.
Their brethren, who were about to go down to the sea in ships, felt
their dependence on a Higher Power. Their preparations were complete.
All that man could do was done. They had exhausted every resource of
science and skill. The issue now remained with Him who controls the
winds and waves. Therefore was it most fit that, at the very moment of
embarking, those who remained behind should, as it were, kneel upon the
cliff, and, with outstretched hands, commit them to Him who alone
spreadeth out the heavens and ruleth the raging of the sea.
In all this there is something of antique stamp, something which makes
us think of the sublime men of an earlier and better time; of the
Pilgrim Fathers kneeling on the deck of their little ship at Leyden, as
they were about to seek a refuge and a home in the forests of the New
World; and of Columbus and his companions celebrating a solemn service
before their departure from Spain. And so with labor and with prayer did
this great expedition go forth once more from the shores of Ireland,
bearing the hopes of science and of civilization--with courage and skill
looking out from the bow across the stormy waters, and a religious
faith, like that of Columbus, standing at the helm.
On Friday morning, the thirteenth of July, the fleet finally bade adieu
to the land. Was Friday an unlucky day? Some of the sailors thought so,
and would have been glad to leave a day before or after. But Columbus
sailed on Friday, and discovered the New World on Friday; and so this
expedition put to sea on Friday, and, as a good Providence would have
it, reached land on the other side of the Atlantic on the same day of
the week! As the ships disappeared below the horizon, Mr. Glass and Mr.
Varley went up on their watch-tower--not to look, but to listen for the
first voice from the sea. The ships bore away for the buoy where lay the
end of the shore line; but the weather was thick and foggy, with
frequent bursts of rain, and they could not see far on the water. For an
hour or two they went sailing round and round, like sea-gulls in search
of prey. At length the Albany caught sight of the buoy tossing on the
waves, and, firing a signal gun, bore down straight upon it. The cable
was soon hauled up from its bed, a hundred fathoms deep, and brought
over the stern of the Great Eastern; and the watchers on shore, who had
been waiting with some impatience, saw the first flash, and Varley read,
"Got the shore end--all right--going to make the splice." Then all was
still, and they knew that that delicate operation was going on. Quick,
nimble hands tore off the covering from some yards of the shore end of
the main cable, till they came to the core; then, swiftly unwinding the
copper wires, they laid them together, twining them as closely and
carefully as a silken braid. Thus stripped and bare this new-born child
of the sea was wrapped in swaddling-clothes, covered up with many
coatings of gutta-percha, and hempen rope, and strong iron wires, the
whole bound round and round with heavy bands, and the splicing was
complete. Signals were now sent through the whole cable on board the
Great Eastern and back to the telegraph-house at Valentia, and the whole
length, two thousand four hundred and forty nautical miles, was reported
perfect. And so with light hearts they bore away. It was a little after
three o'clock. As they turned to the west, the following was the "order
of battle": the Terrible went ahead, standing off on the starboard bow,
to keep other vessels out of the course; the Medway was on the port, and
the Albany on the starboard quarter, ready to pick up or let go a buoy,
or to do other work that might be required. All these ships were to keep
their allotted positions, within signalling distance of the Great
Eastern, and at any time that she was heard firing guns, they were to
close in with her to render assistance. Their course lay thirty miles to
the south of that of the last year, so that there could be no danger, in
fishing for the old cable, of disturbing the new.
Dr. Russell, the brilliant historian of the Expedition of 1865, was not
on board the Great Eastern this year. He had left England a few weeks
before for the scene of the war in Germany. His place was supplied by
Mr. John C. Deane, the Secretary of the Anglo-American Company, whose
"Diary of the Expedition" furnishes a faithful record of the incidents
of this memorable voyage. If the story be not quite so thrilling as that
of the year before, it is because it has not to tell of such fatal
accidents. It has the monotony of success. A few pages from this diary,
giving its most important portions, will render this narrative complete.
The voyage began with good weather and every omen of success. Friday,
indeed, was a day of fog and rain. At the very time they were making
the splice with the shore end, the rain was pouring on the deck. But in
a few hours it cleared off, and Saturday and Sunday, Mr. Field writes in
his journal, "Weather fine;" and Monday, "Calm, beautiful day. Signals
perfect." Owing to the improved system adopted by the chief electrician,
communication with the shore was kept up even while the tests for
insulation were going on.[A]
Every possible precaution was taken to guard against such accidents as
had marred the success of the year before. Remembering how small a thing
had sufficed to puncture the cable, the men in the tank were not allowed
to wear boots or shoes with nails in their heels, but were cased from
head to foot in canvas dresses, drawn over their ordinary sailor
costume, and, with slippers on their feet, they glided about softly as
ghosts. But we turn to Mr. Deane's diary for a record of the progress
from day to day:
"Sunday, July 15.--All through yesterday the paying-out
machinery worked so smoothly--the electrical tests were so
perfect--the weather was so fine, that fresh confidence in the
ultimate result has been naturally inspired. The recollection,
however, of the reverses of the expedition of 1865 is always
before those who have the greatest reliance on success; and
there is a quiet repose about the manner of the chief practical
men on board, which is an earnest that they will not allow
themselves to be carried away by the smoothness of twenty-four
hours' events. The convoy kept their position accurately during
the day. The Terrible signalled that a man had fallen
overboard. Her cutter was speedily lowered. The sailor had,
however, laid hold of a rope thrown to him from the frigate,
before the boat reached him.
"Monday.--Still everything going on well. The sea like a
mill-pond. The paying out of the cable from the after tank
progressing with uniformity and steadiness, and the electrical
tests perfect.
"Our track is about thirty miles to the south of that of last
year, and at that distance we passed parallel to where the
telegraph cable parted in August, 1857. Our average speed has
been about five knots. We were obliged to stop the screw
engines in order to bring down to that speed, and, moreover, to
reduce the paddle boiler power. Captain Anderson's ingenious
mode of cleaning the ship's bottom, which he carried out last
winter at Sheerness, has proved to have effected this very
desirable object. Mr. Beckwith, the engineer, is now enabled to
regulate and adjust her speed, and get more out of the ship
than he could last year, when her bottom was one incrusted mass
of mussels.
"Tuesday.--Another twenty-four hours of uninterrupted success.
All day yesterday it was so calm that the masts of our convoy
were reflected in the ocean, an unusual thing to see. A large
shoal of porpoises gambolled about us for half an hour. A
glorious sunset, and later, a crescent moon, which we hope to
see in the brightness of her full, lighting our way into
Trinity Bay before the days of this July shall have ended."
But the whole night did not pass away so tranquilly. By midnight the
rain fell fast, and the wind blew fiercely, and then occurred the only
real alarm of the voyage. The scene is thus described by Mr. Deane:
"All went on well until twenty minutes past twelve A.M.,
Greenwich time, when the first real shock was given to the
success which has hitherto attended us, and this time we had
real cause to be alarmed. A foul flake took place in the after
tank. The engines were immediately turned astern, and the
paying out of the cable stopped. We were all soon on deck, and
learned that the running or paying-out part of the coil had
caught three turns of the flake immediately under it, carried
them into the eye of the coil, fouling the lay out, and hauling
up one and a half turns from the outside, and five turns in the
eye of the under flake. This was stopped, fortunately, before
entering the paying out machinery. Stoppers of hemp also were
put on near the V-wheel astern, and Mr. Canning gave orders to
stand by to let go the buoy. This was not very cheering to
hear, but his calm and collected manner gave us all confidence
that his skill and experience would extricate the cable from
the obvious danger in which it was placed. No fishing line was
ever entangled worse than the rope was when thrust up in
apparently hopeless knots from the eye of the coil to the deck.
There at least five hundred feet of rope lay in this state, in
the midst of thick rain and increasing wind. The cable crew set
to work under their chief engineer's instructions to
disentangle it. Mr. Halpin was there too, patiently following
the bights as they showed themselves; the crew now passing them
forward, now aft, until at last the character of the tangle was
seen, and soon it became apparent that ere long the cable would
be cleared. All this time Captain Anderson was at the taffrail
anxiously watching the strain on the rope, which he could
scarcely make out, the night was so dark, and endeavoring to
keep it up and down, going on and reversing with paddle and
screw. When one reflects for a moment upon the size of the
ship, and the enormous mass she presents to the wind, the
difficulty of keeping her stern, under the circumstances, over
the cable, can be appreciated. The port paddle-wheel was
disconnected; but shortly afterward there was a shift of wind,
and the vessel canted the wrong way. Welcome voices were now
heard passing the word aft from the tank that the bights were
cleared, and to pay out. Then the huge stoppers were gently
loosened, and at five minutes past two A.M., to the joy of all,
we were once more discharging the cable. They veered it away in
the tank to clear away the foul flake until three A.M., when
the screw and paddle engines were slowed so as to reduce the
speed of the ship to four and a half knots. During all this
critical time there was an entire absence of noise and
confusion. Every order was silently obeyed, and the cable men
and crew worked with hearty good-will. Mr. Canning has had
experience of foul flakes before, and showed that he knew what
to do in the emergency. But what of the electrical condition of
the cable during this period? Simply, that through its entire
length it was perfect."
Thus, after three anxious hours, the danger was past, and the next
morning the report of the ship is, "A fresh breeze from the southward, a
dull gray sky, with occasional rain, and a moderate sea."
"Thursday.--There was a fresh breeze in the afternoon
yesterday, increasing toward evening. It brought a heavy swell
on the port quarter, which caused the ship to roll. The paying
out from the after tank went on steadily. Two of the large
buoys were lifted by derrick from the deck near the bows of the
ship, and placed in position on the port and starboard side of
the forward pick-up machinery, ready for letting go if
necessary. The sun went down with an angry look, and the scud
came rapidly from the eastward, the sea rising. A wind dead aft
is not the best for cable laying, particularly if any accident
should take place. By half-past eleven to-night we shall have
exhausted the contents of the after tank, and the cable will
then be paid out from the fore tank along the trough to the
stern, the distance from the centre of the tank to the
paying-out machinery being four hundred and ninety-four feet.
Last night the swell was very heavy, to which the Great Eastern
proved herself not insensible. Her rolling, like everything
else appertaining to her, is done on a grand scale. We see the
liveliness with which that operation is performed on board the
Albany and Medway, and we are not at all disposed to be too
critical in our observations on our own movements. The speed of
the ship was kept at four and a half during the night--the
slower the better, is the opinion of all on board--_festina
lente_. We are consuming about one hundred tons a day of the
seven thousand tons of coal which we had on board when we left
Berehaven, and Mr. Beckwith, who has been engineer of the Great
Eastern from her first voyage to the present moment, says her
engines were never in better order; and their appearance and
working do him and his able staff of assistant engineers the
greatest credit.
"Friday.--Yesterday was a day of complete success, the paying
out in every respect satisfactory. The wind still from the
eastward, but inclined to draw to the northward, the sea
entirely gone down. As Mr. Canning told us we should see the
after tank emptied at eleven o'clock, ship's time, we were all
collected there about ten o'clock, by which time the cable was
down to the last flake. Next to having daylight for changing
from the after to the fore tank, we could not have had a more
favorable time--clear starlight, no wind, and a smooth sea.
Looking down into the tank, the scene was highly picturesque.
The cable-watch, whose figures were lighted up by the lamps
suspended from above, slowly and cautiously lifted the turns of
the coil to ease their path to the eye. As each found its way
to the drum, the wooden floor of the tank showed itself, and
then we saw more floor, and as its area increased the cable
swept along its surface with a low, subdued noise, until, with
a graceful curve, it mounted to the outlet, where it was soon
to join a fresh supply; and now we hear the word passed that
they have arrived at the last turn, and the men who stood on
the stages of the platform of the eye with the bight, watch the
arrival of the cable and pass it up with tender caution, until
it reaches the summit; then it rushes down a wooden incline to
meet the spliced rope, which had by this time come down along
the trough leading from the forward tank. This operation was
conducted with great skill by Mr. Canning and his experienced
assistants, Messrs. Clifford and Temple. At eleven minutes past
one A.M. (Greenwich time), the fresh rope was going over the
stern, and the screw engines going ahead at thirteen minutes
past one. A watch of four men is now stationed, fore and aft,
all along the trough, which is illuminated by many lamps at
short distances from each other. A lamp with a green light
indicates the mile-mark as it comes up from the tank, and this
signal is repeated until it reaches the stern, where it is
recorded by the clerk who keeps the cable-log, in an office
adjoining the paying-out machinery. A red lamp indicates
danger. During the daytime red and blue flags are used. All
through the night the sea was smooth as glass, and by this
morning we saw that a sensible impression had been made on the
contents of the fore tank. The ship begins to lighten at the
bows, and by this time to-morrow will come up more as the
cable passes out of the tank.
"Saturday.--Yesterday was our seventh day of paying out cable,
and so far we have been more fortunate than the expedition of
last year. During the same period of 1865, two faults had
occurred--one on the twenty-fourth July, the other on the
twenty-ninth--causing a detention of fifty-six hours. At three
P.M. we were half-way, and passed where the Atlantic Cable of
1858 parted twice, on the twenty-sixth and twenty-eighth of
June--sad memories to many! We feel, however, that every hour
is increasing our chance of effecting this great work. 'I
believe we shall do it this time, Jack,' I heard one of our
crew say to another last night. 'I believe so too, Bill,' was
the reply; 'and if we don't, we deserve to do it, and that's
all.' It blew very hard from two o'clock yesterday, up to 10
P.M., by which time the wind gradually found its way from
south-west to north-west, which is right ahead, just what we
want for cable-laying. The Terrible and the two other ships
plunged into the very heavy sea which the southwester raised,
and we made up our minds, from what we saw, that the Great
Eastern is the right ship to be in, in a gale of wind. During
the night heavy showers of rain. This morning the sea was
comparatively smooth, and the sky showed welcome patches of
bright blue. If all goes well, we shall be up to-morrow evening
at the place where last year's cable parted. A couple of days
would bring us to shallower water, and then we may fairly look
out for our 'Heart's Content.' Messages come from England, with
the news, regularly and speedily--excellent practice for the
clerks on shore and on board ship--great comfort to us, and the
best evidence to those who will read this journal, of the great
fact that, up to this time, the cable is doing its electric
work efficiently."
The interest of the voyage was greatly increased by the news daily
received from Europe. Though in the middle of the Atlantic, they were
still joined with the Old World, and messages came to the "Great Eastern
Telegraph" as regularly as to the Times in London; reporting the
quotations of the Stock Exchange, the debates in Parliament, and all the
news of home. But what was far more exciting, was the tidings of the
great events transpiring on the Continent. While the expedition had been
preparing in England, a war had broken out of tremendous magnitude.
Austria, Prussia, and Italy had rushed into the field. Armies, such as
had not met since the fatal day of Leipsic, stood in battle array, and
the thunder of war was echoing and reechoing among the mountains of
Bohemia. Amid these convulsions the fleet set sail; but it was still
linked with the nations which it left behind, and received tidings from
day to day. What great events were thus heralded to them in mid-ocean
may be seen by a few items gleaned from the numerous despatches:
"Saturday evening, July 14th.--General Cialdini is moving upon
Rovigo with an army of one hundred thousand men and two hundred
guns. The Austrians have evacuated the whole country between
the Mincio and Adige."
A day or two later:
"Cialdini has occupied Padua, twenty-three miles from Venice,
on the railway connecting that city with the Quadrilateral, and
the Austrians are shut up in Venice."
"Tuesday, 17th.--Prussians had successful engagement before
Olmuetz yesterday; captured six guns. Further fighting expected
to-day. Austrians withdrawing from Moldavia toward
Vienna."----"Conflict between Prussians and Federals. Prussians
completely victorious. Federals evacuating Frankfort, and
Prussians marching there."
"Thursday, 19th.--Prussians repeating victories, and gaining
adhesions from small States. The main army within fifty miles
of Vienna--have cut the railway to Vienna. Austrian army
between Prussians and Vienna, under Archduke, one hundred and
sixty thousand men. Money and archives removed from Vienna to
Comorn."
"20th.--Frankfort occupied by the Prussians, who are marching
on Vienna. Yesterday, Italian fleet, consisting of iron-clad
vessels and several steamers, opened attack on Island of Lissa
on the coast of Dalmatia--result not known."
The next day it is reported thus:
"Severe naval engagement off Lissa. Austrians claim the
victory. Sunk one Italian iron-clad, run down another, blew up
a third."
"July 21st.--Prussians crossed river; march near Holitzon,
Hungary. Austria accepted proposal of armistice. Prussia will
abstain from hostilities for five days, during which Austria
will have to notify acceptance of preliminaries. A long letter
published from the King of Prussia to the Queen, giving account
of battle of Koeniggraetz."
The interest excited by such news may be imagined, coming while the
events were yet fresh. Twice a day was the bulletin set up on the deck,
and was surrounded by an eager crowd reading what had transpired on the
Continent but a few hours before. Nor was the intelligence confined to
the Great Eastern. By an arrangement of signals, more complete than ever
was used in a squadron before, the news was telegraphed to the convoy.
All the ships had been furnished with experienced signal-men by the
Admiralty. The system adopted was that known as Colomb's Flash Signals,
by which, even in the darkest night, messages could easily be flashed to
a distance of several miles. Thus all the ships were supplied with news
twice a day, and the great military events in Europe were discussed in
every cabin as eagerly as in the clubs of London. Again Deane's Diary
reports:
"Sunday, July 22d.--Still success to record. A bright clear
day, with a fresh and invigorating breeze from the north-west.
Cable going out with unerring smoothness, at the rate of six
miles an hour. There has been great improvement in the
insulation. This remarkable improvement is attributable to the
greatly decreased temperature of, and pressure on, the cable in
the sea. This is a very satisfactory result to Mr. Willoughby
Smith. Signals, too, come every hour more distinctly. This
morning the breeze freshened. We are now about thirty miles to
the southward of the place where the cable parted on the second
of August, 1865, having then paid out one thousand two hundred
and thirteen miles. Captain Anderson read divine service in the
dining saloon.
"Monday.--Between six and seven P.M. yesterday, we passed over
the deepest part of our course. There was no additional strain
on the dynamometer, which indicated from ten to fourteen
hundred, the cable going out with its accustomed regularity.
The wind still fresh from the north-west. During the night it
went round to the southwest, and this morning there is a long
roll from the southward.
"At forty-six minutes past eleven A.M., Mr. Cyrus Field sent a
message to Valentia, requesting Mr. Glass to obtain the latest
news from Egypt, India, and China, and other distant countries,
so that on our arrival at Heart's Content we shall be able to
transmit it to the principal cities of the United States. In
just eight minutes he had a reply in these words: 'Your message
received, and is in London by this.' Outside the telegraph room
there is a placard put up, on which is posted the news shortly
after its arrival, and groups of the crew may be seen reading
it, just as we see a crowd at a newspaper office in London. Mr.
Dudley, the artist, has made a very spirited sketch of 'Jack'
reading the morning news, for he is supplied with the latest
intelligence from the seat of war twice a day![B] How he will
grumble when he gets ashore! He is not going to pay a pound a
word for news, but his newspapers will supply it to him, and he
does not know or care what it costs. But what a sum has been
spent in Atlantic telegraphs! It cannot now fall short of two
millions and a half of pounds, or over twelve millions of
dollars. More millions will be found if it shall be practically
proved that America can permanently talk to England, and
through her to the eastern hemisphere, and England to America
by this ocean wire. At a quarter to twelve to-day but two
hundred and fifteen miles of cable remained to be paid out of
the fore tank. To-morrow night we hope to see it empty--then,
for a small supply from the main tank, and then----but, hopeful
though we are, let us not anticipate.
"Tuesday.--Breakfast at eight. Lunch at one. Dinner at six. Tea
at eight. Five hundred and two souls who live on board this
huge ship following their prescribed occupations. Cable going
out merrily. Electrical tests and signals perfect, and this is
the history of what has taken place from noon yesterday to noon
to-day. May we have three days more of such delightful
monotony! It rained very hard during yesterday evening, and as
we approach the Banks of Newfoundland we get thick and hazy
weather."
The latter part of the voyage did not fulfil in all respects the promise
of the first. The bright skies were gone; and instead perpetual fog hung
over the water, while often the clouds poured down their floods. Thus
the diary continues:
"Wednesday.--Fog and thick rain--just the weather to expect on
approaching the Banks of Newfoundland. The convoy keep their
position, and though sometimes the fog hides the ships from our
view, yet we know where they are by their signal-whistles--two
from the Terrible, three from the Medway, and four from the
Albany, which are replied to by the prolonged single shriek
from our whistle. At fifty-two minutes past one, Greenwich time
(ship's time, forty-five minutes past ten P.M., last night),
the fore tank being nearly empty, preparations were made for
passing the bight of the cable into the main tank. At fifteen
minutes past two all the jockey-wheels of the paying-out
machinery were up, and the brakes released. Twenty-three
minutes past two the bight was passed steadily and cautiously
by the cable hands outside of the trough to the main tank, and
at thirty-five minutes past two the splice went over the stern
in 1542.8 fathoms. By arrangement with Sir James Hope, the
admiral of the North-American station, who has received
instructions from the Admiralty to give the present expedition
every assistance in his power, a frigate or sloop will be
placed in longitude 48 deg., 25', 52", which is just thirty
miles from the entrance of Trinity Bay, and sixty from Heart's
Content. She will probably hang on by a kedge in that position,
which shows the 'fair way' right up the bay; and if it be
clear, we ought to see her about daybreak on Friday morning.
The fog was very thick this morning, but occasionally lifts; as
long as the wind is from south-west we cannot expect clear
weather."
As the week drew on, 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 they could almost snuff 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; but for the last two or three nights, as the
round orb rose behind them, banks of cloud hung so heavily upon the
water, that the moonlight only gleamed faintly through the vaporous air,
and the fleet seemed like the phantom ships of the Ancient Mariner,
drifting on through fog and mist.
"Thursday.--All day yesterday it was as 'thick as mustard.' We
have had now forty-eight hours of fog. Though it lifted a
little this morning, at five A.M., it still looks like more of
it. Captain Anderson signalled to the Albany, at fifteen
minutes past ten last night, to start at daybreak, and proceed
to discover the station ship, and report us at hand. Should she
fail to find her, then to try and make the land and guide us up
Trinity Bay. Another signal was sent at half-past twelve to the
effect that the Terrible and Medway would be sent ahead to meet
the Albany and establish a line to lead us in even with a fog.
The Albany started at half-past three. At forty-five minutes
past four, Greenwich time, the cable engineer in charge took
one weight off each brake of the paying-out machinery. At forty
minutes past seven all weights taken off, the assumed depth
being three hundred fathoms. The indicated strain on the
dynamometer gradually decreasing. Speed of ship five knots. We
are going to try and pick up the cable of 1865 in two thousand
five hundred fathoms (and we mean to succeed too); therefore
should the cable we are now paying out part, it can be
understood how easy it would be to raise it from a depth of
three hundred fathoms. At fifty-five minutes past eight we
signalled to the Terrible to sound, and received a reply, one
hundred and sixty fathoms. At half-past eleven we informed her
that when at the buoy off Heart's Content she should have her
paddle-box boat and two cutters ready to be alongside
immediately, for holding the bight of the cable during the
splice and laying the shore end. The Medway was told at the
same time to prepare two five-inch ropes, and two large
mushroom anchors, with fifty fathoms of chain, for anchoring
during the splice in one hundred and seventy fathoms of water,
and we intimated to her that when inside of Trinity Bay we
should signal for two boats to take hands on board her for
shore end. News of to-day, telegram from Mr. Glass in reply to
one from Mr. Canning: I congratulate you all most sincerely on
your arrival in one hundred and thirty fathoms. I hope nothing
will interfere to mar the hitherto brilliant success, and that
the cable will be landed to-morrow.'"
As the voyage is about to end, we give the distances run from day to
day, which show a remarkable uniformity of progress:
Distance Run. Cable Paid Out.
Saturday, fourteenth, 108 115
Sunday, fifteenth, 128 139
Monday, sixteenth, 115 137
Tuesday, seventeenth, 117 138
Wednesday, eighteenth, 104 125
Thursday, nineteenth, 112 129
Friday, twentieth, 117 127
Saturday, twenty-first, 121 136
Sunday, twenty-second, 123 133
Monday, twenty-third, 121 138
Tuesday, twenty-fourth, 120 135
Wednesday, twenty-fifth, 119 130
Thursday, twenty-sixth, 128 134
Friday, twenty-seventh. 100 104
From this it appears that the speed of the ship was exactly according
to the running time fixed before she left England. On the last voyage it
was thought that she had once or twice run too fast, and thus exposed
the cable to danger. It was, therefore, decided to go slowly but surely.
Holding her back to this moderate pace, her average speed, from the time
the splice was made till they saw land, was a little less than five
nautical miles an hour, while the cable was paid out at an average of
not quite five and a half miles. Thus the total slack was about eleven
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.
"Friday, July 27th.--Shortly after two P.M., yesterday, two
ships, which were soon made out to be steamers, were seen to
the westward; and the Terrible, steaming on ahead, in about an
hour signalled to us that H.M.S. Niger was one of them,
accompanied by the Albany. The Niger, Captain Bruce, sent a
boat to the Terrible as soon as he came up with her. The Albany
shortly afterward took up her position on our starboard
quarter, and signalled that she spoke the Niger at noon,
bearing E. by N., and that the Lily was anchored at the station
in the entrance of Trinity Bay, as arranged with the Admiral.
The Albany also reported that she had passed an iceberg about
sixty feet high. At twenty minutes after four P.M., the Niger
came on our port side, quite close, and Captain Bruce, sending
the crew to the rigging and manning the yards, gave us three
cheers, which were heartily returned by the Great Eastern. She
then steamed ahead toward Trinity Bay. The Albany was signalled
to go on immediately to Heart's Content, clear the northeast
side of the harbor of shipping, and place a boat with a red
flag for Captain Anderson to steer to, for anchorage. Just
before dinner we saw on the southern horizon, distant about ten
miles, an iceberg, probably the one which the Albany met with.
It was apparently about fifty or sixty feet in height. The fog
came on very thick about eight P.M., and between that and ten
we were constantly exchanging guns and burning blue lights with
the Terrible, which, with the Niger, went in search of the
Lily, station ship. The Terrible being signalled to come up and
take her position, informed us they had made the Lily out, and
that she bore then about E.N.E. distant four miles. Later in
the night Captain Commerill said that if Captain Anderson would
stop the Great Eastern, he would send the surveyor Mr.
Robinson, R. N., who came out in the Niger, on board of us, and
about three the engines were slowed, and the Terrible shortly
afterwards came alongside with that officer. Catalina light, at
the entrance of Trinity Bay, had been made out three hours
before this, and the loom of the coast had also been seen. Fog
still prevailing! According to Mr. Robinson's account, if they
got one clear day in seven at the entrance of Trinity Bay, they
considered themselves fortunate. Here we are now (six A.M.),
within ten miles of Heart's Content, and we can scarcely see
more than a ship's length. The Niger, however, is ahead, and
her repeated guns tell us where we are with accuracy. Good
fortune follows us, and scarcely has eight o'clock arrived when
the massive curtain of fog raises itself gradually from both
shores of Trinity Bay, disclosing to us the entrance of Heart's
Content, the Albany making for the harbor, the Margaretta
Stevenson, surveying vessel, steaming out to meet us, the
preaerranged pathway all marked with buoys by Mr. J. H. Kerr, R.
N., and a whole fleet of fishing boats fishing at the entrance.
"We could now plainly see that Heart's Content, so far as its
capabilities permitted, was prepared to welcome us. The British
and American flags floated from the church and telegraph
station and other buildings. We had dressed ship, fired a
salute, and given three cheers, and Captain Commerill of H.M.S.
Terrible was soon on board to congratulate us on our success.
At nine o'clock, ship's time, just as we had cut the cable and
made arrangements for the Medway to lay the shore end, a
message arrived giving us the concluding words of a leader in
this morning's Times: 'It is a great work, a glory to our age
and nation, and the men who have achieved it deserve to be
honored among the benefactors of their race.'--'Treaty of peace
signed between Prussia and Austria!' It was now time for the
chief engineer, Mr. Canning, to make the necessary preparations
for splicing on board the Medway. Accompanied by Mr. Gooch,
M.P., Mr. Clifford, Mr. Willoughby Smith, and Messrs. Temple
and Deane, he went on board, the Terrible and Niger having sent
their paddle-box boats and cutters to assist. Shortly afterward
the Great Eastern steamed into the harbor and anchored on the
north-east side, and was quickly surrounded by boats laden with
visitors. Mr. Cyrus Field had come on shore before the Great
Eastern had left the offing, with a view of telegraphing to St.
John's to hire a vessel to repair the cable unhappily broken
between Cape Ray, in Newfoundland, and Cape North, in Breton
Island. Before a couple of hours the shore end will be landed,
and it is impossible to conceive a finer day for effecting this
our final operation. Even here, people can scarcely realize
the fact that the Atlantic Telegraph Cable has been laid.
To-morrow, however, Heart's Content[C] will awaken to the fact
that it is a highly favored place in the world's esteem, the
western landing-place of that marvel of electric communication
with the Eastern hemisphere, which is now happily, and we hope
finally, established."
This simple record, so modestly termed the Diary of the Expedition,
tells the story of this memorable voyage in a way that needs no
embellishment. But if from the ship's deck we transfer ourselves to the
shore, we may get a new impression of the closing scene. We can well
believe the sensation of wonder and almost of awe, on the morning when
the ships entered that little harbor of Newfoundland. 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 year
before, for the memory of the last failure was too fresh, and they
feared another disappointment. But still a faithful few were there, who
kept their daily watch. The correspondents of the American papers report
only a long and anxious suspense, till the morning when the first ship
was seen in the offing. As they looked toward her, she came nearer--and
see, there is another and another! And now the hull of the Great Eastern
loomed up all glorious in the morning sky. They were coming! Instantly
all was wild excitement on shore. Boats put off to row toward the fleet.
The Albany was the first to round the point and enter the bay. The
Terrible was close behind. The Medway stopped 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, dropped 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.
That same afternoon, as soon as the shore end was landed, Captain
Anderson and the officers of the fleet went in a body to the little
church in Heart's Content, to render thanks for the success of the
expedition. A sermon was preached on the text, "There shall be no more
sea," and all joined in the sublime prayers and thanksgivings of the
Church of England. Thus the voyage ended as it began. It left the shores
of Ireland with prayers wafted after it as a benediction. And now,
safely landed on the shores of the New World, this gallant company, like
Columbus and his companions, made it their first thought to render
homage to the Being who had borne them safely across the deep.
But though their voyage was ended, there was still a work to be done.
Having crossed the Atlantic, the first thing was to open communication
with the cities of the United States. And now Mr. Field was extremely
mortified to find that there was a large gap in the line this side of
the ocean. His first question to the Superintendent, who came out in a
boat to meet him, was in regard to the cable across the Gulf of St.
Lawrence, which had been interrupted the year before; and it was a
bitter pang to hear that it lay still broken, so that a message which
came from Ireland in a moment of time, was delayed twenty-four hours in
its way to New York. Of course the public grew impatient, and there were
many sneers at the want of foresight which had failed to provide against
such a contingency; and, as he was the one chiefly known in connection
with the enterprise, these reproaches fell upon him. He did not tell the
public, what was the truth, that he had anticipated this very trouble
long ago, and entreated his associates to be prepared for it. Months
before he left for England, he urged upon the Company in New York the
necessity of rebuilding their lines in Newfoundland, which had been
standing over ten years, and of repairing the old cable, and also laying
a new one across the Gulf of St. Lawrence. But this would cost a large
sum of money, and as their faith and purses had been sorely tried by
repeated disasters, they were not willing to spend more in the
uncertainty of the future. They wished to see the result of this new
expedition, before advancing further capital. We do not blame them, but
only mention the fact to show that Mr. Field had foreseen this very
thing, and endeavored to guard against it.
But regrets were idle. What could he do to repair the injury? "Is there
a steamer," he asked, "to be had in these waters?" "The Bloodhound is at
St. John's." "Telegraph instantly to charter her to go around to the
Gulf of St. Lawrence, and fish up the old cable and repair it. But that
may take several weeks. Is there nothing else that can serve in the mean
time to carry despatches across the Gulf?" "There is a little steamer,
called the Dauntless." "Well, telegraph for her too. Secure her at all
hazards; only see that the work is done." All this was the work of a few
minutes. The answers came back quickly, and in a day or two came the
steamers themselves. The arrangement was immediately carried out. The
Dauntless took her place in the Gulf, where she made her regular trips
from Port au Basque, in Newfoundland, to Aspee Bay, in Cape Breton,
keeping up daily communication with the States. The Bloodhound, which
had a more difficult task, first took on board eleven miles of cable
from the Great Eastern, to repair that which was broken. The expedition
was put in charge of Mr. A. M. Mackay, the indefatigable Superintendent
of the Company in Newfoundland, who had had the care of their lines for
ten years. He sailed for Aspee Bay, and made short work of the business,
dragging the Gulf and raising the cable, which he found had been broken
by an anchor, in water seventy fathoms deep, a few miles from shore.
This was spliced out with a portion of the new cable, and the whole was
as perfect as ever, giving a fresh proof that cables well made are
likely to be permanent, if not indestructible.
Meanwhile, owing to this interruption of the cable across the Gulf of
St. Lawrence, the news of the success of the expedition, which reached
Newfoundland on Friday, the twenty-seventh, did not reach New York till
the twenty-ninth. 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 27.--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."
Soon followed the despatch to the Associated Press, giving the details
of the voyage, and ending with a just tribute to the skill and devotion
of all who had contributed to its success. Said Mr. Field: "I cannot
find words suitable to convey my admiration for the men who have so ably
conducted the nautical, engineering, and electrical departments of this
enterprise, amidst difficulties which must be seen to be appreciated. In
fact, all on board of the telegraph fleet, and all connected with the
enterprise, have done their best to have the cable made and laid in a
perfect condition; and He who rules the winds and the waves has crowned
their united efforts with perfect success."
Other despatches followed in quick succession, giving the latest events
of the war in Europe, which startled the public just reading news a
fortnight old. All this confirmed the great triumph, and filled every
heart with wonder and gratitude on the Sunday morning, as they went
again to the little church and rendered thanks to Him who is Lord of the
earth and sea.
While the Great Eastern was lying in the harbor of Heart's Content, she
was overrun with visitors. The news of her arrival had spread over the
island, and from far and near the people flocked to see her. Over the
hills they came on foot and on horseback, and in wagons and carts of
every description; and from along the shore in boats and fishing-smacks,
and sloops and schooners. They came from the most remote parts of the
island--a distance of three hundred miles--and even from the province of
New Brunswick. Several parties made the excursion in steamers from St.
John's. The wondering country folk climbed up the sides of the ship, and
wandered for hours through its spacious rooms and long passages. All
were welcomed with hearty sailor courtesy.
As soon as communication was opened with New York, and other cities,
congratulations poured in from every quarter. Friendly messages were
exchanged--as eight years before--between the sovereign of England and
the head of the Great Republic. The President also, and Mr. Seward,
Secretary of State, sent their congratulations to Mr. Field--greetings
that were repeated from the most distant States. Among others was a
message from San Francisco, which was put into his hand almost at the
same moment with one from M. de Lesseps, dated at Alexandria in Egypt!
What a meeting and mingling of voices was this, when a winged salutation
flying over the tops of the Rocky Mountains, reached the same ear with a
message which had been whispered along the Mediterranean and under the
Atlantic: when the farthest East touched the farthest West--the most
ancient of kingdoms answering to the new-born empire of the Pacific.
FOOTNOTES:
[A] The new method is thus explained by Mr. Deane:
"The fundamental difference between last year's system of testing and
that of the present expedition is, that now all the ordinary tests for
continuity may be made simultaneously with the test for insulation,
which is not interrupted at all; whereas, last year, during half the
time spent in laying the cable, the insulation test was wholly
neglected.
"Last year, each hour was divided into four parts. The first half of the
hour was spent in testing for insulation. During the second half, which
was divided into three periods of ten minutes each, tests were made to
ascertain the resistance of the conductor and to prove the continuity of
the same. All these tests were of such a nature as to afford no
criterion whatever of the state of the insulation during their
continuance, so that during the half of each hour, or, in other words,
during half the time spent in laying the cable, the insulation test was
neglected. Also, while the insulation test was being made, there was no
means of communicating with the shore, as the observations were taken on
board only. This year, a test for insulation is constantly kept on, and,
by Mr. Willoughby Smith's arrangement, corresponding observations are
made both on ship and shore. At stated times during the hour, the
continuity test is made at the shore station by means of a condenser
applied to the conductor of the cable. The effect of this is to increase
the deflection on the ship's insulation galvanometer, thus serving as a
continuity test. Communications from shore to ship are also made by
these means. The ship can send signals to the shore by simply reversing
the current for certain lengths of time, answering to some understood
code, or by increasing and diminishing the tension of the line,
according to a preaerranged plan. All these operations may be performed
without interrupting the insulation test, except for a few seconds while
the current is being reversed. So far for the new system in the
electrical room as compared with last year."
[B] Mr. Dudley made a number of sketches for Mr. Field, with several
large paintings, which have furnished the illustrations for this volume.
[C] The little harbor that bears this gentle name, is a sheltered nook
where ships may ride at anchor, safe from the storms of the ocean. It is
but an inlet from the great arm of the sea known as Trinity Bay, which
is sixty or seventy miles long, and twenty miles broad. On the beach is
a small village of some sixty houses, most of which are the humble
dwellings of those hardy men who vex the northern seas with their
fisheries. The place was never heard of outside of Newfoundland till
1864, when Mr. Field, sailing up Trinity Bay in the surveying steamer
Margaretta Stevenson, Captain Orlebar, R. N., in search of a place for
the landing of the ocean cable, fixed upon this secluded spot. The old
landing of 1858 was at the Bay of Bull's Arm, at the head of Trinity
Bay, twenty miles above. Heart's Content was chosen now because its
waters are still and deep, so that a cable skirting the north side of
the Banks of Newfoundland can be brought in deep water almost till it
touches the shore. All around the land rises to pine-crested heights;
and here the telegraphic fleet, after its memorable voyage, lay in
quiet, under the shadow of the encircling hills.