The Sun.
London, England, 1865-08-19 00:00:00

The Diary of the Atlantic Cable.

The subjoined diary of events was written for
the directors of the Telegraph Construction and
Maintenance Company by Dr. W. H. Russell :
As our readers are aware, an earth cable on Mr.
Varley's plan was laid from the telegraph station
at Foilhunnuerum on Friday the 21st July, and on
Saturday the 22d of July the thick shore-end of the
Atlantic Cable was carried on shore from the Caro-
line over a bridge formed of 25 fishing yawls of the
district. On the safe arrival of the terminal wire,
brief addresses were delivered by Sir R. Peel, Chief
Secretary for Ireland, and by the Knight of Kerry,
which were received with enthusiasm. The Caro-
lineoreering out the cable in the track buoyed out
by Lieut. White, in charge of the Coastguard of
Valentia, dropped the end 26 miles W.N.W. off
Valentia, at 10 30, and stood by the buoy at night.
A despatch was sent to the Great Eastern in Bere-
haven. Although it was near midnight when the
message was received, the Great Eastern got up
steam and anchor with such diligence that her arri-
val, attended by her Majesty's ships Terrible and
Sphinx, was signalled. Valentia harbour at 7 45 next
morning. The weather was most favourable. The
end of the main cable was next passed on board the
Caroline from the Great Eastern. The terminus of
the shore end was also hauled up and got on board,
with the assistance of the boats of the men-of-war,
and the operator of the company began the splice,
which was subsequently subjected to rigid tests for
some hours by the telegraphic staff, and found to be
satisfactory. It was also ascertained that the insu-
lation end of the shore end had been greatly im-
proved by its immersion in the water.
The Hawk, with Sir R. Peel, the Knight of
Kerry, Lord John Hay, and a party of ladies and
gentlemen on board, left Valentia harbour soon
after 10 a.m., and came up with this flotilla about
1 o'clock. With some little difficulty they got on
board the Great Eastern in several trips, and en-
joyed her almost terrestrial steadiness for some
hours, but the ladies could not venture on the dan-
ger of embarking in the boats and boarding. At
4 50 p.m. the testing of the splice was finished, and
the Great Eastern got in readiness for her course to
the west. As she steamed slowly ahead, cheer after
cheer were exchanged between her and the Terrible
and Sphinx, and after " one cheer more," at 716
p.m. the first fathom of the cable glided slowly over
the stern and sunk into the depths of the ocean.
The evening was all that could be desired ; the pay-
ing-out machinery worked with the utmost ease and
regularity, and after a while the speed of the vessel
was increased from 2i to 3i, and ultimately to 6i
miles an hour. All the while signalling with the
shore gave the most gratifying results respecting
the electrical condition of the cable. At 10 47 p.m.,
Greenwich time, 50 miles of cable had been paid
out, and up to midnight the paying out proceeded
without impediment, in calm weather, with favour-
ing wind and sea.
Monday, July 24.—At 3 15 o'clock a.m., when
84 miles of cable had been paid out, the electrician
engaged in signalling to the shore perceived an
aberration of the index light, which showed some
singular cause of disturbance in the current. After
testing the cable for some time by signals to and
from the land, it became apparent that there was
"a fault," as it is technically termed. The ship was
stopped, and a gun was fired from the Great Eastern
a little before 4 a.m. to call the attention of the Ter-
rible and Sphinx. The paying out was discontinued,
and the efforts of the staff of electricians were di-
rected to the discovery of the place where the fault
had occurred ; but notwithstanding the perfection of
the testing apparatus and the experience of the
gentlemen engaged, a wide difference was exhibited
in the results of various calculations. Some of the
experimentalists thought the defect lay between the
land and the seaward end of the shore cable, and
others who inclined to the-contrary belief admitted
that they could not determine within.the limits, even
of conjecture, whereabout in the main cable the in-
jured portion lay. The regret and disappointment
created by the sudden detection of a flaw in work
pronounced by the best authorities to be so fault-
less were increased by the reflection that if the cable
were liable to accidents of this kind after immersion
in the sea no human skill, precaution, or knowledge
could afford any guarantee for success. The insula-
tion of a wire subjected to the continuous scrutiny of
the severest and most searching nature by the most
accomplished men in the kingdom in their branch
of science was rendered imperfect when the cable
was for the first time called upon to stand a
practical strain of the nature to which it was
intended to be continuously subjected. A feel-
ing of gloom for some time spread over the ship,
but the electricians worked away in their dark
chamber with unflagging zeal. It was finally
resolved by Mr. Canning to cut the cable, having
first secured it to hawsers made fast to the bow
and then to take it in till the fault was dis-
covered. It was cut at 950 a.m. The operation
proved difficult and tedious, and when the end of
the rote was hauled in over the bow, after a delay
of two hours, and a drifting of some ten miles to
leeward, it was found that the boiler intended to
supply the engine for hauling in the cable could not
keep up a sufficient head of stream to work the ma-
chinery-with effect. The strain varied from 22cwt.
to 36cwt., and when the machine began to work the
utmost care and nicety were needed to prevent the
cable being subjected to injury as the ship rose and
fell in the sea over the 400 fathoms of iron and
copper wire which hungfrom its bow to the bottom.
A mile an hour was regarded as an achievement,
and at no time was the rate over a mile and a half
an hour, while it now and then fell to a few fathoms.
As the fault was supposed to be near the shore end,
it may be imagined the prospect of nturning towards
Ireland at such a pace was not regarded with plea-
sure. Meantime Mr. Saunders, one of the staff of
electricians, who has devoted much time to the exa-
mination of the test currents, arrived at the convic-
tian, conjointly with Mr. Varley, that the injury
was not more than 10 to 11 miles away, but he could
not express it with certainty, or state any precise
grounds for the deductions he made from his obser-
vations. All the time signals were transmitted be-
tween the ship and the land, but it appeared as if
an impediment existed to a distinct understanding
between gentlemen working at each end of the
cable. In the evening Mr. Canning sent a message
to Mr. Glass, the managing director at Valentia,
to despatch the Hawk to the Great Eastern.
Weather cloudy, but fine. Position, as far as could
be ascertained, lat 52 deg. 2min. 30sec., long.
12deg. 17min. 30sec. Sphinx busy sounding all
rind, in depths varying from 400 to 480 fathoms.
the course of the evening a message was re-
ceived from All.. Glass that the Hawk would
start as soon as she had coaled the Caroline.
The Terrible sent her First Lieutenant, Mr.
Prowse, on board to see if she could render any
assistance. The work of picking up the cable was
continued very cautiously and slowly during the
night. The dropping from the rope showed a coat-
ing of ooze of a greyish dun colour, in which it was
asserted there were many microscopic
shells.and
midnight six miles of cable had been ha
the fault was still overboard.

Tuesday, July 25.—At an early hour in the morn-
ing the Hawk was observed coming up from the
eastward, and at 9 15 Greenwich time 91 miles of
cable had been recovered from the deep. Fortu-
nately, wind and sea were low. The monster ship
hanging over the cable seemed to take it up as deli-
cately as an elephant lifts a straw in its proboscis.
At 9 45 a.m., when a little more than 10 miles of
cable had been picked up, to the great joy of the
ship, the fault came on board. The muse of all our
trouble, anxiety, and delay was a piece of iron about
two inches long, rather-crooked, and sharp at the
end, as if cut off with a nipper from an end of wire,
which had been forced right through the coating of
the cable and the gutta percha till it came in con-
tact with the wire. There was a general impres-
sion that the mischief was the result of accident.
A signal was made to the men-of-war that the fault
had been found, and the Terrible signalled back,
" I congratulate you." A disposition to cheer
everybody prevailed at breakfast, and preparations
for making a splice were at once commenced on
deck. The splicings and jointings took some time
to make and test, and meantime the Hawk returned
to Valentia. At length the Great Eastern put her
head to the west, and the cable, at 2 50 p.m., once
Tore ran over her stern with satisfactory indica-
tions that insulation and communicaaort were per-

feet. At three o'clock, when somewhat more than
14- mile of cable had dropped slowly over, the
shore end became mute, to the consternation of
the operators. Not a signal ! not a sign !
The news spread from end to end of the vast ship.
Faces a moment before radiant became suddenly as
dark as night. Heads were shaken in wise despon-
dency and gloomy forebodings ; anxious groups
gathered near the test-house and watched the coun-
tenances of the officials, who went in and out as
though they were arbiters of fate, the minutes accu-
mulated into an hour, and the cable still remained
dumb. At 315 p.m. the cable between the tanks
was again cut, and an examination was made of the
end of the various wires to ascertain whether there
might not be some mistake in the communications.
Once more preparations were made to transfer the
end of the cable from the stern to the bow, and to
recommence the dreary work of our iron Penelope

taking up the single thread. Tests for fore and main

tanks were found to work satisfactorily, but the sea-
ward cable lay in sullen silence. Even Mr. Cyrus
Field in that sad hour may be supposed to have
given way to an apprehension that the dream of his
life was a chimera. But while the aching eyes of
wearied and worn watchers were straining through
the darkness of the little chamber in which was the
apparatus, the faint light which had so long vanished
from the index began to steal like a ghost across
its prescribed track. Was it deception ? Again
the pale ray moved on. Yes ; there could be no
doubt of it .now ; for the index light talks a lan-
guage here all can understand. All our fears are
groundless. The signals increased in strength. Mr.
De Sautz came out joyously and called Professor
Thompson to witness the grateful phenomena. Mr.
Canning was sent for to the bow, where he was
preparing the picking up apparatus. The ex-
change of currents between ship and shore be-
came strong and regular, as if they were only
a few miles apart. Once more the Terrible and
Sphinx, long in much perplexity, because of the
fresh delay, were apprised of the good news. At
4 15 p.m. communication is reported " All right,"
the ship proceeds on her course through the night at
the rate of 6to 6 knots an hour till after midnight,
when the wind and sea rose a little, and it was con-
sidered prudent to diminish speed to five knots an
hour. It is impossible to determine the cause of this
extraordinary detention and error, but an impression
prevailed on board the ship that the cause must
exist in the station on shore. Our position at noon,
lat. 51 58 N., long. 12 11 W. ; distance from
Valentia 68i miles ; cable paid out, 741 miles.
Wednesday, July 26.—A1l during last night the
cable was paid out uninterruptedly, and at 8 a.m. the
good ship was 150 miles from Valentia. The loss of
cable paid out was 7.68 miles per 100, making a total
distance of cable laid of 1611 miles, including shore
end. The morning was hazy, and the wind from
the N.W., with rising sea, but the Great Eastern
did not feel it more than a Thames steamer does a
rough swell in Chelsea reach, while the Terrible,
on our port quartar, was thumping through it with. '
unmistakable vivacity, and now and then buried
her figure-head in the crest of a wave which flew in
foam over her forecastle. The Sphinx,
,busily en-
gaged in taking soundings, was away on our star-
board quarter, having rather a harder time of it,
and as the wind increased she dropped further
astern till she was more than hull down. At
noon our course was W.N.W. W., with the
wind strong on port bow, thick all round with
drizzling mist. Our position was lat. 52 18 N. long
15 10 W. ; our distance from Valentia 180 miles ;
length of cable paid out just 192 miles. At 1 45,
Terrible signalled we were going too fast for Sphinx,
but the cable was running out so beautifully that
it was not thought advisable to relax our speed.
Three hours later the Terrible, which had sent down
topgallant masts, signalled to a similar effect, but the
Great Eastern did not relax her rate of going, re-
specting which there was some diversity of opinion
as the log showed far less than the actual length of
cable in the miles run of every hour from the drums.
The inconvenience of leaving the Sphinx so far astern
was experienced by the Great Eastern when she
needed soundings, for the Terrible had no sounding
machine on board. It must be remembered that for
deep sea soundings, in such depths as we were now
in, a special apparatus is required, and that the or-
dinary leads and lines used on board men-of-war
could merely penetrate the upper waters of the val-
ley over which the Great Eastern was passing at the
rate of six miles an hour, trailing out the cable, which
flew with admirable regularity, Still, miles away, it
touched ooze 2,000 fathoms down. The wind came
round to N.W., and in the night the ship's course
was altered N.W. by IV. and IW. As the cable was
paid out in deep water, the insulation improved, and

the transmission of signals to and from the shore
which went on incessantly as usual gave the most
excellent indications. It may be readily imagined
that, under such circumstances, the spirits of all on
board rose, even though the wind and sea rose too.
At dusk the Terrible drew up close abreast of us
working both boilers, and the hull of the Sphinx ap-
peared above the horizon astern of us.
Thursday, July 27.—1 n the night the wind came
round a little. The ship's course was N. V. by W. and
W. The sea was scarcely felt by the Great Eastern,
but still high and adverse enough to cause the elec-
tricians who had been on board the Niagara to
remark that the operation of paying out cable from
her would not have been practicable under the same
circumstances. At 8.30 a.m. the total distance run
was 302 miles ; from the last splice, 235 miles,
showing an average speed of 5.87 miles an hour
of cable paid out ; total loss of cable in direc-
tion from straight line, 9.32 per cent. ; on the
whole distance, 8.3 per cent. The cable continued
to run with the most perfect regularity in a depth
of 2,000 fathoms, striking the water at a distance
of 213 ft. from the stern. As confident hopes were
now entertained that the after tank would be emptied
by Sunday the apparatus for paying out the cable
from the fore tank was prepared, and the framework
of the runners and channel fitted on deck over the
tank. At noon the results of observations gave the
ship's position lat. 52 34 N., long. 19 1 W. ; distance
run since yesterday 142 miles, whole distance from
Valentia 320 miles. The Terrible, with both boilers
going and topgallant masts down, kept on our port
beam, the Sphinx, which when last seen had sent
down topmasts, made no mark on the horizon, and
doubts were expressed whether she could run on to
her rendezvous if the wind lasted, as probably her
coals would be exhausted.

Friday, July 28.—A1l during the night the work
went on smoothly, the insulation increasing. Course
N.W. 1 W., wind W.N.W. At 7 o'clock a.m. we
had run 119 miles, paddle working 6.75, and screw
27.35 revolutions. Sky clear. Sphinx not visible.
Terrible on port beam. At noon, lat., 52 45 N.,
long., 23 18 4 W. ; distance run, 155 miles ; distance
from Heart's Content, 1,188.6 miles. Cable run-
ning out at the rate of seven miles an hour ; total
number of revolutions of paying-out machine at
8 30, 152.900, equal to 476.6 miles, giving 176.73 '
miles delivered since yesterday. At noon 531.57
nautical miles of cable had been paid out in water
varying from 1,529 to 1,950 fathoms, our distance
from Valentia being 476 miles. The Terrible was
signalled to prevent any vessel crossing the course
of the cable astern. She steamed round on our star-
board quarter, and remained throughout the day.
Saturday, July
won
29.—Happy is the nation which
has got no history! When morning came, it seemed
as if the day
pass with all the monotony of
successful progress. The p
away, the donkey-engines travailed,
gear worked
an-
swered from end to end, deep called
to
tests
shore replied again, and, indeed, in
toheshore, and
which gave a delightful languor to men's sameness
thoughts,
it was some excitement to conjecture why the Ter-
rible had vanished clean out of sight during the
night, although she came up sturdily again in the
morning, and took up her station on our starboard
quarter. All through the 12 hours, from midnight
to neon, the cable glided at somewhat more than its
usual rate, the ship going from 6 to 61 kcots an
hour on its course with the same north-westerly
breeze a-head, keeping up the draught in our boil-
ers. The day was grey and misty, but we were be-
ginning already to talk of lotteries about the time
of arrival in Heart Content, and to indicate our easy
confidence that the present was a fair gauge of the
future. In the night we had passed over 2,400
fathoms deep, and at 9 a.m. were in 2,000 fathoms
only. At noon our position was lat. 52 38 30 N.,

L long. 27 40 W.; distance from Valentia, 636 miles ;
cable paid out, 707 ; distance to ruu, 1,028 miles.
About ten minutes past 1 o'clock, ship's time, there
was a slight commotion and excitement in the neigh-
bourhood of the testing-room, and soon afterwards,
with great quickness indeed, the engines were
stopped, and the ship ceased to move. Up swarmed
at the ominous quiet all the lazy life of the floating
city, and buzzed about the deck. And soon the cause
was known; this time no "fault"—far worse, "dead
earth," total and complete destruction to the insulated
channel, so that its subtle current rushed from some
gaping wound into the sea, and was lost in the great
reservoir, never to be heard of more. At 3h:3m. 305.,
Greenwich time, the operator in the testing-room,
who was watching the passage of a current, saw the
light on the index sundenly fly beyond the limits,
there being just 716.4 miles of cable out, and the
tests up to the very instant being most satisfactory.
The electricians were at once in consultation, but
the nature of the injury was so manifest that there
could be no doubt as to the only course to be pur-
sued. Still, in order to make assurance doubly
sure, it was resolved before the saddest and slowest
of all retrogressive operations, " picking up," was
resorted to, to make decisive cuts in the cable, while
the steam was got up in the engines forward, so as
to be in readiness in case of need. On the first cut
a test was passed through the whole length of the
cable, and the result gave " dead earth" not far
overboard. The cable was then cut at the bottom
of the after tank and gave the same result. A third
time the cable was cut at the top of the after tank,
and the test confirmed the preceding indications.
Then, while the cable ran out with a strain varying
from 8 cwt. to 19 cwt., the necessary steps were
I taken to secure the end of the cable to the wire
ropes and slip it overboard, so that it might be
brought in over the bows, and secured to the pick-
' ing up machine, and with trouble and hazard and
care, which cannot be imagined by one who has not
witnessed the operation, wound up again from the
bed of the Atlantic. The apparatus of stoppers,
bights, and slips seems crude and full of dangerous
contingencies, but the experienced gentlemen on
board were more confident than the sailors, and
certainly were more sanguine than the uninitiated
who gazed over the stern with wonder and alarm
at the feeble-looking black thread at which the
Great Eastern seemed tugging with all her giant
might at every swell of the sea. For there, while
the ship was drifting, the cable was running out
still, the strain at one time rising to 24 cwt.,
which caused it to -hiss through the water with an
edge of foam, and when the end was let go and
length after length of wire rope disappeared after it,
and a crowd of men hanging over the sides, climb-
ing among boats and ladders, and hauling in haw-
sers to clear the sides, shouted and clamOured, though
obedient to command ; when fouls and hitches oc-
curred, in spite of Mr. Halpin's incessant exertions,
it required all one's faith in the skill of Captain
Anderson in guiding his great ship, and in the ac-
tivity, experience, and judgment of Mr. Canning,
to inspire a ray of hope that the end of that cable
would ever be seen on deck again. But at last the
Great Eastern began to tug away at the wire rope
from the bow, and the excitement of the day was
transferred to the other end of the ship. To shorten
a long story, it may be at once stated that at 5 deg.
40 min., Greenwich time, owing to great caution and
skill in managing the ship and machinery, and per-
haps to a sea of unusual calm, the end of the cable
was hauled in over the bow, and the picking up ma-
chinery began to work it back again. The strain
on the cable was indicated at times to be 2 tons ;
but it came up easily whenever the machinery was
provided with proper steam power. At 11.15 p.m.,
Greenwich time, the portion of the cable where the
mischief existed was got on board, and preparations
made for a new joint and splice and for the transfer
of the cable to the paying-out machine. These de-
fects in the cable began to excite grave suspicions,
and to disquiet men's minds considerably.
Sunday, July 30.—The weather was exceedingly
thick, but it was a dead calm, and when the splice and
joint were made Mr. Canning considered it advis-
able to wait for a gleam of daylight before he began
the paying out of the cable again. On the first at-
tempt to transfer the cable from the bow to the
stern it flew off the bow drum, and before it
could be stopped it was jammed in the machinery
and subjected to such injury that it was found
necessary to cut away a considerable portion and
make two new joints and splices. At length, at
10.8 a.m., Greenwich time, and 8.10 ship's time, the
cable was running out over the stern, in a supposed
depth of 2,000 fathoms. The sight and sound of
the machinery, thus restored to active functions,
after 19 hours of dreary rest, were most grateful to
all on board, and, when Captain Anderson came
down to breakfast, after an ordeal from six o'clock
yesterday morning, we all experienced a sensation
of relief. For, indeed, the danger of losing the
cable by a moment's neglect or an instantaneous
accident was felt rather than openly expressed. As
Captain Anderson, on whom the difficulty of the
task of laying the cable, made a considerable im-
pression, observed, "one felt so powerless and could
do so little" while the Great Ship and the thin
cable were adjusting their mutual relations all
through the long dark night, and care-weighted
morning. When we began to pay out there were
but 133 miles left in the after tank, and it was a
matter of calculation that at our preient rate. the
coil there would be exhausted in the course of the
ensuing night, and the coil in the fore tank would
commence running out. The insulation tests showed
a high degree of excellence (1,500,000,000 B. A.
units). At noon, ship's time, our position was lat.
52 deg. 30 min., long. 28 deg. 17 min. ; distance
from Valentia, 650 miles ; cable paid out, 745 miles.
Divine service was postponed till 2.30 p.m., in order
to give some time for officers and men to rest. All
through the day and night the ship maintained her
average rate, and the cable ran on with delightful
monotony; .wind, light, nearly ahead; course, N.W.
by W. ; sea smooth; weather, hazy and cold ; tem-
perature of water, 54.0. The Sphinx supposed to
have come up and passed us in the night. The
Terrible at her post on our starboard quarter.
Monday, July 31.—At 3 a.m. the screw engines
were stopped, and at 3.30, ship's time, the paddles
were slowed in order to allow the last coil of the
after tank to run out, and the operation of paying
out to be transferred to the fore tank. Not the
slightest difficulty was experienced in the matter,and
at ten minutes to 3 a.m., or a little before 5 a.m.,
Greenwich time, the Great Eastern steamed ahead,
loWering the cable at a decreased rate of speed. At
noon the distance run was 798 miles ; the cable paid
out 903, the tests showing a great improvement, so
as to elevate the standard of the cable very much
above the quality specified in the contract. In lat.
52.9, long. 31.53 an examination was now made of
the portion of cable in which the " dead earth" was
known to exist by a series of exhausted electrical
tests. Slowly, but surely, the defective portion of
the cable was reached and cut out. A very painful
discovery was then made. An incision was visible
in one strand of the hemp covering the external
wire, and on unravelling the strands so as to expose
the insulated core, a piece of broken iron wire was
found driven through the gutta percha covering so
as to project beyond it on each side to the extent
of the diameter of the cable ; one end was sharp as
if cut with a nipper, the other was broken off
abruptly, and the diameter on the gauge on being
applied corresponded with that of the wire covering
the cable. It was impossible to resist the irritating
and sorrowful conviction that such an injury was
the work of some hired cable assassin, or some
purposeless malefactor. Mr. Canning showed the
cable and the stab to the, cablemen, who admitted
that the mischief could not have occurred acciden-
tally, and those who were in the tank when the cable
was unpaid being of the same gang as that which was
on duty when the other piece of wire was forced into
the cable, were transferred to other duties on deck.
The gentlemen on board the ship formed a corps of
supervisors, who undertook to watch in the tank,
turn about ; and the men employed gave their ac-
quiescence. A dead calm prevailed nearly the whole
of the day ; the waters were unbroken even by the
gentlest ripple.

Tuesday, Aug. I.—We have passed the fatal spot
where lie buried all that remains of the Atlantic Cable.
The ship's position at noon, lat. 51 52 30, long. 36
3 30, distance from Valentia 948 miles, 717 from
Heart's Content ; cable paid out, 1,081 miles. Dur-