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

THE SUN, LONDON, SATURDAY EVENING, AUGUST 19, 1865.

long. 27 40 W.; distance from Valentia, 636 miles ;
cable paid out, 707 ; distance to run, 1,028 miles.
About ten minutes past 1 o'clock, ship's time, there
was a slight commotion and excitementin 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 prrent 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
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 21 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 w hen the splice and
joint were made Mr. Canning considered it advis-
able to wait for a gleam of daylight before he begin
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 present 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 auge 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 unbioken 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-

ing the day nothing whatever occurred to interrupt
the uniform progress of the operation. It is supposed
that the Great Eastern was in soundings of between
1,795 and 2,250 fathoms. The weather, although
overcast and grey, was favourable. The wind from
the N.W., altering to S.W. ; the ship's course N.W.
by W. 4 W. ; the Terrible in her usual position.
Expectations entertained of seeing land on Saturday
morning.

Wednesday, Aug. 2.--A sad and memorable day
in the annals of Atlantic telegraphy. After midnight
the wind rose, accompanied byheavy showers of rain
and dense drifts of fog, and increased to a strong
gale to the S.W., but the ship scarcely felt it, and
went on paying out cable, without let or hindrance,
at a high rate of speed—seven knots an hour. About
daybreak the wind suddenly shifted to N.N.W. and
fell to a light breeze, and at 4 a.m. the course was
altered to N.W. by W. W., the sea falling. Morn-
ing broke beautifully, and the cable ran out easily,
at the rate of 7 miles an hour. At 5 35 a.m., ship's
time, the paddles were reversed, by orders from the
electrician's room. In fact, at 8 a.m., Greenwich
time, or a minute after, while the electricians were
passing the first of the half-hourly series of cur-
rents to the shore, the galvanometer detected a
flaw of electricity which indicated a serious fault.
The tests gave no result as to locality, for the
fault was very varying, but it was generally be-
lieved to be not far from the stern of the ship.
While Mr. Cyrus Field was on watch in the tank, a
little before the time of the accident, a grating noise
was audible as the cable flew over the coil. One of
the experienced hands immediately said, "There is
a piece of wire," and called to the look-out man
above to pass the information aft, but no notice ap-
pears to have been taken for some time of the cir-
cumstance. After the ship had been stopped, and
the remainder of the flake in which the fault was
supposed to have occurred had been paid out, a piece
of wire was seen projecting out of the cable in the
flake, and on one of the men taking it in his fingers
and trying to bend it down, the wire broke short
off. It was nearly three inches long, and evidently
of hard, ill-tempered metal, which had flown out
through the strands of the cable in the tank. The
fault in the cable which had gone overboard might
obviously have been caused by such a piece of wire,
and there could be no doubt that the wire of the
outer covering of the cable was capable of inflicting
injury on the gotta percha it was intended to pro-
tect. The discovery was in some measure a relief
to men's minds, because it showed that one certainly,
and the second possibly, of the previous faults might
have been the results of similar accident. It was
remarked, however, that this fault occurred on the
same watch as all the previous misfortunes had oc-
curred. As the fault was too serious to be over-
looked, and as there was a difficulty in detecting its
situation, preparations were made to get the pick-
ing-up apparatus ready. Previous to doing so two
cuts were made in the cable, the first near the old
splice, between the main and the fore tank (cable
all right) ; the second cut three miles inboard,
which showed the fault to be in that portion of the
cable which was overboard. The wire rope and
the chain were now secured to the cable forward,
which showed a maximum strain of 23f cwt., and
at 955 Greenwich time, the cable was severed
and went over the stern, 1,186 miles hav-
ing been paid out when the end splashed into
the water. With less difficulty than usual—in
fact with comparative facility—the cable was
hauled in over the bows at 10 8 a.m. Greenwich
time. The strain in it according to the dynamo-
meter, was from 50 to 55 cwt., although the latter
figures represented the maximum only reached on
one occasion. We were nearly in 2,000 fathoms of
water, but it was considered a favourable circum-
stance that we had not got a few miles further, as
we should have then been in the very deepest part
of the Atlantic plateau. As far as could be ascer-
tained, the ship was now over a gentle elevation, on
the top of which there was only 1,950 fathoms of
water. The picking up was, as usual, exceedingly
tedious, and one hour and 46 minutes elapsed before
one mile was got on board, then one of the engine's
eccentric gear got out of order, so that a man had
to stand by with a handspike aided by a wedge of
wood and an elastic band to aid the wretched engine.
Next the supply of steaw failed, awl when the 6temn
was got up it was found that there was not water
enough in the boilers, and so the picking up ceased
altogether for some time, during which the ship
forged ahead and chafed against the cable. Let
the reader turn his face towards a window, and
imagine that he is standing on the bows of the Great
Eastern, and then of course on his right will be the
starboard, on his left the port side of the ship. In
front, fixed in the bows, is a large V-wheel, as it is
technically termed, with a smaller wheel of the same
kind on the same axis at each side. on which the
cable is drawn as it is pulled up from the sea by the
picking-up apparatus, and thence is wound under
the dynamometer and drum-wheels till it has passed
the breaks and is coiled down aft in safety. There
are at the bows of the Great Eastern too large
hawsepipes, the from rims of which project nearly
a foot beyond the line of the stem. After two miles
of cable had been picked up the Great Eastern
was forced to forego the use of her engines because
her steam failed, while her vast broadside was ex-
posed to the wind, which was drifting her to the
reader's left-hand side, till by degrees an oblique
strain was brought to bear on the cable, which
came up from the sea to the bows on the right side,
Against one of the hawsepipes the cable now caught
on the left-hand side, while the ship kept moving to
the left, and thus chafed and strained the cable
greatly against the bow, for now it was held by
this projection, and did not drag from the V-wheel.
The Great Eastern could not go astern lest the cable
should be snapped, and without motion some way
there is no power of steerage. At this critical mo-
ment, too, the wind shifted, so as to render it more
difficult to keep the head of the ship up to the cable.
As the cable then chafed so much that in two places
damage was done to it, a shackle chain and a wire
rope belonging to one of the buoys were passed down
the bow over the cable and secured in a bight below
the hawsepipes. These were hauled so as to bring
the cable, which had been caught on the left hand
side by the hawsepipes, round to the right hand side
of the bow, the ship still drifting to the left, while
the cable, now drawn directly up from the sea to the
V-wheel, was straining obliquely from the right with
the shackle and rope attached to it. It was necessary
to do this instead of veering away, as we were near
the end of the cut of cable.

The cable and the wire rope together were now
coming in over the bovis in the groove in the larger
wheel, the cable being wound upon a drum behind by
the machinery, which was once more in motion, and
the wire rope being taken in round the capstan.
But the rope and cable, as I have tried to explain,
were not coming up in a right line, but were being
hauled in with a great strain on them at an angle
from the right hand side, so that they did not work
directly in the V in the wheel. Still, up they
came. The strain was shown on the dynamometer
to be very high, but not near breaking-point. At
last up came the cable and wire rope shackling
together on the V-wheel in the bow. They were
wound round on it slowly, and were passing over
the wheel together, the first damaged part being
inboard, when a jar was given to the dyna-
mometer, which flew up from 60cwt., the highest
point marked, with a sudden jerk 3f inches.
In fact, the chain shackle and wire rope clambered,
as it were, up out of the groove on the right hand
side of the Vof the wheel, got on the top of the rim of
the V-wheel, and rushed down with a crash on the
smaller wheel, giving, no doubt, a severe shock to
the cable, to which it was attached. The machinery
was still in motion, the cable and the rope travelled
aft together, one towards the capstan, the other to-
wards the drum, when, just as the cable reached the
dynamometer, it parted, 30 feet from the bow, and
with one bound leaped, as it were, over and flashed
into the sea. It is not possible for any words to por-
tray the dismay with which the sight was witnessed
and the news heard. It was enough to move one to
tears, and when a man came aft with the inner end
still lashed to the chain, and one saw the tortured
strands, torn wires, and lacerated core, it is no ex-
aggeration to say that a strange of feeling pity, as
though for some sentient creature mutilated and
dragged asunder by brutal force, passed through the
hearts of the spectators. But of what avail was sen-
timental abstraction, when instant, strenuous action

was demanded? Alas, action! There, around, spread
the placid Atlantic, smiling in the sun, and not a
dimple to show where lay so many hopes buried.
But there was no blank despair, and if any felt de-
spondency they suppressed the expression of it,
while by far the greatest number of those on
board were actually animated, not by the loss itself,
but by the accidental nature of the occurrence, to
indulge in sanguine expectations of ultimate suc-
cess. Captain Moriarity was just coming to the foot
of the companion to put up his daily statement
of the ship's position, having had excellent observa-
tions, when the news came. " I fear," he said,
" we shall not feel much interest now in knowing
how far we are from Heart's Content." However,
it was something to know, though it was little com-
fort, that we had at noon run precisely 116.4 miles
since yesterday, that 1,186 miles of cable had been
paid out, that we were 1,062.4 miles from Valentia,
606.6 miles from Heart's Content, that we were in
lat. 51 deg. 25 min., long. 39 deg. 6 min., our course
being 76 S. and 25 W.
The Terrible was signalled "The cable has parted,"
and was requested to bear down to us, which she
did, and came-to off our port beam. After a brief
consideration Mr. Canning, whose presence of mind
and self-possession never left him, came to the reso-
lution—all but egregious folly as it seemed—to seek
for the cable in the bottom of the Atlantic, and to
get out his grapnels and drop down on it and pick
it up again. Although all utterance of hope was
suppressed, and no word of confidence escaped the
lips, the mocking shadows of both were treasured in
some quiet nook of the fancy. And now came forth
the grapnels, two five-armed anchors, with flukes
sharply curved and tapering to an oblique, tooth-like
end—the hooks with which the giant Despair was
going to fish from the Great Eastern for a take
worth, with all its belongings, more than a million.
The ship stood away to southwards some 13 or 14
miles from the spot where the accident occurred,
and then lay to in smooth water, with the Terrible
in company. The grapnels, weighing 3 cwt.,
shackled and secured to a length of wire buoy rope,
of which there were five miles on board (break-
ing strain calculated at 10 tons) were brought up
to the bows, and at 3.20 (ship's time) were thrown
over and " whistled through" the sea a prey to f or-
tune. At first the iron sank but slowly, but soon
the momentum of descent increased so as to lay
great stress on the picking-up machinery, now
available to lowering the novel messenger we were
sending down armed with warrant of search for the
fugitive hidden in mysterious caverns beneath.
Length flew after length over cog-wheel and drum,
till the iron wires, warming with work, heated at
last so as to convert the water thrown upon the
machinery into clouds of steam. The time passed
heavily indeed, all life had died out in the vessel,
and no noise was heard except the dull grating of
the wire cable over the wheels at the bows. The
ocean was indeed insatiable. " More" and " More,"
cried the daughter of horse-leech from the black
night of waters, and still the rope descended. 1,000
fathoms, 1,500 fathoms, 2,000 fathoms, hundreds
again mounting up, till at last, at 5 6 p.m. thestrain
was diminished, and at 2,500 fathoms, or 15,000
feet, the grapnel reached the bed of the Atlantic and
set to its task of finding and holding the cable.
Where that lay was of course beyond human know-
ledge, but as the ship drifted down across its course
there was just a sort of head-shaking surmise that
the grapnel might catch it, that the ship might feel
it, that the iron rope might be brought up again,
and that the cable if across it might—here was the
most hazardous hitch of all—come up without
breaking. But 2,500 fathoms ! Alas ! And so in
the darkness of the night, not more gloomy than
her errand, the Great Eastern, having cleared away
one of the cable buoys and got it over her buoys,was
left as a sport to the wind, and drifted at the rate
of 70 feet a minute down upon the imaginary line
beneath which the cable had sunk to useless
rest. At 10 30 p.m. the strain on the line was
80 cwt., which diminished to 50 cwt. before mid-
night.
August 3.—Throughout the night drove the
Great Eastern over the Atlantic. dragging in her
course the grapnels and two miles and a half length
of line with which she was fishing for the lost cable.
When morning came, and when she was supposed
to have gone beyond the track of her prey several
miles, the watchers of the line, who had once before
dawn been joyously agitated by the news that the
grapnels were holding, and, as it proved, deceived,
prepared to haul in the wire rope and seek their
fortune. At 6 40 a.m., Greenwich time, the pick-
ing-up machine, reinforced by the capstan, even-
tually was set to work to haul up the line, which
bears a strain of 10 tons. At first it came up easily,
and the dynamometer showed only a strain of 18
cwt., but the resistance of the rope rapidly increased
till it reached a point indicated by 70 cwt. At 7 15
a.m. 100 fathoms had been recovered. At 7 25
200 fathoms, the strain increasing to 75 cwt. At
8 a.m. 300 fathoms were in, and it became evident
to all on board that the grapnel was holding on and
lifting " something" from the bottom ; and what
could that " something" be but the cable ? The
scientific men calculated the strain, and determined
it could not be from the wire rope and grapnel solely,
and it could only be inferred then that—as the
bottom of the Atlantic is free from rocks here, and as
the depth at which the rope began to resist agreed
with the supposed soundings—it had really grappled
the prize. At 8 9 the spur-wheel of the pick-
ing-up apparatus broke, and the operation of
taking in the rope became dangerous as well
as difficult, for it flew up at times with such force
as to knock down those near it, and one of the
most valuable of Mr. Canning's staff received a se-
vere cut on the cheek, and another had an ugly
injury inflicted on his face from that cause. The
weather, which had been very thick and hazy, now
settled down into a dense fog, and we lost sight of
the Terrible; but the conviction that the cable was
once more attached to the Great Eastern, no matter
how precariously, and no matter how far off, afforded
too much matter for congratulation, conjecture, and
suspense to allow much room for other thought.
There was a chance—just a chance—that the cable
might be dragged up from the deep, and every 100
fathom of hawser handed in over the bows was joy-
ously recorded and marked as an additional step in
the march of the forlorn hope. The hawser toiled
and pulled, and struck out from the bows as if it
were towed by some giant force underneath. When
500 fathoms were in board the most sceptical ad-
mitted the cable must be on the iron hooks, and
anxiety and suspense rose higher just as the proba-
bility of recovering the cable became less wild; but
at 3 20, ship's time, all our fears and hopes were
abruptly ended. The drum flew around rapidly, the
tail of the rope flourished in the air as it flew inboard,
and with a light splash the other end dived into the
Atlantic. One of the iron swivels had yielded to
the strain ! The rope used for the grapnel was
divided into lengths of 100 fathoms, each having a
shackle at the end, with a heavy iron swivel. The
head of the bolt of one of these had been drawl
right through the iron collar as 700 fathoms had
been secured. Not a moment was lost in deciding
what measure to pursue. There was wire rope
enough left to make another attempt to save the
cable. On starting, at 1 30 p.m., ship's time, the
Great Eastern fired a gun to warn the Terrible she
was moving, and after some time .a thud through
the fog made us aware that the Terrible had
heard the signal. The Great Eastern blew fog-
horns and steam whistles, and fired more guns as
she steamed away, and, after a time, it was thought
we had lost our sole but rather distant companion.
No observation could be had, and our position
was matter of surmise, but when the Great Eastern
had made her 15 miles or so, her engines were
stopped, and she lay to for the night in a smooth sea.
Friday, August 4.—Drifting ! By no means exciting,
but still necessary, as we had no other means of getting
at the very unrecognisable locality whore we were to begin
operations. The sea was calm, and as, we had no other
observations yesterday a line was patched up to take sound-
ings, and bottom was touched at 2,300 .fathoms. But of
what the bottom was composed there was no means of
judging, for the lino broke in hauling up after 300 fathoms
had been got on deck. Tho Terrible found us out early in
the forenoon ; ono of her boats, after a pull of some two
miles, came up with Lieutenant Prowso to know what we
were doing, and what we intended to do. The one was
mote easily told than the other ; but as a general result ho
was informed wo meant to "keep pegging away" as long
as we had tackle left. At noon an observation was snatched
. at, which gave lat. 51 34 30, long. 37 54, showing that we

had drifted 34 miles, which, with 12 miles steamed, made
46 miles to the east from our positionwhen the cable parted.
It was resolved to place a buoy, with two miles and a-half
of the cable itself attached to a mushroom anchor, 'a few
miles west of the spot where we grappled the cable yes-
terday. After a long uneventful day, the Great Eastern
arrived at the place estimated, dropped the buoy,which has
a red flag above a black ball fastened to the staff, and
anchor, and steered off again at 10 p.m., Greenwich time,
so as to drop across the cable next morning ; but a thick
fog impeded us.

Saturday, August s.—Another night of drifting in fog,
looking out for our buoy this morning; the weather so
thick we could see neither sun nor horizon. In the fore-
noon the only break in the monotony of floating on this
dull Atlantic, which looked like a slate-coloured cloud,
was afforded by a shoal of porpoises and grampuses, which
found us too slow for their tastes, and soon abandoned us
for some lively timber ship. After midday the haze lifted,
and there lay the Terrible, near the horizon, on our port
beam. At 230 she signalled to us that the buoy was three
miles distant, and gave us bearings. The Great Eastern
steamed up and passed the buoy at 3 45. Sho signalled to
the Terrible to remain by the buoy during the night, and
then steamed N.W. by N. for six miles, intending to drift
and put down the grapnel if the wind changed, but again
she was enveloped in fog, and floated away towards the
east to a point S.E. of the cable 10 or 12 miles.

Sunday, August 6.—A night of fog and drizzling rain
was followed by a morning and day of very little better
weather. The Terrible was seen early in the morning,
through a break in the pall of thick grey clouds which
floated over the water, but was lost sight sight of in a
short time, and, of course, the buoy was invisible. There
have been no good observations now for three days,
and we can only guess where we are. The sea remained
exceedingly calm, and we drifted along so steadily that it
was difficult for one in the saloon to believe ho was afloat
on the Atlantic. The fog whistle sounded its dismal
warnings continually throughout the day. At 10 45 a.m.,
church ; at noon, Staff Commander Moriarty deduced a
latitude and longitude from his experience, and from many
calculations and devices to make up for the absence of a
sun and the horizon. At 4 o'clock p.m. the buoy supposed
to be some 15 miles of us N.W. i W., the wind being
E.S.E. It thus appears wo have been drifting against the
wind. Therefore people say, " The Gulf Stream," and
explain everything. Night coming on, we lay to in fog
as before, and contented ourselves with hoping better
things for the future.
Monday, August 7.—The weather was thick in the
night, but cleared away towards four am., and the Ter-
rible soon after daybreak was visible near the buoy, from
which we had drifted twelve miles. Signal was made
to inquire if we were going to grapple for the cable,
to which the Great Eastern answered in the affirmative,
and the ships then exchanged latitudes and longitudes.
At 8 30 a.m. the Great Eastern passed the buoy and steered
N.W., so as to get veering room for the grapnel and for
drifting down the course of the cable. At 10 40 a.m. the
Terrible being distant about 12 miles, the Great Eastern
was stopped, and at 11 10 ship's time, 1 47 p.m. Greenwich
time, the grapnel with 2,500 fathoms of cable was hove
over. So much was the machinery improved, that the
grapnel was only half the time in reaching the bottom,
and at 12 5 the diminution of the strain on the dynamome-
ter showed that it was resting on the ooze. The day
turned out most favourable, a steady breeze drifting the
ship towards the cable at the rate of a mile an hour,
broadside on. At noon excellent observations were taken,
which put our position at lat. 51 deg. 27 min., long. 38
deg. 42 min. For several hours the grapnel dragged the
bottom without obstruction ; the dynamometer indicated a
varying resistance to its progress. At 615 the strain in-
creased from 45 cwt. to 48 cwt., and soon began to rise
steadily towards 55 cwt., and thence to 60 cwt. Presently
the anxious eyes which were fixed on the compass and on
the head of the Great Eastern observed a very slight ten-
dency in her head to come round to the wind. It was slow
—very slow indeed. The ship seemed loth to notice the
influence to which she was becoming plainly subjected,
disdaining the feeble clue which solicited her attention to
the labyrinth of cable beneath, but in an hour and a half
she came round from E. by S. S. to E. iN. The
strain grow greater every moment. There could be
no longer any doubt ; the cable was caught again. Here
was a triumph of seamanship and perseverance. The
ship's head was brought round to the wind by the
screw, and the capstan engine was set to work to aid the
new machinery of the picking-up gear to haul up the
cable. At 749 p.m. ship's time (10 30 Greenwich time)
the strain ran up to 60:cwt. At 8 p.m. the ill-fated machi-
nery broke down at the bow, and a slight delay occurred,
but the main part of the work being transferred to the
capstan, the rope was steadily hauled in at the rate of 150
fathoms per hour. At 11 30, ship's time, 300 fathoms were
in, and tho dynamometer showed a steady strain of 62 cwt.
to 66 cwt. A lovely moonlight and a calm sea and favour-
ing breeze increased the pleasure with which all not en-
gaged in duty retired to rest and to be thankful for the
bright anticipations for to-morrow. In the words of our
st6ual to tho Terrible, wo were " going on hopefully."
Tuesday, August e.—,mill, seamanship, perseverance
have failed. Our hopes appeared so near their fruition that
the disappointment is doubly severe. By the utmost care
and constant watchfulness Capt. Anderson and Staff Com-
mander Moriarty picked up the buoy, as described, and
drifted across and caught the cable yesterday. There could
be no doubt about it. Between 5 and 6 a.m. the dynamo-
meter rose from 82cwt. to 85cwt., and thence to 87cwt.,
and it was calculated that the grapnel with the cable was
then rising from the bottom. At 7.30 a.m. there was a
strong expression of confidence in our success and groat
gladness on board. The one-mile mark was hauled in, and
we had demonstrated the fact that a ship could pick up a
cable in 2,500 fathoms of water, and pull it ono mile from
the bottom. The cable was now suspended 1,500 fathoms,
or one mile and a half below us in ocean. We had sig-
nalled the good news to the Terrible. In an instant more,
while our flags were still flying, all was over. Ono of the
shackles and swivels which join each length of wire rope
to the other had come over the bow, had passed over the
drum, and was in the third round of rope taken in by the
capstan, when the head of the swivel pin gave way, and
quick as lightning, the end flourishing the iron shackle
like a mailed fist in tho air right and left, as if menacing
with death the hardy enemy who dared stand in its despe-
rate way, glanced aloft and leaped exultingly into the sea
to join the cable and the 1,500 fathoms of wire rope which
still hung from the grapnel. Now all these shackles and
swivels had been examined minutely before they wore put
over, and every care taken to prevent the recurrence of
accident which had already frustrated our exertions. The
work was of Brown, Lennox, and Co.—no better names.
The strain not near that put down as the breaking point,
and yet there was the painful result. The news was sig-
nalled to the Terrible, and her answer had not long been
flown when her boat put off with Lieut. Prowso to learn
what course we were about, to pursue. At 9.50 a second
buoy, secured on a raft and casks, was lowered, about ten
miles W. of buoy No. 1, where the rope broke, with
2,500 fathoms of telegraph cable moored to a broken
spar wheel. It carries a black ball at the end of a staff, and
below the ball floats a flag, red, white, and red, in three
horizontal bars. The buoy is marked in white letters on,
red ground, " Telegraph No. 3;" it floats low, and has been
let go as close as possible to the spot where the grapnel
rope sank. If these buoys do not break adrift they will be
of great service when a renewed attempt is made to lift the
cable. Lieutenant Prowse told us that on Sunday morn-
ing the Terrible saw a schooner lying to by the first buoy,
and on ranging alongside was hailed by the master, whose
name I do not know, to inquire if she was looking for the
buoy. The honest sailor had come up with it, and though
the wind was fair for him, ho resolved to do what he could
to aid the work, and so lay to till the Terrible was at hand.
He expressed a lively regret when he was told that the
cable had parted, and I am glad that the name of the little
vessel is known at all events. Success to the First Fruits,
of Bridport, and may she reach Harbour Grace in safety.
After some deliberation with Mr. Gooch, Captain Anderson,
and others, Mr. Canning decided on making another at-
tempt to grapple the cable, and orders were given to have all
wire rope and hawser fit for the purpose in readiness. Lieut.
Prowso returned to the Terrific) to communicate the ra-
sult, and Mr. Clifford and his staff prepared for the last
effort. To obviate the evils which had arisen from the
picking-up machinery failing, a casing is to be *put round
the capstan to increase its diameter by 4ft., and each
shackle and swivel of the wire rope will bo removed and
replaced by a new system of bolts. The Groat Eastern
and Terrible kept by the buoy till five o'clock, when
the increasing wind and sea rendered it expedient for
them to keep their heads to the W.N.W., and up to
midnight both vessels, in tolerably close company,
steamed W.N.W. in half a gale of wind, which the Great
Eastern met without the smallest inconvenience.

August 9.—During the night a strong breeze,which even
sailors called a summer gale, blew from the W.N.W., and
raised a heavy sea which set the Great Eastern rolling a
little, and caused the production of " fiddles" on the saloon
tables at lunch time, as a precautionary measure to check
the play of plates and dishes. The rolls wore very stately
and regular—one to eleven seconds or thereabouts. Of
course it was impossible to keep near the buoy under such
circumstances, and at 6 p.m. it was calculated we had run
35 miles. At that hour the ship's course was altered so as
to let her bear down on the buoy, and she steered nearly
N.N.E. towards the Terrible, which was in sight, lying to,
so as to give rise to the hope that she was hanging as near
our missing sea-mark as was prudent. At noon our posi-
tion was lat. 51 29 30, long. 39 6. The Terrible, in reply
to our signals, said she did not see the buoy, but believed
it to be S.S.E. of her. At 12 30 the Great Eastern was
abreast of tho Terrible and altered her course to S. by E.
E., and both ships, with look-out men in the tops, renewed
their scrutiny of the heaving- waters at some distance apart.
It was a difficult and exciting chase. At a mile distant the
buoy was but a:speck on the ocean. Currentsandugoyalemsihgandt
been driving the vessels about all night. The b
have been carried away in the heavy sea which was run-
ning. Again, at about 3 30 ship's time, the Terrible and
Great Eastern came near enough to exchange signals.
" Have you seen the buoy ?" asked the latter; the answer
was "No," and then followed more signals a s to mutual
position. Capt. Anderson and Staff-Commander Moriarty
scarcely differed half a mile in their respective results,
although the ship had been steering several courses and
short distances on each. It was positive at last that if

tho buoy floated at its moorings we were not further
than three or four miles from it. In reply to another
signal the Great Eastern informed the Terrible that
she was going to grapple for the cable again. Sud-
denly the much sought for flagstaff of the buoy was dis-
covered from the Great Eastern, and as her flags were
going aloft to announce the fact to the Terrible a signal
from the latter was going up to communicate her discovery
of it and its position to the Great Eastern. At 340 p.m.
the Great Eastern was abreast of the buoy, slowed her
engines, and put her helm to starboard in order to stay as
close to it as possible. Our missing friend had evidently
passed a bad night, and had pulled his flag so tight round
his staff that not a vestige of it was visible except the red
bars. The Terrible came up and kept on our port beam,
so as to watch the buoy at the other side. Towards even-
ing the wind moderated very much, and the sea gradually
ran itself down. The work of preparation went on busily,
and at night the decks were lighted up with forgo fires and
quivered under the blows of sledges as anvils rang and
iron glowed for the work of to-morrow. Our hopes aro
rising !

Thursday, Aug. 10.—It was almost a dead calm part of
the night, but a slight breeze which sprang up did not
suffice to counteract the effect of a strong current which
set the Great Eastern six or seven miles to eastward be-
tween 9 p.m., of the 9th of August and 4 a.m., this morn-
ing. Soon after dawn we came down on buoy No. 1, which
guided us to buoy No. 2, and for some time both of them
were in sight from the deck; but the ship bore away gradu-
ally to the N.W., so as to get a good offing to drift down
on the line of cable. At 10 30 a.m. Greenwich time the
grapnel touched the bottom, and the Groat Eastern, with
fore and aft canvass and topsail set, slowly drifted and
forged ahead for a point about a mile west of the last
grapple. The strain on the grapnel-line varied from 40
to 50 cwt., and the ship's head showed a disposition to
come to the north. Sail was eased, but she soon came away
again, and proceeded to drift southwards and westwards.
Her head varied from W. and by N. to N.W. and by N., the
buoy bearing S.E. At 1 p.m. the strain rose to 60 cwt., and
the Great Eastern came three points to the north, but the
check was momentary, and at 3 p.m. it was plain she had
drifted over the spot and had failed to catch the cable. The
only thing to be done was to take up the grapnel and re-
new the attempt to recover the cable next day. All the
afternoon and all the evening the anxious, but monotonous
labour of dragging in the grapnel taxed the energies of the
engineers and cablemen, but at midnight 1,400 fathoms
were safely coiled on board the ship.
Friday, Aug. 11.—The long:stniggle is over at last, or
rather it is suspended. No one accepts the result as a final
and conclusive defeat. But there are no means left of con-
tinuing the contest, and the passive resistance of the enemy
has for the moment triumphed. At 520 a.m. the grapnel
was hauled up on deck, and it was discovered that the chain
to which the shank was attached had taken a half hitch
round one of the flukes, so as to have prevented the instru-
ment catching on the bottom. It appeared from the length
of wire rope covered with ooze that there was not more
than 1,950 fathoms when it was down. A host of amateurs
more or less scientific, scraped out the sand and bottled it
with assiduity. It appeared like liquid putty in colour, and
such imperfect microscopes as were on board failed to show
any organic substance in it. A grapnel with a shorter stock
was selected for the next trial. All the damaged rope was
rejected and repaired, as far as the means at the disposal of
Mr. Canning permitted, A line consisting of 1,600 fathoms
of wire rope, 220 fathoms of hemp rope, and 510 fathoms of
Manilla was prepared, and carefully examined, of which
1,760 fathoms were pronounced good, the rest being rather
suspicious. At 7 25 a.m. the Great Eastern was alongside
No. 2 buoy, the Terrible in company and hauling from N.E
to S.E. At 11 30 the Great Eastern signalled Terrible—
"We are going to make a final effort," and then—" We
are sorry you have had such uncomfortable waiting." The
ship's head being W. by S., and the buoy No. 2 bearing
E. by N. about two miles, the grapnel was let go at
160 p.m. Greenwich time. The wind being S.W. would
drift the Great Eastern to N.E., right across the cable, and
fore and aft canvas was set to overcome the current. The
grapnel soon touched the bottom, as the new machinery
enabled the men to payout the rope at the rate of 50 fathoms
a minute. For some time the ship drifted onwards, but at
3.50 p.m. ship's time the strain on the rope rose to 60 cwt.
as it came in over the bows easily, by the new capstan im-
provements. The ship's head varied from W.N.W. to W.
by S., and as the rope came in the screw was set gently to
work at times to keep it to the wind, which had increased
somewhat, accompanied by showers of rain. The dyna-
mometer index rose higher and higher, till it reached 80
cwt, and once, as a shackle came through the machinery,
flew up to 106 cwt. It was a certainty that the Atlantic
cable had been caught for the third time, and was fast hold
in the grapnel coming up from its oozy bed. Is there need
to say that the alternations of hope and fear which agitated
all on board reached their climax ? There was an intensity
of quiet excitement among us, such as men feel when they
await some supremo decree. Some remained below, others
refused to go forward, where the least jar in the machinery
put their hearts in their mouths; others walked in the sa-
loon or upon the after deck abstractedly. In the bows
Capt. Anderson, Mr. Canning, Mr. Clifford, and their men
toiled on, and thence came constant signals through an
acoustic tube and whistle to the bridge to go ahead with the
screw or to stop, as the strain on me aynamometer indi-
cated. I had come up from dinner, leaving many at table,
and was walking forward from the bridge, when I heard
the whistle blow, and a cry of "Stop it" from the bow.
Capt. Moriarty had just come up from below with the in-
formation that we must certainly have gone over the cable,
but the commotion in the bow, and exclamations of grief
and regret told us our last bolt had been sped. At 9.40
p.m., Greenwich time, just as 765 fathoms had been got in,
a shackle on the hemp hawser passed through the
machinery, and in a moment afterwards the repo
parted near the capstan, and flew over the bow with
whistling sound like the rush of a round shot. In all the
crowd of labourers not one was touched, because the men
held on to their stoppers, and kept the end straight, but
the danger appeared so great that with the shout "It is
gone" mingled tho eager demand from Mr. Canning
and others, who rushed to the bow, is any one hurt ? None.
But there lay beneath us, once more buried under coils of
rope and wire, to which had just been added 1,750 fathoms
more. Signal was at once made to the Terrible, orders
were given to get up steam, and all haste made to return
from the disastrous spot which will bear no monument of
such solicitous energy ! such noble toil ! such ill-requited
labour ! The buoys which mark the place where so much
went down will soon be waifs and strays in the storm seas
of autumn, and nothing will be left of the expedition but
entries in log-books, lat. 51 deg. 24 min., long. 38 deg. 59
min., end of cable N. 50 deg. W. 1f miles, and such memo-
ries who have bravo fights with adverse fortune, and are
encouraged to persevere, in the sure conviction that the
good work will bo accomplished in the end. The boat of
the Terrible, with Lieut. Prowse, bearing our letters to
America, has just left the lee of the Great Eastern in a
stormy sea The flash of the gun which lighted up the
darkness for the moment from her decks to recall the boat,
and the glare of a blue light over the waters which the
pinnace burned as she neared the heaving hull, render the
gloom which follows all more heavy. There is great
silence on board the vast ship as she turns moodily to-
wards the east, as if yearning to pursue her course, and
bows her head to the angry sea in admission of defeat.
The signal flashes from the "Farewell," oar answering
lights pierce the night, " Goodbye. Thank you," and then
parting in mid-sea each speeds on her course. The Great
Eastern, freed from the trailing cable, and favoured by a
strong breeze, makes nearly nine miles an hoer, and marks
with broadest wake that ever traced its snowy path on the
ocean her way to the eastward.

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