The Sun.
London, England, 1858-08-10 00:00:00

THE ATLANTIC TELEGRAM

The following minute and graphic account of the laying
of the cable is taken from the Freemen's Journal:—
"
V ALENTIA, Saturday Night.
" The fact that the At'antic cable was successfully laid on
the sth of August—exactly one year from the day upon
which the then Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Lord Carlisle,
assisted in hauling on shore the end of the cable, when the
first effort to unite the old world with the new by tele-
graphic communication was made without success—is now a
subject of rejoicing in every community interested in the
achievement of this all-important work. Since my arrival
at Valentia I have seen by te'earaphic communication in
your journal that the intelligence has created the greatest
excitement and joy in London, Liverpool, and other English
cities; and this evening we learned by telegram that while
her gracious Majesty was assisting the celebration by
Napoleon 111. of the completion of the great naval forti-
fication of Cherbourg, after more than a century of cease-
less labour, she was agreeably surprised by the announce-
ment that the greatest scientific problem of the age—
the most important step towards the promotion of peace
and civilisation throughout the world—had been triumph-
antly carried out by the combined enterprise and skill of
Eugland and America. The success of the glorious enter-
prise must, indeed, have been at such a moment peculiarly
gratifying to the ruler of these islands, and that the an-
nouncement created immense sensation' in Cherbourg.
I can well believe when I look around me here and see the
joy that beams in every face, and the enthusiasm that is
everywhere openly expressed at the result, which is the
snore pleasing that it seas wholly unexpected. Indeed, so
(ilely was the whole thing carried out, sa unexpected was
the accomplishment of the undertaking, that the Agamem-
non made her appearance in the bay when the electricians,
who were awaiting her arrival in Mr. Young's neat little
hotel on the Hand, were fast asleep, and the cable was
actually landed before the• people residing on the main-
land were aware of the fact. The knowledge that the
cable has been laid will naturally deprive any informa-
tion I have to communicate of much of its interest;
nevertheless, I am sure that many of your readers will
be glad to learn some of the incident; connected with the
project and the details of the proceedings on board the
Agamemnon during her now memorable expedition. First
tel we state the actual progress that has been made. The
cable is laid tom the shore of Valentia to that ofTrinity
Bay, Newfoundland, and a free current of electricity is
being constantly maintained through the wires, though as
yet, and for some time to come, no message can be trans-
mitted from America. This arises from the fact that the in-
struments at Newfoundland have not yet been arranged in
working order. Mr. Midman Whitehouse, an electrician
of great eminence, has charge of the arrangements in Va-
lentia, and for some weeks he has been constantly engaged
in the erection of the apparatus here. It is now in perfect
order, and he is able to transmit messages to Trinity
Bay, to which he has received intelligible signals
in reply. The apparatus intended to be used in
the working of the Atlantic telegraph is a new
invention, and said to possess some important improvements.
Its novelty, of course, renders it at first more difficult to
erect and to work ' • and until it has been fully arranged at
the other side of tte Atlantic no independent message can
be transmitted from thence. Enough, however, has been
done to show that the Atlantic telegraph is un fait accom-
pli. The messages sent by Mr. 'Whitehouse to his colleagues
at Newfoundland have been understood and answered by
them in the way he requested, viz., by signals repeated for
a greater or shorter space of time according to the re-
quest conveyed by the message. Under these circum-
stances it is impossible to say when we will be in a
position to have Lull and perfect communication between
Valentia and Newfoundland; but knowing the diffi-
culties to be encountered, and the time required for the
arrangement of the instruments, I am inclined to be-
lieve that at least a fortnight must elapse before that
desirable consummation is effected. I had the honour this
evening of an interview with Mr. Charles Bright, the accom-
plished engineer of the Atlantic Company, and to whose
skill, fo whought, and indefatigable exertions the success-
ful achievement of the great undertaking is mainly due.
None but professional men can understand the greatness
and the multiplicity of the 'difficulties which Mr. Bright
had to encounter, or appreciate the readiness, the practical
talent, and the untiring patience with which he grappled
with and overcame them. The success that has crowned
his labours is the highest attestation to the singular ability
with which he discharged the arduous and responsible task,
which the directors of the company, with full confidence in
his skill and judgment, unhesitatingly confided to him.
From this gentleman I have received some details respect-
ing the operations on board the Agamemnon, and of the
results of those on board the Niagara; and although these
details have now been deprived of much of their interest,
save to scientific men, yet I have no doubt that a brief nar-
rative of the I roceedings will be acceptable to your readers.
Your are already aware that this squadron left Queens-
town for the appointed rendezvous in mid-ocean, on the
17th of July. Her Majesty's ships Gorgon and Valorous
started early in the morning, and the Niagara at seven p.m.
The Agamemnon was delayed some time iu waiting for
Professor Thompson, who had charge of the electrical
apparatus on board. The outward voyage was not marked
by any feature of interest. It is sufficient to say that the
weather was favourable, and that the Valorous, Niagara,
Gorgon, and Agamemnon, arrived at the rendezvous on the
24th, 25th, 26,h, and 28th respectively. The sea was then
quite smooth, and the weather, though dull, promised to be
hue—a promise which unfortunately was not realised,
thereby enhancing considerably the difficulties of the
undertaking. On the morning of the 29tb, everything
being in readiness for the commencement of operations,
the cable was paid out from the Niagara and conveyed
in the boats of the Valorous to the Agamemnon; where
it wag receiVed on board at 11 o'clock a.m., local time,
tst. 52.8, long. 32.27—th0 distance at this time from
White Strand Bay, Valentin, where it was intended to
laud, being 815 nautic. I, 908 2-10ths statute miles. The
operation of splicing having been effected on board the Aga-
memnon, and a sufficient length of cable having been
veered out to make the quantity for each vessel equal, the
ships started for teeir respective destinations at half-past
three Greenwich time. For two or three hours the Aga-
memnon proceeded very slowly, at a rate not exceeding two
knots an hour, paytng out during that time a large quantity
of " slack"—with the view of allowing the surplus to reach
the bottom without being subjected to any strain. At ten
minutes past five o'clock, about two hours after the starting
of the expedition, the ships had each paid out ten miles of
cable, thaugh not more than eight miles apart. At half-
past six the speed of the ships was increased gradually to
about 4 knots, and at eight o'clock to about 5 knots. Up to
this time, and for more than three hours subsequently, every-
thing went on favourablr. The machinery worked with
great smoothness, and the cable was veered out with remark-
able freedom and ease. At five minutes past ten, however,
the first hitch took place. It was one of a very serious na-
ture, and for some time was a source of the greatest anxiety
to Mr. Bright and everyone on board. It was discovered
that the piece of cable close up to the cone in the centre of
the coil had been nipped by one of the crossed batens that
defended the leading in part of .lie coil. Mr. Bright sur-
misa. that this injury had been occasioned by the shifting of
the coil during the tremendousstorm which prevailed during
the previous attempt to lay the cable. The moment the dis-
covery was made, and it was not a second too soon, Mr.
Bright set about remedying the defect with characteristic
promptitude and presence of mind. Your readers will at once
see that the danger was imminent. The ship was running at
the rate of five knots an hour, the cable being paid out with
considerablerapidiiy. To stop thepaying out would have been
to cause the instant parting of the cable, and to diminish the
speed of the ship would scarcely have diminished the danger.—
The unrolling of a few mere coils, and the • broken part of
the cable would have descended into the sea, and the opera-
tion should have been commenced de novo. The greatest
rapidity, as well as the most perfect coolness and self-pos-
session, were therefore requisite in the remedying of this
defect. It was necessary that the injured piece should be
cut out and a new splice made. During this operation
the cable was veered, but as slowly as possible, and, most
fortunately, the new joint was completed in the very nick
of time, one turn of the coil only remaining to be wound
off before the nipped part would have been submerged.
The first difficulty having been thus sati-faatorily over-
come, Mr. Bright and his assistants breathed more freely,
and at twenty minutes past eleven the speed of the
ship and the veering out of the cable were proceeded
with at the former rates of speed. All went on favour-
ably until noon ti e t ext day, the 30th ultimo, when it
was found that the dlsaaece made good by the Agamem-
non was ninety-eight miles, the distance from Valentia
being 718 nautical miles—ht. 52 24 N, long. 29 50 W.
On the 30th a fresh breeze sprung up from the east, which
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the cable; and at noon on the 31st it was found that since
noon on the previous day 113 miles had been run by the
Agamemnon. All this time the motion of the vessel con-
tinued to increase very much. As she pitched and fell again
in the trough of the sea, the drums of the paying out
machinery bad a tendency to stop, and it was necessary that
men should be constantly on the watch to provide against
any contingency of this kind. I may here mention that
it had been arranged before the starting of the expedi-
tion that should the cable part before 150 nautical
miles had been run out from the Niagara and the
Agamemnon, the ships were all to return to Queens-
town. As the critical time approached the greatest
anxiety was felt by all on board the Agamemnon, and
their relief was proportionately great, and their hopes of
ultimate success higher, when, at 15 minutes past two on
the 30th, the Agamemnon signalled that her allotted portion
bad been safely paid out, and received from the Niagara at
half-past three on the same day the welcome signal that a
similar result had been achieved.
A noon on the Ist of August 126 miles had been run out
ence noon of the previous day, the weather still continuing
very bad, and the state of the sea giving rise to no small
amount of apprehension. On the 2d of August 127 addi-
ilontel miles had been paid out—the distance from Valentia
then being 351-6 miles. For a short time a circumstance
occurred which caused a great deal of alarm and consterna-
tion. The signals from the Niagara suddenly ceased, and
were not resumed for half an lour. D tying this period of
suspense the hopes of success, which had been most sanguine,
and a feeling of intense despondency
prevailed.
vanished,ltwasf
feared that the cable had parted from the
completely
Niagara, and men began almost to despair of the project, or
at least to shudder in anticipation of the renewal of the
same weary work in which they had been so long engaged.
Again, however, the signal was given from the Niagara; it
was established that the communication was unbroken, and
the hopes of all on board rose to the highest point. On the
3d of August the Agamemnon lied run 134.2 miles since
the neon of the previous day—the distance from Valentia
being diminished to 217 miles, and the ship at the time being
in lat. 52 26 N, long 16 40 W. At six o'clock on the evening
of the 3d, when, according to the charts, with Captain Dar-
man and Captain Berryman's soundings, the depth of the
ocean was decreasing from 1,700 fathoms to aaout 400
fathoms, the speed of paying out began to diminish, and the
cable was consequently allowed to run free for a short time.
From this time the water began to shoal rapidly. At noon
on the 4th the Agamemnon was but eighty-nine and a half
miles from Valentin, the depth of water being about
200 fathoms. The weather which, from the 30th ultimo,
had contiuued bad, now began to improve, and the sea
became comparatively calm. At eight p.m., on the
4th, Captain Aldtiatn proceeded in advance iu the
Valorous to make out the Foze Rick—a ledge outsido the
Blasquats to the southwest unprovided with light or buoy.
At eleven the sight of the upper light of the Skelligs caused
a thrill of delight to pervade every one on board—the
API:Mum Wiks approaching the coopletiou of her