The Sun.
London, England, 1866-09-20 00:00:00

THE ATL

E of 1835.

The following is the continuation and conclusion
of the diary published in The Sun of September 10 :
Monday, Sept. 3.—At 9.15 a.m. yesterday, the
splice having been made between the picked up and
that in our main tank, the critical operation of
slipping from the bow to the paying-out machinery
aft was completed. It was an anxious time. As the
first bight was let go eyes were strained to see the
next drop clear, and so rapidly was the cable passed
along the starboard side that one was obliged to run
at a fast pace to see it go to the stern, and on to the
paying out wheel. At 9.22 the paddles were started
ahead, and we commenced to pay out in 1,900
fathoms. By noon we had paid out 28.96 miles, and
were in lat. 51.56.20 N., long. 36.42 W., having
given for slack 25.91 per cent. On receiving the
Greenwich time direct—through the recovered cable
—as formerly, Staff-CommanderMoriarty found that
the mean accumulated error (in 25 days) of the re-
' maining four chronometers, by Mr. Barraud, of
Cornhill, required a correction of six-tenths of a
second only. All went on well during the day,
several messages were sent from the ship to Eng-
land and Newfoundland, and we got the current
news from home. We learned after dinner that
Captain Commerell had arrived in the Terrible at
St. John's, at noon, and we were also informed by
Mr. Kerr, commanding the Lily, that he and the
Margaretta Stevenson would meet us at the ren-
dezvous at the entrance of Trinity Bay. Orders
were sent to the agents, Brooking and Co., of
St. John's, to bring stores for the Great
Eastern to Heart's Content, and Mr. Wyatt, of
that house, replies that he will be there on
Saturday morning ! And so, being in the, middle
of the Atlantic ocean, we talked to Valentia,
Valentia to Newfoundland, Newfoundland to
Valentia, and Valentia, back to us, a distance of
nearly 5,500 miles. Captain Anderson wants to
know what sort of weather there is in Newfound-
land, and while sitting with Mr. Willoughby Smith,
in the electrician's room, I saw the message sent to
Heart's Content, via Valentia, and in less than 10
minutes the answer comes back, " Wind north, light
breeze !" What will Lieutenant Maury say to all
this ? For we hear that he has told the public that
it is an impossibility to pick up the cable of 1865.
What will Professor This and Dr. That and Philo-
sopher the Other say who have been shaking their
wise heads for the last year ? Where are the ab-
struse calculations about the forces engaged in lift-
ing the cable? Where the theories about volcanic
action in certain places well known to them at the
bottom of the Atlantic ocean ? What about the cer-
tainty of the failure of gutta percha as an insulator ?
Why, simply and practically this, the Atlantic Tele-
graph cable of 1865 has been picked up after a
fortnight's hard work, and we aro sending and re-
ceiving messages through it. But now we have to
try and finish the work by landing it at Heart's Con-
tent, and have to encounter all the difficulties inse-
parable from ocean cable laying. It was only this
morning at 3 o'clock that we were reminded of our
old enemy " Foulflake." A part in the coil brought
away the next. turn with it, but before it could get
up in the " eye" it was held back by the watch in
the tank. The order was given to stop the engines;
but it was all right before the paddles and screw
ceased to revolve. It is a curious coincidence that
this occurred almost at the precise spot where the
cable was lost last year. It is blowing very strong
from the E.N.E. with a heavy sea. Towards noon
the glass was going up, and there is evidence that
the wind is about to moderate. At noon to-day we
were in lat. 51.34 N., long. 39.35 W., DR., having
run up to the present time 117 miles from the splice,
and paid out 134 miles of cable. Distance from
Heart's Content 586 miles.
Tuesday, Sept. 4.—ln the afternoon of yesterday
the wind moderated. The ship has evidently been
much affected by a strong current, carrying her to
the N.E. The large percentage of slack can only be
accounted for by the ship not having gone her course.
Taking Capt. Auderson's observations we had paid
out 32 per cent, of slack at 8 a.m. yesterday. The
night passed very quietly, the wind having gone down
completely. Our progress since noon yesterday to
noon to-day, Capt. Moriarty having obtained sights,
has been 109 miles. Course, N. 73 W., lat. 51. 2.26
N., long. 4F53 W.; 226 miles from splice, and 494.6
from Heart's Content. Depth, 2,424 fathoms.
Friday, Sept. 7, Noon.—The progress of the ship
and the paying out of the cable since Tuesday last
have been in every way satisfactory. Last night a
congratulatory telegram came to Mr. Cyrus Field
from Mr. Low, president of the New York Chamber
of Commerce, requesting him to send a message to
be read at a meeting of that body held to-day. It
was thought right to send a reply in the names of the
directors on board who have accompanied the expe-
dition. It was in the following words : "The under-
signed directors on board the Great Eastern send
their greetings to the New York Chamber of Com-
merce, and take advantage of the success which has
crowned the efforts of the Telegraph Construction
and Maintenance Company to recover the cable
temporarily lost last year, to convey to them through
it and. the cable laid in Julylast the hope generally
entertained throughout the United Kingdom that
the telegraphic communication now established be-
that country and the United States will tend to
promotepeace and harmony between them. (Signed)
—Danl. Gooch, chairman of Great Ship Company,
and of Anglo-American Company ;
Aug. T. Munn-
ton, Cyrus W. Field, directors of the Atlantic
Telegraph Company and Anglo-American Tele-
graph Company." The Medway has just been
despatched to look for the Terrible whom we expect
in a few hours, as she left St. John's last night. The
weather is very fine,
and the sea quite smooth.
We hope to be well up the bay by 12 o'clock to-morrow.
Saturday, Sept. was not till 5 p.m. yester-
day that the signalman made out the smoke of the
Terrible on the horizon, and on coming on deck after
dinner we saw her plain enough, and close near her
the Margaretta Stevenson. At 8 o'clock a boat was
sent from the latter vessel with Mr. Kerr, R.N., who
was to pilot us up the bay, and the Terrible sent a
boat with our letters which had arrived by the last
mail. By 10 p.m we saw the lights of Catalina and
Bonavista, on the northern shore of the entrance to
Trinity Bay, and Bacalieu on its southern side. It
continued calm all night. This morning a
glorious sunrise welcomed us into Trinity Bay,
whose broad waters were as still and placid as a lake ;
and as the morning light became more distinct the
whole cable squadron was well together. Her Ma-
jesty's ship Terrible, her Majesty's ship Lily, with
his Excellency the Governor of Newfoundland on
board, the Medway, and the Margaretta Stevenson,
and the Hawk, formerly her Majesty's ship Plover,
from St. John's, with a large party on board, joined
the
rru fleet,pted iand we proceeded on until 6 o'clock unin.
te
At that hour the wheels of the Grea.
y.

Eastern were suddeniy stopped, the alarm of a fault
in the cable having been made from the electrician's
room. While a message from Valentia was being
received, the spot of light
scale of the galvanometer, indicating 44 dead earth."
disappeared from the
Instructions were speedily given,aPpeared
and the cable was
cut immediately forward of the paying-out ma-
chinery, and tested through a wire leading to the
testing-room ; the result of which was a
declaration on Mr. Smith's part that the
fault was not far off. Ile next tested the sea end,
and very much to his own gratification, as well as
to the joy of every one on board ship, it was re-
ported to be perfect. Valentia, upon being called,
gave an immediate reply. Communication was now
stopped, in order to make a splice with another
length of cable in the after-tank, and in about half

an hour it was completed, and the ship on her way
up Trinity Bay, Heart's Content being distant 13
miles. The discovery of this fault was instantane-
ous, and showed the great practical utility of Mr.
Willoughby Smith's new testing arrangement,
which has already been described. We went on
paying out until 2.20 Greenwich time, or 1045
ship's time, and shortly afterwards the Terrible's
paddle-box boats, under the command of Lieu-
tenant Curtis, First Lieutenant, and Lieutenant
Arundel], were under 'the stern of the Great
Eastern. The cable was then cut and handed
into his charge to pass to the Medway, on board of
which was coiled the shore end. The big ship, hav-
ing now completed her work, steamed slowly into
the harbour of Heart's Content, followed by the