San Andreas independent., 1857-10-03
BY TELEGRAPH TO THE SAN AsDrEAs INDEPENDENT.
ARRIVAL OF THE
STEAMER SONORA
San Francisco. Oct. lst, P. M
The Atlantic Cable.

cable from the Niagara, progressed most salts
factorily, until Immediately before the mis-
hap. At the junction between the shore and
the smaller cable, about eight miles from the
starting point, it was necessary to stop to re-
new the splice This was successfully effected,
and the end of the heavier cable lowered by a
hawser until it reached the bottom, being
stretched short distance apart, to mark the
point of union. BY noon of the Sth, we had
| paid ont forty miles of the cable, including the
heavy shore end. Up to P NJ that day.
/ the egress of the cable had been sufficiently
retarded by the power necessary to keep the
machinery in motion, at Il rate a little faster
than the speed of the ship But as the water
deepened, it was necessary to place some fur
ther restraint upon it by applying pressure to
the friction drums, or gear, connected with
the payng-out sheayes. This was gradually
and carefully increased from time to time. rs
the speed of the cable compared with that of
the vessel, and the depth of the soundnos
showed to be requisite. By midnight, e5
miles had been safely laid, the depth of water
being then at little more than two hundred
fathoms. At o'clock A. NJ, on the 9th, we
had finished the deck coil in the after part of
the ship, having paid out l20 miles. The
change to the coil between decks, forward,
was safely made. BY noon we had laid 1876
miles Of cable-the, depth of water having in
creased to 4lO fathoms. In the evening. the
/ speed of the vessel was increased to five knots
! per hour. | had previously kept down the
rate at from three to four knots for the small
cable, and two for the heavy end next the
shore, wishing to get the men and machinery
well to work prior to attaining the speed which
| had anticipated making. BY midnight, l89
miles had been laid At P NJ on the 10TH
the depth of water began to increase rapidly,
from five hundred and fifty fathoms to seven
teen hundred and fifty. Up to this time cwt
strain sufficed to keep the rate of the cable
near enough to that of the ship; but rs the
water deepened the proportionate speed of the
cable advanced as it was necessary to aug
ment the pressure by degrees, until in the
depth of LOO fathomS, the Indicator showed
Il strain of 10 cwt, while the cable and ship
were running five and half and five knots,
respectively.
/ At noon of the 10Th, 255 miles of cable were
paid out the vessel having made 254 miles
! from shore. At this time we experienced an
increasing swell, followed, later in the day, by
Il strong breeze. From this period, having
reached 1000 lathoms water, it was necessary
to increase the strain to one ton, by which the
strain on the cable was maintained in the same
proportion to that of the ship. At six P. NJ
some difficulty arose. through the cable get
ting out of the sheaves Of the paying machine
owing to the tar and pitch hardening in the
sleavcs, splice of large dimensions passing
over them. This was rectifed by fixing a
guard and soficning the tar with OIL 1t was
necessary to bring up the ship, holding the
cable by shoppers. until it was again properly
disposed around the pulleys. Some import
ance is due to this event, as showing that it is
/ possible to ay-to in deep water, without con-
tinuing 10 pay ont cable-a point upon which
/
/ Shortly after, the speed of the cable gained
considerably on that of the ship, and to nine
/ o'clock, while the rate of the latter was about
three knots an hour by the log, the cable was
running out from five and a half to FIVE and
+ three-quartcr knots per hour. The strain was
then raised to % cwt.; but the wind and sea
! increasing, and current at the same time,
carrying the cable at an angle from the direct
/ line of the ships course it was not found suf-
I icient to check the cable, which, at midnight
was making y knots above the speed of the
+ ship, and sometimes impcriling the safe un-
coiling in the hold. The rctardng force was,
therefore increased, at o'clock, to an amount
equal to 30 cwt.; and, then, again. in conse-
quence of the speed continuing to be more
than it would have been prudent to permit,
at 50 cwt. 1t was then brought to a little
! short of knots, at which it continued stead
ily, until 4 clock, % minutes, when it part
cd. The length paid out at that time being
335 miles.
General Intelligence