Kenosha tribune & telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1856-1859, 1857-08-13
From the London Times July II.
How and When the Atlantic Telegraph
will be laid down.

The two vessels, the Agamemnon and the Nj
agara sail about the 25th inst, and to be join
ed by her Majesty's frigate Leopard and the Uni
ted States frigate Susquehanna These are pad
de-wheel steamers of considerable power, and
are intended to pilot and assist the other vessels
when necessary. The four steamers are to rem
devious in Cork Harbor, and will probably sail
together from thence about Aug. LIST. Their first
destination will be lat. So deg. 40 min. N, and
long. 80 deg. 80 min, or The central point of the
arc of the great circle between ValentIa Harbor
and Trinity Bay. Having waited here for favor
able weather, should the elements not be propi.
tious to the design on their arrival, a "splice"
will be effected between the half of the telegraph
ic cable on board the Agamemnon and the half
on board the Niagara, and they will part COM
pany--the Niagara and Susquehanna sailing
westward, for Trinity Bay, Newfoundland dis
tent 900 to 1000 miles and the Agamemnon
and Leopard returning eastward, paying out
their portion of the cable until they make Val
anita Harbor, on the coast of Ireland. The arc
of the circle thus indicated is 1884 miles in
length, so that could each vessel steer an exact
course to its destination not subject to the errors
of the magnetic needle OF the disturbing influence
of oceanic currents, each would have to pay out
9I7 miles of cable, but that is impossible, each
vessel has been supplied with surplus length Of
about 300 miles, to meet all emergencies. Sup
posing that each vessel should be able to pay out
the cable at the rate Of about five knots per hour
or 100 per day. il will thus be seen that the oper
alton of dropping the great international link be-
tween this country and the United States will
have been completed in eight days from the time
the "splice" is effected in mid ocean, and the
vessels part company.
The outer coating of the greater part of the ca
bic consists of coil of IL strands Off thread iron
wire, as a protection to the gutta percha core,
containing the teegraphic wires, from friction or
other injury, until it has been safely deposited
ON the bed of the deep Atlantic. But those por-
tons of the cable which will have to be joined
when the vessels part company may possibly be
subjected to an extra strain, the first unbroken
link of it sinks between the sterns of the two YES
sails to find its ultimate resting place and TO meet
this possible contingency, ten miles of this
central portion OF the cable has been protect
ed with sheath of l5 steel instead of iron wires,
and is supposed TO be capable of sustaining
strain OF II tons. The machinery, made by
Messrs. De Bergue g. Co., includes paying out
sheaves or drums of five feet in diameter, having
grooves corresponding to the thickness OF the ca
Bile, with friction drum attached 20 them revolt
wing three times as fast as they do, and with the
breakage power to check or retard the motion Of
the sheaves at pleasure.
From the hold of each ship, the cable, passing
over four of these sheaves to few feet above the
poop deck, will be dropped into the sea over
fifth sheave, placed above the stern. The exact
amount of strain will be constantly Indicated Dy
an instrument under the eye of the breaksman.
At the sides of the vessel will hang down into the
water new electrical logs, principally due to Dir.
Charles Bright, the Atlantic Company's Chief
Engineer. These immersed logs have vanes g.
wheels revolving at a rate proportion to the pas
sage of the vessel through the water, and making
an electric circle which is broken at each revo-
luton An electric wire, from the log to the deck,
records there every revolution of the log, and
consequently the exact speed of the ship /,
must not be supposed when the the ships part
company that all communication will be lost be-
tween those on board the vessels.
The electricians have hold of either extremity
of the coils of the cable, and win Interchange
signals constantly, so that each vessel will be
master of the others fate, and Of every incident
that may help or retard the progress of su6mer,
sion, unless some unfortunate emergency shouIo
snap the link. When the topmasts OF the snips
have sunk beneath the horizon, and they are los'
to view by the lookou. men, the in1eroceshlc !;
current of electricity will give instant record OF
all that passes until the lengthening line OF cable
has been spun out from shore TO shore. bell
on board each vessel will sound every second as
each portion of the cable is payed out, and its
silence will probably be the first indication Of