New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1858-08-27
THE OCEAN TELEGRAPH EXPEDITION.
VOYAGE OF THE AGAMEMNoN.
From Ia Loadoa Tines h1s. Il.

Il m6QUituOe
| cs.ed by those no. engaged 10 the work, the engi
rsers er gagged in this undertaking have With amos.
uptiripg energy adhered TO Their all but hopeless tssk
with that persey which sure sooner or later,
10 lead 20 euccsss. There were bu, few some twenty
davs 400 VINO after the unsuccessful return Of the
squsdron to QueeDstOwn would have dared TO predict
| such a SPEEDY and glorious termination 10 al the
trials ava difficulties that the pr lmoters OF this
| nent oil the scheme seemed indeed up 10 the last
| moment TO hsng upon s hair. Many serious diff
| culties had 10 be encountered during the sI days
and abslf that tie operations lasted, any one Of
| which had not chance favored Us, might have
ruined the expedition and delayed the advance OF
ocean teegrapns perhaps morethan holt century blt
the difficult tsskhss nos been accomplished and only
remains for TO accept the benefits which it will Ut
doubleday confer upon the community. wonderful as
the conception Of conveying sensations from continent
to continent the almost unknown depths OF the
ocean, msy seem TO US now, yet in very little time
people will forget the marvel while proftng BY the
fact and, without remembering the years OF snuous
| toll and encouragement which those VINO hsve Sc
cured this boon 10 the community have undergone 10
secure success, the wonder will be- not that the I'M
dertaking has been carfieo out at all but tina. IL had
net been accomplished long before. IL had been the
custom Of mankind 10 honor the lives and &c citrate
the deeds Of great statesmen, successful warriors and
emr ent dvires Indeed Of such materials the inks
in the chain Of history chiefly composed. But those
men who, by patient thought and perteverIng action,
have achieved victories over matter to secure to the
community permanent advantages, very often have
their trouble for their reward. II is TO be hoped
that this may not be the with tnose who have
been mainly Instrumental in bringing this great
scheme to successful termination. 1t must be con-
eseed at the prospects OF success were very remote
when the squadron left Qusensto the 18th of last
month. the amount OF cable IN the two ships hsd
been reduced by neatly four hundred miles, AM the
recollection Of three separate and most unaccountsble
breaksges etl fresh in the minds OF all who had
accompanied the first expedition, and there was no
reason whatever FOR supposing that the very same
thing might not occur again. The cable might and
tlv Ia
fulfill ell the guaranteed requirements and the nu-
merous accidents which occurred might be due to the
cable having become injured during the gale: This
suppostion, though 1t may be Crafty ing TO Messrs.
Glass & Co., was no consolation to either the
engineers or the shareholders Under these circnm-
stances il not surprising that many regarded the
prosecution of the scheme as waste OF the share
holders money. However, in spite OF the most
vehement opposition the majority of the Directors de-
ernned to dispatch the expedition to try their fortune
again in mid ocean before they abandoned she scheme
altogether as mpractcable. Accordingly. on the
morning of Saturday, the 18th OF July, the Naorous,
Gorgon and Niagara, having completed coaiDg,
steamed away from Queenstown for the rendezvous.
The Agememnon, having TO wait for Professor w.
Thompson, one Of the Directors, who took charge OF
the electrical dc parment on board did not weigh an
Choir until . clock on the following morning. AS the
ships left the habor there was apparently no notice
taken of their departure by those shore in the
vessels anchored round them; every one seemed i'm
pressed with the conviction that we were engaged III
hopeless enterprise, and the squadron seemed rather
to have sunk away on some discredible mission than
TO have sailed for the plshment OF grand na-
tional scheme. II was Just Dawn when the Agamem-
non got clear of Queenstown harbor but, as the
wind blew stfiy from the southwest, II was
nearly 10 o'clock before che rounded the Old Head
Of Kinsae, a distance Of only few miles. The
weather renamed fine during the day, and, as the
Agamennon skiIted along the wild and rocky shore OF
the south west coast Of ireland, those on board had
en- excellent opportunity of seeing the stupend0us rocks
which rise from the water in the most groesque and
fantastic shapes. About , o'clock in the afternoon
Cape Clear was passed. and, though the coast gradu
ally edged away to the nothward Of our course, yet
was nearly dark before we lost sight OF the rocky
mountains which surround Bantry Bay and the shores
of the kenmare River. BY Monday morning the l9th,
had left the land far behind u.s. and thence fell ioo
the ususl dull monotony of sea life. OF the voyage
out there is little 10 be SAID IL was not checkered by
the excitement Of continual storms or the tedium
of perpetual calms but we had sufficient sdmix
ue OF both TO render our passage TO the rendezvous
very ordins'y and unintere'ting one indeed For
low and the numbers Of those natural barometers,
Mother Careys chicken, that kept in our wake kept
us in continual expectation Of heavy weather. With
every little breeze of wind the was got up aud
sal made so to husband our coal a. much as pos
sibe, but il generally coon fell calm and obliged apt
Preedy reluctantly 10 get up steam AGAIN In cohse
quenee OF these continued delays and changes from
ste am to sa, and from sail to steam again, much fuel
expended, and not more than ~ mles Of distance
made good each day. On Sunday the 18th, however,
the weather changed and for several days in success
sion there was an uninterrupted calm. The moon
vast lust at the full and for several nights il shone
with brilsncy which turned the smooth into one
silvery shest which brought out the dark hull aud
white sails of the ship strong contrast to the and
sky the vessel lay all but notoness on tne water
the very mptrsopaton OF solitude and repose. Indeed
until tte rendezvous was gained We had such success
sion Of beautiful sunrises gorgeous sunsets and tran
quil moonlight nghts as would have excited the mos.
enthusiastic admiration OF any but persons situated
as were. But by Us such scenes were regarded
only a. the annoying indications of the calm which de-
aytd cur progress ana wasted our Goals. In spite Of
A. col sl-pp in
were days which our former unpleasant experiences
Of the Atlantic were 3ught foroby TO our recolec-
tion-when it blew I'D and the sea ran sufficiently
high 10 reproduce Oh minor scale some Of the dis
comforts q 4I sGh S,ss' s had been so
and not the rule and served 10 show how much more
pleasant was the incOryenlen. calm than the weather
which had previously prevailed. BY dn!, however,
OF udlcious expenditure OF fuel and liberal use OF
the cheaper motive power OF SAIL the rendezvous
reached or the the evening of Wednesday, the 2Sh of
July. lust eleven days after our departure from
Queenstown. The rest OF the squadron were in sght
al nightfs but al such considerable distance that
il was past 10 o'clock On the morning of THURSDAY,
the 10Th, before the Agsmemnor Joined them. We
were as usual greeted by perfect storm Of questions
as 10 what kept Us go much behind our time and
learned that ell had come 70 the conclusion that the
snip must have got on shore on ieayns Queenstown
Hsrbor. The Niagara it appeared had arrived a.
tAe rendezvous on Friday night the I'D, the Naer.
Sunday, the 9th, and the Gorgon the alter
loon OF Tues6ay, the 9TH. The day was beautifully
calm, so DO time was to be iost before making the
splice; boats soon lowered ffon the attendant
SHIPS the two vessels made fast by havser and the
Nisgsra's end OF the cable conveyed on board the
| Agamemnon. About l2i O'Clock tie splice was eifsc
tualy made, but with materials very different from
carefully rouro ed sencirculsr boards which hsi been
used 10 ncose the functions previous occasions II
consisted merely Of two straight boards hauled over
the Joining, with the IRON rod and leaien plum 81
tached 10 the center In hosting il from the SIDE
e6len an or