Lamoille newsdealer. [volume] (Hyde Park, Vt.) 1860-1877, 1865-08-16

Il l-0 inCncS III uldmeteT; az ten miles
distance only 2 inches: at fifteen miles it
is reduced to 1-2 inches; at twenty
miles to about inch, and at twenty-five
miles of its extreme length it merges into
the ordinary size of the deep sea wire,
with which it has to be joined. The
Caroline laid its end. as we have already
described, on Saturday, carefully buoying
the last portion of it, leaving some half
mile or SO on board her decks to form the
splice. This operation was completed yes
terday. The Great Eastern was off Bray
Head at 9 a. M, but at snch a distance
from the dangerous shore that only those
provided with good glasses could make
out from the land where the huge vessel
lay, under the cloud of smoke which
poured forth, and which reached like a
fog-bank across the ocean.
The party who started to witnass the
making of the splice and the final start
sng left Valentia in the Hawk, the Great
Eastern's rapid tender, soon after 9 in the
morning Among those on board were
Lord John Hay, Sir R. Peel, M. p. the
Knight of Kerry, with his daughters, the
Misses Fitzgerald, Capt. White, R N.
Capt. W. H Russell, Mr.. Edwards, Mrs
Glass. &c, The western extremity of
Ireland was reached in about an hour,
and soon afterward the magnificent rock
that carries the Skellig light, wild stu.
pendous mast of cliff which, amid deep
water, rises from the ocean to a height of
800 feet, and which the incessant beat
of the Atlantic seems to have worn into
seams and angry gaps that almost uu
dermine its base. About Is miles be
yond these rocks the Great Eastern was a.
rest, not moving to the dull, easy swell
though her two guards of honor, the Ter
rible and Sphinx, we're rolling slightly
while theCaroline with the end of the shor,
cable on board, and looking uglier thar
ever now that she was light and out 0
water was especially lively.
| 1t is difficult to describe in any but tn
most matter-o fact terms the routine pro
cess which marked the commencement 0
this enterprise. 1t had already begu,
when the Hawk arrived and the paddle
box boats of the men -of-war and the cut
ters of the Great Eastern were filled wit
cable, which, passing through the paying
out machine astern, was being slowly tow
ed from the great ship to the Caroline
The operation of splicing was one of tim
and difficulty, for, smooth as the sea ha
seemed from land, the regular heave {
the Atlantic was deep enough. Sir Rot
ert Peel, Lord John Hay and Mr.. Russo
managed to get on board the Great Eas
ern, but such great difficulty that fe
e others we're induced to venture on tn
= risk of the undertaking, and still fewt
: to accomplish it. Soon after o'cloc
: the coils of the deep sea cable were safel
a wound on board the Caroline, and ii
t work of splicing them at once commences
: This was done by stripping both ends
t hemp, outside wires and gutta percha fl
e short distance till the copper conductC
r of the line was laid bare, and pared dow
to fine wedge-shaped point at either EN-
Il The connecting conductors were then owe
J. Tapped 10 the form known as "scar
n Joint, and firmly bound together with I'll
S threads of copper wire, till the junctic
r was made even stronger than the ma
s portions of the line. The threads al
d conductor we're then soddered togeth
;, thickly, and strips Of soft gutta perch
y like bands Of brown tape, were wour
d layer over layer, and their edges close
s. pressed, so as to form one homogeneo
l. mass, till certain thickness was compile
IS ed. Then came a coating Of insulatiI
g material, called Chatterton's compoun
g. and then again another layer OF gut
h percha tape, until the whole was inclOs
'e in four rings Of the gutta percha al
'e three Of the compound. The joint "
then immersed in cold water for testin
is and, the signals proving perfect, the 10
protection of hemp and outside wire "
t. added, and the joint sunk again into t
IN sea that its perfectness as to conductive
In and insulation might be ascertain
ID from the extreme end Of the whole leng
Il, - ~ ill., n~oat Ia 10,