Daily union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1865-1866, 1866-11-21
VOLUME XXXIII.

can people as a specimen Of a groat-heare,
Englishman, Mr.. THOMAS BRAssEy. Yol
may never have heard his name, but II
London lie is known as one OF the men VIII,
= has made British enterprise, and British
d capital felt in all parts Of the world. / wen
D 70 see him, though with fear and trembling
lie received me kindly, but put me through
7 such an examination as ! never had before
l thought was in the witness box. HI
asked every possible question, but my an
L swers satisfied him, and he ended by saving
: Il was an enterprise that ought to be carried
: out, end that he would be one Of ten men to
furnish the money to do it. This was a
pledge of 100000 sterling. Encouraged by
5 his noble offer, looked around to find an
( other such man, though it was like trying to
lind two Wellingtons. But he was found in
Mr.. JOIN PENDER, Of Manchester. / went
TO his Office one day in London, and we
: walked together to the House Of Commons,
aiid before we got there he said he would
take an equal share with Mr.. BRAssEY.
The aclIon Of these two gentlemen was a
turning point in the history Of our enter
prise; for il led shortly after to a union of
the well-knOwn firm of GLASS ELLIOT &
Co, with the Gutta Percha Company, max
ing Of the two one grand concern known as
The Telegraph Construction and Main
tcnance Company" which included not only
Mr.. BRAssEY aud Mr. PENDER, but other
mon Of great wealth, such as GEORGE Ell
LOT and Mr.. BARCLAY. of London, and
Mr.. HENRY BEwLEY, of Dublin, and which,
thus reinforced with immense capital, took
up the whole enterprise in its strong arms.
| We needed, have said, eG00, 600. and with
all our efforts in England and America we
raised only e285,000. This new company
now came forward and offered to take the
whole remaining e315,000, besides 100000
| Of the bonds, and to make its own profits
| contingent on success. Mr.. RICHARD A.
! GLASS was made Managing Director, and
| gave energy and vigor to all its departments,
| being admirably seconded by the Secretary,
| Mr.. SHUTTER. Mr. GLASS has been recently |
knighted for his services in carrying out the |
Atlantic Telegraph-an honor which he |
most justly deserves.
A few days after half dozen gentlemen |
Joined together and bought the Great Eastern, |
to lay the cable; and at the head of this |
company was placed Mr.. DANIEL GooCH, a /
member of Parliament, and Chairman of the |
Great Western Railway, who was with us in
both the expeditions which followed, and
who, for his services, has been made Baro-
net Of the United Kingdom.
Thus organized, the work Of making
new Atlantic cable was begun. The core
was prepared with infinite care, and the
whole was completed in about eight months.
As fast as ready, il was taken on board the
Great Eastern and coiled in three enormous
tanks. and on the 18th Of July, 1865 the
ship started on her memorable voyage.
viii not stop 90 tell the story Of thate ex
petition. For a week all went well; we had
paid out 200 miles of cable, and had only
six hundred smies further to 60, when
hauling in the cable to remedy a fault,
it parted and wen TO the bottom. That day
! can never forget-how men paced the
deck in despair, looking out on the
broad sea that had swallowed up their
hopes; and then how the brave CANNING
for nine days and nights dragged the
bottom of the ocean for our lost treasure
and though he grappled it three times
failed TO bring it TO the surface. We re-
turned 10 England defeated, yet full Of reso-
luton to begin the battle anew. Measures
were at once taken TO make a second cable,
and fit out a new expedition and with that
assurance | came home last autumn.
In December | went back again, when 10, |
all our hopes had sunk to nothing. The
Attorney General Of England had given his
written opinion that we had no legal right, |
without a special act Of Parliament, (Which
could not be obtained under year, to issue
the new u per cent shares, on which we re-
lied to raise our capital. This was a terri
bic blow The works were at once stopped, |
and the money which had been paid in re-
turned to the subscribers. Such was the
state of things only ten months ago. l
reached London on the oath of December,
and the next day was nota ''merry Crist-
mas" to me.
1t was finally concluded that the best
course was 10 organize nelC company which
should assume the work, and so originated
the Anglo-American Telegraph Company.
1t was formed by ten gentlemen who met
around a table in London, and put down
el0000 apiece. The great Telegraph Con-
struction and Maintenance Company-un-
daunted by the failure of last year. answered
us with a subscription of 100000. Soon
after the books were opened to the public
and in fourteen days we had raised the
whole 100000. Then the work began
again, and went on with speed. Never was
greater energy infused into any enterprise.
1t was only the lst day Of March that the
new company was formed, and was regis
tered as a company the next day; and yet
such was the vigor and dispatch that in five
mcnths from that day the cable had been
shipped on the Great Eastern,
stretched across the Atlantic, and was send
ing messages, literally swift as lightning,
from continent TO continent.
Yet this was not a lucky hit-a fine run
across the ocean in calm weather 1t was
the worst weather ever knew at that season
of the year. In the dispatch which APP
peared in the New York papers you may
have read, "The weather has been most
pleasant" | wrote it Unpleasant" We
had fogs and storms almost the whole way
Our success was the result Of the highest l
science combined with practical experience
Everything was perfectly organized TO the q
minutest detail.
But our work was not over. After land t
ing the cable safely at Newfoundland, we I
had another task--to return TO mid-ocean c
and recover that lost in the expedition of
last year. This achievement has perhaps !
excited more surprise than the other. Many I
even now "don't understand it," and every 5
day am asked chow il was done?" Well, i
it does seem rather difficult to fish for a e
Jewel at the bottom Of the ocean two and D
half miles deep. But it is not so rc7y diff a
YOU know how. You may be y
sure we did not go a-fshing at random, nor ;
was our success mere "luck.' IL was the c
triumph Of the highest nautical and enCi- s.
necring skill. We had four ships, and on I
board of them some of the best seamenin Eng u
land. men who knew the ocean as hunter a
knows every trail Of the forest. There was Il
Capt MoRIARTY, who was in the igdmem- "
n0n in 1878 He was on the Great Eastern a
last year, and saw the cable when il broke; II
and he and Capt. ANDERSON at once took G
their ob ervations so exact that they could u
go right to the spot. After finding it. they
marked the line Of the cable by a row of ?
buoys; for fogs would come down, and shut II
out sun and stars, so that no man could take q
m observation. These buoys were anchored i
a few miles apart They were numbered, r.
and each had a flagstaff ON il so that il G
,ould be seen by day; and lantern by night o
Thus having taken our bearings, we stood s.
,H three or four miles, so as TO come broad "
side on, and then casting over the grapnel G
lri0cd slowly down upon il, dragging the =
bottom Of the ocean as we went At first il l
was q little awkward 10 fish in such deep W
water, but our men got used 10 it, and soon c.
'ould cast a grapnel almost as straight as an
I'D whaler throws a harpoon. Our fishing b
inc was of formidable size IL was made Of q
'ope, twisted with wires of Steel 50 rs 10 b,
pcar a strain Of thirty tons. Ii took about oi
wo hours for the grapnel 10 reach the bot +
ON, bat we could tell when it struck. | | 3
,lten went 10 the bow, and sat on the rope, C,
md could feel by the quiver that the Crap c'