, 1866-11-19

The Manner Of Recovering the Old
Cable.
Extract from Cyru. n. Fields Speech At the New
York BapuQet.f

1A01Es
Extract rom cyre. y, Fields Speech at the New
But our work was moi over. Afterl landing
tho cai!c safely at Newfoundland, We had
another tafk-to return to .nid-occan and re-
cover tl.at lost In the expedition Of last year.
This achievement has perhaps excited more
| surprise thnn tue other. Many even now
sksd SS os It @as as sTeET e daT It dees
seem rather difficult to fsh for u jewel at the
! bottom Of the ocean two and half miles
deep. But 1t Is not 80 rery dif1cult-..whcn
yon know how. You may be sure NC did not
70 a-hshin. at randorm, nor was our success
| i,crc ''luck." It was the triumph OF the
highest nautical and engineering skill. We
| had four ships, and on board some Of thc
| best scamcn In England, nen who knew Tic
ocean as hunter knows % ssc,y VITAL tEalI IN 1he re
was In the ACamcmnon in 1878. HI vas
in the Great Eastern last year, and saw the
cablc when It broke aud he md Captain An
derson at once took their observations 50
exact that they could 20 right to the spot.
Aflcr finding Il, they marked the line Of tbs
cable By row OF buoys; for fogs would
! come down, and shut out sun and stars, 50
that no man could take au observation.
These buoys were anchored feT miles
apart. They were numbered, and each had
a flagstaff on 1t, so that it could be seen By
day and lantern By night. Thus having
taken our bearings, VIC stood oh three or
| four miles, so as to come broadsldc on, ana
then casting ovcr the grap1ei, drifted slowly
ocean as NC went. Al first 1t was little awk.
ward to fish In such deep watcr, hut our men
| got used to 1t, nnd soon could cast a grapnc
a.mcst Us straight as an old whaler throws
harpoou. Our fishing line was OF fo.rntda.
Bic Size. It was raade Of rope, twisted with
wires Of steel, so rs to bear strain Of thirty
tons. It took about two hours for the g!ap.
mel to reach bottom, but VIC could tell when
/, | IT struck. often went to the bow and sat on
the rore, and could feel by the culver that me
miles under us. But 1t was very slow bust
, | ness. We had storms md calms, and fog
. and squalls. still TIC worked on dag afte!
day. Once, on the 11th Of August, Ec got
. mlnutcs-a long, slimy monster, fresh from
the ooze ol the ocean's bcd-but our rner
i. bcruu to cheer so wildly that It seemed I.
: be frightened, and suddenly broke away ane
T. went down into the sea This ace'aenT M a,!s yep
9 thc last night Of August, we caugh
i It. NC had cast the grapncl thirty times
d Ii was little before .aidnisht on sstda
~ night that NC hooked the cable. aud 1t VA
le . little alter midnight Sunday morning Ehe
c. every mans life was like the strain on th
D. cable itself. When finally II appeared,
c. was midnight; thc lights Of the ship, an
as iu tho bUats around orr bows, as the
cd flashed in thc faces Of the men, showed thel
2r eagerly watching for the cable 10 appear Q
"a the water. AT length 1t was brought to II
tn surface. All who were allowed to appsoac
Is crowded forward to see 1t. Yet not wot
us was spoken, only the voices Of the officers
IS. command were heard giving orders. All fe
Of as If life and death hung on the Issue. ltw'
,st only when It Was brought over the bow nK
ne on the deck that men dared TO breath
IS. Even then they hardly believed the
Ia eyes. Some ercpt toHasd It to f.
he be- Then We carried it along to the electrician
ed room, to ece II our long sought for treasu
Of was alive or dead. 4 few minutes Of ST
lg pcnsc, and fash told Of the lightning e.
f 4 rent again set free. Then did the fecll'
It's Pent urhnrst forth oSSs Soms TUNED Ssa an :;
re. and was heard down In the engine room
Tas deck below deck, and from tho hos
Inc On the water, and the other shtl
ion while rockets lighted up. the dsfkn'
re- Of The sea. Then with thankful hearts =
+, turned our faces again ~ to tae wS1.' ha,
I'D. We wcrc exposed to NIL the dangers Q
thc storm on lie Atlantic, Yet, in the Ttt
lev; height and fury Of the gale. q sat in
eat electricians room. d lash Of lGhs came
from the dcep; which ha'lng t., sros y
ocean, @ telling that tboe so d
; fe. 10 me. whom had kit on
,ys. hanks Of the Hudson, were wal, md fols'
hcsc ine us with thclr wishes aud :hsir pray
the THIS Was Ike whisper Of God from 1he
epa.. bidding nc keep heart aud hoFa: ne ine VI
s@nce @ Storm, as il she knew that tie vital {
half. which WA 10 Join two hcnlspht7ts, hun;
ned, her stern; and 50, on Saturday, Inc III
an. Septembcr, we brought OUT second c:
;thy, safely 10 Tic shore.