Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1869-07-21
Fictitious PlnnacleS-NO Ocean Noun
faiuS

The correspondent Of the London Times
on board the Great Eastern contradicts
some commonly received conclusions, thus :
The line of the French cable first
starts in very shallow water from Minon
Bay, but in four or five miles II deepens
from II TO 20 fathoms, and then gradually
shelves from 80 to 90 and 90 fathoms; a
depth which Is pretty equally maintained
over the whole bed Of the English Chan
mel. At this level, but on the whole grad
ually deepening, it continues till in line
with the western part Of the Irish coast,
where, taking a northern course, II passes
down 4 gentle slope of sand, that continues
descending till the depth increases from
400 to- SQQ and goo tathoms, and then in
Z, short distance to LOO fathoms. Over
Ail the rest of the course TO mid-ocean the
9ottom is mud, shells ana sanu, auu wlt1
uniform depth Of about two thousand
Md two hundred fathoms. This course
Would have brought the Great Eastern
close to the northwards Of the supposed
gaunt spires of rocks called the Three
Chimneys,' and which, as laid down in the
Admiralty chart, were confidently believed
to exist When this was mentioned some
months ago in the Times, controversy at
once arose in these columns some naval
men utterly denying the existence Of these
| extraordinary rocks; while the other side
rendered the evidence of eye witnesses,
who averred that they had actually seen
them. The matter Is now set at rest, and
/ if ever the Three Chimneys' had an ex-
/ istence they have none now. The Atlantic
cannot afford to lose the small amount of
interest which attached TO the supposed
presence of these solitary peaks, but facts
! are stubborn things and ii has now been
/ placed beyond a doubt that they are not
/ to be found, at least, in the latitude and
/ longitude in which they appear on the
charts. Lieutenant Johnstone in the
course of his sounding., went over the
exact spot where they are indicated in the
chart, and found more than 1000 fathoms
of water, with deep water all around, and
not the slightest trace Of rock or shoal in
any direction. The sooner therefore, they
come out of the Admiralty map, the better
and it would be curious to know how they
ever got there at all.
From the locality of these fictitious pin-
nacles, the cable course is kept in a pretty
regular depth of from one thousand eight
hundred to two thousand fathoms, and
throughout over soft bed of mud mixed
with myriads of the most minute shells
These shells comprise various forms Of
diatOmacie which, though perfect in their
organization, are so eIquisitely small a.
only 10 be visible under the most powerful
microscopes. They are really as fine a.
-four, and the greater part of the bed oi
the Atlantic is covered with the de5ris Of
these minute animalcule, the existence OF
which proves conclusively, what was long
denied, that at these great depths there i:
an absolute cessation of all motion. Over
such bottom the line is taken in an arc
of large circle, the most southerly point
of the cable being in 42 degrees north lati
tude, and the most northerly IS degrees
Along the southern end of the Newfound
land Bank it is sunk in about $50 to 20C
fathoms, the water on the bank itsel
varying from so to 80 fathoms Thus il
is completely sheltered from ice, which, i
the icebergs pass the bank at all, mus
clear the cable which lies under its lee by
4 some hundred fathoms or more. From
this point it is taken up due north in tn,
channel between the Green Bank and the
st. Pierre Bank in an almost unvaryinl
depth of 500 fathoms. From this poin
out the course is over very regular shoa
water, so to speak-being at no part les
than 100 fathoms, and generally over 15C
10 near Boston"