The Red Cloud chief., 1878-03-07
Laying1he Cable Of 1866.

Twenty men are stationed in M luk
from which il Is issuing, each dressed
in a canvas suit, without pockets, and
in boots without nails. Their duty j.
To ease each coil a il passes out ii the
tank. and 10 give notice Of the marks
painted on the cable one mile apart.
Near the entrance of the tank it run,
over a grooved wheel and along an
iron trough until it reaches that part Of
the deck where the paying out ma
chine is placed. The latter consists of
six grooved wheels, each provided with
a smaller wheel. called a Jockey
placed against the upper side of the
groove so aS 10 press against the cable
its progress. These six wheels and
their Jockeys are themselves controlled
bv brakes, and after il has been en-
braced by them the cable wind, round a
drum four times. The drum i anoth-
err wheel, four feet in diameter and nine
inches deep. which is also controlled by
powerful brakes; and from il the cable
passes over another grOovcd wheel be-
fore it gets To the ''dynamometer'
wheel. The dynamometer is an in,tru-
ment which shows the exac degree of
the strain on the cable, and the wheel
attached To it rises and falls n the
strain is greater or less. Thence the
cable is sen W. another deeply groov-
ed wheel in the sea. On deck Is "A small
house, which is filled with delicate sci
entific instruments. As the cable i
paid out. it is tested here. If a wire or
a nail or small thing is driven through
it, and the insulation is spoiled, an in
strument called the galvanometer in
stantly records the fIct, and warning
is given to all parts Of the ship. The
man in charge touches a small handle,
and an electric bell rings violently in
the tank and at the paying-out machin-
cry. At the same time a loud gong is
struck, at the sound of which the
engines are stopped. Delay might
cause much trouble or total failure. ~
the injured section must be arrested and
repaired before il enters the water.
The Great Eastern went ahead at
the rate of five nautical miles an hour.
and the cable passed smoothly e
board. Messages were sent to England
shd diS"CI lCttINCu- Int WEATHER
was bright, and all hands were cheer
full. On the third day after the ..splic-
ing of the shore-end with the main
cable. that part of the ocean was reach
ed where the water suddenly increases
in depth from two hundred and ten
fathOmS To two thousand and fifty.
One of the earlier cables broke al this
place and was lost forever. The cleo
triclans and engineers watched for it
with anxious eyes. 1t was reached and
passed. The black cord still travelled
through the wheels u%nbroken, and the
test applied by the galvanomcter prov
ed the insulation To be perfect. The
days wore away without mishap until
the evening of July IL, when the sound
of the gong filled all hearts with a sick
ening fear.
The rain was falling in torrents and
pattering IN the heavy oil-skin clothing
of the watchers. The wind blew in
chilly gusts. and the sea broke in white
crests of foam. a dense and pi,chy
cloud issued from the smokc-stacks.
The vessei advanced in utter darkness.
4 few lights We're moving about. and
shadows fell hithcr and thither as one
of the hands carried a lantern along
the sloppy deck. The testiag-room
was occupied by an electrician. who
was quietly working with his magical
instrument. and the cable could be
heard winding over the wheels a>tern.
As the tinkling of a little bell on the
drum recorded its progress.
Tho Aln..frI.rnn rnSn from, his Sna,
suddenly. and struck the alarum. The
next instant each person on board
knew that IN accident had happened.
The engines were stopped and reversed
within W minutes. Blue-lights were
burned or the paddle-boxeS, and show
ed a knot in the cable as it Law in the
trough.
1t is a very intricate knot that an old
sailor cannot unite, and the old sailors
the Great Eastern twisted and
coil after coil until they sue
ceeded in untying this one. The insult
alton remained perfect, and in a few
hours all was right again. The acct
dent caused much ill foreboding, how
ever, as it showed how slight an occur
renee might bring the expedition to a
end.
On July q, after a voyage of fifteen
days, the Great Eastern finished her
work. and her part of the cable was
attacked to the American shore-end.
had been laid by another vessel.
William II. Riediny, st. NIchofas for