The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1878-03-16
Laying the Cable of 1866.

IT may seem simple matter to dis
tribute or ''pay OUT the cable, but in
practice it is exceedingly difficult.
Twenty men are stationed in the tank
from which it is issuing, each dressed in
a canvas suit without pockets, and in
boots without nails. Their duty is to
ease each coil as it passes out of the
tank, and to give notice of the marks
painted on the cable one mile apart
Near the entrance of the tank it runs
over grooved wheel and along an iron
trough until it reaches that part of the
deck where the paying-out'' machine
is placed. The latter consists of six
grooved wheels, each provided with
smaller wheel, called a Jockey" placed
against the upper side of the groove so
as to press against the cable as it goes
through, and retard or help its progress.
These six wheels and their Jockeys are
themselves controlled by brakes, and
after it has been embraced by them the
cable winds round q drum four
times. The drum is another wheel,
four feet in diameter and nine inches
deep, which is also controlled by pow
erful brakes; and from it the cable
passes over another grooved wheel be-
fore it gets to the dynamometer'
wheel. The dynamometer is an instru-
ment which shows the exact degree of
the strain on the cable, and the wheel
attached to it rises and falls as the
strain is greater or less. Thence the
cable is sent over another deeply-grooved
wheel into the sea. On deck is small
house, which is filled with delicate
scientific instruments. As the cable is
paid out it is tested here. If wire or
a nail or smaller thing is driven
| through it, and the insulation is spoiled,
an instrument called the galvanometer
instantly records the fact, and warning
is given at all parts of the ship. The
man i'll 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 en-
gines are stopped. Delay might cause
much trouble or total failure, as the in
jured section must be arrested and re-
paired before it enters the water
The "Great Eastern went ahead at
the rate of five nautical miles an hour,
and the cable passed smoothly over
board. Messages were sent to England
and answers received. The 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
reached where the water suddenly in
creases in depth from 210 fathoms to
1850. One of the earlier cables broke
at this place and was lost forever. The
electricians and engineers watched for
it with anxious eyes. 1t was reached
and passed. The black cord still trav-
eled through the wheels unbroken,
and the test applied by the galvanome-
ter proved the insulation to be perfect.
The days wore away without mishap
until the evening of July II, when the
sound of the gong filled all hearts with
a sickening fear.
The rain was falling in torrents and
pattering on 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 pitchy
cloud issued from the smoke-stacks.
The vessel advanced in utter darkness.
A few lights were moving about and
shadows fell hither and thither as one
of the hands carried q lantern along the
sloppy deck. The testing-room was
occupied by an electrician, who was
quietly working with his magical instu-
ment, and the cable could be heard
winding over the wheels astern, as the
tinkling of a little bell on the d" drum"
recorded its progress.
The electrician rose from his seat
suddenly, and struck the alarum. The
next instant each person on board knew
that an accident had happened. The
engines were stopped and reversed
within two minutes. Blue-lights were
burned on the paddle-boxes, and showed
knot in the cable as it lay in the
trough.
1t is very intricate knot that an old
sailor cannot unite, and the old sailors
on the :. Great Eastern twisted and I'M
twisted coil after coil until they sue
ceeded in untying this one The in
sulation remained perfect, and in few
hours all was right again. The acct
dent caused much i'll foreboding, how
ever, as it showed how slight an occur
renee might bring the expedition to a
disastrous end.
On July ~, after a voyage of fifteen
days, the Great Eastern finished her
work, and her part of the cable was at
tached to the American shore end.
which had been laid by another vessel.
W II. Rideing, IN 81. Nicholas for
March.
No LESS than III of the 342 towns in