The Russellville Democrat., 1881-04-14
Laying the Cable.
New York Ledger.

steamers news. To accomplish this, ex- ertions were made that have probably never been surpassed in the history of the daily press. The moment the steam CT was sighted at Halifax, horse was saddled, and the express rider prepared to mount A parcel was thrown from the steamers deck, and away the rider sped with it across Nova Scotia to the Bay of Fundy. Thence the precious packet and it's bearer were carried in swift steamboat to Portland Between Portland and New York the messenger travelled by horse, by buggy, by steam boat, and by such bits of railroad as were then completed, and so the news some- times reached New York b hours before the steamer reached Boston. The ex- press frequently cost as much as 5000 which was shared usually among half dozen newspapers of Boston, New York, and Philadelphia.
 And the worst of it was that few newspapers would sometimes incur this great expense, and be beaten after all. There was one memorable occasion when the Tribune and the Herald ran rival ex- presses from Halifax to New York in the middle of severe winter, when Nova Scotia was heaped with snow-drifts, and the Bay of Fundy was covered with float ing ice Is inches thick. The Tribune ex- press made the distance from Halifax to Boston in 31 hours. From Boston to New Haven it was mostly conveyed by railroad.
 From New Haven" said the Tribune of the next morning, 'it was brought hither in four hours and half by our ever trusty rider, Enoch Ward who never lets the grass grow to the heels of his horses. He came in a little after II o'clock a. m.; but the rival express had got in two hours earlier, having made the shortest time from Boston on record"
 There were many such mishaps in those days. Sometimes horse would fall lame in the middle of the night, and the rider would be obliged to wake up a | farmer and buy another. Occasionally the rider himself would give out, lose an hour or two in getting warmth or rest, and reach New York just in time to hear the boys crying the news in an extra of rival sheet. These expresses made great stir at the time; for the editors did not fail to blow the boastful trumpet, and the public were gradually worked up to high degree of excitement. Bets were made, as in the case of other races, and anecdotes were told of the tricks and adventures of the express riders.
 At this time, Cyrus w. Field was prosperous merchant of the city of New York, and young enough to take lively interest in such proceedings as these. He came to the city about 1884 from his Yankee home, boy of 15, and went into store as clerk Ten years after, he was rising merchant. Twenty years after, he had withdrawn from active business, although still under 35 years of age. The telegraph had then been so far developed as to save a good deal of this fierce express riding between Halifax and New York, and he was in- vited to take shares in scheme which would make the riders unnecessary. It was proposed to run line of very swift steamers between Ireland and Newfound- land, where the distance across the ocean is shortest; also to construct {; | line of telegraph across Newfoundland, and connect it with the wires of the United States. This would bring Europe and America within seven days of one another. The part of the scheme to which his cooperation was invited was the connection of the telegraphic system of the United States with the II. At Mr Fields house in New York, at the corner of Gramacy Park and Lex inQt )n avenue, there is a small, dingv, old-fashioned globe, which has been part of the furniture of the house almost ever since it was built. He was accus- toned to use this globe while consider ing the telegraphic scheme, and being thus engaged one day, he said to him self: "Why not carry the line across the ocean"
 Thus the idea of the Atlantic cable was born; and it was born to perhaps the only man in the world who could have brought it to successful issue. Tie early history of the Atlantic cable is long series of the most discourag- ing failures, and there was but one man who never despaired, and he was the originator of the enterprise. The build. ing of the land line across Newfound- land and Cape Breton occupied two years, and while this was in progress the cable intended to connect these islands with the mainland was lost in a storm at sea, and second cable had to be made, brought from England and sub merged, before even this preliminary part of the scheme was carried out. He formed the American company at his own house; went to England and enlist ed English capital, subscribing himself one-fourth of the whole. By personal application he induced the two govern ments to lend steamships in laying the cable.
 When he had got so far as to organize a powerful company on both sides of the Atlantic, and to induce the English and American governments to lend huge ships in aid of the work, we should naturally have supposed that the chief difficulties were overcome. 1t proved otherwise. The first attempt was made in 1857, with two large naval steamers, the Niagara of the United States navy, and the Agamennon of the British, each having on board l,250 miles of cable. They sailed from Ireland, August z the Niagara paying out the cable as they slowly steamed westward. On the fourth day, when 335 miles of the cable l had been laid on the bottom of the sea, it snapped where the water was 2000 fathoms deep. At the moment of part ing the cable was running out too fast, and in the attempt to check the speed it was subjected to too great strain. The vessels returned to Ireland, and Cyrus
 w. Field instantly set about renewing the attempt.
 It was too late that year. Early in the next summer, the same vessels were employed, and, first of all, made an ex- mari mental trin to learn the hest rnodas