Hopkinsville Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1889-1918, 1890-01-17
BROKEN OCEAN CABLES.
Difficulties to DO Overcome in Re-
pairing Defects.
The Approximate Location Of the Dam
age Determined, the Parted Strands
Are Grappicu 40
.s.-id Cable.

Tho idea Of broken cables lying hun
dreds OF fathoms deep beneath the
track of the passing vessels and hun
dreds OF miles away from land on either
side appeals in peculiar way TO the or
binary imagination, and it appeals more
strongly still to tho imagination OF any
one who knows pretty well what the bot
tom Of the ocean is like than it docs 10 q
person who has pervading notion that
the bottom of the ocean Is all sand
and extends pretty much like billiard
table from one continent to the other.
But, fancy for moment cable strung
across the mountains Of this continent
and dropping into tho valleys by sheer
force of its own weight; falling from the
pinnacle of Mount Washington and
trailing across the Hudson river, climb
ing the Alleghanies and tho mountains
OF Tennessee and dropping thence into
the valley Of the Mississippi, winding
across the plains and climbing the
Rocky mountains on the way to San
Francisco, and then Acod this immense
area with a mighty ocean, and prac-
tically faithful picture of deep-sea ca
BILE is presented. Starting from land on
the other side, these Gould cables de-
scend into the valleys, reach up to the
tops of the hills, turn and
twist and go around and climb
across, and fathoms and fathoms
above them the waves break themselves
against each other, and the storms lash
the waters into fury, or the sunshine
spreads them out serene and placid as a
mirror. And 1t Is the picture of these
broken cablcs-broken half way down a
hill or buried in the sands half way
across the valley-that captiyatcs the
fancy and makes ono wonder over the
science OF man which enables him to
pick up those ends from the mysterious
Depths Of ocean and put them together
again.
The location OF cable break is very
accurately determined by a process
known TO electricians, and by an instru-
ment which discloses how far an cleo
trical current started on given line OF
wire travels before it meets Interrupt
ton. The calculation of the distance
to the break made on this side tho At
lantic can be checked and confirmed by
q similar calculation made on the other
side, although such confirmation is
scarcely necessary. After having found |
out how far from land the break Is, the |
only other thing the captain or navi-
gator OF tho cable steamer wants TO |
know Is in what direction that distance
is to BIO travelled, and as the course of
the cable is perfectly we'll known, from
the fact that when the cable was laid
accurate observations were taken by
the cable layers and records made, the
cable steamer starting out to do the
work can steam directly over the spot
where the break is located.
OF course, when this statement is
made it Is not at all meant that tho leca,
Ion can be determined within q few
inches or few feet, but IL can DO deter,
mined within very limited area, 80 that
for the ends OF the cable does
lot usually extend, in good weather,
yer period OF two or three days, and
ometimes does not last even as long as
hat. Tho graphing irons are immense
fairs, attached themselves 10 cables
from the deck Of the steam,
7, and are plunged downward and drag
ed over the bottom Of the ocean. When
he cable is finally grappled the fact Is
iade clear ut the steamer end OF tho
ne by reason OF the strain TO which tho
rappling iron is subjected, precisely as Z
fisherman knows that he has fish on
10 hook by the increased tsutness OF
q line. Tho only difference Is that In