The sun., 1894-08-29
A CABLE In THE HARBOR.
TO CoyEECT MANHATTAN ISLAND
DIRECTLY WITH IRELAND.

The Steamship MscEa y Bepuett About 60
Ley = FOurteen-u,iIs Liae rrou, Pier A 60
toney isIsnd Her Equtpr,eut for Psying
Out and for Locrti-g - Broken strand.
The cable repair steamship Mackay- bennett,
belonging to the Commercial Gable Company,
arrived yesterday morning from Halifax. after
touching at Newport, and Is at anchor OF
Liberty Island. Her object in coming here Ia 10
connect more completely this country with Eu-
rope by laying cable 10 This city from Coney
Island. where the cable from waterville, on the
southwest coast OF Ireland, ends The city sta
tion will he in the neighborhood Of PierA. This
cable runs from watervile to Canso, Nova
Scotia and thence TO Coney Island. and even tho
slight delay caused by reading aud retrans-
mitting messages from Convey Island will be
overcome with the installation Of the new line.
1t Il expected that the work will he begun to-
morrow or Friday, and that day and half
will be required TO com plete It. The cable TO he
used ia what ia known as four-Cored, that II. IL
has four main copper wires. 1t Is about two
inches in diameter and fourteenth miles long
IL weighs fifteen tons to the mile. and will be
paid out in the channel from the narrows up to
the city. This line has bccn chosen as offering
the least danger Of injury from the anchors Of
ships. It ia by anchors that cable is most
often damaged. as their fukes catch in the sub
marine line and frequently hoist 1t clear of the
bottom, chatting and sometimes breaking II.
The Mackay- Bennet is stationed at Halifax.
and is detailed to attend to the cable lines that
cross the banks. which are most frequently In
need OF her services. She was built at Glasgow
in 1884, and Ia a roomy craft 2T0 feet long, 40
feet wide, and with depth Of hold Of 90 feet.
She Is a twin-screw craft Of 1,71s tons register.
In appearance she suggests a combination Of
ocean liner and pleasure vessel, as she Is brigan-
daa rati ti,yalxy ioh In, thn
water, and has decidedly clean look. What in
her appearance has attracted most attention
from the craft that have piled about her are
two structures that overhnnR her bow and stern.
forms built outboaryi 10 guide the line of cable
as II writhes from the tanks and glides over
board. A careful lookout is stationed on the
platform to scrutinize every foot OF the steel
steempship has a ,rudder at each end. so that
Mackay- Bennett has round bottom with no
keel, so that In paying out over the bow all pos
sibility Of interference with the cable below the
The Mackay,- Bennett is as tidy as a man-of..
war; Her decks are smooth and spotless, and
her bright work would 40 credit to n regular
blue jacket. She has n crew of seventy -nine
men who wear a becoming blue uniform. tho
pany's Initials. The dress OF the officers | some ONE
what resembles that Of our warrant officers, eI-
see Capt Z. q. schenf Is IN eonmand % OF S1e the
nate off1cersi w. h. Linton, chief Officer: w.
HensemAn, second officer; w. II. Burn. chief
engineer: b. Mills, second engincer DR.. Ross,
surgeon, and Charles Priest, electrician.
with cable laying and repairing as very careful
work is required In locating and graphing the
ends Of a severed line. The cable, OF which there
Is now $50 miles aboard the steamship. Is stored
in large circular tanks or ompartments capable
OF holding 200 miles OF the steel line. From the
centre of the tank rises a concal steel structure
ten or twelve feet In diameter at Its base. About
this and resting on the flooring of the tank. the
cable is coiled. When the line is to be
the tank through q bell-mouthed thimble
or fair-lcad, This guides II to another leader 10
the right, through which IL passes, and thence
to the drum of the engine which regulates the
speed at which II leaves the ship. In this man
ner 1t is practically impossible for the cable to
become kinked or tangled and constant check
can be had upon II.
In the forward part OF the deck house is the
testing room. place filled with electrical keys.
binding posts bells, and indicators, where the
break In u cable Is located. This IL done by
the resistance OF the cable when a current Is
passed through II. As the resistance Of the
whole line Is known q smaller resistance indi-
Gates a break somewhere. and the distance of
the break Is calculated proportionately. The
deck OF the Mackay- Bennett Is taken up here
and there by the huge black buoys used to desig-
nate the end of n broken cable while the splicing
OF a new line TO the other end is being done. The
steamship is fitted with fine cedar launch and
crew won 500 by beating the cutter OF the cable
laying steamship Faraday OF the same company
at the Bankers Regatta In Halifax short time
ago.