The Pioche weekly record. [volume] (Pioche, Nev.) 1877-1900, 1894-09-13
LAYING AN ATLANTIC CABLE IN IL DAYS.

completed the laying OF new Atlahtlc
cable, the actual time occupied Ill the
work of laying the deep sea portion be-
ing but twelve days When the Great
Eastern. in 1866, completed the laying
of the first successful Atlantic cable,
the entire world joined in congratula-
tions. The event was justly looked up
ON as marking an era in the progress of
the world. Since that time, however,
the making and laying of ocean cables
has become practical, everyday bust
ness and the new cable was not only
laid in the shortest time, but is much
better cable than any of its predeces
sors, having the largest copper conduc-
tor and being the speediest ever laid for
its length.
Although the Faraday left Woolwich
on June IL, she did not, owing to UNI
favorable weather, reach the vicinity
of the previously laid and buoyed shore
end of the cable, off Waterville, Ire
land, until the eighteenth, and then,
the buoy rope, having been wrenched
off by passing propeller, had to Crap
pie for the cable itself, at depth of
about $50 fathoms, Such work now
presents no substantial difficulties. The
heavy grapple, attached to 600 fathoms
of chain and rope, was three times
dragged across the cables path, when
the cable was hooked and hauled up,
two miles inside of the end that had
been buoyed. The end communicating
with the shore was at once tested and
spliced to the cable in the tanks the
other piece hauled aboard and the buoys
picked up, when, at 10.30 a. M, on the
twentieth, the vessel was ready to start
Oh the actual work of laying the deep
sea cable. At the rate of about seven
knots an hour, the cable passed up round
the core in the center of the tank, along
the troughs and directing sheaves, I'M
der the sheave of the strain measuring
dynamometer, and sank to the ocean S
bed. For several hours the depth varied
from $50 to 500 fathoms, when great
declivity was reached and 1000 fathoms
were indicated, followed by a varying
bottom, nearly three miles deep in
places. Thence it gradually rose to
1900 fathoms, dropping subsequently to
over 5000, as hilltop and valley in the
ocean bottom were passed, until the
shallow water of the Newfoundland
bank was reached, some seventy five
miles from the buoyed end of the pre-
viously laid shore end on the American
side, 502 miles from Canso, Nova SEQ
tia. During all this time communica-
ton was constantly kept up with the
Waterville station, the news of Presi-
dent Carnot's assassination being re-
ceived on the Faraday the evening of
its occurrence. When at 1885 knots
distance from the Irish coast, and the
soundings indicated depth of S9l faith
oms, the lighter deep sea portion of the
cable was spliced to a shallow water
tpye, which was continued to the still
heavier Canso shore end. Fogs, ice
bergs and bad weather prevented the
finding of the buoy ON this shore end,
but after good deal of dragging the
cable was hooked and drawn aboard on
the thirtieth, just ten days from the
actual start on the other side, although
the final splice was not completed UNI
til the morning of July 2.
The new cable was laid for the Com
mercial Cable Company, being the
third cable of that line. 1t was manu-
featured and laid by Messrs. Siemens
Brothers & Co., who have very extern
sive works at Woolwich, England, for
the manufacture of electrical appli-
ances. The Faraday was specially con-
structed by the Siemens Brothers for
the work of cable laying, and has three
large tanks for the storage of cable,
with many ingenious appliances to ia
cilitate the paying out, graphing and
hauling up and making all the delicate
tests required in all stages of the work.
The new cable has much greater
weight of copper conductor or core and
of gutta percha insulation than any of
the cables previously made. The shore
ends and intermediate sections of the
new cable comprise about 700 nautical
miles and the deep sea portion is nearly
1900 nautical miles in length.
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