Elmore bulletin. [volume] (Rocky Bar, Idaho) 1889-1906, 1894-04-21
THE ATLANTIC CABLE
THE STORY or HOW II WAS LAID
egroLo BY CYRUS w FIELD

Money. Tlmr and labor Sank snte the
Depth. Of ola ocean Before sneees~
was Attaiaed -fio~ the Great Eastern
nj last DId the work.
The year 1871 saw the cable on board o.
two ships furnished by the governments
of England and the United States which
nut to Sea. hut had hardly got more than
800 miles from the coast of ireland when
the cable broke aud they had to return
SO ended the first expedition.
The next year we tried again, aud
thought we canid diminish the difficulty |
and the danger by beginning In The mid
die OF the Atlantic. and there splicing the |
cable, when the two ships should sail east
ward and westward till they should land
the two ends on the opposite shores This
plan was carried cut They reached mid
ocean, and splicing the cables together the
ships bore away for Ireland and Sewfound
land, but had not gone hundred miles I've
fore the cable broke. Several times w.
tried IL. with the same result. Then
storm arose, In which one Of the ships. the
Agamemnon. came near fountering, apd
MT last all were glad TO get safely hack
again lHlD lnE filtittf VI aU FAuEftNH iftfh
/ went to London to attend meeting OF
the board Of directors II was not n very
cheerful meeting. On every face was n
look Of disappointment. Some thought
that we had done everything that brave
men could do. and that now II was time To
stop To make another attempt was folly
and madness
So strong was this feeling that when the
more resolute OF ms talked OF renewing the
attempt. the vice president rose and left
the room.
II was then that we took courage from
despair We had failed already. we could
not do worse than fail againl There was
possibility OF success. II was indeed for
lorn hope. but we would try IL.
| Again the ships put to sea, but there was
| little enthusiasm. for there were few IN
either hemisphere who expected anything
| but n repetition Of our former experience
| Such was the state OF the public mint
when. on the 5th Of August. isss. II wa-
suddenly flashed over the country that the
| Niagara had reached Newfoundland, while
sthe Agameninon had reached Ireland ~
that the expedition WAS n complete sue
cess
The revulsion Of feeling was all the
greater from the previous dependency
and for few weeks everybody was wild
with excitement.
Then the messages grew fewer and faint
er, till at last they ceased altogether The
| voices Of the sea were dumb.
Then came reaction. Many felt that
they had been deceived and that no mes
sages had ever crossed the Atlantic. 9th
ers, while admitting that there had been a
few broken messages. yet concluded from
the sudden failure that deep sea cable
must be subject to such Interruptions that
It could never he relied upon as means oil
communication between the continents
For success we had TO wait seven Ions
years Our country was plunged In tire
mendous civil war, and had no time te
think OF the enterprises OF peace.
But In these years ocean teiegraphy had
made great progress. Other facilities WI
found that we had not before. The Great
Eastern. which from its enormous bull
had proved too unwieldy for ordinary com
merce, was the only ship ahoat that cou.t
carry cable that was twice an heavy ~
! the former; but the whole was coiled with
in her sides. and with the mighty burtiei
Of 10000 tons she put to sea
Never had there been such prospect o
success For twelve hundred miles she rod
the sea In triumph. till In a sudden lurcl
: Of the ship the cable snapped and ono
more all our hopes were
In the deep bosom OF the ocean buried.
For one whole month we hung over tn
. spot trying 10 raise the cable, but In vain
and again we took our melancholy way
back across the waters which had been tn
scene OF so many failures.
This last disaster upset ali our calculu
lions. Our cable was broken and on
! /, money was gone. and we must begin al
over again.
Fresh capital had TO be raised to th
amount OF Re00.000 That single lurch a
the ship cost us millions Of dollars and IN
delay OF another year.
But time brings around all things, an
!. the next year. 1860. the Great Eastern
laden with a new burden. once more swun
. her mighty hulk out ON the bosom Of ID
Atlantic. For fourteen days abe Dor
!. steadily TO the west. while we kept up on
Communication with the Old World tina
we had left behind. IL WAS the time OF Oh
war between Prussia and Austria, an
every day we received news of the progres
!, OF the campaign; we heard Of the battle q
Sadowa and the march OF the pru~sia
I army toward Vienna
Toward the end OF the voyage we watche
, for the land as Columbus watched for IN
first sign Of new world. AT length. O
July q, we cast anchor In Trinity hay /
the little harbor Of Hearts Content. " tha
seemed to have been christened In nntic
patton Of the joy Of that hour.
All the ships crew joined TO lift III
2 heavy shore end out OF the Great Easter
into the boats, and then to drag Il np III
? beach to the telegraph house. where ever
, signal was answered from Ireland. not
broken utterances. as with the old cabl,
but clearly and distinctly. rs a man tall
with his friend; and we knew that III
} problem WAS solved. and that telegraph
communication WAS firmly established h.
tween the Old World and the New. Bu
our work was not quite ended There wa
: the last years cable with It's broken On
lying In the depths Of the sea "A soon i
the work Of unloading the Great Faster
D was done, she bore away 20 midocean /
I grapple for the lost cable. II was not ain
; cult TO hnd L.. and again and again "
n grappled IL. But u was not an easy ma
ter TO bring up such weight from a sieut
| Of more than two miles
Sometimes we caught sight Of II ms
: was held by our graphing irons. but III
strain was tremendous, and the nearer v
} | drew 10 TO us the more Il writhed like
e sea serpent. I'LL Il broke away and plunge
) into the sea
r This happened many times, but II Las
after repeated trials, Ii was cnueht m
| held 40 firmly that IL rs..Ia - -.