Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1896-11-26


graph and the Atlantic Cable.
The race-comse was between the
Old World and the New. The racers
were telegraph companies. One was
called the Russian Overland; the
other the Atlantic Cab.e."
The track OF the Russian lay be-
tween New Westminster In British Co
lumbia, and Moscow. Up through the
unexplored Fraser River Valley 1t was
to run, then on through the untracked
wilderness Of Alaska, across BehrIng
Strait, over the timberless steppes Of
Arctic Siberia, and along the dreary
coast OF the Okhotsk Sea to the mouth
Of the Amo0r. There the American
racers, called Western Union,' were
10 give over the race TO the Russian
telegraph department, which was to
make Its best time In reaching Moscow.
Western Union said 1t would cover
the ground In about two years. The
cost would he about five millions Of
dollars; but what was five millions Of
dollars II the prize could he woman
electric gIrdle for the earth?
The path OF the Atlantic cable
was to he OH tableland some two
miles deep In the ocean, reaching from
Ireland 10 Newfoundland.
The summer OF 1865 found the world
watching this race with great interest.
1t opened when the fleet OF the Rus
sian expedition set sail from San Fran
cisco, northward bound. The ''.Atlan
tic" people Mt the same time were
slowing away gigantic coils Of cable
into the capaclous hold OF the Great
Eastern'-a new cable some two
thousand miles long.
The Western Union directors were
shrewd business men. Five millions
or dollars was little In comparison
with the benefit they would receive
could they get telegraphic commune
cation with Europe, and they then be
lieved that the only way was by land
The public agreed with them nearly
unanimously. And so the two projects
the overland and the submarine
We're pitted against each other.
A very unequal race 1t seemed at the
outset. The Overland was strong and
vigorous, the Atlantic was broken by
former failures. The Overland waf
popular. and had p.cnty of money back
OF it.; the Atlantic was derlded, and
''only FOOLS" il was said, would invest
In 1t.
The feet of the Russian Expedition
which sailed from San Francisco in the
Of 1Sltr IN
There were ocean steamers, sailing
vessels, coast ana river boats, and
Russian and American ships OF the
line, with promise OF vessel from
her Majesty's navy. The expedition
was We'll Differed and about 100 men
were enlisted-men of superior ability
in every department.. The supplies
embraced everything that could be
needed. Thousands of tons of wire
some 900 miles OF cable, insuiators
wagons, etc.
August 26, 1866, the Great Eastern
landed its cable at Trinity Bay and the
whole world was electrified by the
news that 1t works perfectly--that the
victory had bSen won. More than that
The Great Eastern not long afterward
picked up the cable lost the year DO
fore, and that too, was soon i'm work
ing order. Two electric girdles had
been c.asped around the earth.
The success Of the Atlantic" was de.
feat for the Russian" An overland
telegraph line could never compete
with the submarine cables. The first
triumphant "click, click at Trinity
Bay was therefore the death-blow Of
the Russian scheme, and all work con.
nected with that project WIS at once
abandoned.
But the woikers-the brave men
facing famine among the wild Chook.
chees-buried in their lonely huts
waiting for some news from their com.
rades, or straining every nerve to com.
plete their share Of the great work
how pathetic that SO many Of them
did not hear what had happened In
some cases for more than year after
the success OF the cable.-St. Nicholas.