The islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1891-1899, 1897-01-07
! RACE FoR a clRDLE.



The Contest Between the Overlana
Telegraph and the Atlantic laoie'
The race-course was between the Ola
World and the New. The racers were
telegraph companies. One was caneo
the "Russian Overland" the other was
the Atlantic Gable"
The track Of the Russian" lay be-
tween New Westminster In British
Columbia, and Moscow in Russia. UP
through the unexplored Fraser River
Valley it was to run, then on through
the untracked wilderness OF AlasKa'
across Boring Strait, over the timber
less steppes Of Arctic Siberia, ana
along the dreary coast OF the OknotsK
Sea to the mouth of the Amoor. Inere
the American racers, called western
Union" were to 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. Inc
cost would be about five millions OF
dollars; but what wa five millions OF
dollars If the prize could be woman
electric girdIe of the earth?
The path of the atlantic" cable
was to be on a tableland some two
miles deep in the ocean. reaching from
Ireland to Newfoundland.
The summer of 1865 found the world
watching this race with great inter-
est It opened when the feet OF the
Russian expedition set sail from San
Francisco, northward bound. The
Atlantic" people at the same time
were slowing away gigantic coils OF
cable into the capacious hold OF the
"Great Eastern''-a new cable some
1000 miles long.
The Western Union directors were
shrewd business men. Five millions
of dollars was little in comparison with
the benefit they could receive could
they get telegraphic communication
with Europe, and they then believed
that the only way was by land. The
public agreed with them nearly unani-
mously. And so the two projects-the
overland and the submarine-were
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 was
popular, and had plenty Of money
back of it; the Atlantic was derided,
and ''only FOOLS" /. was said, would
invest in it"
The feet Of the Russian expedition
which sailed from San Francisco In
the summer of 1865 was quite navy.
There were ocean steamers, sailing
vessels, coast and river boats, and
Russian and American ships of the
line, with q promise Of vessel from
her Majesty's navy. The expedition
was we'll Offered, and about 12O men
were enlisted-men Of superior ability
in every department The supplies
embraced everything that could be
needed. Thousands of tons Of wire.
some 800 miles Of cable, insulatorA
wagons, etc.
August 2e, 1866, the Great Eastern
landed its cable at Trinity Bay and
the whole world was electrified by
the news that it worked perfectly =
that the victory had been won. More
than that The Great Eastern not
long afterward picked up the cable lost
the year before, and that, too, was
soon in working order. Two electric
girdles had been clasped around the
earth.
The success of the Atlantic" was
defeat for the Russian" An overland
telegraph line could never compete
with the submarine cables. The first
triumphant "click, clickv at Trinity
Bay was therefore the death-blow Of
the Russian scheme, and all work con-
nected with that project was at once
abandoned.
But the workers-the brave men fac
Ing famine among the wild Chook-
chees-buried in their lonely huts wait
ing 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 cableIJane Marsh
Parker In st. Nicholas.