The islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1891-1899, 1897-01-07
a RACE FOR A GiRDLE.
The Contest Between the ove1
TELEGRAPH and the Atlantic Cable

r.. cort~st Retween the Overland
TELEGRAPH and the Atlantic Cable.
The race-course was between the Ola
World and the New. The racers were
telegraph companies. One was caiieo
the "Russian Overland" the other was
the Atlantic Cable"
The track Of the Russian lay pc
tween New Westminster In BRUSH
Columbia, and Moscow in Russia. UP
through the unexplored Fraser River
Valley it was to run, then on through
the untracked wilderness or Alaska'
across Bering Strait, over the TIMBER
less steppes of Arctic Siberia, ana
along the dreary coast OF the OKnotsA
Sea to the mouth of the Amoor. Ihere
the American racers, called western
Union" were to give over the race 10
the Russian telegraph department.
which was to make It's best time Ia
reaching Moscow.
Western Union said it would cover
the ground in about two years. Inc
cost would be about five millions Oh
dollars; but what wa five millions OF
dollars If the prize could be woman
electric girdIe Of the earth?
The path of the Atlantic" caDle
was to be on a lakeland 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. 1t opened when the feet or the
Russian expedition set sail from san
Francisco, northward bound. Inc
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 unanl-
mously. And so the two projects--the
overland and the submarine-were
against edCu OtuCl.
A very unequal race it 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 1t; the Atlantic was derided,
and "only FOOLS" T. was said. would
invest in it."
The feet Of the Russian expedition
which sailed from San Francisco In
the summer of 1866 was quite navy.
There were ocean steamers, sailing
vessels, coast and river boats, and
Russian and American ships OF the
line, with a promise of vessel from
her Majesty's navy. The expedition
was well Differed, 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, insulators,
wagons, etc.
August 20, 1866, the Great Eastern
landed it's 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, click" 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 a year after
the success Of the cable!Jane Marsh
Parker in st. Nicholas.