Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-06-23
FIRST SUBMARINE CABLE
Worked All RiGAt Until the Insulation
On Account of Lack of Funds.
From the Standardization.

From the Scientific American.
The first successful application OF sub
marine telagraphy undoubtedly was due to
Cyrus W. Field Of New York. But the idea
and the first practical application OF It, as
Mr.. Field himself has generously acknowl-
edged. must be credited to John Boyd
Sleeth, Tennessee river steamboat cap
tain.
Capt. Sleeth was born in Allegheny. Pa.
November q, 1926 and died at Paducah.
KY. March H. 1896. For several years he
was on one Of the old "broad-bow'' boats
that piled on the Mississippi and Ohio riv-
ers. Then he settled at Paducah. and in
1915 was IN the employ of Mr.. Tai Shafner.
who had charge Of the telegraph line at
Paducah, which connected st. Louis and
Nashville. The Ohio at Paducah. Is some
thing over mile in width. that being the
point OF its confluence with the Tennessee.
Ihe rivers meet at an acute angle, and the
backbone ridge between them breaks oppo-
site the city into two islands. 1t was by
means OF one of these Islands that Mr..
Shafner found it possible to run his line
across both rivers. He erected tall STATS.
one on the Kentucky shore at Paducah an
other on the islands and a third on the
Illinois shore. The wires of the line across
the Ohio at Paducah were strung upon
lofty poles high above the stacks of pass
Ing steamers. which cleared the line in low
water seasons. but struck the sagging
WI 60 dho toTe Unem GOWN Wnen the river
rose. Great difficulty was experienced in
keeping the wires sufficiently high and taut
to avoid such accidents. Young Sleeth
knew something of the principles of insula-
ton. and the idea of laying insulated
Wire across the river bed occurred to him
His idea was received with some skepti-
cism by Mr. Shafner until he proved its
feasibility by experiment. About year
later the local management consented to
let MIN make the experiment of running an
insulated wire across the river. The work
or insulating the wire was slow and uncer-
TAM little was known about insulating ma
terfals, and the workmen were day la
borers. entirely ignorant of the nature of
the task. who had to be watched incessant-
" One of the eye-witnesses. Capt. Yves
CookSey. has given the following descrip-
uon OF the manufacture of the first sub
marine cable:
The wire chosen for as the cable
proper. one strand. was stretched along the
float and wrapped first with canvas, such
as was then used for roofing steamers. The
canvas had been soaked thoroughly in hot
pine tar pitch. The covering process was
continued until the wire was about half an
inch in diameter and then it was guarded
by wire of slightly smaller size, this
being placed parallel. as is now the custom.
1t was then wrapped by loose coil with an
other wire of the same size. The number of
wires laid parallel to the cable outside of
the canvas insulation was eighteen. The
cable was made In sections, which were
joined before being laid. Just how long it
took to complete the insulation Is not
known. but II several months. The
cable was over mile long. and when laid
was reeled off from the end of a large
'broadbow boat in tow of a steam craft
The work of laying was attended with some
dl1nculty and required several days. The
hrst test was very successful, and the wires
worked admirably for several weeks; then
the pitch insulation of course, became
water soaked and the cable began to
stick. as the operators say. and was soon
abandoned as worthless. But the idea had
proven practical le provided better insula-
ton could be found. Some months later
Mr.. Field sent 81 representative to Paducah
to see Mr.. Sleeth. An offer was made him
partnership Mr.. -Sleeth was then in very
moderate circumstances and had to decline
the offer The local management went
back to the overhead wire. and the unsuc-
cessful cable was forgotten. Mr..
S!eeth returned to boating, and was soon
after made captain of a Tennessee river
steamer. He fought through the civil! war
In the confederate service under Gen. Rod
dy. and came out a captain. After the war
he went back TO the river Strange to say
he never patented his cable or made any
attempt to do so, but abandoned 1t entirely
after the first failure Mr.. Robert Seeth
of Ptttsburg. Pa. wrote to Mr.. Field in
1891. asking him about the truth of the
report of his having sent a representative
to see the captain. Mr.. Sleeth's brother and
discuss the idea of an insulated cable. Mr..
Sleeth has the letter Mr.. Field wrote in
reply. acknowledging the facts as stated.
About three years ago the end of the
the Ohio river, during the low water in
August