The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1902-07-10

ming seas, striving to attach hosting
tackles 10 the huge and slippery-wet
marking buOyS, in order to appreciate a
single phase of this many sided subject.
Sometimes it seems well nigh impossible
/ for them to succeed, but, watching their
! chance. n couple of the men will actually
/ jump for the uncertain object. and, once
securing n fOothold. crawl about upon its
projecting rins-bolts and lodges like veri-
| table simiaus. Down in the cable-tanks
aboardShip, also. clearing the line it
| pays out through the troughs connecting
with the deck machinery above. alert and
oftentimeS both hard and hazardous labor
/ is increasingly required. All ropes, even
such ones as heavily wired cables. are
| liable to- suddenly kink or tangle in I'M
coiing. This would. of course. be special
ca catastrophe in cabIe-laying. involving not
only liability 10 parting the line, tearing
machines to pieces, and costly delay in
the work, but also Il probable killing or
manning of the exposed toil,~S about the
| deck. But we must leave further cOnSid-
Grafton of the possibilities in the way of
danger and difficulty which this combina-
ton of enormous weight handling, intri-
cate machinery, and sea-dangcrs has
brought forth.
| A little distance off our quarter we can
see the big buoys, tossed about like corks
| by the boisterous waves. But something
| has gone wrong These are only the
| markers" The main buoy, the one to
which the cable-end had been actually at
| tached, is missing.
Swept away in a Storm most likely"
goOd-natnred officer observes for our
benefit That's why we always put out
MARKERS Some of them are bound to
hold
1t now becomes necessary TO rake over
the bottom of the ocean and recover the
sunken end. In such great depths of wa
ter this is no slight task, but our veteran
cable-crcw make nothing of it. Unless the
weather conditions are specially unfavor-
able (and what seems like a heavy gale
to landsman is merely smiled mt by your
| br0nzed witness of Il thousand real
storms) the work is at once commenced.
| \ truly wonderful piece of mechanism
| is the ''picking-up" machine used in all
graphing and cable-hoisting operations. 1t
| is a powerful variety of the common
steam-winch family, but also Il most arts
tocratic and elaborate member. fitted with
gear-chansirS clutches. patent brakes. and
other ingenious appliances. TO give some
idea of its capabilities in dry figures, it
can at slow speed lift - tons at rate of
one mile per hour or at fast speed 10
| knots at the rate of four miles per hour.
Moreover. it can be quickly altered and
adapted to changing circumstances in
speed or lifting weight.
All DfllIS lllt Di- SEdpiifl,
attached to 900 or 800 fathoms of chain
and rope, is passed over the bow-sheave,
or pulley, and as soon SIS it reaches bot
tom the ship is sent slowly ahead. Back
and forward across the path of the cable,
as pointed out by the friendly marking
buoys, we steam. Several times the
grapnel catches something. only to lose its
hold again-probably an Inequality upon
the bottom. although bOsun's mate num-
bles mermaid's grottoes" at last
comes a steady strain. Every soul on
board hangs over the bow. watching the
grimy srapnel-rope coming steadily mp and
over the well-oiled pulley. At length the
grapnel itself appears, holding tight on
to the truant. The hosting ceases. Men
swarm down and attach derrick falls
upon either side OF the point where the
grapnel holds. Next. the cable is cut be-
tween the stops. and both ends are hauled
aboard. Quickly the instruments are con-
nected, and from out on the ocean flashes
the message which informs the grave off
Gals in the metropolis that all is going
well. For some little while communion
tiOns are brisk. as those upon the ship
send word TO expcctant wives and fami-
lies. or receive advice of happenings IN
the busy world that have occurred since
they last left port. But after the first
furry the routine is resumed. and the
electricians left to toll away uninter-
ruptedly at their monotoGous keys and re
sistance plugs.
The cut end of the cable perhaps
mile or so in length. is hauled aboard and
slowed away. Meanwhile the main body
of the crew are buSily engaged in splicing
the short cable TO an end of the tank
cargo. In order to appreciate this deli
cate operation. few words in regard to
the modern construction of ocean cables
become necessary. In the very center is
the core, the real Hfe-bl0od of the whole,
as it We're, comprising the conductor,
made of a strand of copper wires covered
with some such insulating material as
gutta-percha or India rubber. so as to pre-
vent the escape of the electric fluid. Over
this is n layer of jute yarn. serving as 4
protection from the next jacket of steel
wires; over which i'll turn come more jute
yarn, bituminous compounds. and heavier
steel wires. The courses of this outside
sheathing vary according to the type. in
shore cable having many more than the
deep-sea variety. on account of extra sus-
ceptlbilty to danger from ships anchors.
chatting, and tides. In all types. however.
the inner core is the same To make the
splice properly, the outer SheathinG is laid
back so that when the core has been joined
the steel wires, relaid. will overlap the
joint for seven or eight feet upon either
side. The two ends of the conductor are
carefully filed clean and firmly soldered
together. y small amount o. certain
mysterious compound supposed to be
mixture of Stockholm tar and gutta-
percha) is applied and worked with Il hot
iron SO as TO leave no fugitive air spaces.
The ends of the gutta-percha covering
are heated and drawn until they meet
about the middle of the exposed conduc-
tor. Next come bandages of softened
gutta-percha and bath of ice-water to
L.