The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1902-12-27

the vessel was carried on. Some cable.
consisting of the big shore end, still
remains in the after tank, and all the
cable in the fore tank had not been
paid out at the time the line was cut
and buoyed near Molokai channel yes
terday morning
CABLE RACING THROUGH
WHEELS.
If one were to mark with chalk a
portion of the cable and watch it as
it left the vessels tanks he would have
seen some lightning like work Down
in the tank itself the cable was coiled
around a big drum, and frames known
as crinolines kept the cable from mix
ing UP, while dozen men were always
stationed in the tank to keep the cable
in good shape AS it went up from
the tank it went along through metal
trough until it reached big drum,
round which the cable was wound sew
eral times. This drum was fitted with
many powerful brakes, and these were
connected with a dynamometer
through which the cable passed. This
registered the strain on the cable, and
when the strain became too heavy a
man watching the dynamometer oper-
ated the brakes of the big drum. After
leaving this instrument, the cable
passed to the massive wheels which
are situated at the stern of the vessel
and glided down into the sea.
AS the cable paid out over these
massive wheels it slowly sank to the
bottom at the rate of from one and a
half to two feet per second. The direc-.
ton in which it sank was twofold,
sliding and falling, sliding down the
inclined plane of descent and falling
by gravity in direction parallel with
itself
TREMENDOUS WEIGHT OF CABLE.
The weight of the cable at times was
tremendous. When the vessel was lay
ing cable in 1000 fathoms of water
the ground end of the cable was TWEEN
ty miles astern and as the cable left
the vessel it took nearly three hours
for it to strike the bottom. During
this time the speed of the vessel was
seven or eight knots an hour, but the
cable was moving much faster as the
cable had to go up and down over hills
and valleys and was longer than the
distance the vessel travelled over the
sea level
During all the time that this cable
was being paid out electricians were
constantly testing it. In the testing
room connections were made with the
shore house at San Franciso, where
four other electricians were posted.
Work was being done every moment.
so that a fault in the cable could NOT
clans knowing it.
While all soundings were made for
the cable before the Silvertown started
on her voyage, the vessel still had to
make soundings very often. She also
had to have difficult navigation per-
formed She could not simply take the
most direct route to Honolulu, but had
to go over exactly the same route as
the United States Fish Commission
steamer Albatross did in making the
original soundings, and in order to do
this the navigators of the Silvertown
took more observations than are ever
taken on any battleship or big passen-
ger liner. By day close watch was
kept upon the sun, and at night the
stars required the closest of study.
Right at the stern of the Silvertown
her steam sounding gear is located,
and this works the infinitely thin but
apparently endless wire that tells how
far it is to the bottom of the sea.
THE TAUT CABLE.
On the port side of the vessel one
could find a second cable apparatus.
This was the second cable" for two
cables are laid by the Silvertown.
One was the deep sea cable and the
other was a small yet tough wire,
which was kept as taut as possible in
order that the engineers might know
what amount of slack the big cable
used in climbing up submerged hills
and descending into the deep valleys
of the ocean.
On the fore part of the vessel is
gear identical with that at the stern,
only this is used for the picking up of
cable and not for laying one. This
is used to pick up the cable and again
splice it in case the cable should break
during heavy storm, and viii be used
in picking up the cable off Makapuu
Point when the vessel picks UP the
buoy dropped there on Friday. If the
modern cable is a marvel. the n1achin-
cry used in handling it is much more
marvellous.
ANIMALS WATCHED CABLE LAY
ING.
Side hv side with the cabla machin-