The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1903-01-03

/ tne period of the northeast trades, the
! duration of which surprised even the
Oldest residents Of Honolulu
/ on Thurcday. the first day of the
new year, scarcely a breeze stirred the
/ waters of the harbOr, and advice came
/ to the ship from Diamond Head light
mouse that the channel was quite calm
( with only a moderate swell running. \
{ rev minutes after clock in the morn
ing the StivertOwn heaVed anchor and
| made start down The bay. Prospects
4 OF the cable connection on the first day
OF the new year created intense inter-
est IN the city, where the enthusiasm
delay.
Gable Is Picked Up.
At daylight the Silvertown arrived off
hoko Head, where the shore end had
been buOyed since Monday With Hf-
tie dlfncuity the line from the bottom
was sphced upon deck and passed over
the stern sheaves, and a start was
made for the outer buoy. Shortly after
clock in the afternoon the Silver
| town reached the point where the San
/ FRANCISCO end was buoyed. The sea
was not rough but the swell rolled the
vessel considerably. Great care was
taken in handling her while taking I'D
tae buoy. 1t was finally accomplished
AT 5;44 O'Clock without untoward incl
dent The connection with the testing
room was quickly made and San Fran
CISCO responded promptly to the call
congratulations and compliments of
the season passed between the shore.
Voyage Is Eventful.
The voyage of the SiIvertown was
eNenuul, and at times unpleasantIy ex-
citing Twelve hours out from San
francisco the cable ship was beset by
PAD weather, which continued with the
of 4.
voyage. variable winds that at times
approached the velocity of gales; heavy
seas that buffeted her about. retarded
the passage as well as endangered the
satety of the cable; in fact, every ad-
verse condition that is usually encoun-
tered in the laying of cable was met
With and at times made the task 2
most hazardous one.
one particularly heavy sea, Monday.
Dec. 10, boarded the starboard bow,
swept the deck from fore to aft
smashed the scullery light and broke
the gangWay ladder. The chart rooms
on the hurricane deck vera flooded and
the bridge itself was invaded at times
by the turbulent seas. Those at work
IN the paying-out room on the main
deck and about the cable machinery
waded in water to the knees. The COM
panlonWays were battered down in or
der to prevent the flooding of the sa-
@cOA-s CAAG VI lAE COOhS OF the 2alleV
was badly Scalded by a cauldron of
spilled soup The saloon steward was
hurled against a door and severely
bruised and injured
At times the ship rolled terribly. and
IT seemed that the great strain would
prove disastrous to the cable. Under
ordinary conditions the line is paid ont
Z per cent faster than the speed of the
vessel. This was increased during the
storm to 10 per cent. Even with this
concession the strain was terrific. As
the ship lifted and Iurched the great
drum around which the strand was
passing would almost cease to revoIve
one moment only to resume with a
rush the next, rendering the life of the
men in the tanks a hazard. The dyna-
mo meter regulating the speed of and
the strain on the line at such times
tuetuated wildly, rushing from an in
dieated strain of two tons or less up to
four and even five tons. When il is
that the breaking strain is
eight and three-quarters tons. it must
De apparent that failure to relieve the
strain promptly meant disaster to the |
precious line, and its loss in $500 faith |
oms would have meant a long and seri- |
Gus delay in the completion of the !
work of laying the cable, as well as
being most expensive happening TO |
the contracting company Rare good |
judgment, In the handling of both the ]
snip and the cable at these critical |
times averted an accident Through /
out Monday night and until Tuesday
az noon when the wind abated in force |
the ships officers and crew and the /
cable staff were on duty without rest |
or Sleep Great relief was expressed /
when the apparently critical situation /
was passed, although when the wind 1
abated at noon on Tuesday, the seas
continued with a strong heavy swell !
that ran counter to the ships course.
On Wednesday, Dec. II the weather
improved and everything ran smoothly /
and fair progress recorded. Heavy
5Wells made the ship an uncomfortable
place and rendered close watch on the
cable necessary. On Thursday favor
able conditions prevailed. and in spite
o1 strong southwesteriy breeze, 2O7
Knots were paid out, which was the
best days run up to this time
On Friday the first section of the ca
Die, measuring 92S nautical miles. was
and the vessel was stopped at |
O'Clock Friday night to make the
mango to the after tank, containing |
ne second section This interesting
IND hazardous operation was st1ecess ]
ully carried out in a little more. than
IN hour and progress was resumed As
he vessel grew lighter the rolling in
;reased- The character of the cargo
md the ponderous deck machinery
nade her particularly susceptible to u
he onslaught Of the sea. Saturday
Dec 20, was much like the preceding
lay, save that the rolling motion was
-ccentuated by southwest winds veer-
ne at times to the west, with only 1877
;nots reeled off.
For twenty-four hours ending at
loon Sunday, Dec. q, Pr knots of cable
we're laid. The wind blew from the
outhwest with moderate force. but on
he whole the day was a pleasant one
nd progress was good. During the
light, however. there was a consider-j
BILE sea on and one of the cablemen
n the tank was caught in the swirl Of
ne line and suffered a disloeated
houlder- The day was notable for two
hlngs, the crossing Of the Vancouver
australian cable at 4 o'clock in the
morning and the receipt of the first
ateh of news from San Francisco.
his. latter consisted of brief bulletins
( President Roosevelt's appointment
s arbitrator in the Venezuelan difn-
uIty
From Tuesday noon to Wednesday
Don the deepest water was crossed
veraging 5000 fathoms.
Danger on Christmas Day.
Thursday. Dec. %, Christmas dav
as not pleasant one to the peopIe
n the Silvertown, and the Engjjsb
rstom Of celebrating the day was
ostponed to more propitious time.