Omaha daily bee., 1903-01-03

with moderate force, but on the whole the
day was a pleasant one and progress was
good.
First News from the Shore.
During the night, however, there was
considerable sea on and one Of the cable
men in the tank was caught in the swirl Of
the line and suffered dislocated shoulder.
The day was notable for two things, the
crossing Of the Vancouver Australian cable
at o'clock in the morning and the receipt
OF the first batch of news from San Fran
cisco. This latter consisted OF brief bulle-
tins OF President Roosevelt's appointment
as arbitrator in the Venezuelan difficulty,
the disastrous train wreck at Byron, Cal.
the capture of the Humberts in Madrid,
Marconi's latest claims in wireless teleg-
raphy discoveries and some minor items
The news from shore was received with
delight by those on board Silvertown,
Roosevelt's appointment being especially
interesting to the English stan, who en-
Enthusiastically endorsed it.
Tuesday, the 23d, opened with stormy
weather. Flurries OF rain and heavy seas
, again brought danger to them. The men
| in the cable tank had a bad nigh and
worked with great risk. One Of them was
caught by the flying line and was thrown
! against the wall.
From Tuesday noon to Wednesday noon
| the deepest water was crossed, averaging
| 5000 fathoms.
Unpleasant Christmas.
Thursday, December 25 christmas day
was not a pleasant one to the people or
silvertown and the English custom of eel
ebrating the day was postponed TO a more
propitious time. The wind veered around
to the northwest and increased 10 a velo
city greater tnan that experienced on Mon
! day and Tuesday. Just before midnight
final change OF tanks was made1 the afte
tank being emptied of its 996 miles of ca
bles and the blight transferred to the for
ward tank. The change was made ex
tremely hazardous owing to the now almos
empty vessel tossing and rolling In tn
heavy seas.
Throughout the day gale blew with tn
end OF the deep sea cable In sight and witt
It the necessity OF cutting or buoying tn
end. An anxious night was passed by al
on board. No member Of either stan at
tempted to sleep. The wind blew a I'm
rain with great force during the night
which, with the tremendous seas running
rendered conditions on deck uneomfortabl
as we'll as dangerous. Many Of the ON
GERS familiar with the ways OF the sea wer
tossed about and thrown upon the decl
After 8 o'clock in the evening silvertown'
speed was reduced in order to bring 1. t
suitable buoying place toward daylight
Between and O'Clock three sounding
were taken and preparations were made
buoy = sea end.
The operation proved a most dinhcult on
owing to the motion of the vessel. whic
at times rolled to the angle of As degree
II was with dificulty that the line WI
de fast TO the cable and the end buoye'
Word was given to cut the line at 81
and as the six-inch MANILA hawser was CT
with the knife 1t parted with a snap.
So great was the strain upon it that fri
tion caused It to take fre as II passed ov'
the sheaves at the stern, and the sparl
scattered about the deck in a pyrotechn
display. The buoy was jerked oyerboal
! with terrific force. but quickly right'
itself. The cable was safely buoyed in A
= fathoms Of water. marked buoy wi