Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1908-07-17
THE ATLANTIC CABLE.
The Various Attempts to Lay IL That
EaiIad

Failed.
The 18th of next August is the
fiftieth anniversary Of the sending Of
the first cable message across the At
lantic. The message was Of ninety
words, from Queen Victoria to Pres
ident Buchanan. 1t took sixty-seven
minutes to transmit. It was the first
tangible proof that one Of the great
est attempts Of man in the field of
science had succeeded. When a little
company Of men, under the leader
ship Of Cyrus w. Field. began to or
ganize for the purpose Of bringing
the Old World and the New within
speaking distance Of each other by
means Of protected thread Of wire
across the Atlantic they were hooted
at as madmen. Capitalists who invest
ed their money in the scheme were
thought by their friends to have be-
come bereft Of reason. Few imagined
the feat possible.
BY formal agreement on Sept. 20,
1855, the Atlantic Telegraph company
was organized. It's object was ito lay,
or cause to be laid, submarine cable
across the Atlantic" Among those
prominent in the forming Of the COM
pany were Peter Cooper, Chandler
White, Moses Taylor, Marshall o.
Roberts and Cyrus w. Field.
The first step in the programme was
to be the laying of cable across the
Gulf Of st. Lawrence. from Cape Ray
Cove to Cape North. The first trial
was disastrous, because Of a furious
storm, but In the following year the
cable was successfully laid. New
foundland was to be the western ter
minus.
Assistance was obtained from the
United States, Newfoundland and En-
glish governments The United States
frigate Niagara, which was detailed to
assist in submerging the cable, went
to England, April "a, 1857. The COLL
Ing Of a cable in Liverpool occupied
three weeks. A strand Of seven cop
per wires. composing the conductor,
SNSePASu tHC SCHlIc. There WAS q
gutta percha insulation, a covering Of
specially prepared hemp, and then
the outer covering Of iron wire, for
protecting the cable.
Five large cones were arranged In
the hold Of the Niagara, round which
the cable was coiled. The length
carried made total Of 1924 miles.
The remainder was carried by the
English ship Agamemnon, LOO nau-
tical miles being required between the
termini at Newfoundland and Ireland.
Specially constructed and complicated
apparatus was designed for paying
out and, If need be, winding in the
cable.
Nature seemed to favor the project
for extending along the bed of the
ocean, exactly between the two points
to be connected, Is a great plateau,
like an immense prairie stretching
over an extent Of 1,400 miles from
east to west, with an average depth
Of about two miles. AS 1t approaches
NNS SOdoI IL 10 cHllTcly
free from the effects of icebergs
which ground on shallow bottoms. In
every other part the Atlantic is char
acterized by abrupt declivities and
mountain heights.
Another advantage was found in
the deposit Of infusoria, covering the
bottom in abundance. The material
showed a tendency to unite with the
iron wire protecting the cable, thus
forming concrete mass, making in
effect a bed Of down for the cable to
rest upon.
The landing Of the cable in Dolus
bay was successfully accomplished on
the 9Th of August, 1857. Never before
had such mass of people assembled
on the shores Of that bay. They came
from miles around-from their huts
on the steep hillsides and the noun
tain passes, from the storied scenes
Of Killarney in the interior and the
bleak coast in the south.
1t was a great day for all. Five
days the Niagara sailed, overcoming
great difficulties In the laying Of the
cable; then, on the sixth day, when
the Niagara had left the shore 800
miles behind, a mistaken order to put
on brakes resulted in a strain which
broke the cable.
There was nothing to do but return
to England. The Niagara sailed for
New York the following November.
OF course, great cry was raised
that the scheme had been fairly tried
once and failed, and that any further
attempt to achieve this impossibility
was madness and a criminal waste Of
the stockholders money. But In the
face Of all this opposition the little
band Of resolute men, led still by the
indomitable Cyrus W. Field, deter
mined to make another attempt.
They had learned by their exper-
ience many valuable lessons. One
was that 1t would be better for the
two vessels carrying the cable to meet
In midocean, make a splice and then
sail in opposite directions. Other les
sons related to Improvements in the
paying-out machinery-it was found
i'm possible to wind in the cable after
II was once out, as the very weight OF
the line was sufficient to break 1t.
The telegraph squadron arrived at
Plymouth, England, June 3, and after
an experimental trip Of three days.
having received a fresh supply OF
coal, started for midocean on the
10th, the point Of rendezvous having
been decided.
When the splice was finished con-
Meeting the cable Of the Niagara with
that Of the Agamemnon, the two ves-
sells parted, A terrible storm came
up soon afterward, and after 142
miles and 280 fathoms Of cable had
been paid out the line broke. 1t was
only by good fortune that the vessels
returned to land in safety.
While the squadron was lying In
the harbor Of Queenstown, meetings
were held by the board Of directors
In London. 1t was proposed to aban-
don the enterprise and sell the cable.
When the news Of this reached Mr.
Field he started in great haste for
London. He demonstrated with the
Respondent, upheld the wavering and
finally, by his will and courage, OBJ
tained consent to make another at
tempt.