The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1913-06-23
MENDINC A CABLE
The Swapping Of a Submarine
Line Entails Hard Work.
LOCATING THE BREAK Is EASY.

This 10 Accomplished by the Use OF
Sensitive Instruments, and Then
Comes the Difficult Task Of Graphing
and Raising the Severed Ends.
The TOO mile cable that connected
Hamilton, Bermuda, with Halifax,
Nova Scotia, had snapped Somewhere
under many fathoms Of water lay the
two broken ends. perhaps only a few
inches apart-more likely half mile
or 80 from each other-carried from
their accustomed bed by the wash OF
the waves. Until the two ends were
connected the thousands and thousands
OF dollars invested In the cable were
bringing no income.
As the result of the accident Hamil-
ton was practically isolated from the
rest of the world, for the only other
cable went to jamaica. BY sending
message to Jamaica and having 1t re-
layed TO Newfoundland and thence by
telegraph to New York it was possible
to get few words through in fairly
short time. But the tolls were enor
mously high.
The moment the operator at Halifax
found that the key on the Bermuda
cable did not respond to his touch he
reported the fact to his superior In the
Halifax office. Orders few back and
forth, telephone bells rang. messengers
scurried In and out of the Office, and
in a few hours the cable repair steam
er was on fits way TO Bermuda.
The operators at Halifax and Hamil.
ton had located the break. 1t was
about six miles from the Hamilton end
of the cable. This they calculated
with sensitive instruments used to re-
cord the resistance"
The writer was In Hamilton when
the Mackay- Bennett steamed into the
harbor and through the courtesy OF
the captain was on board when the
steamer went out and grappled for the
ends of the cable and restored 1t to
usefulness.
Even when the captain of cable re-
pair ship knows that the break is about
six miles from one end it's no easy
affair to pick up the big wire ropes
The floor OF the ocean is uneven. and
he must allow for slack.
The crew was ready when the ship
stopped With splash the big crap
mel went overheard. and yard after
yard of line was paid out until the
hook touched bottom. The water was
100 fathoms (720 feet deep at that
spot
Luck was with the cable ship. So
well had the captain calculated that
the very FIRST cast OF the hook brought
up one end of the broken cable II
was hauled on board The electricians
attached their instruments and called
Hamilton. The station answered I'm
mediately.
A huge buoy was attached to the
heavy wire rope and lowered into the
water. Then we set out to 6nd the
other end.
Cast after cast of the graphing hook
and not even nibble from the missing
part of the cable. Farther and far
Their the cable ship worked away from
the buoy. At last after three hours
work. the grapnel resisted the pull
The fish had been caught There was
a cheer from the crew as II was pull.
ed on board. about quarter OF mile
from the other end
This end was connected with tele.
graph instrument. and the operator al
Halifax, about 100 miles away, an.
swered There was nothing more to dc
except to Join the broken ends
A new section OF cable was carefully
spliced to the cable that had Just been
picked up. The cable was paid out
over the stern as we steamed back &c
the buoy. This was hauled on board
and the broken end spliced to the new
piece OF cable, an operation consuming
less than half an hour. The repaired
cable. as good as new, was dropped
overheard to resume Its place on the
oceans bed.
Rarely does a cable repair ship have
such good luck. Often storms arise
which drive the ship from her course,
tear the buoys from the ends they hold
and compel the work to be done over
again.
In northern waters these conditions
are felt ut their worst The ship be
comes crusted with ice, It is difficult
to maneuver and doubly 80 to deaf
with a cable on bow or stern when the
roll of the seas threatens to fracture II
again. and the launching OF boats with
men In them to buoy a loose end Is
hazardous
From these causes occasionally cable
ships get short OF coal and have TO
abandon work temporarily at critical
periods. or they are enmeshed among
the ice foes or bergs and have 70 let
60 all and retreat-Karl K. Kitchen In
New York World.