Year: 1866




the managers of the Atlantic telegraph
enterprise, undismayed by former fail
ures, are earnestly at work, maturing
their plans for another attempt to lay
their cable between the old world and
the new. The present attempt will be
made in June, and the Great Eastern, as
before, will be employed in the undertake
ing, under command of Captain Ander-
son, while the details will be in charge
of the same gentlemen who directed the
operations last summer. AS at present
arranged, the Great Eastern will carry
the new cable, will lay it to Newfound-
land, and will there coal and return to
mid-Atlantic, where she will, with her
consorts, grapple for the lost end, the To-
cality of which can be ascertained within
quarter of a mile, through the observa-
tions taken last summer by Captain An
derson. 1t is not intended that the part
of the old cable which now lies in the
Great Eastern's tanks shall be again
slowed in her hold on the outward trip.
1t will be carried in another vessel until
it is needed. The new cable which is to
be laid first, differs in appearance from
the last, will bear strain of from fifteen
hundred to two thousand pounds more
than last year. The composition for
coating the wires, used in the former ca
BILE, is now dispensed with, the outer or
protecting wires ofthe new cable being
galvanized instead About 16O miles
ofthis cable have been already made, and
when all the machinery is set to work,
as it soon will be, the manufacture will
proceed at the rate of 100 miles per
week. By working overtime this i'm
mense speed could be nearly doubled.
In all departments ofthe machinery the
capacity has been much increased since
last year. The following from the Lon
don Herald describes the method by
which it is hoped to grapple the cable
now lying on the bed of the ocean:


Three vessels, including the Great
Eastern, will be provided with Crap
pling apparatus. Last year, it may be
remembered, the graphing was done
with makeshift appliances. In fact the
graphing lines were only buoy ropes,
and the swivels which broke while the
cable was being hauled up were never
intended to bear any such strain as that
to which they were subjected. In the
new graphing tackle there will be no
swivels perhaps even no shackles.-
Each line will be, if possible, in one
piece, certainly in not more than two
joined together by a strong schackle.


There is, therefore, little fear that if
the cable is grappled, of which there
can be no reasonable doubt in the mind
of any one conversant with the subject,
it will be brought to the surface. And
there is the more probability of this be-
cause the cable will be grappled in three
places, at intervals of about two miles.
One vessel will grapple, and, if neces-
sary, cut her end by means of steel
blade set in the graphing iron; the
middle ship will haul up, and the third
vessel will also raise the cable to lessen
the strain. There will therefore be
three bights on the cable, or two bights
and an end, and this end will be pre-
vented from slipping by the formation
of the graphing iron, in which the ca
BILE will be jammed. No one connected
with the project appears to entertain
the slightest doubt about the success OF
this section of it. When the end is re-
covered and a message sent through to
Valentia, as a test of the electrical con-
dition, the splice will be made with the
, cable now lying in the Great Eastern,
and then all will be plain sailing, except
in case of another accident similar to
that of last year, when all would have
to be done over again but this would
be the worst damage. If one graphing
is successful there is no reason why a
second should not be, and even third
and fourth, if it should come to that
The laying Of the old cable may there
fore be considered certainty, SO far as
anything about cable laying can be
certain.