CHAPTER XII

OTHER PROPOSED ROUTES

North Atlantic Telegraph Project--Exploring Expedition--Ice Troubles--South Atlantic Telegraph Project.

The gradual failure of the 1858 cable after a short period of working, and the slow rate at which messages were capable of being transmitted, naturally deterred capitalists from providing the means for another cable of such length in deep water.

Several schemes, however, for a fresh line on other routes were brought forward; and there was an alternative route between Great Britain and America by which the transmission of the electric current could be subdivided into four comparatively short sections. This was known in 1860 as the North Atlantic Telegraph project, in which the route was from the extreme north of Scotland to the Faroe Islands, thence to Iceland; from there to the southern point of Greenland, and so on to Labrador or Newfoundland. The distances were (varying a little according to landing-places selected) approximately:

Miles From the north of Scotland to Faroe Islands 225 From the Faroe Islands to Iceland 280 From Iceland to Greenland, S. W. Harbor 700 From Greenland to Labrador 550 ---- Total 1755

From the electrician's point of view, these subdivisions were extremely favorable as compared with the long continuous length entailed by an Atlantic cable between Ireland and Newfoundland. Then, again, the soundings (except for a section between Greenland and Labrador) did not yield anything approaching the more southern depths. But against these obvious advantages there was the engineering objection--which at first seemed insurmountable--that the Greenland coast was bound up by ice for a great part of the year, in addition to the risk of injury to the cable from the grounding of icebergs. This latter was of less moment, for it could be provided against by keeping the cable when approaching shore in the middle of any inlet, and thus away from the shallow sides where the icebergs "ground." There was also the probable difficulty of obtaining a trained staff to work a line when laid to such inhospitable regions. However, having regard to the anxiety exhibited by many to get to the North Pole, this did not present an insuperable obstacle.

This bold project, with a route across the coldest and iciest regions of the Atlantic, was originally brought to the notice of the Danish Government by Mr. Wyld, the geographer, even before the Atlantic Telegraph Company had been established. It was again introduced in a different form by Colonel T. P. Shaffner, an American electrician of some note. Colonel Shaffner made a strong case of the series of short stages geographically afforded by the North Atlantic deviation. After the 1858 cable had ceased working, to back up his belief in the advantages of the route, which he characterized as having "natural stepping-stones which Providence had placed across the ocean in the north," he actually chartered a small sailing vessel, and, with his family on board, put forth from Boston on August 29th, 1859, for the purpose of making the preliminary survey. He landed in Glasgow in November of that year, and presented to the public the results of his voyage. During the voyage, Colonel Shaffner sounded the deep seas to be traversed between Labrador and Greenland and between Greenland and Iceland. His first object was to convince the public that there were no insuperable difficulties in the way. He found a warm supporter in Mr. J. Rodney Croskey, of London, who advanced the "caution" money to the Danish Government for the concessions requisite in the Faroes, Iceland, and Greenland.[51]

On May 15th, Lord Palmerston granted an audience to an influential deputation, headed by the Right Honorable Milner Gibson, M.P., and four other members of the House of Commons, to solicit the assistance of Government in sending out ships and officers to make the necessary official survey for ascertaining the practicability of the proposed route. The Premier appeared fully to appreciate the advantages of the north-about scheme, and in a very short time the Admiralty were directed to send out an expedition for the purpose of making the required survey.

The Admiralty selected for this duty Captain M'Clintock, R. N.,[52] an officer of great experience in the navigation of the Arctic seas, and H.M.S. Bulldog was placed under his command. This distinguished officer was directed to take the deep-sea soundings, and he sailed from Portsmouth on his mission in June, 1860. In the meantime, the promoters of the enterprise purchased the Fox, the steam-yacht formerly employed in the successful search for the remains of the Franklin expedition, and fitted her out for the purpose of making surveys of the landing-places of the respective cables. The Fox was placed under the command of Captain Young,[53] of the mercantile marine, an officer well known for his distinguished labors under M'Clintock in the Franklin search. At the same time, Dr. John Rae, F.R.G.S., an intrepid Arctic explorer, volunteered his services to join the Fox, and take charge of the overland expeditions in the Faroe Isles, Iceland, and Greenland. Colonel Shaffner, as concessionaire--besides two delegates on the part of the Danish Government, Lieutenant von Zeilau and Arnljot Olafsson--also accompanied the Fox expedition, to take part in the necessary surveys.

Before the departure of the Fox, which sailed on July 18, 1860, her Majesty Queen Victoria, the Prince Consort, and other members of the royal family, honored the enterprise by a visit to that vessel, while lying off Osborne, and showed a lively interest in the details of the expedition.

On the return of the expedition, Sir Leopold M'Clintock wrote a full report to Sir Charles Bright, the consulting engineer of the project. In this, Sir Leopold favored the route as perfectly practicable, pointing out that the ice would not really prove a difficulty, and strongly approving of the original intention of a land-line across Iceland to Faxe Bay, "as by so doing you will avoid the only part of the sea where submarine volcanic disturbances may be suspected."

The results of the voyages of H.M.S. Bulldog and the steam-yacht Fox were brought before a crowded meeting of the Royal Geographical Society on January 28, 1861. Sir Leopold M'Clintock then gave the first public account of his numerous and careful soundings along, and in the vicinity of, the proposed course of the cable, interspersed with many useful remarks and hints as to ice, the best time for laying the line, etc., as well as the probable sphere of volcanic action in and off the south of Iceland. The above was followed by an exhaustive paper by Sir Charles Bright, giving a synopsis of Captain Young's report on his voyage in the Fox, including the examination of various estuaries and harbors, so as to enable a decision to be arrived at as to the best landing-places, the climatic conditions, etc.

From both sets of soundings it was shown that, as a rule, the bottom was of ooze. Dr. Wallich, the naturalist of the expedition, had brought up brightly colored starfish from depths of over a mile, whereas it had previously been believed that nothing could possibly live under such an enormous pressure of water.

Then came a highly instructive paper by Dr. Rae. He gave a number of interesting particulars of his land surveys, the population, price of food, wages, etc. He also described the ride of the Fox party across Iceland, while making important suggestions as to the route for the land-line with a view to avoiding the geysers.

Captain R. B. Beechey, R.N., afterward made a beautiful oil-painting of the party, including some of the Eskimos on the occasion of landing to explore the inland ice at Igaliko Fiord (see Fig. 33).[54]

At this time, however (1861), there was still too much discouragement owing to the stoppage in working of the first Atlantic cable, and to other causes with which we are about to deal. Moreover, there were those who still feared the ice-floes; and in the end the public did not respond sufficiently. Thus, after all, the "Grand North Atlantic Telegraph" project, which had been worked out with so much trouble and expense, was never actually realized.

* * * * *

Another scheme which attracted some attention about the same time was described as the "South Atlantic Telegraph." This was for a long length of cable between the south of Spain and the coast of Brazil, touching at Madeira, the Canary Islands, Cape de Verde Isles, Don Pedro, and Fernando de Noronha Isles on the way, and stretching out to the West Indies and the United States. Then there was a project for a cable on an intermediate route from Portugal to the Azores, and thence to America, via Bermuda and the Southern States. Being, however, to a great extent foreign in their scope, these latter schemes found little favor in this country at the time. They have, however, since been realized in some shape or form.