CHAPTER III

THE FIRST START

Landing the End--"Godspeed"--A Bad Beginning--Return Home.

_Landing the Cable at Valentia, Ireland._--The following day was occupied in landing the massive shore end, which--weighing nearly ten tons to the mile, as already described--was calculated to withstand damage from any anchorage in the bay, besides being proof against disturbance and damage from surf or currents. The landing-place which had been finally selected was a little cove known as Ballycarberry, about three miles from Cahirciveen, in Valentia harbor (Fig. 14). The two small assistant steamers--Willing Mind, a tug with a zeal worthy of her name, and Advice, ready not merely with advice but most lusty help--with several other launches and boats, were employed in the operation, which was thus described in one of the many newspaper reports:

"Valentia Bay was studded with innumerable small craft decked with the gayest bunting. Small boats flitted hither and thither, their occupants cheering enthusiastically as the work successfully progressed. The cable-boats were managed by the sailors of the Niagara and the Susquehanna. It was a well-designed compliment, and indicative of the future fraternization of the nations, that the shore rope was arranged to be presented on the English side of the Atlantic to the representative of the Queen by the officers and men of the United States navy, and that on the American side the British officers and sailors should make a similar presentation to the President of the great republic.

"From the mainland the operations were watched with intense interest. For several hours the Lord-Lieutenant stood on the beach, surrounded by his staff and the directors of the railway and telegraph companies, waiting the arrival of the cable. When at length the American sailors jumped through the surge with the hawser to which it was attached, his Excellency was among the first to lay hold of it and pull it lustily to the shore. Indeed, every one present seemed desirous of having a hand in the great work."

At half past seven that evening (August 5, 1857) the cable was hauled on shore at Ballycarberry Strand, and formal presentation was made of it by the officer in command of the Niagara to the Lord-Lieutenant, his Excellency expressing a hope that the work so well begun would be carried to a satisfactory completion. The vicar of the parish then offered a prayer for the success of the undertaking.

The work connected with the landing of the shore end was not actually completed till sunset; so, as it was too late then to set out and start cable-laying, the ships remained at anchor in the bay till daybreak. That night there was a grand ball at the little village of Kingstown, and the day dawn caught the merrymakers still engaged in their festivities.

_Laying the First Ocean Cable, 1857._--Owing to the fact that the cable had had to be divided between two ships it was obvious that a mid-ocean splice between the two lengths was involved. The engineer-in-chief (Mr. Bright) was anxious both ships should start laying toward their respective shores from mid-ocean, as by that plan favorable weather for the splice could be waited for, besides halving the time occupied in laying the line, thereby reducing chances of bad-weather experience and getting over the most difficult (deep-water) part of the work first.

The electricians, however, made much of the importance of being in continuous communication with shore during laying operations; and this view appealed to the Board--partly, no doubt, on account of the novelty of being able from headquarters to speak to a ship as she proceeded across the Atlantic. It had, therefore, been arranged for the laying of the cable to be started by the Niagara from the Irish coast, the Agamemnon laying the remaining half from mid-ocean.

The ships got under weigh at an early hour on the morning following the landing of the shore end. Paying out commenced from the Niagara's forepart; and as the distance from there to the stern was considerable, a number of men were stationed at intervals, like sentries, to see that every foot of the line reached its destination in safety. The machinery did not seem at first to take kindly to its work, giving vent to many ominous groans. After five miles had been disgorged, the line caught in some of the apparatus and parted. The good ship at once put back and the cable was underrun by the Willing Mind, with boats, the whole distance from the shore--a tedious and hard task, as may be imagined. At length the end was lifted out of the water and spliced to the coil on board; and as the bight of the cable dropped safely to the bottom of the sea, the mighty ship steamed ahead once more.

At first she moved very slowly, not more than two miles an hour, to avoid the danger of another accident, but the feeling that they were at last away was in itself a relief. The ships were all in sight, and so near that they could hear each other's bells. The Niagara, as if knowing she was bound for the land out of whose forests she came, bowed her head proudly to the waves.

"Slowly passed the hours of that day," in Mr. Henry Field's words, "but all went well, and the ships were moving out into the broad Atlantic. At length the sun went down in the west, and stars came out on the face of the deep. But no man slept. A thousand eyes were watching a great experiment, including those who had a personal interest in the issue.

"All through that night, and through the anxious days and nights that followed, there was a feeling in the heart of every soul on board, as if some dear friend were at the turning-point of death, and they were watching beside him. There was a strange, unnatural silence in the ship. Men paced the deck with soft and muffled tread, speaking only in whispers, as if a loud or heavy footfall might snap the vital cord. So much had they grown to feel for the enterprise, that the cable seemed to them like a human creature, on whose fate they themselves hung, as if it were to decide their own destiny.

"There are some who will never forget that first night at sea. Perhaps the reaction from the excitement on shore made the impression the deeper. There are moments in life when everything comes back to us. What memories cropped up in those long night hours! How many on board that ship, as they stood on the deck and watched that mysterious cord disappearing in the darkness, thought of homes beyond the sea, of absent ones, of the distant and of the dead.

"But no musings turned them from the work in hand. There were vigilant eyes on deck--Mr. Bright, the engineer-in-chief, was there; also, in turn, Mr. Woodhouse and Mr. Canning, his chief assistants.... The paying-out machinery did its work, and though it made a constant rumble in the ship, that dull, heavy sound was music in their ears, as it told them that all was well. If one should drop asleep, and wake up at night, he had only to hear the sound of 'the old coffee-mill' and, his fears being relieved, he would go to sleep again."

The next was a day of beautiful weather. The ships were getting farther away from land, and began to steam ahead at the rate of four and five knots. The cable was paid out at a speed a little faster than the ship, to allow for inequalities of surface on the bottom of the sea. While it was thus going overboard, communication was kept up constantly with the land, partly by what are known as "continuity signals"--i. e., electrical signals at definite time intervals from ship to shore, as a test of the continuity of the line.

To quote Mr. Field again: "Every moment the current was passing between ship and shore. The communication was as perfect as between Liverpool and London, or Boston and New York. Not only did the electricians telegraph back to Valentia the progress they were making, but the officers on board sent messages to their friends in America to go out by the steamers from Liverpool. The heavens seemed to smile on them that day. The coils came up from below the deck without a kink, and, unwinding themselves easily, passed over the stern into the sea.

"All Sunday (9th inst.) the same favoring fortune continued; and when the officers who could be spared from the deck met in the cabin, and Captain Hudson read the service, it was with subdued voices and grateful hearts that they responded to the prayers to 'Him who spreadeth out the heavens and ruleth the raging of the sea.'

"On Monday (10th) they were over two hundred miles at sea. They had got far beyond the shallow waters off the coast. They had passed over the submarine mountain that figures on the charts of Dayman and Berryman, and where Mr. Bright's log gives a descent from 550 to 1,750 fathoms within eight miles. Then they came to the deeper waters of the Atlantic where the cable sank to the awful depths of 2,000 fathoms. Still the iron cord buried itself in the waves, and every instant the flash of light in the darkened telegraph room told of the passage of the electric current.

"Everything went well till 3.45 P.M. on the fourth day out (Tuesday, August 11th), when the cable snapped, after 380 miles had been laid, owing to mismanagement on the part of the mechanic at the brakes."

Thus the familiar thin line which had been streaming out from the Niagara for six days was no longer to be seen by the accompanying vessels.

One who was present wrote:

"The unbidden tear started to many a manly eye. The interest taken in the enterprise by officers and men alike exceeded anything ever seen, and there is no wonder that there should have been so much emotion on the occasion of the accident."

The following report from Bright gives the details of the expedition up to the time of this regrettable occurrence:

REPORT TO THE DIRECTORS OF THE ATLANTIC TELEGRAPH COMPANY, AUGUST, 1857

After leaving Valentia on the evening of the 7th inst, the paying out of the cable from the Niagara progressed most satisfactorily until immediately before the mishap.

At the junction between the shore and the smaller cable, about eight miles from the starting-point, it was necessary to stop to renew the splice. This was successfully effected, and the end of the heavier cable lowered by a hawser until it reached the bottom, two buoys being attached at a short distance apart to mark the place of union.

By noon of the 8th we had paid out 40 miles of cable, including the heavy shore end. Our exact position at the time was in lat. 50° 59´ 36´´ N., long. 11° 19´ 15´´ W., and the depth of the water according to the soundings taken by the Cyclops--whose course we nearly followed--ninety fathoms. Up to 4 P. M. on that day the egress of the cable had been regulated by the power necessary to keep the machinery in motion at a slightly higher rate than that of the ship; but as the water deepened it was necessary to place some further restraint upon the cable by applying pressure to the friction-drums in connection with the paying-out sheaves. By midnight 85 miles had been safely laid, the depth of the water being then a little more than 200 fathoms.

At eight o'clock on the morning of the 9th we had exhausted the deck coil in the after part of the ship, having paid out 120 miles. The change to the coil between decks forward was safely made. By noon we had laid 136 miles of cable, the Niagara having reached lat. 52°, 11´ 40´´ N., long. 13° 0´ 20´´ W., and the depth of the water having increased to 410 fathoms. In the evening the speed of the vessel was raised to five knots. I had previously kept down the rate at from three to four knots for the small cable, and two for the heavy end next the shore, wishing to get the men and machinery well at work prior to attaining the speed which I had intended making. By midnight 189 miles of cable had been laid.

At four o'clock on the morning of the 10th the depth began to increase rapidly from 550 to 1,750 fathoms in a distance of eight miles. Up to this time a strain of 7 cwt. sufficed to keep the rate of the cable near enough to that of the ship; but as the water deepened the proportionate speed of the cable advanced, and it was necessary to augment the pressure by degrees until at a depth of 1,700 fathoms the indicator showed a strain of 15 cwt., while the cable and the ship were running five and a half and five knots respectively.

At noon on the 10th we had paid out 255 miles of cable--the vessel having made 214 miles from the shore--being then in lat. 52° 27´ 50´´ N., long. 16° 15´ W. At this time we experienced an increasing swell, followed later in the day by a strong breeze.

From this period, having reached 2,000 fathoms of water, it was necessary to increase the strain by a ton, by which the rate of the cable was maintained in due proportion to that of the ship. At six o'clock in the evening some difficulty arose through the cable getting out of the sheaves of the paying-out machine, owing to the pitch and tar hardening in the groove,[20] and a splice of large dimensions passing over them. This was rectified by fixing additional guards and softening the tar with oil. It was necessary to bring up the ship, holding the cable by stoppers until it was again properly disposed around the pulleys. Some importance is due to this event, as showing that it is possible to "lay to" in deep water without continuing to pay out the cable, a point upon which doubts have frequently been expressed.

Shortly after this the speed of the cable gained considerably on that of the ship, and up to nine o'clock, while the rate of the latter was about three knots, by the log, the cable was running out from five and a half to five and three-quarter knots.

The strain was then raised to 25 cwt., but the wind and the sea increasing, and a current at the same time carrying the cable at an angle from the direct line of the ship's course, it was found insufficient to check the cable, which was at midnight making two and a half knots above the speed of the ship, and sometimes imperiling the safe uncoiling in the hold.

The retarding force was therefore increased at two o'clock to an amount equivalent to 30 cwt., and then again--in consequence of the speed continuing to be more than it would be prudent to permit--to 35 cwt. By this the rate of the cable was brought to a little short of five knots, at which it continued steadily until 3.45 A.M., when it parted, the length paid out at the time being 380 miles.

I had up to this attended personally to the regulation of the brakes, but finding that all was going on well, and it being necessary that I should be temporarily away from the machine--to ascertain the rate of the ship, to see how the cable was coming out of the hold, and also to visit the electrician's room--the machine was for the moment left in charge of a mechanic who had been engaged from the first in its construction and fitting, and was acquainted with its operation.

In proceeding toward the fore part of the ship I heard the machine stop. I immediately called out to relieve the brakes, but when I reached the spot the cable was broken. On examining the machine--which was otherwise in perfect order--I found that the brakes had _not_ been released, and to this, or to the hand-wheel of the brake being turned the wrong way, may be attributed the stoppage and consequent fracture of the cable.

When the rate of the wheels grew slower, as the ship dropped her stern in the swell, the brake should have been eased. This had been done regularly whenever an unusually sudden descent of the ship temporarily withdrew the pressure from the cable in the sea. But owing to our entering the deep water the previous morning, and having all hands ready for any emergency that might occur there, the chief part of my staff had been compelled to give in at night through sheer exhaustion, and hence, being short-handed, I was obliged for the time to leave the machine without, as it proved, sufficient intelligence to control it.

I perceive that on the next occasion it will be needful, from the wearing and anxious nature of the work, to have three separate relays of staff, and to employ for attention to the brakes a higher degree of mechanical skill.

The origin of the accident was, no doubt, the amount of retarding strain put upon the cable, but had the machine been properly manipulated at the time, it could not possibly have taken place.

For three days in shallow and deep water, as well as in rapid transitions from one to the other, nothing could be more perfect than the working of the cable machinery. It had been made extra heavy with a view to recovery work. It, however, performed its duty so smoothly and efficiently in the smaller depths--where the weight of the cable had less ability to overcome its friction and resistance--that it can scarcely be said to be too heavy for paying out in deep water, where it was necessary, from the increased weight of cable, to restrain its rapid motion, by applying to it a considerable degree of additional friction. Its action was most complete, and all parts worked well together.

I see how the gear can be improved by a modification in the form of sheave, by an addition to the arrangement for adjusting the brakes, and some other alterations; but with proper management, without any change whatever, I am confident that the whole length of cable might have been safely laid by it. And it must be remembered, as a test of the work which it has done, that unfortunate as this termination to the expedition is, the longest length of cable ever laid has been paid out by it, and that in the deepest water yet passed over.

After the accident had occurred, soundings were taken by Lieutenant Dayman from the Cyclops, and the depth found to be 2,000 fathoms.

It will be remembered that some importance was attached to the cable on board the Niagara and Agamemnon being manufactured in opposite lays.[21] I thought this a favorable opportunity to show that practically the difference was not of consequence in effecting the junction in mid-ocean. We therefore made a splice between the two vessels. This was then lowered in a heavy sea, after which several miles were paid out without difficulty.

I requested the commanders of the several vessels to proceed to Plymouth, as the docks there afford better facilities than any other port for landing the cable should it be necessary to do so.

The whole of the cable remaining on board has been carefully tested and inspected, and found to be in as perfect condition as when it left the works at Greenwich and Birkenhead respectively.

One important point presses for your consideration at an early period. A large portion of cable already laid may be recovered at a comparatively small expense. I append an estimate of the cost, and shall be glad to receive your authority to proceed with this work.

I do not perceive in our present position any reason for discouragement; but I have, on the contrary, a greater confidence than ever in the undertaking.

It has been proved beyond a doubt that no obstacle exists to prevent our ultimate success; and I see clearly how every difficulty which has presented itself in this voyage can be effectually dealt with in the next.

The cable has been laid at the expected rate in the great depths; its electric working through the entire length has been satisfactorily accomplished, while the portion laid, actually improved in efficiency by being submerged--from the low temperature of the water and the increased close texture of gutta-percha thereby effected.

Mechanically speaking, the structure of the cable has answered every expectation that I had formed of it. Its weight in water is so adjusted to the depth that strain is within a manageable scope; while the effects of the undercurrents upon its surface prove how dangerous it would be to lay a much lighter rope, which would, by the greater time occupied in sinking, expose an increased surface to their power, besides its descent being at an angle such as would not provide for good laying at the bottom.

On the other hand, in regard to any further length made, I would take this opportunity of again strongly urging the desirability of a much larger conductor and corresponding increase in the weight of insulation, in accordance with my original recommendation.--I have the honor to remain, gentlemen, yours very faithfully,

CHARLES T. BRIGHT, _Engineer-in-Chief._

_To the Directors of the Atlantic Telegraph Company._