The Story of the Atlantic Telegraph

"The grapnel had caught something at the exact hour when by calculation the ship was known to be crossing the line of the cable; nor had the grapnel upon this or any other occasion even for an instant caught any impediment from the time of its being lowered to the bottom, until the hour indicated by calculation, when the cable ought to be hooked."

Having thus caught the cable, they had good hopes of getting it again, their confidence increasing with every hundred fathoms brought on board. For hours the work went on. They had raised it seven hundred fathoms – or three quarters of a mile – from the bottom, when an iron swivel gave way, and the cable once more fell back into the sea, carrying with it nearly two miles of rope.

The first attempt had failed, but the fact that they had unmistakably caught the prize gave them courage for a second. Preparations were at once begun, but fogs came on and delayed the attempt till Monday, when it was repeated. The grapnel caught again. It was late in the afternoon when it got its hold, and the work of pulling in was kept up all night. But as the sea was calm and the moon shining brightly, all joined in it with spirit, feeling elated with the hope of triumph on the morrow.

That was not to be; but each attempt seemed to come nearer and nearer to victory. This time the cable was drawn up a full mile from the bottom, and hung suspended a mile and a half below the ship. Had the rope been strong enough, it might have been brought on board. But again a swivel gave way, and the cable, whose sleep had been a second time disturbed, sought its ocean bed.

These experiments were fast using up the wire rope, and every expedient had to be resorted to, to piece it out and to give it strength. Each shackle and swivel was replaced by new bolts, and the capstan was increased four feet in diameter, by being belted with enormous plates of iron, to wind the rope around it, if the picking-up machinery should fail. This gave full work to all the mechanics on board. The ship was turned into a very cave of Vulcan, presenting at night a scene which might well take the eye of an artist, and which Russell thus describes:

"The forge fires glared on her decks, and there, out in the midst of the Atlantic, anvils rang and sparks flew; and the spectator thought of some village far away, where the blacksmith worked, unvexed by cable anxieties and greed of speedy news. As the blaze shot up, ruddy, mellow and strong, and flung arms of light aloft and along the glistening decks, and then died into a red centre, masts, spars, and ropes were for the instant touched with a golden gleaming, and strange figures and faces were called out from the darkness – vanished, glinted out again – rushed suddenly into foreground of bright pictures, which faded soon away – flickered – went out – as they were called to life by its warm breath, or were buried in the outer darkness! Outside all was obscurity, but now and then vast shadows, which moved across the arc of the lighted fog-bank, were projected far away by the flare; and one might well pardon the passing mariner, whose bark drifted him in the night across the track of the great ship, if, crossing himself, and praying with shuddering lips, he fancied he beheld a phantom ship freighted with an evil crew, and ever after told how he had seen the workshops of the Inferno floating on the bosom of the ocean."

While preparing for a third attempt, the ship had been drifting about, sometimes to a distance of thirty or forty miles, but it had marked the course where the cable lay by two buoys, thrown over about ten miles apart, each bearing a flag which might be seen at a distance, and so easily came back to the spot. On Thursday morning all was ready, and the line was cast as before, but after some hours of drifting, it was evident that the ship had passed over the cable without grappling. The line was hauled in, and the reason at once appeared. One of the flukes had caught in the chain, so that it could not strike its teeth into the bottom. This was cleared away, and the rope prepared for a fourth and final attempt.

It was at noon of Friday that the grapnel went overboard for the last time. By four o'clock it had caught, and the work of hauling-in recommenced. Again the cable was brought up nearly eight hundred fathoms, when the rope broke, carrying down two miles of its own length, and with it the hopes of the Atlantic Telegraph for the present year.

Their resources were exhausted. For nine days and nights, for the work never stopped for light or darkness, had the great ship kept moving round and round like some mighty bird of the sea, with her eye fixed on the place where her treasure had gone down, and striving to wrest it from the hand of the spoiler. Three times had they grasped the prize, and each time failed to recover it, only for want of ropes strong enough to bring it on board. The cable itself never broke. This proof of its strength was a good omen for future success.

But for the present all was over. The attempt must be abandoned for the year 1865, but not for ever; and with this purpose in her constant mind, the Great Eastern swung sullenly around, and turned her imperial head toward England, like a warrior retiring from the field – not victorious, nor yet defeated and despairing, but with her battle-flag still flying, and resolved once more to attempt the conquest of the sea.

CHAPTER XV.

PREPARING TO RENEW THE BATTLE

The expedition of 1865, though not an immediate success, had the moral effect of a victory, as it confirmed the most sanguine expectations of all who embarked in it. The great experiment made during those four weeks at sea, had demonstrated many points which were most important elements in the problem of Ocean Telegraphy. These are summed up in the following paper, which was signed by persons officially engaged on board the Great Eastern:

1. It was proved by the expedition of 1858, that a Submarine Telegraph Cable could be laid between Ireland and Newfoundland, and messages transmitted through the same.

By the expedition of 1865 it has been fully demonstrated:

2. That the insulation of a cable improves very much after its submersion in the cold deep water of the Atlantic, and that its conducting power is considerably increased thereby.

3. That the steamship Great Eastern, from her size and constant steadiness, and from the control over her afforded by the joint use of paddles and screw, renders it safe to lay an Atlantic Cable in any weather.

4. That in a depth of over two miles four attempts were made to grapple the cable. In three of them the cable was caught by the grapnel, and in the other the grapnel was fouled by the chain attached to it.

5. That the paying-out machinery used on board the Great Eastern worked perfectly, and can be confidently relied on for laying cables across the Atlantic.

6. That with the improved telegraphic instruments for long submarine lines, a speed of more than eight words per minute can be obtained through such a cable as the present Atlantic between Ireland and Newfoundland, as the amount of slack actually paid out did not exceed fourteen per cent, which would have made the total cable laid between Valentia and Heart's Content nineteen hundred miles.

7. That the present Atlantic Cable, though capable of bearing a strain of seven tons, did not experience more than fourteen hundred-weight in being paid out into the deepest water of the Atlantic between Ireland and Newfoundland.

8. That there is no difficulty in mooring buoys in the deep water of the Atlantic between Ireland and Newfoundland, and that two buoys even when moored by a piece of the Atlantic Cable itself, which had been previously lifted from the bottom, have ridden out a gale.

9. That more than four nautical miles of the Atlantic Cable have been recovered from a depth of over two miles, and that the insulation of the gutta-percha-covered wire was in no way whatever impaired by the depth of water or the strains to which it had been subjected by lifting and passing through the hauling-in apparatus.

10. That the cable of 1865, owing to the improvements introduced into the manufacture of the gutta-percha core, was more than one hundred times better insulated than cables made in 1858, then considered perfect and still working.

11. That the electrical testing can be conducted with such unerring accuracy as to enable the electricians to discover the existence of a fault immediately after its production or development, and very quickly to ascertain its position in the cable.

12. That with a steam-engine attached to the paying-out machinery, should a fault be discovered on board whilst laying the cable, it is possible that it might be recovered before it had reached the bottom of the Atlantic, and repaired at once.

S. Canning, Engineer-in-Chief, Telegraph Construction and Maintenance Company.James Anderson, Commander of the Great Eastern.Henry A. Moriarty, Staff Commander, R. N.Daniel Gooch, M.P., Chairman of "Great Ship Co."Henry Clifford, Engineer.William Thomson, LL.D., F.R.S., Prof. of Natural Philosophy in the University of Glasgow.Cromwell F. Varley, Consulting Electrician Electric and International Telegraph Co.Willoughby Smith.Jules Despecher.

This was a grand result to be attained in one short month; and if not quite so gratifying as to have the cable laid at once, and the wire in full operation, yet as it settled the chief elements of success, the moral effect was next to that of an immediate triumph. All who were on that voyage felt a confidence such as they had never felt before. They came back, not desponding and discouraged, but buoyant with hope, and ready at once to renew the attempt.

This confidence appeared at the first meeting of directors. The feeling was very different from that after the return of the first expedition of 1858. So animated were they with hope, and so sure of success the next time, that all felt that one cable was not enough, they must have two, and so it was decided to take measures not only to raise the broken end of the cable and to complete it to Newfoundland, but also to construct and lay an entirely new one, so as to have a double line in operation the following summer.

The contractors, partaking the general confidence, came forward promptly with a new offer even more liberal than that made before. They proposed to construct a new line, and to lay it across the Atlantic for half a million sterling, which was estimated to be the actual cost to them, reserving all compensation to themselves to depend on success. If successful, they were to receive twenty per cent. on the cost, or one hundred thousand pounds, to be paid in shares of the Company. They would engage, also, to go to sea fully prepared to raise the broken end of the cable now in mid-ocean, and with a sufficient length, including that on board the Great Eastern, to complete the line to Newfoundland. Thus the company would have two cables instead of one.

In this offer the contractors assumed a very large risk. They now went a step further, and in the contingency of the capital not being raised otherwise, they offered to take it all themselves– to lay the line at their own risk, and to be paid only in the stock of the Company, which, of course, must depend for its value on the success of the next expedition. It was finally resolved to raise six hundred thousand pounds of new capital by the issue of a hundred and twenty thousand shares of five pounds each, which should be preferential shares, entitled to a dividend of twelve per cent. before the eight per cent. dividend to be paid on the former preference shares, and the four per cent. on the ordinary stock. This was offering a substantial inducement to the public to take part in the enterprise, and it was thought with reason that this fresh issue of stock, though it increased the capital of the Company, yet as it was all to be employed in forwarding the great work, would not only create new property, but give value to the old. The proposal of the manufacturers was therefore at once accepted by the Directors, and the work was instantly begun. Thus hopeful was the state of affairs when Mr. Field returned to America in September.

But he was never easy to be long out of sight of his beloved cable, and so three months after he went back to England, reaching London on the twenty-fourth of December. He came at just the right moment, for the Atlantic Telegraph was once more in extremity. Only two days before the Attorney-General of England had given a written opinion that the Company had no legal right to issue new twelve per cent. preference shares, and that such issue could only be authorized by an express act of Parliament. This was a fatal decree to the Company. It was the more unexpected, as, before offering the twelve per cent. capital, they had been fortified by the opinions of several eminent lawyers and solicitors in favor of the legality of their proceedings. It invalidated not only what they were going to do, but what they had done already. Hence, as the effect of this decision, all the works were stopped, and the money which had been paid in was returned to the subscribers.

This was a new dilemma, out of which it was not easy to find a way of relief. Parliament was not in session, Lords and Commons being away in the country keeping the Christmas holidays. Even if it had been, the time for applying to it had passed, as a notice of any private bill to be introduced must be given before the thirtieth of November, which was gone a month ago. To wait for an act of Parliament, therefore, would inevitably postpone the laying of the cable for another year. So disheartening was the prospect at the close of 1865.

But they had seen dark days before, and were not to give it up without a new effort. Happily, the cause had strong friends to stand by it even in this crisis of suspended animation.

One of these to whom Mr. Field now went for counsel, was Mr. (afterward Sir) Daniel Gooch, M.P., a gentleman well known in London, as one of the class of engineers formed in the school of Stephenson and Brunel, who had risen to the position of great capitalists, and who, by their enterprise and wealth, had done so much to develop the resources of England. He was Chairman of the Great Western Railway, and had more faith in enterprises on the land than on the sea. It was a long time before he could believe in the possibility of an Atlantic Telegraph. Though a man of large fortune, and a personal friend of Mr. Field, the latter had never prevailed on him to subscribe a single pound. But he went out on the expedition of '65, as chairman of the company that owned the Great Eastern; and what he then saw convinced him. He came back fully satisfied; he knew it could be done, and was ready to prove his faith by his works. Consulting on the present difficulty, he suggested that the only relief was to organize a new Company, which should assume the work, and which could issue its own shares and raise its own capital. This opinion was confirmed by the eminent legal authority of Mr. John Horatio Lloyd. To such a Company Mr. Gooch said he would subscribe £20,000; Mr. Field put down £10,000.

Next, he betook himself to that prince of English capitalists, Mr. Thomas Brassey, who heard from his lips for the first time, that the affairs of the Atlantic Telegraph Company had suddenly come to a standstill. At this he was much surprised, but instantly cheered his informer by saying: "Don't be discouraged; go down to the Company, and tell them to go ahead, and whatever the cost, I will bear one tenth of the whole." Who could be discouraged with such a Richard the Lion-hearted to cheer him on?

Meetings were called of the Directors of both the Atlantic Company and the Telegraph Construction and Maintenance Company; and frequent conferences were held between them. The result was the formation of a new company called the Anglo-American Telegraph Company, with a capital of £600,000, which contracted with the Atlantic Company to manufacture and lay down a cable in the summer of 1866, for doing which it was to be entitled to what virtually amounted to a preference dividend of twenty-five per cent: as a first claim was secured to them by the latter company upon the revenue of the cable or cables (after the working expenses had been provided for) to the extent of £125,000 per annum; and the New-York, Newfoundland, and London Telegraph Company undertook to contribute from its revenue a further annual sum of £25,000, on condition that a cable should be at work during 1866; an agreement to this effect having been signed by Mr. Field, subject to ratification by the Company in New York, which was obtained as soon as the steamer could cross the ocean and bring back the reply.

The terms being settled, it remained only to raise the capital. The Telegraph Construction and Maintenance Company led off with a subscription of £100,000. This was followed by the names of ten gentlemen, who put down £10,000 apiece. Of these Mr. Gooch declared his willingness to increase his subscription of £10,000 to £20,000, while Mr. Brassey would put down £60,000, if it were needed. Mr. Henry Bewley, of Dublin also, who was already a large owner of the Atlantic stock, declared his readiness to add £20,000 more. But this was not necessary: and so they all stood at £10,000. The names of these ten subscribers deserve to be given, as showing who stood forward to save the cause in this crisis of its fate. They were: Henry Ford Barclay, Henry Bewley, Thomas Brassey, A. H. Campbell, M.P., George Elliot, Cyrus W. Field, Richard Atwood Glass, Daniel Gooch, M.P., John Pender, M.P., and John Smith. There were four subscriptions of £5,000: by Thomas Bolton and Sons, James Horsfall, A Friend of Mr. Daniel Gooch, M.P., and John and Edwin Wright; one of £2,500 by John Wilkes and Sons; three of £2,000 by C. M. Lampson, J. Morison, and Ebenezer Pike; and two of £1,000 by Edward Cropper, and Joseph Robinson, – making in all £230,500.

These were all private subscriptions made before even the prospectus was issued, or the books opened to the public. After such a manifestation of confidence, the whole capital was secured within fourteen days. This was a great triumph, especially at a time of general depression in commercial affairs in England.

And now once more the work began. No time was to be lost. It was already the first of March, and but four months remained to manufacture sixteen hundred and sixty nautical miles of cable, and to prepare for sea. But the obstacles once cleared away, all sprang to their work with new hope and vigor.

In the cable to be made for the new line, there was but little change from that of the last year, which had proved nearly perfect. Experience, however, was constantly suggesting some improvement; and while the general form and size were retained, a slight change in the outer covering was found to make the cable both lighter and stronger. The iron wires were galvanized, which secured them perfectly from rust or corrosion by salt water. Thus protected, they could dispense with the preservative mixture of the former year. This left the cable much cleaner and whiter. Instead of its black coat, it had the fresh, bright appearance of new rope. It had another advantage. As the tarry coating was sticky, slight fragments of wire might adhere to it, and do injury, a danger to which the new cable was not exposed. At the same time, galvanizing the wires gave them greater ductility, so that in the case of a heavy strain the cable would stretch longer without breaking. By this alteration it was rendered more than four hundred-weight lighter per mile, and would bear a strain of nearly half a ton more than the one laid the year before.

The machinery also was perfected in every part, to withstand the great strain which might be brought upon it in grappling and lifting the cable from the great depths of the Atlantic. This necessitated almost a reconstruction of the machinery, together with engines of greater power, applied both to the gear for hauling in forward and that for paying out aft. Thus, in case of a fault, the motion of the ship could be easily reversed, and the cable hauled back by the paying-out machinery, without waiting for the long and tedious process of bringing the cable round from the stern to the bow of the ship.

But the most marvellous improvement had been in the method of testing the cable for the discovery of faults. In the last expedition, a grave omission had been in the long intervals during which the cable was left without a test of its insulation. Thus, from thirty to thirty-five minutes in each hour it was occupied with tests of minor importance, which would not indicate the existence of a fault, so that, if a fault occurred on ship-board, it might pass over the stern, and be miles away before it was discovered. But now a new and ingenious method was devised by Mr. Willoughby Smith, by which the cable will be tested every instant. The current will not cease to flow any more than the blood ceases to flow in human veins. The cord is vital in every part, and if touched at any point it reveals the wound as instinctively as the nerves of a living man flash to the brain a wound in any part of the human frame.

The process of detecting faults is too scientific to be detailed in these pages. We can only stand in silent wonder at the result, when we hear it stated by Mr. Varley, that the system of testing is brought to such a degree of perfection, that skilful electricians can point out minute faults with an unerring accuracy "even when they are so small that they would not weaken the signals through the Atlantic cable one millionth part!"

Another marvellous result of science was the exact report obtained of the state of that portion of the cable now lying in the sea. The electricians at Valentia were daily experimenting on the line which lay stretched twelve hundred and thirteen miles on the bottom of the deep, and pronounced it intact. Not a fault could be found from one end to the other. As when a master of the organ runs his hands over the keys, and tells in an instant if it be in perfect tune, so did these skilful manipulators, fingering at the end of this mightier instrument, declare it to be in perfect tone, ready to whisper its harmonies through the seas. At the same time, the ten hundred and seventy miles of cable left on board the Great Eastern were pronounced as faultless as the day they had been shipped on board.

With such conclusions of science to animate and inspire them, the great task of manufacturing nearly seventeen hundred miles of cable once more began. And while this work went on, the Great Eastern, that had done her part so well before, again opened her sides, and the mysterious cord was drawn into her vast, dark, silent womb, from which it was to issue only into the darker and more silent bosom of the deep.

CHAPTER XVI.

VICTORY AT LAST

In these pages we have led our readers through twelve long years, and have had to tell many a tale of disaster and defeat. It is now our privilege to tell of triumphant success. Victory has come at last, but not by the chance of fortune, but by the utmost efforts of man, by the union of science and skill with indomitable perseverance. The failure of the last year was a sad disappointment; but so far from damping the courage of those embarked in the enterprise, it only roused them to a more gigantic effort. They were now to prepare for a fifth expedition. In this they set themselves to anticipate every possible emergency, and to combine the elements of success so as to render failure impossible.

The Great Eastern herself, which they had come to regard with a kind of fondness, a feeling of affection and pride, as the ark that was to bear their fortunes across the deep, was made ready for her crowning achievement. For months Captain Anderson and Mr. Halpin, his chief officer, worked day and night to get her into perfect trim. She had become sadly fouled in her many voyages. As she swam the seas, a thousand things clung to her as to a floating island, till her hull was encrusted with mussels and barnacles two feet thick, and long seaweed flaunted from her sides. Like a brave old war-horse, long neglected, she needed a thorough grooming, to have her hair combed and her limbs well rubbed down, to fit her to take the field. But it was not an easy matter to get under the huge creature, to give her such a dressing. Yet Captain Anderson was equal to the emergency. He contrived a simple instrument by which every part of her bottom was raked and scrubbed. Getting rid of this rough, shapeless mass would make her feel easy and comfortable at sea, and add at least a knot an hour to her speed.