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378
The Story of the Atlantic Telegraph
·
Henry M. Field
160
"At
a
quarter-past
five
A.M.,
telegraph
cable
landed.
At
six,
end
of
cable
carried
into
telegraph-house,
and
received
very
strong
currents
of
electricity
through
the
whole
cable
from
the
other
side
of
the
Atlantic.
Captain
Hudson,
of
the
Niagara,
then
read
prayers,
and
made
some
remarks.
"At
one
P.M.,
Her
Majesty's
steamer
Gorgon
fired
a
royal
salute
of
twenty-one
guns."
Thus
simply
was
the
story
told,
that
in
a
few
hours
was
to
send
a
thrill
throughout
the
continent.
To
complete
the
narrative
of
the
expedition,
it
is
necessary
to
include
the
voyage
of
the
Agamemnon,
the
best
account
of
which
is
given
in
the
letter
of
the
correspondent
of
the
London
Times.
We
quote
from
the
time
of
junction
in
mid-ocean,
just
as
the
ships
went
sailing
eastward
and
westward:
"For
the
first
three
hours
the
ships
proceeded
very
slowly,
paying
out
a
great
quantity
of
slack,
but
after
the
expiration
of
this
time,
the
speed
of
the
Agamemnon
was
increased
to
about
five
knots
per
hour,
the
cable
going
at
about
six,
without
indicating
more
than
a
few
hundred
pounds
of
strain
upon
the
dynamometer.
Shortly
after
six
o'clock
a
very
large
whale
was
seen
approaching
the
starboard
bow
at
a
great
speed,
rolling
and
tossing
the
sea
into
foam
all
around
and
for
the
first
time
we
felt
the
possibility
of
the
supposition
that
our
second
mysterious
breakage
of
the
cable
might
have
been
caused
after
all
by
one
of
these
animals
getting
foul
of
it
under
water.
It
appeared
as
if
it
were
making
direct
for
the
cable,
and
great
was
the
relief
of
all
when
the
ponderous
living
mass
was
seen
slowly
to
pass
astern,
just
grazing
the
cable
where
it
entered
the
water,
but
fortunately
without
doing
any
mischief.
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