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378
The Story of the Atlantic Telegraph
·
Henry M. Field
162
"As
the
stern
of
the
ship
was
lifted
by
the
waves,
a
scene
of
the
most
intense
excitement
followed.
It
seemed
impossible,
even
by
using
the
greatest
possible
speed,
and
paying
out
the
least
possible
amount
of
cable,
that
the
junction
could
be
finished
before
the
part
was
taken
out
of
the
hands
of
the
workmen.
The
main
hold
presented
an
extraordinary
scene;
nearly
all
the
officers
of
the
ship
and
of
those
connected
with
the
expedition,
stood
in
groups
about
the
coil,
watching
with
intense
anxiety
the
cable,
as
it
slowly
unwound
itself
nearer
and
nearer
the
joint,
while
the
workmen,
directed
by
Mr.
Canning,
under
whose
superintendence
the
cable
was
originally
manufactured,
worked
at
the
splice
as
only
men
could
work
who
felt
that
the
life
and
death
of
the
expedition
depended
upon
their
rapidity.
But
all
their
speed
was
to
no
purpose,
as
the
cable
was
unwinding
within
a
hundred
fathoms,
and,
as
a
last
and
desperate
resource,
the
cable
was
stopped
altogether,
and,
for
a
few
minutes,
the
ship
hung
on
by
the
end.
Fortunately,
however,
it
was
only
for
a
few
minutes,
as
the
strain
was
continually
rising
above
two
tons,
and
it
would
not
hold
on
much
longer;
when
the
splice
was
finished,
the
signal
was
made
to
loose
the
stopper,
and
it
passed
overboard
safely
enough.
"When
the
excitement
consequent
upon
having
so
narrowly
saved
the
cable
had
passed
away,
we
awoke
to
the
consciousness
that
the
case
was
still
as
hopeless
as
ever,
for
the
electrical
continuity
was
still
entirely
wanting.
Preparations
were
consequently
made
to
pay
out
as
little
rope
as
possible,
and
to
hold
on
for
six
hours,
in
the
hopes
that
the
fault,
whatever
it
might
be,
might
mend
itself
before
cutting
the
cable
and
returning
to
the
rendezvous
to
make
another
splice.
The
magnetic
needles
on
the
receiving
instruments
were
watched
closely
for
the
returning
signals;
when,
in
a
few
minutes,
the
last
hope
was
extinguished
by
their
suddenly
indicating
dead
earth,
which
tended
to
show
that
the
cable
had
broken
from
the
Niagara,
or
that
the
insulation
had
been
completely
destroyed.
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