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378
The Story of the Atlantic Telegraph
·
Henry M. Field
170
"About
five
o'clock
in
the
evening,
the
steep
submarine
mountain
which
divides
the
telegraphic
plateau
from
the
Irish
coast
was
reached,
and
the
sudden
shallowing
of
the
water
had
a
very
marked
effect
upon
the
cable,
causing
the
strain
on
and
the
speed
of
it
to
lessen
every
minute.
A
great
deal
of
slack
was
paid
out
to
allow
for
any
great
inequalities
which
might
exist,
though
undiscovered
by
the
sounding-line.
About
ten
o'clock
the
shoal
water
of
two
hundred
and
fifty
fathoms
was
reached;
the
only
remaining
anxiety
now
was
the
changing
from
the
lower
main
coil
to
that
upon
the
upper
deck,
and
this
most
difficult
and
dangerous
operation
was
successfully
performed
between
three
and
four
o'clock
on
Wednesday
morning.
"Wednesday
was
a
beautiful,
calm
day;
indeed,
it
was
the
first
on
which
any
one
would
have
thought
of
making
a
splice
since
the
day
we
started
from
the
rendezvous.
We
therefore
congratulated
ourselves
on
having
saved
a
week
by
commencing
operations
on
the
Thursday
previous.
At
noon,
we
were
eighty-nine
miles
distant
from
the
telegraph
station
at
Valentia.
The
water
was
shallow,
so
that
there
was
no
difficulty
in
paying
out
the
wire
almost
without
any
loss
of
slack,
and
all
looked
upon
the
undertaking
as
virtually
accomplished.
"At
about
one
o'clock
in
the
evening,
the
second
change
from
the
upper-deck
coil
to
that
upon
the
orlop-deck
was
safely
effected,
and
shortly
after
the
vessels
exchanged
signals
that
they
were
in
two
hundred
fathoms
water.
As
the
night
advanced
the
speed
of
the
ship
was
reduced,
as
it
was
known
that
we
were
only
a
short
distance
from
the
land,
and
there
would
be
no
advantage
in
making
it
before
daylight
in
the
morning.
About
twelve
o'clock,
however,
the
Skelligs
Light
was
seen
in
the
distance,
and
the
Valorous
steamed
on
ahead
to
lead
us
in
to
the
coast,
firing
rockets
at
intervals
to
direct
us,
which
were
answered
by
us
from
the
Agamemnon,
though,
according
to
Mr.
Moriarty,
the
master's
wish,
the
ship,
disregarding
the
Valorous,
kept
her
own
course,
which
proved
to
be
the
right
one
in
the
end.
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