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378
The Story of the Atlantic Telegraph
·
Henry M. Field
323
The
"fishing-tackle"
is
on
a
gigantic
scale.
The
"hooks,"
or
grapnels,
are
huge
weapons
armed
with
teeth,
like
Titanic
harpoons
to
be
plunged
into
this
submarine
monster.
The
"fishing-line"
is
a
rope
six
and
a
half
inches
round,
and
made
of
twisted
hemp
and
iron,
consisting
of
forty-nine
galvanized
wires,
each
bound
with
manilla,
the
whole
capable
of
bearing
a
strain
of
thirty
tons.
Of
this
heavy
rope
there
are
twenty
miles
on
board
the
ships,
the
Albany
carrying
five,
and
the
Great
Eastern
and
the
Medway
seven
and
a
half
miles
each.
Of
course
it
is
not
the
easiest
thing
in
the
world
to
handle
such
a
rope.
But
it
is
paid
out
by
machinery,
passing
over
a
drum;
and
the
engine
works
so
smoothly,
that
it
runs
out
as
easily
as
ever
a
fisherman's
line
was
reeled
off
into
the
sea.
As
it
goes
out
freely,
the
strain
increases
every
moment.
The
rope
is
so
ponderous,
that
the
weight
mounts
up
very
fast,
so
that
by
the
time
it
is
two
thousand
fathoms
down,
the
strain
is
equal
to
six
or
seven
tons.
The
tension
of
course
is
very
great,
and
not
unattended
with
danger.
What
if
the
rope
should
break?
If
it
should
snap
on
board,
it
would
go
into
the
sea
like
a
cannon-shot.
Such
was
the
tension
on
the
long
line,
that
once
when
the
splice
between
the
grapnel-rope
and
the
buoy-rope
"drew,"
the
end
passed
along
the
wheels
with
terrific
velocity,
and
flying
in
the
air
over
the
bow,
plunged
into
the
sea.
But
the
rope
is
well
made,
and
holds
firmly
an
enormous
weight.
It
takes
about
two
hours
for
the
grapnel
to
reach
the
bottom,
but
they
can
tell
when
it
strikes.
The
strain
eases
up,
and
then,
as
the
ship
drifts,
it
is
easy
to
see
that
it
is
not
dragging
through
the
water,
but
over
the
ground.
"I
often
went
to
the
bow,"
says
Mr.
Field,
"and
sat
on
the
rope,
and
could
tell
by
the
quiver
that
the
grapnel
was
dragging
on
the
bottom
two
miles
under
us."
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