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378
The Story of the Atlantic Telegraph
·
Henry M. Field
324
And
thus,
with
its
fishing
line
set,
the
great
ship
moves
slowly
down
over
where
the
cable
lies.
As
the
grapnel
drags
on
the
bottom,
one
of
the
engineer's
staff
stands
at
the
dynamometer
to
watch
for
the
moment
of
increasing
strain.
A
few
hours
pass,
and
the
index
rises
to
eight,
ten,
or
twelve
tons,
sure
token
that
there
is
something
at
the
end
of
the
line--it
may
be
the
lost
cable,
or
a
sunken
mast
or
spar,
the
fragment
of
a
wreck
that
went
down
in
a
storm
that
swept
the
Atlantic
a
hundred
years
ago.
And
now
the
engine
is
set
in
motion
to
haul
in.
As
the
rope
comes
up,
it
passes
over
a
five-foot
drum,
every
revolution
bringing
up
three
fathoms.
Thus
it
takes
some
hours
to
haul
in
over
two
miles'
length,
perhaps
at
last
to
find
nothing
at
the
end!
Success
in
hooking
the
cable
depends
on
the
accuracy
of
their
observations.
These
were
sometimes
verified
in
a
remarkable
manner.
When
the
nights
were
very
dark
and
thick
with
fog,
so
that
they
could
not
see
the
stars
above
nor
their
lights
on
the
ocean,
they
had
to
go
almost
by
the
sense
of
feeling.
Yet
so
exactly
had
they
taken
their
bearings,
that
they
could
almost
grope
over
the
ground
with
their
hands.
A
singular
proof
of
this
was
given
one
night,
when,
just
as
the
line
began
to
quiver,
showing
that
the
cable
had
been
hooked,
one
of
the
buoys--which
had
not
been
seen
in
the
darkness--thumped
against
the
side
of
the
ship.
So
exactly
had
it
been
placed
over
the
prescribed
line,
that
the
ship
struck
the
buoy
just
as
the
grapnel
struck
the
cable!
The
accident,
which
startled
them
at
first,
when
it
occurred
in
the
gloom
of
night,
furnished
the
strongest
proof
of
the
accuracy
of
their
observations;
and
the
officers
were
very
proud
of
it,
as
they
well
might
be,
as
a
victory
in
nautical
astronomy!
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