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378
The Story of the Atlantic Telegraph
·
Henry M. Field
326
Friday,
August
17th,
was
a
memorable
day
in
the
expedition,
for
the
cable
was
not
only
caught,
but
brought
to
the
surface,
where
it
was
in
full
sight
of
the
whole
ship,
and
yet
finally
escaped.
The
day
before
the
line
had
been
cast
over,
at
about
two
o'clock,
and
struck
the
ground
a
little
before
five.
After
dragging
a
couple
of
hours,
the
increasing
strain
showed
that
they
had
grappled
the
prize,
and
they
began
to
haul
in,
but
soon
ceased,
and
held
on
till
morning.
Then
the
engine
was
set
in
motion
again,
and
slowly
but
steadily
the
ponderous
rope
came
up
from
the
deep.
By
half-past
ten
o'clock,
Friday
morning,
twenty-three
hundred
fathoms
had
come
on
board,
and
but
fifteen
or
twenty
remained.
Then
was
the
critical
moment,
and
they
paused
before
giving
a
last
pull.
Such
was
the
eagerness
of
all,
that
the
diver
of
the
ship,
Clark,
begged
to
be
allowed
to
plunge
down
twenty
fathoms,
to
lay
his
hand
on
the
prize,
and
be
sure
that
it
was
there.
But
patience
yet
a
few
minutes!
A
few
more
strokes
of
the
engine,
and
the
sea-serpent
shows
himself--a
long
black
snake
with
a
white
belly.
"On
the
appearance
of
the
cable,"
says
Deane,
in
his
Diary
of
the
Expedition,
"we
were
all
struck
with
the
fact
that
one
half
of
it
was
covered
with
ooze,
staining
it
a
muddy
white,
while
the
other
half
was
in
just
the
state
in
which
it
left
the
tank,
with
its
tarred
surface
and
strands
unchanged,
which
showed
that
it
lay
in
the
sand
only
half
embedded.
The
strain
on
the
cable
gave
it
a
twist,
and
it
looked
as
if
it
had
been
painted
spirally
black
and
white.
This
disposes
of
the
oft-repeated
assertion,
that
we
should
not
be
able
to
pull
it
up
from
the
bottom,
because
it
would
be
embedded
in
the
ooze."
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