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281
Heroes of the Telegraph
·
John Munro
76
On
Saturday,
the
26th,
the
middle
splice
was
effected
and
the
bight
dropped
into
the
deep.
The
two
ships
got
under
weigh,
but
had
not
proceeded
three
miles
when
the
cable
broke
in
the
paying-out
machinery
of
the
Niagara.
Another
splice,
followed
by
a
fresh
start,
was
made
during
the
same
afternoon;
but
when
some
fifty
miles
were
payed
out
of
each
vessel,
the
current
which
kept
up
communication
between
them
suddenly
failed
owing
to
the
cable
having
snapped
in
the
sea.
Once
more
the
middle
splice
was
made
and
lowered,
and
the
ships
parted
company
a
third
time.
For
a
day
or
two
all
went
well;
over
two
hundred
miles
of
cable
ran
smoothly
out
of
each
vessel,
and
the
anxious
chiefs
began
to
indulge
in
hopes
of
ultimate
success,
when
the
cable
broke
about
twenty
feet
behind
the
stern
of
the
Agamemnon.
The
expedition
returned
to
Queenstown,
and
a
consultation
took
place.
Mr.
Field,
and
Professor
Thomson,
who
was
on
board
the
Agamemnon,
were
in
favour
of
another
trial,
and
it
was
decided
to
make
one
without
delay.
The
vessels
left
the
Cove
of
Cork
on
July
17;
but
on
this
occasion
there
was
no
public
enthusiasm,
and
even
those
on
board
felt
as
if
they
were
going
on
another
wild
goose
chase.
The
Agamemnon
was
now
almost
becalmed
on
her
way
to
the
rendezvous;
but
the
middle
splice
was
finished
by
12.30
p.m.
on
July
29,
1858,
and
immediately
dropped
into
the
sea.
The
ships
thereupon
started,
and
increased
their
distance,
while
the
cable
ran
easily
out
of
them.
Some
alarm
was
caused
by
the
stoppage
of
the
continuity
signals,
but
after
a
time
they
reappeared.
The
Niagara
deviated
from
the
great
arc
of
a
circle
on
which
the
cable
was
to
be
laid,
and
the
error
was
traced
to
the
iron
of
the
cable
influencing
her
compass.
Hence
the
Gorgon,
one
of
her
consorts,
was
ordered
to
go
ahead
and
lead
the
way.
The
Niagara
passed
several
icebergs,
but
none
injured
the
cable,
and
on
August
4
she
arrived
in
Trinity
Bay,
Newfoundland.
At
6.
a.m.
next
morning
the
shore
end
was
landed
into
the
telegraph-house
which
had
been
built
for
its
reception.
Captain
Hudson,
of
the
Niagara,
then
read
prayers,
and
at
one
p.m.
H.M.S.
Gorgon
fired
a
salute
of
twenty-one
guns.
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