Front matter

Some illustrations have been moved from mid-paragraph for ease of reading. In certain versions of this etext, in certain browsers, clicking on this symbol will bring up a larger version of the image. (etext transcriber’s note)

{1}

{2}

H.M.S. Agamemnon entering Valentia Bay with first Atlantic Cable. Frontispiece.

{3}

THE STORY OF THE ATLANTIC CABLE

BY CHARLES BRIGHT F. R. S. E., A. M. Inst. C. E., M. I. E. E. AUTHOR OF SUBMARINE TELEGRAPHS, SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING DURING THE VICTORIAN ERA, THE EVOLUTION OF THE ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH, 1837-1897, THE LIFE STORY OF SIR CHARLES TILSTON BRIGHT WITH FIFTY-FOUR ILLUSTRATIONS NEW YORK D. APPLETON AND COMPANY 1903

{4}

Copyright, 1903, by D. APPLETON AND COMPANY Published November, 1903

{5}

PREFATORY NOTE

THE jubilee of Submarine Telegraphy having lately been achieved, and that connected with the Atlantic cable being somewhat close at hand, it has been thought a suitable moment for the appearance of this little volume.

In these days when the substitution of submarine cables by wireless telegraphy systems is a subject of common talk, it may be well to pause for a moment and contemplate the period of time covered by the gradual evolution of old and existing methods which at length achieved the result we now enjoy—a practical commercial telegraphic system between all the nations of the world, and notably between the United Kingdom and America.

By a somewhat curious coincidence the engineer of the first Atlantic cable accomplished his achievement at practically the same youthful age (twenty-six) as Mr. Marconi when first transmitting signals across the Atlantic without any intervening wires.

C. B.

21 Old Queen Street, Westminster, S. W., October, 1903.

{6}

{7}

CONTENTS

PART I

PAGE

Introductory13

PART II The Pioneer Line

CHAP.

I. Evolution of Atlantic Telegraphy in America and England27

II. The Manufacture of the Line46

III. The First Start61

IV. Preparations for Another Attempt74

V. The Trial Trip84

VI. The Storm89

VII. The Renewed Effort105

VIII. “Finis Coronat Opus”115

IX. The Celebration137

X. Working the Line144

XI. The Inquest155

PART III Intermediate Knowledge and Advance

XII. Other Proposed Routes161

XIII. Experience, Investigation, and Progress169

PART IV Commercial Success

XIV. The 1865 Cable and Expedition177

XV. Second and Successful Attempt188

XVI. Recovery and Completion of the 1865 Cable197

XVII. Jubilations208

XVIII. Subsequent Atlantic Lines212

XIX. Atlantic Cable Systems of To-day219

{8}

{9}

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

H.M.S. Agamemnon entering Valentia Bay with first Atlantic Cable Frontispiece

FIG. PAGE

1.Newfoundland Telegraph Station, 185529

2.The Brooke “Sounder”32

3.Specimen of the Ocean Bed34

4.John Watkins Brett, Charles Tilston Bright, Cyrus West Field—Projectors38

5.Manufacture of the Core49

6.Serving the Core with Hemp-Yarn50

7.Applying the Iron Sheathing51

8.The Deep-Sea Cable52

9.The Shore-End Cable52

10.Coiling the Finished Cable into the Factory Tanks54

11.U.S.N.S. Niagara55

12.The Paying-out Machine, 185757

13.Coiling the Cable on Board58

14.Landing the Irish End of the Cable63

15.Reshipment of the Cable aboard H.M.S. Agamemnon and U.S.N.S. Niagara in Keyham Basin75

16.The Self-Releasing Brake77

17.The Principle of the Brake78

18.Bright’s Paying-out Gear, 185880

19.The Reflecting Magnet82

20.Reflecting Galvanometer and Speaker83

21.Principle of the Reflecting Instrument83

22.Deck of H.M.S. Agamemnon with Paying-out Apparatus84

23.Stowage of the Cable Coil on the Niagara85

24.The Loading of the Agamemnon85

25.Experimental Maneuvers in the Bay of Biscay88

26.H.M.S. Agamemnon in a Storm96

27.The Agamemnon Storm: Coals Adrift103

28.In Collision with a Whale while Cable-Laying123

29.Landing the American End133

30.Newfoundland Telegraph Station, 1858{10}135

31.Facsimile of the First Public News Message Received through the Atlantic Cable150

32.The North Atlantic Telegraph Project, 1860162

33.The North Atlantic Exploring Expedition, 1860167

34.The Main Cable, 1865-’66180

35.The Great Eastern at Sea183

36.Cable and Machinery aboard S.S. Great Eastern185

37.The Picking-up Machine, 1866191

38.Buoys, Grapnels, Mushrooms—and Men193

39.“Foul in Tank” while Paying-out196

40.S.S. Great Eastern Completing the Second Atlantic Cable199

41.Diagram Illustrative of the Final Tactics Adopted for Picking up the 1865 Cable203

42.S.S. Great Eastern with 1865 Cable at Bows205

43.Anglo-American Atlantic Cable (1894): deep-sea type217

44.Shore-End of the 1894 “Anglo” Cable217

45.Atlantic Cable Systems, 1903221

{11}