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The Atlantic Cable

The Atlantic Cable image
Parent Issue
Day
11
Month
August
Year
1865
Copyright
Public Domain
OCR Text

A Valenüa correspondent of the Londou Times givea the lollowing aoeount of the landing oí the shore end of tho cabio : " The landing of the shore end of Iha cabio was begun soon after 8 o'olook on the morning of the 22d, and the sight was interest ng at well ns pieturosque. Frora the stern of the Caroline, moored somo C00 or 800 yards from the shore, '' an unbroken line of boats was formad to the beach, each manned with a orew of pioked boatmen irorn all the neighboring harbors and inlets. They were uuder the directioa and guidanoe of ex porionced eabla-rnen, who in detached outters and gigs commanded up and down tho line. The firet few lengths wero soon got out, but tbenco dragging its pondrous mnss along the lne of oraft was a siow and laborioua business, and only cuino out foot by foot, though some three or four hundred powerful men were f.ulling on it, it took nearly two hours to pass over the ring of boats, and by that time all the rugged clifls were covered by the peasantry. No euoner was the örst atom of the end of the cable run near there than a wiH hurrah arose from those on land who iaw it coming ; contagión charaoteristic of the people's enthusiasm, it passed rapidly downward from thosa on tho oliffs to the groups on the winding path, aod thence into the eable-boats themselves. By 12 o'clook tho cable was vvoll up the groove, which had been cut ia the face of the cliff for its reception, and from thie point the work of carrying tsmassive coila aoross meadowí to the reeeiving house beyond was soon ao complished, and at a little beforo one o'clock taken over roads, hedges and ditohes, it was safely housed in a testing room. Here batteries were at once applied and showed both conductivity and insulation to the last fathom in the" hold of the Caroline was perfect, and no eooner was the fact ascertained than the Uatck took the Caroline ia tow, while the rest of the cable was paid out to soa. Amid the inost earnest cheers frorn the crowds, both vessels started on this short course, and at the samo time in the testing rooin of tho receiving house, tho Knight of Kerry and Sir Robert Peel offered their warm congratulations to Mr. Glasa on the success so far achieved." Tho samo correspondent, writiug on the 24th, says : "After 4 o'clock in the afternoon, when the last of the tests was ooncluded, all isignala from end to end of the wire came wonderfully distinct into the room of the receiving house, and at 4:30 the flags on board the Caroline and Oreat Eastern were hauled down to show that all was ready. By that time the Great Eastern, which had always kept moving at intervals, had gono ahead of the Caroline some 2 or 3 miles, paying out the cable slowly, ouly to float by, while one portion of tho wirc was kept above water. The instant the iiags went down, the last fasteniugs which held it to tho Caroline were cast adrift, and with a great splash tho final joint of the Atlantio Telegraph, and first thirty miles of its length went down slowly into the bluo waters, and were out of sight. Long before this, Sir Robeit Peel and Lord John Hay had returued on board tho Uawk which at once steamed away, when tho splico was turned adrift, to overtake the Great Eastern. This was easily dono, for while the latter was barely" steauiing 5 knots an hour, the forinor was running 14. As the tender came near, the narrow rope of the cabio could be peen passing :ver ths last wbeel in tho stern, and sinking geutly iuto the fuwm, without! s'.run of any kiud, as it secmeil fur o moment tn float too slowly aft beforu it disappeared undur the swell thnt kept rolling doepiy in. The Great liaslern fired t'o guiiM from her bows at 5:30, t mark tht' eomiiieiicement ol her jouruey, and 8ir Koburt Pbel, inouuting the quarterdeck of the Uatck, marked timo, wiiilü thrce email but enrnest cheer8 weru given ly tho company on board, to the suecess of the groat enterprise. In retora ciiine bück swolltng the hearty roar, from all on the cablc-ship, and, with a hist salute of waving of hats and tiandkerchiefe, thu tenders drojiped aste-n, leaving the Great Aaslern, móving slowly blit steadily abead at the rato of 6 knots per hour.

Article

Subjects
Old News
Michigan Argus