[1] For particulars regarding preelectrical telegraphy and previous researches in electrotelegraphy, the reader is referred to A History of Telegraphy to the year 1837, by J. J. Fahie, M.I.E.E. (E. and F. N. Spon, 1884).
[2] A certain knowledge regarding electric and magnetic science has to be assumed here; and, for further particulars on this subject, the reader is referred to another volume of this series, The Story of Electricity, by John Munro.
[3] Submarine Telegraphs: Their History, Construction, and Working, by Charles Bright, F.R.S.E., A.M. Inst. C.E., M.I.E.E. (London: Crosby Lockwood & Son, 1898.)
[5] It was gravely suggested by a prominent naval officer to thread the line through old cannonades lying idle, at Portsmouth harbor. This notion was not taken up; but a light chain twined round the insulated conductor throughout its length would certainly have served the purpose better than the leaden weights, inasmuch as it would have protected the line from chafing, besides being less liable to damage the core.
[6] Some critics had actually supposed that the method of signaling was that of pulling the wire after the manner of mechanical house-bells; and were at pains to point out that the bottom of the channel was too rough for that.
[7] For further particulars, see the Life Story of Sir Charles Tilston Bright. (London: Archibald Constable & Co., 1898.)
[8] It will be readily understood that without this weight, the line would not for certain descend to the bottom—and certainly not in a straight line—in any considerable depths. On the other hand, it would be impossible to recover an effective weight without great risk of breaking the line. For this reason the weight is abandoned, and a considerable number may be found at the bottom of the sea in every quarter of the globe.
[9] These live near the surface of the ocean in myriads upon myriads, incessantly sinking to the bottom as their short life is ended. Thus, in the course of ages, there grows constantly upward a formation similar to the chalk cliffs of England, which contain the identical shells, deposited when this country was submerged far below sea-level thousands of years ago.
[10] In the present day, however, soundings are taken at intervals of about ten miles along the proposed route, and even then submarine hills and valleys are frequently encountered. This is effected by means of the Thomson steam sounding-apparatus, the great feature of which is a fine steel wire (the same as that in the treble notes of a piano) in place of a hempen line of enormous bulk. Nowadays, taking a sounding in the Atlantic occupies well under an hour of time, where by the old method it took at least six hours.
[11] The full particulars of the agreement with the English Government were embodied in a letter from the Treasury (see Life Story of Sir Charles Bright) and form instructive reading even at the present time.
[18] An Atlantic cable of the present day runs into about half a million sterling. Gutta-percha was, in those days, less scarce; on the other hand, its manufacture was more of a novelty, and there was comparatively little competition in cable-making.
[19] Professor Morse (who held a sort of watching brief for the United States Government) also took passage, but had to retire to his berth as soon as the elements asserted themselves, and was scarcely visible again till all was over.
[20] The sheaves had several grooves which the cable fitted into in its passage. Though possessing some merits, this plan was never again adopted, owing partly to the above risk.
[21] This was owing to the two halves of the cable being made at different factories, without any communication passing between them on the subject.
[22] This apparatus first gained its name from the nature of the part it plays in machinery, being similar to that of a human jockey.
[23] So called on account of the form of grooving adopted for taking the under side of the table.
[25] It is partly for this reason that so full an account is given here.
[26] In those days all such instruments were spoken of as galvanometers, no matter for what purpose they were employed. Moreover, this instrument was also used sometimes for testing. That which goes by the name of the marine galvanometer in the present day was not invented by Lord Kelvin till some years later.
[27] This splice-frame was an ingenious arrangement for neutralizing the untwisting tendency of two opposite lays when spliced together, but is never required in present-day practise.
[28] This, of course, did not in any way come as a surprise, for the length of cable employed for these experiments had long since been condemned as imperfect.
[29] And so it is sometimes with telegraph-ships—as regards the dead weight of cable—even in the present day, when compared with the risks run by ordinary seagoing vessels.
[30] When these part to any extent a ship is always considered in a dangerous condition.
[31] By subsequent tests it was clear that at any rate the cable remaining on board was perfect. But after com paring notes with the Niagara, a strong belief was held that the cable probably parted at the bottom.
[32] This was from the last turn in the coil, and subsequently it was discovered that owing to the disturbance in the flooring of the tank during the storm, the cable had been damaged here.
[34] Though bearing this somewhat cumbersome and elaborate title, this instrument was practically nothing more nor less than an ordinary “detector,” its capacity for actually measuring the electric current being of an extremely limited character.
[35] This was some of the cable damaged during the storm, like that which had been broken at the end of the previous attempt. The bottom of the hold here was found afterward to be in a very disordered state.
[36] Later on it was made clear that this mysterious temporary want of continuity, accompanied by an apparent variation in the insulation, was due to a defect in the more or less inconstant sand-battery used aboard the latter vessel.
[37] It subsequently transpired that the trouble had been due to a fault in the Niagara’s ward-room coil. As soon as the electricians discovered this, and had it cut out, all went smoothly again.
[38] The amount of slack paid out had already been almost ruinous. Luckily its continuance was not necessary, or it would have been impossible to reach Ireland with the cable on board.
[48] In his work on the Electric Telegraph, the late Mr. Robert Sabine said: “At the date of the first Atlantic cable, the engineering department was far ahead of the electrical. The cable was successfully laid—mechanically good, but electrically bad.” Its electrical failure was, of course, bound to spell commercial failure, no matter how great its success as an engineering feat.
[49] In his presidential address to the Institution of Electrical Engineers in 1889, Lord Kelvin (the Professor Thomson referred to in these pages) said: “The first Atlantic cable gave me the happiness and privilege of meeting and working with the late Sir Charles Bright. He was the engineer of this great undertaking—full of vigor, full of enthusiasm. We were shipmates on the Agamemnon on the ever-memorable expedition of 1858, during which we were out of sight of land for thirty-three days. To Sir C. Bright’s vigor, earnestness, and enthusiasm was due the successful laying of the cable. We must always feel deeply indebted to our late colleague as a pioneer in that great work, when other engineers would not look at it, and thought it absolutely impracticable.”
[50] EncyclopÆdia Britannica, 8th edition, 1860. Article on The Electric Telegraph, by Prof. W. Thomson, F.R.S.
[51] Mr. Croskey also subsequently found the bulk of the capital for the exploring expeditions.
[52] Later Admiral Sir Leopold M’Clintock, K.C.B., LL.D., F.R.S.
[54] The reproduction given here is from a photograph kindly lent by Sir Allen Young.
[55] In consolidating the texture of the gutta-percha, pressure increases its electrical resistance, unless a flaw exists such as would then be immediately brought to light.
[57] Mr. Field compassed land and sea incessantly for the purpose of agitating the subject. He is said to have crossed the Atlantic altogether sixty-four times—suffering from sea sickness on each occasion—in connection with this great enterprise in which he formed so prominent a figure.
[59] The increased breaking strain here afforded over that of the first Atlantic line was partly due to the great improvement made in the manufacture of iron wire during the interval.
[60] Experience has since taught us, however, that such a type lacks durability, owing to the rapid decay of the hemp between the iron wires and the sea.
[61] The Great Eastern, in point of size, was only a little before her time. In the present day, with improved engines, she could be usefully and profitably employed, had she not been broken up.
[62] Afterward the able manager of the Eastern Telegraph Company.
[64] At a later period—after both the 1865 and 1866 cables were in working order—Mr. Collett sent a message from Newfoundland to Valentia with a battery composed of a copper percussion-cap and a small strip of zinc, which were excited by a drop of acidulated water—the bulk of a tear only.
[65] This is situated on the opposite side of Trinity Bay to Bull Arm, where the 1858 cable had been landed, and not so far up. It was supposed to be even more protected than Bull Arm, from which it is some eighteen miles distant.
[67] This is, of course, nowadays quite an ordinary occurrence, and by means of wireless telegraphy likely to become still more so. Then, however, it was a complete novelty.
[68] Mr. Clark borrowed the thimble—which was a very small one—from Miss Fitzgerald, the daughter of the Knight of Kerry, living at Valentia.
[69] Afterward the first Earl of Iddesleigh, G.C.B.
[70] This enterprise, although mainly on behalf of France and the rest of the European continent, was principally advanced by financiers in England; the working of the cable was also chiefly under British direction and management.
[71] Afterward, in 1873, merged with its cable into the Anglo-American Telegraph Company and its system.
[72] This company had just had two fresh cables laid for them (1873 and 1874) by the Telegraph Construction Company with some of their usual staff. The laying of the 1874 Atlantic was the last piece of telegraph work performed by the Great Eastern. She has since been broken up, after being employed, among other things, as a sort of variety show. New cables were first rendered necessary—according to the joint-purse agreement previously referred to—by the final breakdown, after several repairs, of the 1866 cable in 1872. Later on (in 1877) the 1865 also succumbed, and another “Anglo” cable was laid by the same contractors in 1880. The Telegraph Construction and Maintenance Company laid this 1880 cable without any hitch or stoppage within the surprisingly short space of twelve days, the record up to date in Atlantic cable-laying.
[73] Thus the Atlantic cable of to-day may be credited with an “output” of 100 words a minute as compared with a single word in the same period, such as was at first obtained in the pioneer days of one cable worked by one company.
[74] Wireless telegraphy is at present a comparatively slow working affair; and if it is to successfully compete with our Atlantic cables, this means a great multiplication of transatlantic circuits all more or less close together, and, in consequence, all more or less liable to interfere with each other under existing conditions. Probably, however, any new company formed for the purposes of telegraphic communication between different countries would not confine itself—either in name or practise—to cables, but would also cultivate the “wireless” system of telegraphy.
