THE PAYING-OUT MACHINERY ON BOARD THE “GREAT EASTERN.”

The Great Eastern left the Thames on July 13th, 1865. After sundry mishaps, she turned her mighty prow towards the sunset, and proceeded on her stately way. All went well until the 29th of July, when a little after noon a new cry of alarm was raised. And well it might be, for the insulation was completely destroyed and the electric current overflowing uselessly into the sea. As the faulty piece had gone overboard, it was necessary once more to reverse the vessel’s course, and haul in the cable until the defective part was recovered. This was a difficult task, for they were in water two miles deep. Difficulties did not, however, daunt the pioneers of this great enterprise, and after working all the afternoon, the injured cable was got on board about ten o’clock at night. It was at once stowed away, and the next morning, Sunday, was welcomed with an eager feeling of relief and delight after the suspense of the preceding four-and-twenty hours. On Monday the miles of cable which had been hauled up and were coiled in huge heaps upon the deck were closely examined to discover the origin of the mischief. This was soon detected. Near the end a piece of wire was thrust through the very core, as if driven into it. The recurrence of such a mishap actually suggested suspicions of treachery. It was observed that the same gang of workmen were in the tank as at the time of the first fault. Mr. Canning sent for the men, and [pg 105]showing them the cable and the wire, asked for an explanation. All replied that it must have been done intentionally, and regretted that there was a traitor among them—the unknown traitor, of course, being one of those who thus expressed their sorrow. It seemed difficult to believe that any person could be base enough to plot in this stealthy way against the success of a beneficent enterprise, but such a thing had been done before in a cable in the North Sea, when the perpetrator of the crime was discovered and punished. In the present case there were not wanting motives to prompt the commission of such an act. The fall in the stock, we are told, on the London Exchange, caused by a loss of the cable, could hardly be less than half a million sterling. It was, however, found impossible to fix the deed on any one, for nothing was proved; and the instigator and the perpetrator both remaining unknown, of course a painful feeling of suspicion was left in the minds of Mr. Field and his colleagues. They saw that they must be on their guard; and it was agreed, therefore, that the gentlemen on board should take turn in keeping watch in the tank. The Great Eastern continued her voyage, and for three days, during which they accomplished 500 miles, no further trouble occurred. A few days later, however, a defect was found in the cable, and it became necessary to haul in a short portion of that last paid out. Unfortunately the machinery proved too weak for the purpose, and a breeze springing up, the cable chafed until it snapped right asunder. With one bound it flew through the stoppers, and plunged into the sea. “The shock of the instant,” Dr. Russell tells us, “was as sharp as the snapping of the cable itself,” so great was the disappointment felt on board.

The apparently wild attempt was immediately made to recover the cable. It was settled that the Great Eastern should steam to windward, and eastward of the position she occupied when the cable went down, lower a grapnel, and slowly drift across the track in which the lost treasure was supposed to be lying. So the leviathan ship stood away some thirteen or fourteen miles, and then lay-to in smooth water. The grapnel consisted of two five-armed anchors, of several hundredweight, one of which was shackled and secured to wire rope, of which there were five miles on board, and committed to the deep. “Away slipped the rope, yard after yard, fathom after fathom; ocean, like the horse-leech’s daughter still crying for ‘more’ and ‘more,’ still descending into the black waste of waters. One thousand fathoms—still more! One thousand five hundred fathoms—still more! Two thousand fathoms—more, still more! Two thousand five hundred fathoms (15,000 feet)—aye, that will do; the grapnel has reached the bed of the Atlantic; the search has commenced.” Next morning these efforts bore fruit, for the great sea-serpentine cable was caught, and raised seven hundred fathoms (4,200 feet), towards the surface, unhappily to again fall to the bottom. A second attempt resulted in raising it a mile and a half, when a swivel gave way, and it again sank to the bottom. These experiments had used up a considerable quantity of the wire rope, and every expedient had to be adopted to patch up and strengthen the fishing apparatus, which gave full employment to the mechanics on board. Great forge-fires were made on deck, which at night illumined the ocean for a distance round, and helped to make a striking and effective scene. A third and fourth attempt was made to raise the cable; but in spite of the indomitable perseverance of Field and his associates, without success, and the bows of the great ship were sorrowfully directed towards home.

In spite of these failures no abatement of public confidence in the eventual success of [pg 106]the enterprise was shown on the return of the expedition to England. Nearly a quarter of a million pounds sterling was subscribed privately towards the next attempt, and when the subscription books were thrown open to the public, the whole capital required was furnished in a fortnight. Some minor improvements were introduced in the successful 1866 cable; among other points, it was galvanised.

When the day arrived for the final great effort, the undertaking was inaugurated solemnly by special prayer and supplication. Dr. Field says of that moment:—

“Was there ever a fitter place or a fitter hour for prayer than here, in the presence of the great sea to which they were about to commit their lives and their precious trust? The first expedition ever sent forth had been consecrated by prayer. On that very spot, nine years before, all heads were uncovered and all forms bent low at the solemn words of supplication; and there had the Earl of Carlisle—since gone to his honoured grave—cheered them on with high religious hopes, describing the ships which were sent forth on such a mission as ‘beautiful upon the waters as were the feet upon the mountains of them that publish the gospel of peace.’

“Full of such a spirit, officers and directors assembled at Valentia on the day before the expedition sailed, and held a religious service. It was a scene long to be remembered. There were men of the closet and men of the field, men of science and men of action, men pale with study and men bronzed by sun and storm. All was hushed and still. Not a single gun broke the deep silence of the hour, as, with humble hearts, they bowed together before the God and Father of all. They were about to ‘go down to the sea in ships,’ and they felt their dependence on a higher Power. Their preparations were complete. All that man could do was done. They had exhausted every resource of science and skill. The issue now remained with Him who controls the winds and waves. Therefore was it most fit that before embarking they should thus commit themselves to Him who alone spreadeth out the heavens and ruleth the raging sea.

“In all this there is something of antique stamp, something which makes us think of the sublime men of an earlier and better time: of the Pilgrim Fathers kneeling on the deck of their little ship at Leyden, as they were about to seek a refuge and a home in the forests of the New World, and of Columbus and his companions celebrating a solemn service before their departure from Spain. And so with labour and with prayer was this great expedition prepared to sail once more from the shores of Ireland, bearing the hopes of science and of civilisation, with courage and skill looking out from the bows of the ship across the stormy waters, and a religious faith, like that of Columbus, standing at the helm.

“On Friday the 13th of July, 1866, the fleet finally bade adieu to the land. Was Friday an unlucky day? Some of the sailors thought so, and would have been glad to leave a day before or after. But Columbus sailed on Friday, and discovered the New World on Friday; and so this expedition put to sea on Friday, and, as a good Providence would have it, reached land on the other side of the Atlantic on the same day of the week! As the ships disappeared below the horizon, Mr. Glass and Mr. Varley went up on their watch-tower, not to look, but to listen for the first voice from the sea. The ships bore away for the buoy where lay the end of the shore [pg 107]line, but the weather was thick and foggy, with frequent bursts of rain, and they could not see far on the water. For an hour or two the ships went sailing round and round, like sea-gulls in search of prey. At length the Medway caught sight of the buoy tossing on the waves, and firing a signal gun, bore down straight upon it. The cable was soon hauled up from its bed, 100 fathoms deep, and lashed to the stern of the Great Eastern; and the watchers on shore, who had been waiting with some impatience, saw the first flash, and Varley read, ‘Got the shore-end all right; going to make the splice.’ Then all was still, and they knew that that delicate operation was going on. Quick, nimble hands tore off the covering from a foot of the shore-end and of the main cable till they came to the core, then swiftly unwinding the copper wires they laid them together as closely and carefully as a silken braid. Then this delicate child of the sea was wrapped in swaddling clothes, covered up with many coatings of gutta-percha and hempen rope and strong iron wires, the whole bound round and round with heavy bands, and the splicing was complete. Signals are now sent through the whole cable on board the Great Eastern and back to the telegraph house at Valentia, and the whole length, 2,440 nautical miles, is reported perfect, and so with light hearts they bear away. It is nearly three o’clock. As they turn to the west, the following is the ‘order of battle’: the Terrible goes ahead, standing off on the starboard bow, the Medway is on the port, and the Albany on the starboard quarter. From that hour the voyage was a steady progress. Indeed, it was almost monotonous from its uninterrupted success. The weather was variable, alternating with sunshine and rain, fogs and squalls; but there was no heavy sea to interrupt their course, and the distance run was about the same from day to day, as the following table will show:—

Distance Run.
Miles.		 Cable Paid Out.
Miles.
Saturday, 14th108116
Sunday, 15th128139
Monday, 16th115137
Tuesday, 17th117138
Wednesday, 18th104125
Thursday, 19th112129
Friday, 20th117127
Saturday, 21st121136
Sunday, 22nd123133
Monday, 23rd121138
Tuesday, 24th120135
Wednesday, 25th119130
Thursday, 26th128134
Friday, 27th100 104.”