When we consider the extraordinary undertaking that has been accomplished within the last few weeks; when we consider that a cable of about 2,000 miles has been extended beneath the ocean—a length which, if multiplied ten times, would reach our farthest colonies and nearly surround the earth; when we consider it is stretched along the bed of shingles and shells, which appeared destined for it as a foundation by Providence, and stretching from the points which human enterprise would look to; and when we consider the great results that will flow from the enterprise, we are at a loss here how sufficiently to admire the genius and energy of those who planned it, or how to be sufficiently thankful to the Almighty for having delegated such a power to the human race, for whose benefit it is to be put in force. (Cheers.) And let us look at the career which this telegraph has passed since it was first discovered. At first it was rapidly laid over the land, uniting states, communities, and countries, extending over hills and valleys, roads and railways; but the sea appeared to present an impenetrable barrier. It could not stop here, however; submarine telegraphy was but a question of time, and the first enterprise by which it was introduced was in connection with an old foe—and at present our best friend—Imperial France. (Hear, hear.) The next attempt which was successful was the junction of England and our island, and which was, I believe, carried out by the same distinguished engineer (Sir Charles Bright), whose name is now in the mouth of every man. (Hear, hear.) Other submarine attempts followed: the telegraph paused before the great Atlantic, like another Alexander, weeping as if it had no more worlds to conquer; but it has found another world, and it has gained it—not bringing strife or conquest, but carrying with it peace and good-will. (Applause.) I feel I should be wanting if I did not allude in terms of admiration{143} to the genius and skill of the engineer, Sir Charles Bright, who has carried out this enterprise, and to the zeal and courage of those who brought it to a successful termination. (Applause.) It is not necessary, I am certain, to call attention to the diligence and attention shown by the crew of the Agamemnon—(cheers)—because I am sure there is no one here who has not read the description of the voyage in the newspapers. The zeal and enterprise were only to be equaled by the skill with which it was carried out. I believe there was only a difference of twelve miles between the two ends of the cable when it came to the shore. There are some questions with regard to the date at which the work was carried out to which I wish to call attention. It was on the 5th August, 1857, that this enterprise was first commenced under the auspices of my distinguished predecessor, who I wish was here now to rejoice in its success—I mean only in a private capacity. (Cheers and laughter.) It was on the 5th August, 1858, it was completed, and it was on the 5th August, more than three hundred years ago, that Columbus left the shores of Spain to proceed on his ever-memorable voyage to America. It was on the 5th of August, 1583, that Sir Hugh Gilbert, a worthy countryman of Raleigh and Drake, steered his good ship the Squirrel to the shores of Newfoundland and first unfurled the flag of England in the very bay where this triumph has now taken place—(applause)—and it was on the same 5th of August that your sovereign was received by her imperial friend amid the fortifications of Cherbourg, and thereby put an end to the ridiculous nonsense about strife and dissension. (Applause.) Let the 5th August be a day ever memorable among nations. Let it be, if I may so term it, the birthday of England. (Applause.) Among the many points which must have given every one satisfaction was the manner in which this great success was received in America. (Hear.) There appears to have been but one feeling of rejoicing predominant among them; and I can not but think that that was not only owing to their commercial enterprise—which they shared along with us—but also, I{144} trust, more to the feelings of consanguinity and affection which I am sure we share, though occasionally disturbed by international disputes, and by differences caused by misrepresentations or hastiness. It must still burn as brightly in their breasts as in ours. (Applause.) I trust that, not only with our friends across the Atlantic, but with every civilized nation, this great triumph of science will prove the harbinger of peace, good-will, and friendship; and that England and America will not verify the first line of the stanza,
but that they will, by mutual intercourse, arrive at the last line of that stanza, and “like kindred drops, be mingled into one.” (Warm applause.)
Tests—Apparatus—First Messages—Gradual Failing—The “Last Gasp”—Engineering Success—Electrical Failure.
Continuity Tests during Laying.—As previously mentioned, two descriptions of instruments were used on board the ships for testing and working through while laying the cable. These were the “detector” of Mr. Whitehouse and Professor Thomson’s reflecting-apparatus.
The process of testing consisted in sending from one to the other vessel alternately, during a period of ten minutes, first a reversal every minute{145} for five minutes, and then a current in one direction for five minutes. The results of these signals to test the continuity of the line were observed and recorded on board both ships. There was also a special signal for each ten miles of cable paid out between the vessels.
When the splice was made on July 29th, 72 degrees deflection were obtained on the Agamemnon, from seventy-five cells of a sawdust (Daniell’s) battery on board the Niagara, which had previously given 83 degrees. On arrival at Valentia at 6.30 A.M., on August 5th, the deflection on the same instruments (detector and marine galvanometer being both in circuit as before) was 68 degrees, while the sending-battery power on the Niagara had fallen off at entry to 62½ degrees through the marine galvanometer on board that vessel. These figures show that the insulation of the cable had considerably improved by submersion, and when the engineers had accomplished their part of the undertaking, on August 5th, the cable was handed over in perfect condition to Mr. Whitehouse and his electrical assistant.
Apparatus Used in Working.—Unfortunately for the life of the cable, Mr. Whitehouse was imbued with a belief that currents of very high intensity, or potential, were the best for signaling; and he had enormous induction-coils, five feet long, excited by a series of very large cells, yielding electricity estimated at about 2,000 volts potential. The insulation was unable to bear the strain, and thus the signals began to gradually fail.[45]
For something like a week the efforts to work{146} through the cable with the above apparatus proved ineffectual, the power being constantly increased to no purpose. Professor Thomson’s reflecting galvanometer, which had worked so well during the voyage, was then used again with ordinary Daniell cells.
Messages.—In this way communication was resumed, the first clear message being received from Newfoundland on August 13, 1858, and—after considerable delay in getting the American receiving-apparatus ready—on the 16th the following was got through from the directors in England to those in United States:
Europe and America are united by telegraphy. Glory to God in the highest, on earth peace, good-will toward men!
Then followed:
From her Majesty the Queen of Great Britain to his Excellency the President of the United States:
The Queen desires to congratulate the President upon the successful completion of this great international work, in which the Queen has taken the greatest interest.
The Queen is convinced that the President will join with her in fervently hoping that the electric cable, which now already connects Great Britain with the United States, will prove an additional link between the two nations, whose friendship is founded upon their common interest and reciprocal esteem.
The Queen has much pleasure in thus directly communicating with the President, and in renewing to him her best wishes for the prosperity of the United States.
This message was shortly afterward responded to as follows:{147}
Washington City.
The President of the United States to her Majesty
Victoria, Queen of Great Britain:
The President cordially reciprocates the congratulations of her Majesty the Queen on the success of the great international enterprise accomplished by the skill, science, and indomitable energy of the two countries.
It is a triumph more glorious, because far more useful to mankind than was ever won by a conqueror on the field of battle.
May the Atlantic Telegraph, under the blessing of Heaven, prove to be a bond of perpetual peace and friendship between the kindred nations, and an instrument destined by Divine Providence to diffuse religion, civilization, liberty, and law throughout the world.
In this view will not all the nations of Christendom spontaneously unite in the declaration that it shall be forever neutral and that its communications shall be held sacred in passing to the place of their destination, even in the midst of hostilities?
James Buchanan.
Throughout the United States the arrival of the Queen’s message was the signal for a fresh outburst of popular enthusiasm.
Says Field:
The next morning, August 17th, the city of New York was awakened by the thunder of artillery. A hundred guns were fired in the City Hall Park at daybreak, and the salute was repeated at noon. At this hour flags were flying from all the public buildings, and the bells of the principal churches began to ring, as Christmas bells signal the birthday of One who came to bring peace and good-will to men—chimes that, it was fondly hoped, might usher in, as they should, a new era.
That night the city was illuminated. Never had it seen so brilliant a spectacle. Such was the blaze of light around the City Hall that the cupola caught fire and was consumed, and the hall itself narrowly escaped destruction. But one night did not exhaust the public enthusiasm, for the following evening witnessed one of those displays for which New York surpasses all the cities of the world—a firemen’s torchlight procession. Moreover, several wagon-loads (each containing about twelve miles) of the cable left on board the Niagara were drawn through the principal streets of the city.
Similar demonstrations took place in other parts of the United States. From the Atlantic to the Valley of the Mississippi, and to the Gulf of Mexico, in every city was heard the firing of guns and the ringing of bells. Nothing seemed too extravagant to give expression to the popular rejoicing.
The English press were warm in their recognition of those to whom the nation were “indebted for bringing into action the greatest invention of the age,” expressing belief that “the effect of bringing the three kingdoms and the United States into instantaneous communication with each other will be to render hostilities between the two nations almost impossible for the future.” And further, “more was done yesterday for the consideration of our empire than the wisdom of our statesmen, the liberality of our legislature, or the loyalty of our colonists could ever have effected.”[46]
The sermons preached on the subject, both in England and America, were literally without number. Enough found their way into print to fill over one volume. Never had an event more deeply touched the spirit of religious enthusiasm.{149}
With further reference to the active life of the cable, the following communications have some interest:
First of all three long congratulatory messages were transmitted, one on August 18th from Mr. Peter Cooper, president of the New York, Newfoundland, and London Telegraph Company, to the directors of the Atlantic Telegraph Company; another from the Mayor of New York to the Lord Mayor of London, his reply in acknowledgment following. Then two of the great Cunard mail-steamers, the Europa and Arabia, had come into collision on August 14th. Neither the news nor the injured vessels could reach those concerned on either side of the Atlantic for some days; but as soon as it became known in New York a message was sent by the cable, a facsimile of the original of which is shown on p. 150. This first public news message showed the relief given by speedy knowledge in dispelling doubt and fear.
Subsequently messages giving the news on both continents were transmitted and published daily. Among others, on August 27th, a despatch was sent by the secretary of the Atlantic Telegraph Company that was remarkable for the amount of important information contained in comparatively few words. It read as follows:
To Associated Press, New York.—News for America by Atlantic cable:—Emperor of France returned to Paris, Saturday. King of Prussia too ill to visit Queen Victoria. Her Majesty returns to England, August 30th. St. Petersburg, August 21st—Settlement of Chinese Question: Chinese Empire opened to trade; Christian religion allowed; foreign diplomatic agents admitted; indemnity to England and France.{150}
Fig. 31.—Facsimile of the First Public News Message Received through the Atlantic Cable.
Fig. 31.—Facsimile of the First Public News Message
Received through the Atlantic Cable.
Alexandria, August 9th.—The Madras arrived at Suez 7th inst. Dates Bombay to the 19th, Aden 31st. Gwalior insurgent army broken up. All India becoming tranquil.
The above was published in the American papers the same day.
{151}Further, as exemplifying the aid the cable afforded to the British Government, mention may be made of two messages sent from the commander-in-chief at the Horse Guards, on August 31st. Following the quelling of the Indian mutiny, they were despatched for the purpose of canceling previous orders which had already gone by mail to Canada.
The first, to General Trollope, Halifax, ran as follows: “The Sixty-second Regiment is not to return to England.” The other, to the officer in command at Montreal: “The Thirty-ninth Regiment is not to return to England.” From £50,000 to £60,000 was estimated by the authorities to have been saved, in the unnecessary transportation of troops, by these two cable communications.
But the insulation of the precious wire had, unhappily, been giving way. The high-potential currents from Mr. Whitehouse’s enormous induction-coils were too much for it; and the diminished flashes of light proved to be only the flickering of the flame that was soon to be extinguished in the external darkness of the waters. After a period of confused signals, the line ultimately breathed its last on October 20th, after 732 messages in all had been conveyed during a period of three months.[47] The last word uttered—and which may be said to have come from beyond the sea—was “forward.”
The line had been subject to frequent interruptions throughout. The wonder is that it did so much, when we consider the lack of experience at that period in the manufacture of deep-sea cables, the short time allowed, and, more than all, the{152} treatment received after being laid. It is, indeed, extremely doubtful whether any cable, even of the present day, would long stand a trial with currents so generated, and of such intensity.[48] An unusually violent lightning-storm occurred at Newfoundland shortly after the cable had been laid. This was considered a part cause of the actual failure of the line.
When all the efforts of the electricians failed to draw more than a few faint whispers—a dying gasp from the depths of the sea—there ensued, in the public mind, a feeling of profound discouragement. But what a bitter disappointment for those officially concerned in the enterprise! In all the experience of life there are no sadder moments than those in which, after much anxious toil in striving for a great object, and after a glorious triumph, the achievement that seemed complete becomes a wreck.
Engineering Demonstration.—Still the engineer of this great undertaking had the satisfaction of knowing that he had demonstrated (1) the possibility of laying over 2,000 miles of cable in one continuous length across a by no means calm ocean at depths of two to three miles; and (2) that, by the agency of an electric current, distinct and regular signals could be transmitted and received throughout an insulated conductor, even when at such a depth beneath the sea, across this{153} vast distance. The feasibility of either of these had been scouted at on all sides.[49]
Of course the gutta-percha coverings as then applied can not be compared with the methods and materials of later days, though a great advance on that of previous cables. It was a pity that—owing to the precipitation with which the undertaking was rushed through, and the fear of failure for want of capital—more time was not given to the consideration of Bright’s recommendation for a conductor four times larger, with a corresponding increase in the gutta-percha insulator. Under such conditions, it is highly improbable that high potentials would have ever been applied to the line. Unhappily—besides Faraday and Whitehouse—Professor Morse (when advising the Board in this matter) promulgated views directly opposed to the above, as has already been shown. In the course of his report Morse had said:
That by the use of comparatively small-coated wires, and of electro-magnetic induction-coils for the exciting-magnets, telegraphic signals can be transmitted through{154} two thousand miles, with a speed amply sufficient for all commercial and economical purposes.
Still the cable, inadequately constructed as it was from an electrical point of view, would probably have worked for years—though slowly, of course—had the fairly reasonable battery-power employed between the ships and up to the successful termination of the expeditions been continued in connection with Professor Thomson’s delicate reflecting-apparatus. The electrician, however, not only used much higher power immediately he took the cable in hand—for working his specially devised relay and Morse electromagnetic recording-instrument in connection with his enormous induction-coils—but actually increased the power from time to time up to nearly 500 cells, till the five-foot coils yielded a current urged by a potential of something like 2,000 volts. Hence, when signaling was resumed, as shown by the comparatively mild voltaic currents, for actuating the Thomson apparatus, a fault (or faults) had been already developed, necessitating a far higher battery-power than had been employed during the continuous communication between the ships while paying out.
The wounds opened farther under the various stimulating doses; the insulation was unable to bear the strain, and the circulation gradually ceased through a cable already in a state of dissolution.{155}
Expert Trials—Expert Evidence
THE great historical sea-line having collapsed, some of the foremost of the electrical profession were called in—first to determine the nature of the interruption with a view to possible remedy, next to elicit the cause.
Expert Opinions on the Failure.—Mr. Cromwell Fleetwood Varley, the electrician to the Electric Telegraph Company, Mr. E. B. Bright, the chief of the “Magnetic” Company; and Mr. W. T. Henley, the well-known telegraph inventor, were severally requested by the “Atlantic” Company to report on the subject in conjunction with Sir Charles Bright and Professor Thomson.
First of all the dead line was subjected to a series of tests. For this, resistance-coils and Messrs. Bright’s apparatus for ascertaining the position of a fault were employed. There was every evidence of a serious electrical leakage about 300 miles from Valentia, but there did not appear to be any fracture in the conductor, as exceedingly weak currents still came through fitfully. According to the above location, the main leak through the gutta-percha envelope was in water of a depth of about two miles. At that time means were not devised for grappling and lifting{156} a cable from such depths. But from independent tests by Thomson and Bright, it appeared likely that the Valentia shore end was also especially faulty. Accordingly, it was underrun from the catamaran-raft (previously used in 1857) for some three miles, but, on being cut at the farthest point at which it was found possible to raise the cable, the fault still appeared on the seaward side. The idea of repairs had, therefore, to be abandoned, and the cable was spliced up again.
The conductor being again intact, efforts were made to renew signals with the curb-key recently invented by Messrs. Bright. By means of this, currents of opposite character were transmitted so that each signaling current was followed instantly by one of opposite polarity, which neutralized, by a proportionate strength and duration, all that remained of its predecessor. Though this was the right principle on which to work, the “patient” was too far gone, and all efforts proved unavailing; for signaling purposes the poor cable was defunct.
Having dealt with the nature of the interruption, we now come to the cause. It was first of all abundantly clear from the station-diaries kept by the electricians at Valentia and Newfoundland, and by other irrefragable evidence, that when the laying was completed, and the cable ends were handed over to them from the ships on August 5th, all was in good working order.
The authorities were unanimous in their opinion. Mr. C. F. Varley declared that “had a more moderate power been used, the cable would still have been capable of transmitting messages.” In giving extra force to the above opinion, Mr. Varley{157} described an experiment he had made on the cable in conjunction with Mr. E. B. Bright:
We attached to the cable a piece of gutta-percha-covered wire, having first made a slight incision, by a needle-prick, in the gutta-percha to let the water reach the conductor. The wire was then bent, so as to close up the defect. The defective wire was then placed in a jar of sea-water, and the latter connected with the earth. After a few momentary signals had been sent from the five-foot induction-coils into the cable, and, consequently into the test-wire, the intense current burst through the excessively minute perforation, rapidly burning a hole nearly one-tenth of an inch in diameter, afterward increased to half an inch in length when passing the current through the faulty branch only. The burned gutta-percha then came floating up to the surface of the water, while the jar was one complete glow of light.
Professor Hughes, the inventor of the type-printing telegraph, and, subsequently, of the microphone, considered that “the cable was injured by the induction-coils, and that the intense currents developed by them were strong enough to burst through gutta-percha.” Professor Wheatstone gave a similar opinion.
Some one inquired of the electrician whether, if any one touched the cable at the time when the current was discharged from the induction-coil, he would receive a shock sufficiently strong to cause him to faint. It was admitted in reply that “those who touched the bare wire would suffer for their carelessness, though not if discretion be exercised by grasping the gutta-percha only.”
The chairman of the company (the Right Honorable J. Stuart Wortley, M.P.), in the course of a deputation to Lord Palmerston later on, stated{158} that “far too high charges of electricity were forced into the conductor. It was evidently thought at that time by certain electricians that you could not charge a cable of this sort too highly. Thus they proceeded somewhat like the man who bores a hole with a poker in a deal board; he gets the hole, to be sure, but the board is burned in the operation.”
Professor Thomson (now Lord Kelvin), writing in 1860, expressed the following opinion:
It is quite certain that, with a properly adjusted mirror-galvanometer as receiving-instrument at each end, twenty cells of Daniell’s battery would have done the work required, and at even a higher speed if worked by a key devised for diminishing inductive embarrassment; and the writer—with the knowledge derived from disastrous experience—has now little doubt but that, if such had been the arrangement from the beginning, if no induction-coils and no battery-power exceeding twenty Daniell cells had ever been applied to the cable since the landing of its ends, imperfect as it then was, it would be now in full work day and night, with no prospect or probability of failure.[50]
Summing up the cause of the untimely ending to the ill-used cable, perhaps the concisest verdict would be, in mechanical-engineering parlance, that “high-pressure steam had been got up in a low-pressure boiler.{159}”
North Atlantic Telegraph Project—Exploring Expedition—Ice Troubles—South Atlantic Telegraph Project.
THE gradual failure of the 1858 cable after a short period of working, and the slow rate at which messages were capable of being transmitted, naturally deterred capitalists from providing the means for another cable of such length in deep water.
Several schemes, however, for a fresh line on other routes were brought forward; and there was an alternative route between Great Britain and America by which the transmission of the electric current could be subdivided into four comparatively short sections. This was known in 1860 as the North Atlantic Telegraph project, in which the route was from the extreme north of Scotland to the Faroe Islands, thence to Iceland; from there to the southern point of Greenland, and so on to Labrador or Newfoundland. The distances were (varying a little according to landing-places selected) approximately:
| Miles | |
| From the north of Scotland to Faroe Islands | 225 |
| From the Faroe Islands to Iceland | 280 |
| From Iceland to Greenland, S. W. Harbor | 700 |
| From Greenland to Labrador | 550 |
| Total | 1755 |
Fig. 32.—The North Atlantic Telegraph Project, 1860.
Fig. 32.—The North Atlantic Telegraph Project, 1860.
From the electrician’s point of view, these subdivisions were extremely favorable as compared with the long continuous length entailed by an Atlantic cable between Ireland and Newfoundland. Then, again, the soundings (except for a section between Greenland and Labrador) did not yield anything approaching the more southern depths. But against these obvious advantages there was the engineering objection—which at first seemed insurmountable—that the Greenland coast was bound up by ice for a great part of the year, in addition to the risk of injury to the cable from the grounding of icebergs. This latter was of less moment, for it could be provided against by keeping the cable when approaching shore in the middle of any inlet, and thus away from the shallow sides where the icebergs “ground.” There was also the probable difficulty of obtaining a trained staff to work a line when laid to such inhospitable regions. However, having regard to the anxiety exhibited by many to get to the North Pole, this did not present an insuperable obstacle.
This bold project, with a route across the coldest and iciest regions of the Atlantic, was originally brought to the notice of the Danish Government by Mr. Wyld, the geographer, even before the Atlantic Telegraph Company had been established. It was again introduced in a different form by Colonel T. P. Shaffner, an American electrician of some note. Colonel Shaffner made a strong case of the series of short stages geographically afforded by the North Atlantic deviation. After the 1858 cable had ceased working, to back up his belief in the advantages of the route, which he characterized as having “natural{164} stepping-stones which Providence had placed across the ocean in the north,” he actually chartered a small sailing vessel, and, with his family on board, put forth from Boston on August 29th, 1859, for the purpose of making the preliminary survey. He landed in Glasgow in November of that year, and presented to the public the results of his voyage. During the voyage, Colonel Shaffner sounded the deep seas to be traversed between Labrador and Greenland and between Greenland and Iceland. His first object was to convince the public that there were no insuperable difficulties in the way. He found a warm supporter in Mr. J. Rodney Croskey, of London, who advanced the “caution” money to the Danish Government for the concessions requisite in the Faroes, Iceland, and Greenland.[51]
On May 15th, Lord Palmerston granted an audience to an influential deputation, headed by the Right Honorable Milner Gibson, M.P., and four other members of the House of Commons, to solicit the assistance of Government in sending out ships and officers to make the necessary official survey for ascertaining the practicability of the proposed route. The Premier appeared fully to appreciate the advantages of the north-about scheme, and in a very short time the Admiralty were directed to send out an expedition for the purpose of making the required survey.
The Admiralty selected for this duty Captain M’Clintock, R. N.,[52] an officer of great experience{165} in the navigation of the Arctic seas, and H.M.S. Bulldog was placed under his command. This distinguished officer was directed to take the deep-sea soundings, and he sailed from Portsmouth on his mission in June, 1860. In the meantime, the promoters of the enterprise purchased the Fox, the steam-yacht formerly employed in the successful search for the remains of the Franklin expedition, and fitted her out for the purpose of making surveys of the landing-places of the respective cables. The Fox was placed under the command of Captain Young,[53] of the mercantile marine, an officer well known for his distinguished labors under M’Clintock in the Franklin search. At the same time, Dr. John Rae, F.R.G.S., an intrepid Arctic explorer, volunteered his services to join the Fox, and take charge of the overland expeditions in the Faroe Isles, Iceland, and Greenland. Colonel Shaffner, as concessionaire—besides two delegates on the part of the Danish Government, Lieutenant von Zeilau and Arnljot Olafsson—also accompanied the Fox expedition, to take part in the necessary surveys.
Before the departure of the Fox, which sailed on July 18, 1860, her Majesty Queen Victoria, the Prince Consort, and other members of the royal family, honored the enterprise by a visit to that vessel, while lying off Osborne, and showed a lively interest in the details of the expedition.
On the return of the expedition, Sir Leopold M’Clintock wrote a full report to Sir Charles Bright, the consulting engineer of the project.{166} In this, Sir Leopold favored the route as perfectly practicable, pointing out that the ice would not really prove a difficulty, and strongly approving of the original intention of a land-line across Iceland to Faxe Bay, “as by so doing you will avoid the only part of the sea where submarine volcanic disturbances may be suspected.”
The results of the voyages of H.M.S. Bulldog and the steam-yacht Fox were brought before a crowded meeting of the Royal Geographical Society on January 28, 1861. Sir Leopold M’Clintock then gave the first public account of his numerous and careful soundings along, and in the vicinity of, the proposed course of the cable, interspersed with many useful remarks and hints as to ice, the best time for laying the line, etc., as well as the probable sphere of volcanic action in and off the south of Iceland. The above was followed by an exhaustive paper by Sir Charles Bright, giving a synopsis of Captain Young’s report on his voyage in the Fox, including the examination of various estuaries and harbors, so as to enable a decision to be arrived at as to the best landing-places, the climatic conditions, etc.
From both sets of soundings it was shown that, as a rule, the bottom was of ooze. Dr. Wallich, the naturalist of the expedition, had brought up brightly colored starfish from depths of over a mile, whereas it had previously been believed that nothing could possibly live under such an enormous pressure of water.
Fig. 33.—The North Atlantic Exploring Expedition, 1860.
Fig. 33.—The North Atlantic Exploring Expedition, 1860.
Then came a highly instructive paper by Dr. Rae. He gave a number of interesting particulars of his land surveys, the population, price of{167} food, wages, etc. He also described the ride of the Fox party across Iceland, while making important suggestions as to the route for the land-line with a view to avoiding the geysers.
Captain R. B. Beechey, R.N., afterward made a beautiful oil-painting of the party, including some of the Eskimos on the occasion of landing to explore the inland ice at Igaliko Fiord (see Fig. 33).[54]
At this time, however (1861), there was still too much discouragement owing to the stoppage in working of the first Atlantic cable, and to other causes with which we are about to deal. Moreover, there were those who still feared the ice-floes; and in the end the public did not respond sufficiently. Thus, after all, the “Grand North Atlantic Telegraph” project, which had been worked out with so much trouble and expense, was never actually realized.
Another scheme which attracted some attention about the same time was described as the “South Atlantic Telegraph.” This was for a long length of cable between the south of Spain and the coast of Brazil, touching at Madeira, the Canary Islands, Cape de Verde Isles, Don Pedro, and Fernando de Noronha Isles on the way, and stretching out to the West Indies and the United States. Then there was a project for a cable on an intermediate route from Portugal to the Azores, and thence to America, via Bermuda and the Southern States. Being, however, to a great{169} extent foreign in their scope, these latter schemes found little favor in this country at the time. They have, however, since been realized in some shape or form.
The Red Sea Line—Government Inquiry—Electrical Standards and Units—Further Cables—Improvements in Manufacture, Testing, and Working—Completion of Pioneer Stage.
The Red Sea Line.—Mr. Lionel Gisborne had obtained powers from the Turkish Government to carry a telegraph-line across Egypt and lay a cable down the Red Sea. The importance of this line to Great Britain led the Government to give definite assistance.
The first portion of the proposed cable—from Suez to Aden, with intermediate landings—was laid in 1859. The different sections broke down one by one. They were all laid very taut, the slack in some cases being less than one per cent, though the bottom was in certain parts very uneven. The second portion of the line, from Aden to Kurrachee, with intermediate stations, was laid during 1860, the slack working out at 0.1 per cent only. Faults developed very quickly in all the sections of both portions of the line. Apart from the small allowance for slack, the type of cable{170} adopted was of far too fragile a nature for some of its rough, reef-like resting-spots; indeed, the undertaking was spoken of as “like running a donkey for the Leger”! The promoters of this enterprise, having neither specially qualified men nor the necessary materials for carrying out repairs, were obliged to abandon it before any commercial work had been effected. This was a most unfortunate line in every way, for a complete message was never got through the entire length, but only through each section separately. Nevertheless, until quite recently, it cost Great Britain £36,000 per annum.
Inquiry on the Construction of Submarine Telegraphs.—Aroused more especially by the above failure, the Government, in 1859, before undertaking further responsibility, resolved to thoroughly investigate the construction of cables. It was also felt that the ultimate failure of the Atlantic line was possibly due, in part, to weak joints and general defects in the manufacture of the insulating envelope. This committee—under the direction of the Board of Trade, with Captain, afterward Sir Douglas, Galton, R.E., in the chair—devoted twenty-two sittings (covering a considerable period of time) to questioning engineers, electricians, professors, physicists, manufacturers, and seamen, who had taken part in the various branches of cable-work and whose knowledge or experience might throw light on the subject. Investigations were instituted concerning the structure of all cables previously made, and the quality of the different materials used, as to special points arising during manufacture and laying, on the routes taken, electrical testing, and{171} on sending and receiving instruments, speed of signaling, etc. Actual experiments were also made in connection with this inquiry, to ascertain (1) the electrical and mechanical qualities of copper, pure and alloyed; also of gutta-percha and other insulating substances; (2) the chemical change in their condition when submerged; (3) the effects of temperature and pressure on the insulating substances employed; (4) the elongation and breaking strain of copper wires; of iron, steel, and tarred hemp separately and combined; (5) the phenomena connected with electrically charging and discharging conductors; (6) methods of testing conductors and of locating faults; besides the whole science and practise of cable-making and laying.
The report of the committee was not published till some time afterward. It expressed a conviction that submarine telegraphy might be made sure and remunerative in the future, based on the evidence adduced regarding the proper manufacture and working of submarine telegraphs.
Formulation of Electrical Standards and Units.—This inquiry was shortly followed by an important paper before the British Association for the advancement of science by Sir Charles Bright and Mr. Latimer Clark (then in partnership), which put the practise of electrical testing on a systematic basis, thereby considerably forwarding all electrical work connected with submarine telegraphy. A committee was formed shortly afterward, which gave the suggestions then brought forward the seal of universal officialdom.
Further Cables.—About this time a number of other cable enterprises were set afoot, some in{172} shallow water and others in comparatively great depths. Though few of them were able to benefit by the information obtained in the inquiry, they were, in the main, more or less successful. These projects included cables between Malta and Alexandria, besides others in the Mediterranean and elsewhere. Sir Charles Bright, Mr. (afterward Sir C. W.) Siemens, Mr. Lionel Gisborne, and Mr. H. C. Forde were mainly associated with them as engineers and electricians. The line which met, however, with the most complete and lasting success was the first cable to India, laid (by Sir Charles Bright) in several sections along the Persian Gulf in 1863-’64. In this undertaking Messrs. Bright & Clark (engineers to the Government) introduced a complete system of electrical and mechanical testing. Every joint was, for the first time, efficiently tested, and the insulated core submitted to a hydraulic pressure representative of that which it would experience when laid.[55] A formula was also arrived at by an elaborate series of experiments for the effect of temperature on the insulation, which showed how enormously the resistance of gutta-percha increased by consolidation when submitted to the low temperatures of the bottom of the ocean. Chatterton’s compound had been already introduced for adhering the gutta-percha envelope to the wires, as well as for cementing together the different insulating coats; but Bright & Clark’s preservative composition for the iron armor was first used in this enterprise. This mixture not{173} only evades the oxidation that iron wires, even when galvanized, are subject to, but resists the attacks of the teredo and other objectionable animal life. Moreover, besides the type of cable being eminently suitable, the manufacture was carried out with extreme care and with all the advantage of experience and improved methods.[56]
Completion of Pioneer Stage.—With the successful termination of the above enterprise, forming the first telegraphic connection between the United Kingdom, Europe, and India, the science of constructing and laying submarine telegraphs was pretty definitely worked out, and no very striking departure has since been introduced. The pioneer stage may, indeed, at this juncture, be said to have reached completion.
For this reason the rest of our narrative on the Atlantic cable will be told more briefly—though at greater length than the contents of this chapter, recounting only the stepping-stones to what was to follow.{174}