The Story of the Atlantic CableBright, Charles, Sir
History
The Story of the Atlantic Cable
Bright, Charles, Sir
Transatlantic cables
Immediately after the mishap, a brief consultation was held by
those in charge on board the Agamemnon, and as it was shown that
they had only exceeded the distance from the rendezvous by fourteen
miles, and that there was still more cable on board the two vessels
than the amount with which the original expedition last year was
commenced, it was determined to try for another chance and return
to the rendezvous, sailing there, of course; for Mr. Brown, the
chief engineer, as ultrazealous in the cause as a board of
directors, guarded the coal-bunkers like a very dragon, lest, if in
coming to paying out the cable again, steam should run short,
thereby endangering the success of the whole undertaking.
For the fifth time, therefore, the Agamemnon's head went about, and
after twenty days at sea she again began beating up against the
wind for the rendezvous to try, if possible, to recommence her
labors. The following day the wind was blowing from the southwest,
with mist and rain, and Thursday, July 1st, gave every one the most
unfavorable opinion of July weather in the Atlantic. The wind and
sea were both high--the wet fog so dense that one could scarcely
see the mastheads, while the damp cold was really biting.
Altogether it was an atmosphere of which a Londoner would have been
ashamed even in November. Later in the day a heavy sea got on; the
wind increased without dissipating the fog, and it was
double-reefed topsails and pitching and rolling as before. However,
the upper-deck coil of 250 tons being gone, the Agamemnon was as
buoyant as a lifeboat, and no one cared how much she took to
kicking about, though the cold wet fog was a miserable nuisance,
penetrating everywhere and making the ship as wet inside as out.
What made the matter worse was that in such weather there seemed no
chance of meeting the Niagara unless she ran into us, when
cable-laying would have gone on wholesale. In order to avoid such a
contretemps, and also to inform the Valorous of our whereabouts,
guns were fired, fog-bells rung, and the bugler stationed forward
to warn the other vessels of our vicinity. Friday was the ditto of
Thursday and Saturday, worse than both together, for it almost blew
a gale and there was a heavy sea on. On Sunday, the 4th, it
cleared, and the Agamemnon for the first time during the whole
cruise, reached the actual rendezvous and fell in with the
Valorous, which had been there since Friday, the 2d, but the fog
must have been even thicker there than elsewhere, for she had
scarcely seen herself, much less anything else till Sunday.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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