Great Fortunes: Cyrus W. Field Part 7
“There are some who will never forget that first night at sea. Perhaps the reaction from the excitement on shore made the impression the deeper. What strange thoughts came to them as they stood on the deck and watched that mysterious cord disappearing in the darkness, and gliding to its ocean bed! There are certain moments in life when every thing comes back upon us—when the events of years seem crowded into an hour. What memories came up in those long night hours! How many on board that ship thought of homes beyond the sea, of absent ones, of the distant and the dead! Such thoughts, mingling with those suggested by the scene around, added to the solemnity of the hour, had left an impression which can never be forgotten.
“But with the work in hand all is going on well. There are vigilant eyes on deck. Mr. Bright, the engineer of the company, is there, and Mr. Everett, Mr. De Sauty, the electrician, and Professor Morse. The paying-out machinery does its work, and though it makes a constant rumble in the ship, that dull, heavy sound is music to their ears, as it tells them that all is well. If one should drop to sleep, and wake up at night, he has only to hear the sound of ‘the old coffee-mill,’ and his fears are relieved, and he goes to sleep again.”
Saturday and Sunday passed away without accident, but on Monday, when two hundred miles at sea, in deep water, and safely beyond the great submarine mountain, the electrical continuity was suddenly lost. This interruption amazed and perplexed all on board, but no one was able to remedy it, or to account for it satisfactorily. It lasted for two hours, and then, just as the order was about to be given to cut the cable and endeavor to wind it in, it came back as suddenly and mysteriously as it had disappeared. The greatest delight was now manifested by all on board. “You could see,” says the correspondent of the London Times, “the tears of joy standing in the eyes of some as they almost cried for joy, and told their mess-mates that it was all right.”
That night, however, the expedition came to grief. The cable was running out freely at the rate of six miles per hour, while the ship was making only four. This was supposed to be owing to a powerful undercurrent. To check this waste of the cable the engineer applied the brakes firmly, which at once stopped the machine. The effect was to bring a heavy strain on the cable that was in the water. The stern of the ship was down in the trough of the sea, and as it rose upward on the swell, the pressure was too great, and the cable parted. The alarm was at once given, and the greatest consternation and grief prevailed on board. “It made all hands of us through the day,” says Captain Hudson, “like a household or family which had lost their dearest friend, for officers and men had been deeply interested in the success of the enterprise.”
The fleet immediately put about and returned to England, where Mr. Field at once informed the directors of the extent of the disaster. The remaining portions of the cable were landed and stored safely away, and the vessels were returned to their respective Governments. Orders were given for the manufacture of seven hundred miles of cable to replace the portion which had been lost, and to allow for waste in paying it out, and the most energetic preparations were made for another attempt.
