1857.J on ike Submarine Telegraph, 897 



The spot I had chosen, by accident, was a clifF under a building 

 once occupied by the immortal Dante, and wherein he composed a 

 portion of the Inferno, Here the end of the cable was attached 

 amid a salute of 60 guns, a scene in striking contrast to our solitary 

 proceedings at Dover, when the first cord that ever carried instan- 

 taneous intelligence from Continent to Continent was submerged. 



Captain Marquis Ricci, a Sardinian naval officer of reputed 

 skill, was on board, and advised us not to venture across the Medi- 

 terranean in a direct line, where we should have to encounter un- 

 known soundings, but to make a curve of some miles by the Islands 

 of Gorgonia and Capraia, where the depth would be little more than 

 100 fathoms. I replied, as greater depth* would have to be en- 

 countered between Sardinia and Africa, it was better at once to 

 prove the risk ; and, accordingly, we proceeded in a direct line, 

 accompanied by the frigate Malfatano, commanded by the Marquis 

 Boyle, who rendered us valuable service, by directing our route, 

 and by tiiking soundings as we progressed. 



The cable was laid in coils in the hold of the vessel, and before 

 paying out was passed four or five times round two large iron drums, 

 running out over an iron saddle on the stern of the vessel to the 

 water, the pressure at this point in deep water being very great. 

 For 14 miles all went on steadily : the pressure now caused some' 

 of the wires of the outer covering to break from tension, and on 

 entering the great depths, one of those sudden flights of the cable 

 occurred, which has taken place once on each subsequent occasion 

 between Sardinia and Africa ; every means were employed to stop 

 it, and after a few minutes its progress was arrested, and it was 

 brought up by a dead stop, when it was found that the insulation 

 was destroyed in a portion that had passed into the sea, during this 

 violent flight. Our only chance now was to recover from the sea 

 the injured portion, cut it out, and make a fresh join, — a difficult 

 and tedious operation, which occupied upwards of 30 hours, the 

 strain upon the cable being excessive, in consequence of the great 

 depth, 230 fathoms. When the injured portion came up, it was 

 found that the violent twist of the outer wire had cut into the gutta 

 percha wire of the inner core, and exposed it to the fatal action of 

 the water, which carried off' the current. Having repaired the 

 injury, an electric current was sent to Spezzia ; and the soundness 

 of the six conducting wires to land proving correct, we proceeded. 

 On nearing the coast of Corsica in the evening a fire and flag on 

 shore indicated the spot where the cable was to be made fast. The 

 vessel anchored about a mile from the coast, and the remaining 

 portion of the cable was conveyed ashore in boats. This done, an 

 electric communication was instantly dispatched through the cable 

 to Paris and Turin, announcing to the French and Sardinian 

 Governments the telegraphic union of Corsica with France and 

 Piedmont. 



We then sailed for the Straits of Bonifaccio, and the submerging 



