156 Hature'6 /HMracles. 



f oundland to the west coast of Ireland the bot- 

 tom of the ocean was comparatively even, but 

 gradually deepening toward the coast of Ire- 

 land until it reached a depth of 2000 fathoms. 

 It was not so deep but that the cable could be 

 laid on the bottom, nor so shallow as to be in 

 danger of the waves, icebergs or large sea-ani- 

 mals. 



The water below a certain depth is always 

 still and not affected by winds or ocean cur- 

 rents. At many other points in crossing the 

 ocean, high mountains and deep valleys are 

 encountered, possessing all the topographical 

 features of dry land as the ocean bed is only 

 a great submerged continent. 



The beginning of the laying of the first At- 

 lantic cable was on Aug. 7, 1857. On the 

 morning of Aug. 7, 1858, a year later, after a 

 series of mishaps and adverse circumstances 

 that would have discouraged most men, the 

 country was electrified by a dispatch from 

 Cyrus W. Field of New York (to whom the 

 final success of the Atlantic cable is mainly 

 due), that the cable had been successfully 

 laid and worked. But this cable worked only 

 from the 10th of August to the 1st of Septem- 

 ber, having sent in that time 271 messages. 

 The insulation became impaired at some point, 

 when an attempt to force the current through 

 by means of a large battery only increased the 

 difficulty. 



