THE SIMPLE IDEA OF AN ATLANTIC CABLE 37 
cable between Newfoundland and Nova Scotia, rough weather 
and perverse human nature interfered. It was a combination 
of comedy and tragedy. 
This was the age of ceremonious initiations and official dis- 
plays at the starting of public works. A friendly party of prom- 
inent persons interested in the new telegraph sailed from 
New York in August of 1855 ona palatial steamer to help with 
the cable-laying. They assumed that it would be only a pleas- 
ant outing. On board were Cyrus Field and his brother 
Henry, Peter Cooper, Professor Morse, Bayard Taylor (fam- 
ous traveler and writer), John Mullaly (a reporter), clergy- 
men, artists, and a number of ladies. After one or two stops 
for social calls and receptions, the steamer succeeded in locat- 
ing the little sailing bark that had brought the cable from 
England. Samuel Canning (later Sir Samuel Canning), of 
whom more will be heard, assumed charge of the engineering 
task now undertaken. 
The steamer was to take the bark in tow just off the New- 
foundland coast for the actual work of laying the cable. But 
the captain of the steamer had become offended because the 
master of ceremonies had placed a clergyman at the head of 
the table instead of himself and, in Cooper’s words, “he be- 
came as stubborn as a mule.” After fastening the end of the 
cable to the telegraph-house on shore, the party ordered the 
captain to tow the bark across the strait. The captain promptly 
ran the steamer into the bark and almost wrecked it; later 
he got into other difficulties and entangled the towing-cable 
in the steering-wheel. ‘The bark nearly foundered on a reef. 
Once under way, the rebellious captain refused to steer by 
the signal-marks placed on shore. “I know how to steer my 
ship,” he declared; “I steer by my compass.” A lawyer from 
the party drew up a paper warning him, but he merely steered 
out of the course in the other direction. When twenty-four 
miles of cable had been laid, they were only nine miles from 
shore, so badly had the captain steered. A storm then came 
