ENGINEERING DIFFICULTIES 57 
officials had over-ruled him in order that constant communi- 
cation could be maintained with the telegraph-office on the 
Irish shore. Such communication was not really necessary, 
but there was a reassuring novelty in being able to send mes- 
sages from shore to a ship hundreds of miles out in the ocean 
during the work. 
An early start was made this year in June, as the weather 
authorities considered that month the most favorable for 
calm seas. Like many of the other vicissitudes of the project, 
this prophecy proved wrong. On June 10, the “wire squad- 
ron” sailed from Plymouth “with fair skies and bright pros- 
pects.’” After two days of good weather, a terrific storm blew 
up and continued furiously for over a week. The Agamem- 
non in particular almost foundered. The great weight of 
cable was a serious handicap. A large coil on deck not only 
made the ship top-heavy but actually broke loose and threat- 
ened to hurtle through the side; the cable was badly snarled. 
Almost by a miracle the hard-pressed vessel, battered and 
leaking, kept from turning turtle and survived the terrible 
pounding. The crew were exhausted and many were in- 
capacitated. 
The storm finally ended, and fifteen days after leaving 
Plymouth the four ships came together at the appointed 
meeting-place on a sea so tranquil as to seem unnatural. After 
many repairs and adjustments the cable was spliced, and the 
ships separated. Only six miles had been paid out when the 
Niagara’s end, which had become too slack, broke near the 
machine that was paying it out. 
The two ships returned, made a fresh splice, and started 
again. Everything ran smoothly until about eighty miles had 
been laid. ‘Then Professor ‘Thomson of the Agamemnon, 
coming on deck just before dawn, reported something wrong 
in the electrical continuity. At the same time on the Niagara 
Cyrus Field discovered a similar fault. ‘The cable had parted 
somewhere, but just what happened always remained a puz- 
