114 A SAGA OF THE SEAS 
to lay an Atlantic cable in four short sections by way of Ice- 
land and Greenland. From the north of Scotland to the Faroe 
Islands (owned by Denmark) was little more than two hun- 
dred miles; from there to Iceland (also Danish) was less than 
three hundred miles; the longest section, from Iceland to 
southern Greenland, was seven hundred miles; from there to 
Labrador was five hundred fifty miles. 
These short sections, combined with the shallow depths 
(except for one place between Greenland and Labrador), 
were strong advantages. ‘There were handicaps from icebergs 
and the desolate location of Greenland, but Colonel Shaffner 
was prepared to prove that these were not serious. In August, 
1859, he and his family sailed from Boston in a small vessel 
for a preliminary survey of the route. After making depth 
soundings off Greenland and Iceland, he arrived at Glasgow 
in November and aroused support for his scheme. His daring 
and initiative caught the public’s attention. 
In the spring of 1860, the British Government aided this 
North Atlantic project by sending out a ship to take sound- 
ings. To explore the landing places, the promoters purchased 
a steam yacht, which, carrying Shaffner and a capable party 
including two Danish officials, sailed from England during 
the summer, after a friendly visit from Queen Victoria and 
the Prince Consort. The findings of these two vessels were 
reported in January, 1861, to a crowded meeting of the Royal 
Geographical Society, when Sir Leopold McClintock and Sir 
Charles Bright, who were officially connected with the enter- 
prise, spoke favorably of the technical aspects, such as ice, vol- 
canoes, and the ooze of the ocean bottom. After these interest- 
ing preliminaries, however, the scheme fell into the general 
apathy that often engulfs such far-flung enterprises. 
There was also discussion of a South Atlantic route. This 
involved a cable between Spain and Brazil, by stops at Ma- 
deira, the Canary Islands, the Cape Verde Isles, and islands 
off the South American coast. Another suggestion was a route 
