MAKING AND LAYING SUBMARINE CABLES. 193 
An increase of a quarter of a ton on the strain was generally 
considered an indication that the cable had been hooked, and 
it rarely happened that this did not prove the case. No attempt 
at raising was made, however, until the additional strain rose 
to two tons. That is, as soon as a strain of ten and a-half to 
twelve and a-half tons was observed, the ship was put back so 
as to relieve the strain on the cable, and then the operation of 
raising was begun. At that instant the strain rose to fourteen 
or fifteen tons, and kept at that amount until the cable left 
the bottom, after which the strain gradually diminished. 
The attempt was once made to raise the cable without the help 
of other ships, and this attempt was almost crowned with 
success. The cable was, in fact, raised a few feet above the 
surface of the water, with a strain of six and a-half tons. 
Unfortunately the strong swell at the time made the vessel 
pitch, and the cable broke and fell into the sea. 
After many fruitless attempts the cable was at length fished 
up in the following manner. It was first hooked by the Great 
Eastern , which after having taken 900 fathoms on board, sus¬ 
pended it from a buoy b (fig. 129). The buoy was of the largest 
size, weighing three and a-quarter tons, and was able to support 
a weight of thirteen tons. The Great Eastern proceeded to drag 
three or four miles to the east at s, and once again caught the 
cable. The Medivay also hooked it at m, two miles from the 
Great Eastern , and on a signal from the Great Eastern , began 
to haul in the cable, while the great steamer did the same. 
The instructions given to the Medivay were to cut the cable, if 
she could not raise it to the surface. This was done ; the 
cable was cut by the Medivay with about two hundred fathoms 
on board. The Great Eastern had thus one end of the cable 
forming a slack loop of about two miles length, and the tension 
on the grappling line was immediately much reduced. The 
cable was in the end fortunately brought on board, and the 
electric circuit with Yalentia having been found good, the end 
that had been raised up was spliced to the cable on board the 
Great Eastern , which completed the line by laying down the 
680 additional miles required to reach Heart’s Content, and to 
connect Newfoundland with Ireland. 
o 
