Chapter I: Part 1

Transcriber’s Notes:

Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_).

Additional Transcriber’s Notes are at the end.

* * * * *

THE NORTH ATLANTIC TELEGRAPH VIA THE FÆRÖE ISLES, ICELAND, AND GREENLAND.

PROCEEDINGS
OF THE
ROYAL GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY OF GREAT BRITAIN,
JANUARY 28TH AND FEBRUARY 11TH, 1861.

REPORTS OF THE SURVEYING EXPEDITIONS,
ETC., ETC.

THE LORD ASHBURTON, PRESIDENT.

LONDON:
EDWARD STANFORD, 6, CHARING CROSS.
1861.

* * * * *

LONDON:
BRADBURY AND EVANS, PRINTERS, WHITEFRIARS.

CONTENTS.

PAGE

I. Introduction 7

II. Meeting of the Royal Geographical Society, Jan. 28th, 1861 13

Remarks by the Lord Ashburton 14

III. A paper on the Surveys of the Deep Seas, showing the
practicability of the proposed North Atlantic Telegraph
route; by Sir Leopold M‘Clintock, late Commanding Her
Majesty’s ship “Bulldog.” 16

IV. A paper on the Surveys of the Landing-places for the
proposed Telegraph, being a synopsis of the reports of Mr.
Allen Young, Commander of the “Fox” Expedition;
with other remarks by Sir Charles Bright 29

V. A paper on the Land Sections of the proposed Telegraph
over the Færöe Isles and Iceland; by Dr. John Rae,
Commander of the Land Expeditions 44

VI. A paper on the Fiords of South Greenland; by Mr. J. W.
Tayler, late resident of Greenland for seven years 61

VII. Remarks on the Electric Circuits of the proposed North
Atlantic Telegraph; by Col. Tal. P. Shaffner 67

VIII. Meeting of the Royal Geographical Society, Feb. 11th, 1861 75
Remarks by The Lord Ashburton 75
” Sir Edward Belcher, R.N. 76
” Pliny Miles, Esq. 78
” Captain Sherard Osborn, R.N. 81
” John Ball, Esq. 83
” Sir Roderick Murchison 85
” Dr. John Rae 86

IX. Opinions of Residents of Greenland on the practicability
of laying Telegraph Cables upon the coast of Julianshaab
District 89

X. Opinions of the Danish Commissioners on the practicability
of the proposed Telegraph Route 94

MAPS, DIAGRAMS, AND ILLUSTRATIONS

EXHIBITED AT THE ROYAL GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY, PERTAINING TO THE NORTH ATLANTIC TELEGRAPH.

1. A LARGE SPHERICAL MAP, embracing the seas and lands to be
traversed by the proposed North Atlantic Telegraph; also of the
Continents of Europe and North America.

2. A MAP, showing the rivers, lakes, geysers, mountains, glaciers,
plains, farms, and towns of Iceland; also the track travelled
over by Dr. John Rae, Commander of the Land Expedition of the
North Atlantic Telegraph, and of the proposed route of the line
across Iceland.

3. A LARGE MAP OF THE FÆRÖE ISLES, and another of the Stromöe Isle,
showing the mountains, valleys, fiords, bays, and towns; and
the track travelled over by the Land Expedition, and the route
proposed for the Telegraph.

4. A MAP OF THE ATLANTIC OCEAN, with all the deep-sea soundings
taken by the British and American Governments north of the
Tropics, showing the superior favourable depths of the seas on
the North Atlantic Telegraph route.

5. A MAP OF GREENLAND, showing the mountains, islands, unexplored
regions, glaciers, and fiords, south of the Arctic Circle.

6. A LARGE MAP OF JULIANSHAAB DISTRICT, SOUTH GREENLAND, showing the
mountain ranges, groups of isles, the many long, deep, and wide
fiords in which the Telegraph Cables can be safely laid, and
beyond the reach of icebergs.

7. CHARTS of the various bays and fiords examined by Mr. Allen
Young, Commander of the “Fox” Expedition, and reported by him as
suitable and safe places for the landing of the cables on the
coasts of the Færöe Isles, Iceland, and Greenland.

8. MAPS, with the deep-sea soundings, taken by Sir Leopold
M‘Clintock, on the proposed North Atlantic Telegraph route, viâ
the Færöe Isles, Iceland, and Greenland; and with the soundings
taken by Commander Daymon on the route of the late Atlantic
Telegraph from Ireland to Newfoundland.

9. A DIAGRAM, showing the mode of telegraphic manipulation over air
lines, with the earth forming half of the circuit, connecting the
respective voltaic batteries.

10. A LARGE DIAGRAM, illustrating the mode of coupling together
two or more electric circuits by mechanical contrivances, so
as to overcome great distances by a combination of separate
and independent circuits, charged respectively by batteries;
precisely as can be practically applied and operated on the
proposed North Atlantic Telegraph.

11. MODEL STATIONS, with telegraphic apparatuses, representing
Europe, Færöe Isles, Iceland, Greenland and America; by which
dispatches were sent by the motion of the finger from Europe
to America, and simultaneously to the Færöe Isles, Iceland,
and Greenland, precisely as can be done on the proposed North
Atlantic Telegraph; so that dispatches need not be re-written at
the respective places, but sent instantaneously from Europe to
America, in the same manner as is daily done from London to St.
Petersburg, to Vienna, to Constantinople, and other places far
distant.

12. A CHART of the surveys of Hamilton’s Inlet and the sea adjacent
thereto, by Sir Leopold M‘Clintock’s expedition, showing that
the water is sufficiently deep to permit a heavy shore cable to
lie in safety.

13. ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY STEREOSCOPIC VIEWS, illustrating the
people, houses, churches, farms, towns, bays, mountains, valleys,
water-falls, geysers, and various subjects of interest on the
route of the proposed telegraph at the Færöe Isles, Iceland, and
Greenland; taken by Mr. John E. Woods, of the “Fox” Expedition.

14. SPECIMENS of deep-sea soundings, taken on the route of the
proposed telegraph, exhibited through microscopes. [These
soundings have been examined by the philosopher Ehrenberg,
and they prove his theory of life at the bottom of the ocean;
and, also that the bottoms of the respective seas are highly
favourable for the proposed telegraph.]

THE NORTH ATLANTIC TELEGRAPH.

The idea of laying down a telegraph line between Europe and America, by what is now familiarly known as the North Atlantic _route_, was advanced many years ago both in England and America. In the year 1854 Colonel Shaffner of the United States took steps towards the actual realisation of the project. Owing, however, to the Russian war distracting public attention at the time, and subsequently to the engrossing claims of the attempt to carry a deep-sea cable direct from Ireland to Newfoundland, it was not until within the last twelvemonths that the British nation became acquainted with the proposed north-about route, as offering the most practicable mode of effecting Transatlantic telegraphic communication.

The success which attended the laying of the cable between Dover and Calais in 1851, gave an impetus to submarine telegraphy. Cables were laid from time to time over various rivers and arms of the seas; and as no instance of failure occurred, the possibility of crossing the Atlantic itself came to be regarded as a feasible project. There had been no manifestations in electrical phenomena to cause any doubt as to the successful transmission of the galvanic current through a cable of the length required to connect the two continents, a distance of 2100 miles, until the latter part of the year 1853, when it was made known by that distinguished philosopher, Professor Faraday, that the electric force is arrested in its transit through very long cables. Subsequent experiments demonstrated that this retardation is cumulative, increasing in a certain ratio in proportion to the distance traversed; that is to say, while it takes one-third of a second to transmit a current through a cable 500 miles in length, it will take about a second to transmit it 1000 miles. The discovery of this fact was considered by many electricians both in England and America to be a fatal obstacle to the commercial success of working a cable from Europe to America direct.

Among the most prominent who held this opinion was Colonel Shaffner of America. And early in the year 1855 we find that he published his opinion in the following language, which up to the present time he continues to entertain, viz.: “I will not say that a galvanic or magnetic electrical current can never be sent from Newfoundland to Ireland; but, I do say that, with the present discoveries of science, I do not believe it practicable for telegraph service.” That gentleman had devoted himself to the science and art of electric telegraphy for many years, and had been the pioneer of the telegraph in the Western States, where under his guidance the wires were extended to the verge of civilisation in the West as early as 1851. By 1850 his name stood high as one of the first telegraphic engineers of the United States. A short time after Professor Faraday’s lecture, he started the project of a telegraphic communication between the two continents by a series of short stages, in preference to a continuous line carried right across the ocean. His original idea was to connect Europe generally with America, and he accordingly proposed to carry his line from Labrador to Greenland, from Greenland to Iceland and the Færöe Islands, and from the Færöe Islands to Norway, and thence to Copenhagen. He visited Europe for the purpose of securing the necessary concessions, and in August 1854 obtained one from the King of Denmark, and others from the Governments of Sweden and Norway in the following year. Thus, at the time when the question of a connection by telegraph with America had been but scarcely entertained in this country, Colonel Shaffner had already laid down a route, availing himself of those natural stepping-stones which Providence had placed across the ocean in the North, and thus evading many of the difficulties and risks which it was predicted would be encountered in the direct sea route.

Subsequently, when the difficulties connected with that route came to be demonstrated by actual trial, Colonel Shaffner, with a view to meet the urgent wants of the British mercantile community, resolved upon diverting the European end of the cable from Norway to Scotland, which was cheerfully accorded by the Government of Denmark. In 1859 he took another important step in the execution of his project, which was to explore personally the intended route by Greenland and Iceland. He conceived he had good grounds for believing that the ice of Labrador and Greenland would not imperil the safety of a cable laid on the bed of the sea, provided the shore-end could be properly secured, and that there was nothing in the electrical conditions of the Northern regions to interfere with the working of the telegraph. He, accordingly, chartered a small sailing vessel, and embarking with his family on board, put forth from Boston on the 29th of August, 1859, for the purpose of making this preliminary survey. He landed at Glasgow in November of that year, and presented to the public the results of his voyage, at a meeting over which presided the Dean of Guild, Mr. Buchanan. The observations made and facts collected on that voyage gave the public reason to hope that telegraphic communication could be established by way of the proposed route, and so satisfied were his friends in London with the advantages held out, that funds necessary to secure the undertaking were promptly found.

During the voyage above referred to, Colonel Shaffner sounded the deep seas to be traversed by the telegraph between Labrador and Greenland, and between Greenland and Iceland. These and other observations have been most singularly corroborated by the more recent Government survey by Sir Leopold M‘Clintock, and by that of Mr. Allen Young, commander of the “Fox” Expedition.

In the course of the spring of 1860, Colonel Shaffner read a paper on the proposed North Atlantic Telegraph to the members of the Royal Geographical Society, and every assistance was rendered, under the able direction of the President, Earl de Grey, Sir Roderick Murchison, and the Secretary, Dr. Norton Shaw. On the 15th of May, Lord Palmerston granted an audience to an influential deputation, headed by the Right Hon. Milner Gibson, and four other members of the House of Commons, to solicit the assistance of Government in sending out ships and officers to make the necessary official survey for ascertaining the practicability of the proposed route. The Premier appeared fully to appreciate the advantages of the north-about scheme, and in a very short time the Admiralty were directed to send out an expedition for the purpose of making the required survey.

The Admiralty selected for this duty Captain Sir Francis Leopold M‘Clintock, an officer of great experience in the navigation of the Arctic Seas, and Her Majesty’s steamer “Bulldog” was placed under his command. This distinguished officer was directed to take the deep-sea soundings, and he sailed from Portsmouth on his mission in June, 1860. In the meantime, the promoters of the enterprise purchased the “Fox,” the yacht formerly employed in the successful search for the remains of the Franklin expedition, and fitted her out for the purpose of making the surveys of the landing places of the respective cables. The “Fox” was placed under the command of Captain Allen Young, of the mercantile marine, an officer well known for his distinguished labours under M‘Clintock in the Franklin search. At the same time, Dr. Rae, an intrepid Arctic explorer, volunteered his services to join the “Fox,” and take charge of the overland expeditions in the Færöe Isles, Iceland, and Greenland. Whilst Colonel Shaffner, as Concessioner and Telegrapher, and two delegates on the part of the Danish Government, Lieutenant Von Zeilau and Arnljot Olafsson, a member of the Icelandic Diet, accompanied the “Fox” Expedition, to take part in the necessary surveys.

Before the departure of the “Fox,” which sailed on July 18th, 1860, Her Majesty the Queen, the Prince Consort, and other members of the Royal Family, honoured the enterprise by a visit to that vessel, while lying off Osborne, and took a lively interest in the details of the expedition.

The “Bulldog” returned to England in November, and the “Fox” arrived towards the latter part of the same month. Both expeditions, notwithstanding an unusually tempestuous season, were successfully carried out, and on the evening of Monday, the 28th January, in the present year, the results of their labours, as well as those of Dr. Rae and Colonel Shaffner, with a report upon the Greenland Fiords, by Mr. J. W. Tayler, a resident on that coast for seven years, were presented to the members of the Royal Geographical Society.

The respective papers were received with repeated applause, and every possible manifestation was given, indicating the confidence of those present in the practicability of the enterprise. At the subsequent meeting, February 11th, a discussion upon the papers took place, on which occasion the promoters and others engaged in this great undertaking were enthusiastically congratulated upon their most triumphant success, in proving the practicability of the proposed telegraphic route, _viâ_ the Færöe Isles, Iceland, and Greenland.

Before closing these remarks it is but justice to notice the assistance given to the enterprise by Mr. Joseph Rodney Croskey, of London. This gentleman not only advanced the 100,000 rix dollars caution money paid to the Danish Government, but he also made the requisite advances for the purchase of the “Fox,” fitting her out for the late Expedition, and all the preliminary expenses up to the present time.

THE ROYAL GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY. MONDAY EVENING, JANUARY 28, 1861.

A crowded meeting of the members and their friends assembled at Burlington House, on Monday, January 28th, to receive the Reports of the late Expeditions for the survey of the North Atlantic Telegraph route.

The LORD ASHBURTON, President of the Society, in the Chair.

Among the many distinguished and influential personages present were Sir R. I. Murchison, His Excellency the Danish Minister M. de Billé, Count Apponyi, Sir Walter Trevelyan, Admiral Sir Thomas Herbert, General Portlock, R.E., Lord Alfred Churchill, M.P., Sir Thomas Fremantle, Sir H. Maxwell, Sir John Login, Sir Charles Bright, Captains Collinson and Ommanney, Sir F. L. M‘Clintock, Sir F. Nicolson, Sherard Osborn, J. Stopford, G. A. Bedford, Byron Drury, A. Ryder, and Pike, R.N., Hon. A. Kinnaird, M.P., Mr. J. Wyld, M.P., Mr. Cornelius Grinnell, of New York, Dr. Hamel, of Russia, Colonels Loyd and Cartwright, Major Edwards, R.E., Captains Sydney Webb, C. Johnston, R. Burton, Claude Clerk, E. M. Jones, and D. J. Herd, Drs. Ogle, Lister, Bennett, Bigsby, and M‘Cosh, Messrs. J. R. Croskey, J. E. Davis, W. J. Hamilton, J. Crawfurd, Brooking, C. White, R. Bentley, J. Murray, C. V. Walker, George Saward, Arrowsmith, E. O. Smith, Cook, Gould, Vaux, Finlay, Rev. C. P. Wilbraham, and Colonel Shaffner, Dr. Holland, Pliny Miles, and Geo. F. Train, of the United States.

Sir Charles Bright, General Eber, the Rev. C. J. Fynes Clinton, Consul C. P. Hodgson, of Japan, the Rev. E. H. Mainwaring Sladen, the Marquis of Sligo, the Rev. C. Hill Wallace, the Rev. S. E. Wharton, Lieutenant A. S. Windus, R.N., and James Aiken, Walter Brodie, James Campbell, John E. Davis, R.N., N. Vaughan Edwards Vaughan, J. Wilson Holme, John Learmouth, Alexander Macmillan, George Newman, G. H. Oliphant Ferguson, Julius Reuter, Frederick Simpson, Ronald Thomson of Tehran, John Walker, and W. Warder were elected Fellows.

THE NORTH ATLANTIC TELEGRAPH.

The LORD ASHBURTON.--The subjects for our consideration to-day are of so interesting a character, that I should be doing unwisely if I were to occupy your time beyond a few moments, in making such preliminary observations as are expected from your President.

The papers which are about to be read relate altogether to the physical and geographical facts upon which the proposition has been based for the extension of the Electric Telegraph line between this country and America, by the route of the Færöe Islands, Iceland, Greenland, and Labrador. It comes especially within the province of the Royal Geographical Society to receive and to record those facts as purely belonging to the science of Physical Geography. We are so fortunate as to have a great many labourers working for us in the field of geography; some who have been sent out by the Society, like Speke and Livingstone, are doing our work, and at the same time doing work for many other societies. We have labourers also not less diligent, and not less useful to us as well as to the world: they are those who are occupied in other pursuits, but who come to us to record the facts they have observed, and to enable us to treasure them up as the material for future research.

Among the labours of this class, not the least valuable are the researches which we are met to record to-day. They were undertaken not for the purpose of acquiring geographical knowledge simply, but in order to carry out the great and beneficent scheme of connecting the two continents of Europe and America by means of telegraphic communication. Yet, at the same time that we receive these facts, we must take care not to suffer ourselves to be led away into that which is altogether out of our province, an attempt to pronounce any judgment upon the value of that scheme. That is a question for others to decide, not for us.

Therefore, whilst we ourselves may look upon the facts that may be presented to us with philosophic calmness, there may, on the other hand, be those who are so deeply interested in the material success of electric telegraph connection with America, as to be drawn into an eager contest to set up the merits of one scheme in preference to those of another. Should there be any gentlemen present prepared to carry these feelings into the discussion, I feel assured they will remember this, that it is those who are beaten that generally complain, and that the man who is the winner at chess is not the man to throw the pieces at his adversary’s head. I believe we shall have no symptoms of distress exhibited; that we shall not have anybody manifesting the conviction passing in his mind that he is worsted in the argument.

I will now call upon Sir Leopold M‘Clintock to read the first paper that is set down on the list.

SURVEY OF THE DEEP SEAS, AND OTHER OBSERVATIONS; BY CAPTAIN SIR F. LEOPOLD M‘CLINTOCK, R.N., LL.D., F.R.G.S., LATE COMMANDING HER MAJESTY’S SHIP “BULLDOG.”

SIR LEOPOLD M‘CLINTOCK then read the following paper:

In compliance with a request from the promoters of the North Atlantic Telegraph Route, her Majesty’s Government dispatched the “Bulldog” under my command, on the 1st of July last, with orders to ascertain the depth of the ocean, and as far as possible the nature of the bottom, between the Færöe Islands and Iceland, Iceland and Greenland, and between Greenland and Hamilton Inlet on the Labrador coast. I was also directed, should my time permit, to make a slight examination of that inlet--being British territory;--but in no other instance did my duty extend to the examination of any of the coasts I was required to approach.

With the exception of Hamilton Inlet, none of the positions for the shore-ends of the proposed lengths of cable were suggested when I sailed from England. The duty of selecting them was subsequently entrusted, by the promoters of this Telegraph Route, to Captain Allen Young, in the “Fox”; consequently, my lines of soundings have not in every instance been carried in from the deep sea, so as to unite exactly with the coast explorations of Captain Young.

Although my visit to the Færöe Islands was not for the purpose of making any examination of their shores, yet I could not fail to observe that a submarine cable, in connection with the main island, and a land-wire across it, could be maintained with perfect ease.

In my official report to the Secretary of the Admiralty, written previously to my return to England, and which I shall have frequent occasion to quote, I have remarked that on landing at Thorshaven, the chief town of the islands, I observed that the little bays near it afforded ample shelter and security for any cable landed within them.

The best harbour in the group is Westmanshaven, but it is situated in a channel through which the tide runs fully six miles an hour, and for this reason it would not be advisable to bring the cable there.

I was informed that the channel between the islands of Stromöe and Osteröe is almost obstructed in the middle, being contracted to fifty or eighty yards; hence there can be but a very slight flow of tide through it, and upon this account I would seek a landing-place for the Iceland cable near to the north-west outlet of this channel, at Haldervig or Eide.

Leaving the Færöe Isles on the 6th of July, we sounded across towards Ingolfshofde upon the S.E. shore of Iceland, a distance of 280 miles, and found the depth to be generally less than 300 fathoms, the greatest depth being 680 fathoms. The specimens of the bottom consisted, chiefly, of fine sand, or mud and broken shells, and in two instances, of minute volcanic debris; the temperature of the sea at 100 fathoms below the surface scarcely varied from 46°.

The depth of water upon this section of the telegraph route is so moderate, that it would be an easy matter to lay down a cable between Færöe and Iceland.

Since my return I find that Beru Fiord, upon the east coast of Iceland, has been examined with a view to its selection as the landing-place for a cable; it is about eighty miles to the north-east of Ingolfshofde, and has the advantage of being somewhat nearer to Færöe.

On the 11th of July I arrived at Reikiavik, the chief town of Iceland; an expected supply of coals had not arrived, therefore I remained only three days, but returned again in October, when my stay extended from the 19th to the 28th. During these visits I obtained some interesting information about its physical aspect, its climatic condition, and the movements of the ice in the adjacent seas. I was informed that a telegraphic wire could not be carried along the south shore eastward of Portland, on account of the many wide rivers which have their sources amidst the mountains and glaciers of the interior. These rivers are much swollen in spring, when they carry down vast quantities of ice, and sometimes change their beds; but to the north of the central mountains no such difficulty would be experienced.

The east and west coasts are very seldom visited by drift-ice, not oftener than seven or eight times in each century, whilst it is only upon two or three of these occasions that the drift of Arctic ice is sufficiently extensive to reach the south coast. True icebergs are _never_ seen; the masses sometimes mistaken for them are small enough to float in comparatively shallow water, so that a cable would remain undisturbed at the bottom, its shore end being carried into a fiord. Faxe Bay, on the south-west coast, enjoys a remarkable exemption from drift-ice; the last mention of its appearance within it is as long ago as 1683; neither does it freeze over--merchant vessels trade there throughout the winter. A cable could therefore be landed in this bay with perfect ease and security, and probably to the westward of Reikiavik.

The entire population of Iceland scarcely exceeds 60,000 souls. Education is perhaps more generally diffused than in any other country, and the topographical maps recently published by the Danish government delineate its features most fully, and with the greatest possible accuracy, and would greatly facilitate the survey of a land-line.

Although Iceland is considerably larger than Ireland, and is of volcanic origin throughout, yet for long ages the disturbance occasioned by its subterranean fires has been limited almost exclusively to its south-western quarter, where Hecla is occasionally, and Katla has been very recently, in an active state, and where Geysers and boiling springs are numerous; nor is the adjacent sea free from like convulsions. In 1783, a submarine volcano burst forth in a probable depth of 200 fathoms, about thirty miles off the S.W. extreme of the island; by it a new islet was formed; it soon after subsided, but still exists under water as a dangerous sunken rock. This volcano was again active in 1830;[1] its action appears to have been very limited, and within four leagues of it stands the time-honoured “Grenadiers Cap,” a basaltic column, eighty feet above the sea; within 500 or 600 yards of this most remarkable rock the “Bulldog” sounded in seventy fathoms.

Fortunately the telegraph route is not required to pass, by sea or land, through any part of this disturbed or suspected area.

Five days of very calm weather enabled us to complete the line of soundings between Faxe Bay and the south-east coast of Greenland.

The depths generally were very regular, the greatest being 1572 fathoms, and situated in mid-channel; but when within forty miles of Greenland the depth decreased from 806 fathoms to 228 fathoms, in the short distance of 3-1/4 geographical miles.

The nature of the bottom was chiefly oaze, that is fine mud partly consisting of minute organic remains, but near to Iceland, volcanic mud and sand was more frequently brought up.

The temperature of the sea at 100 fathoms below the surface gradually diminished from 46° near Iceland, to 39° off the Greenland coast.

Circumstances which it is unnecessary to allude to here prevented me from commencing, before 18th August, the line of soundings between the S.W. coast of Greenland, and Hamilton Inlet on the Labrador coast,--a distance of 550 miles.

The Greenland shore was still blockaded by such a vast accumulation of drift-ice that we could not approach within 45 miles of it, at which distance the depth was ascertained to be 1175 fathoms. This line of soundings to Hamilton Inlet shows that the greatest depth,--which is in mid-channel,--is 2032 fathoms; and that the decrease is very gradual until within about 80 miles of Labrador, where there is a change from about 900 fathoms to 150 fathoms in 7 or 8 miles.

The ocean bed consisted of oaze, but with fewer microscopic organisms than previously met with, whilst the average temperature of the sea at 100 fathoms below the surface was 40°.

Seven days were all I could devote to the examination of Hamilton Inlet. Its length was found to be 120 miles, whilst its width varies from about 15 miles at its mouth, to scarcely half a mile at “the Narrows,” which are about half way up to its head, and above which it expands into an inland sea of about 20 miles in width. All this great inlet was rapidly explored, its main channel from “the Narrows” to seaward was sounded, and the whole laid down by Mr. Reed, master and assistant-surveyor, with sufficient accuracy for ordinary purposes; but these soundings are not nearly sufficient to meet the requirements of a cable-route, nor even to decide whether a cable should be landed there.

We found the depths to be very irregular, and seldom sufficient to secure a submerged cable from disturbance by icebergs. A perfect survey is absolutely necessary, and may show that the shallow water and reefs of rocks which to our imperfect knowledge appeared intricate and unfavourable, may not only be avoided, but may afford a sure protection against the intrusion of icebergs within the mouth of the inlet.

There are some small rocky islets off the mouth of this inlet, and of these the Hern Islets lie nearly in the middle and contract the widest channel of entrance to about 5 miles; the greatest depth obtained in this channel was 49 fathoms. Had the depth of water amounted to 70 fathoms in as far as this position, I would not hesitate in pronouncing favourably of Hamilton Inlet as a terminus to the cable from Greenland.

The greater part of the local information which I obtained here was kindly furnished by Captain Norman, a Newfoundland merchant who has traded here each successive summer for 24 years; during the summer he resides at Indian Harbour, at the north entrance of the inlet, where there is a secure anchorage for vessels of moderate size. Captain Norman states that icebergs very rarely enter the mouth of Hamilton Inlet, and never pass within the Hern Islets; and for these reasons: 1st, that the current which has borne them from the north is here deflected off-shore by the Esquimaux Islands, and carries them past the mouth of the inlet; and 2ndly, that the flow of water caused by the discharge of several large rivers into the inlet, still further aids in carrying the drift-ice and icebergs out to seaward.

During winter and spring this drifting ice prevents all access to Labrador, but by June, Hamilton Inlet is usually quite free from it.

From Captain Norman I also learnt that the deepest water along the coast is off Cape Harrison, and that a large river runs into Byron Bay adjoining it; moreover, Sloop Harbour (which is close to the river) is said to be an excellent one. Unfortunately my time was too limited to admit of any examination of this promising locality. It is very desirable to obtain more information respecting the ice and icebergs upon this coast. It could be furnished by the Newfoundland traders and seal-fishers and perhaps by persons in the employ of Messrs. Hunt, Henley & Co., of 8, Broad Street Buildings, E.C., a firm which has maintained an extensive establishment near to Hamilton Inlet for a very long period, fifty or sixty years I believe. In addition to these sources of information, there are intelligent Moravian missionaries, whose settlements on the Labrador coast have existed for more than one hundred years.

The shores of Hamilton Inlet appear bold, rocky, and almost devoid of vegetation when viewed from the sea; as we advance up it, the land becomes lower, the undulations more gentle, verdure and trees appear, and at its head the whole country is densely covered with spruce, white pine, and white birch, but the tallest trees do not exceed forty feet.

I was informed that the interior is similarly wooded, and has an exceedingly scanty population of Indians, allied to the Cree nation; they all profess Christianity, and are a strictly honest quiet race.

The residents along the shores of this great inlet are of European or mixed blood, and do not amount to 200 souls. During summer they catch codfish, herrings, and salmon; and in winter they are occupied in trapping fur-bearing animals.

At the Hudson Bay trading post upon North-west River, at the head of the inlet, I met Mr. Smith, the gentleman in charge, who kindly supplied me with the only information respecting the interior that I was able to obtain. He seemed to think there would be no difficulty in carrying a wire from here overland to Mingan, on the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The Indians frequently travel from one place to the other, the distance not exceeding 250 miles. Should the cable be taken to this inlet, I would suggest that it be landed upon the south shore, to seaward of “the Narrows,” as the tides run through them with very great velocity. All other parts of the inlet freeze over to a depth of three feet, for the winters are very severe. The summers, though short, are no less remarkable for their warmth. At Northwest River barley and oats ripen, and potatoes and other vegetables grow tolerably well. Mosquitoes are such an intolerable plague, especially to new comers, that unless their faces are carefully veiled or smeared with camphorated oil, brimstone ointment, or dilute creosote, they cannot either repel or endure their bloodthirsty attacks.

Leaving Labrador on the 17th September, I returned to Greenland for the purpose of completing such soundings as the drift ice had previously compelled me to leave undone. Being, moreover, very desirous of meeting the “Fox,” and of ascertaining from Captain Young where the cables were to be landed, so that I might continue the deep-sea soundings in to those positions, I visited the settlement of Julianshaab on the 29th September, but no information could there be obtained of the “Fox.”

The season was very remarkable for the great quantity of drift ice which encumbered the shore, and had hitherto prevented vessels from approaching Julianshaab; in fact, so much ice had not been known for nearly 30 years.

This coast, I may remark, is usually quite free from ice by September.

Following up my inquiries, I learnt that the climate is not nearly so severe as is generally supposed, the fiords are only partially frozen over in winter; a few cows, goats, and poultry are reared: and although the summers are cold, turnips, spinach, lettuce, and radishes grow in the open air.

I was informed that the large fiord of Tessermiut, which lies midway between Julianshaab and Cape Farewell, was the most likely place to afford security for a cable: that icebergs never came into it, and that there would be found ample depth of water from it out to sea; also that there is safe anchorage in a spacious bay near its mouth as well as high up in the fiord.

On 3rd October I put to sea, intending to sound into Tessermiut Fiord should the ice permit; but it was with difficulty we got out, for a S.E. wind had brought up much more ice from Cape Farewell, and prevented our approaching within 40 miles of Tessermiut or the adjoining coast; and the ship sustained considerable damage from unavoidable collisions with the ice before she got clear out to sea.

It is well known that a current from the North Atlantic Ocean bears along with it all this ice round Cape Farewell, and up the west coast of Greenland for several hundred miles. It carries the drift-ice for the most part along the outer islands, and it is only when there is a strong wind blowing in from the sea, that the ice comes in between the islands and enters the fiords; it is almost exclusively low or flat ice which thus drifts in, the larger masses and icebergs, which draw more water, nearly always keep themselves in the main stream along the outer islands.

It is evident, that were a cable brought in from the deep water existing outside and between these islands, and carried sufficiently far up a deep fiord, its security from icebergs would be insured; and that to protect the mere shore-end from the ordinary flat ice would be a matter of no great difficulty.

Since my return to England I have received a letter from the Resident Inspector of South Greenland, the well known Dr. Rink, whose writings on Greenland have added so largely to our knowledge of the physical condition of that great arctic continent. The opinion of such a man deserves serious attention, since it is scarcely possible to quote a higher authority upon the point in question. I therefore do so almost in his own words.

“I have thought much,” he writes, “over the proposed route for the North Atlantic Telegraph; at first I doubted the possibility of accomplishing it, but now I am of a contrary opinion. You can lay down the cable from Iceland round Cape Farewell into some fiord upon the south-west coast, where ice cannot ground upon it, or touch it except for a few fathoms out from the shore, and this last part may be easily protected. But to carry the wire across the interior of Greenland, as I have heard of, would be impracticable.” This letter was written in Greenland, before either the “Bulldog” or “Fox” had arrived there, and experience has since shown the necessity for acting in accordance with the suggestion of Dr. Rink. The length of cable required to unite Iceland with West Greenland will be about 800 miles.

Finding that nothing more could be done upon the Greenland coast, I commenced a line of soundings towards Rockall, but a succession of tremendous storms and want of fuel prevented the completion of this service. One of the few casts obtained deserves particular mention; the depth was first ascertained to be 1260 fathoms: then a sounding machine was lowered to obtain a specimen of the bottom, and about fifty fathoms of line more than the depth required was payed overboard, to insure its being down. On hauling it in, several small star-fishes were found adhering to that part of the line which had lain upon the bottom! The nearest land at the time was Iceland, and it was 250 miles distant. I simply mention this interesting fact, which I witnessed, leaving it to be enlarged upon by Dr. Wallich, the able naturalist of the Expedition, who is still employed by the Admiralty in the microscopic examination of our specimens of the sea-bottom. The result of his investigations (which will be published hereafter) may be of great importance to Marine Telegraphy, proving, as it will do, the existence of animal life at very great depths.

We are aware that the coating of a Mediterranean cable was attacked by minute creatures allied to the ordinary Teredo,[2] at the depth of sixty or seventy fathoms, and should it be found that similar boring animals exist in great depths, it will become imperative to protect the insulation of the wire against their ravages; but time does not admit of a digression from the object of this paper, which is simply to lay before you my experience and opinion with regard to the physical aspect of the proposed route; it may not, however, be out of place to mention, that the great pressure exerted at depths approaching to 2000 fathoms is sufficient to squeeze the tar freely out of rope: could we recover a cable from these depths, we would find the tar similarly expressed from its canvas wrappings. If the tar used were of a sufficiently viscid description to harden and remain coated upon the wrappings, it would probably afford quite a sufficient protection against these destructive creatures.

Once laid in deep water, the North Atlantic Cable will probably be more secure and more durable than any other; as it will lie at the bottom of a sea where the temperature is unusually low, and where animal life is proportionately rare.

If, during the coming summer a final selection and survey of a landing place in Greenland be made, all that will remain to complete the entire route will be a landing position in Labrador; and that a cable can be safety landed upon some part of this coast, if not in Hamilton Inlet, it is hardly possible to doubt.

Judging then from my own experience, and from the facts which the voyage of the “Bulldog” has brought to light,--many of which are supported by the most reliable local authorities,--I am of opinion that with regard to the practicability of laying a North Atlantic cable, there are no grounds for serious misgivings; on the contrary, nearly all the information which has so far been ascertained is of a kind favourable to the accomplishment of the undertaking.

That there is usually impenetrable ice upon the south-west coast of Greenland for eight months out of the twelve,--(_i.e._ from January until September,)--we are well aware; and hence originates the chief difficulty of the route. It is obvious that the Greenland cables cannot possibly be laid down whilst this ice remains upon the coast; but in ordinary seasons it does not clear away until Autumn is far advanced, and stormy weather becomes frequent. This difficulty, I apprehend, however, is not an insuperable or extraordinary one, since it is common to all similar operations at sea, requiring for their accomplishment a like period of four or five consecutive days.

I have assumed that the ice ceases to obstruct the south-west shore of Greenland about the middle of September; but we can no more predict its movements, than we can foretel the temperatures of the seasons, and the winds by which those movements are governed.

Exceptional seasons occur when it would be imprudent to attempt laying a Greenland cable: also rare seasons when it could be laid as early as July: again, there are seasons when the icedrifts are detached from each other so that vessels watching their opportunity may freely pass, into harbour, or out to sea, during the summer months.

In order to meet these ever-varying circumstances, it is the more necessary that the utmost caution be observed in all matters connected with the laying down of the Greenland lengths of the great cable; that the most suitable steamers be selected, and the highest engineering and nautical skill be employed.

And that this country possesses all the needful appliances, and the amount of professional talent requisite for the accomplishment of this great undertaking, is no more to be doubted, than that she possesses men of sagacity to appreciate its vast utility, and of commercial enterprise to bring about so desirable an issue within the next two or three years.

FOOTNOTES:

[1] Some interesting notices of this and other submarine volcanoes are published in the “Nautical Magazine,” for July, 1860.

[2] See a Paper by J. Gwyn Jefferys, F.R.S., on “The British Species of Teredo,” published in “The Annals and Magazine of Natural History,” for August, 1860.

SURVEY OF THE LANDING-PLACES FOR THE PROPOSED CABLES; REPORTED BY ALLEN YOUNG, ESQ., F.R.G.S., COMMANDER OF THE STEAM YACHT “FOX” EXPEDITION; WITH REMARKS BY SIR CHARLES BRIGHT, F.R.A.S., F.R.G.S.

The LORD ASHBURTON.--The next is Sir Charles Bright’s paper upon Captain Allen Young’s Reports, which will be read by Mr. Galton, viz.:

I have been requested by the promoters of the North Atlantic Telegraph to present to the Royal Geographical Society, a synopsis of the report which has been handed to me by Captain Allen Young, upon his recent voyage in the steam yacht “Fox,” and his careful and elaborate survey of the proposed telegraphic route between Europe and America, by way of the Færöes, Iceland, and Greenland. The history of this important undertaking, up to the present date, will probably be familiar to the minds of most persons present, and I will therefore commence with the departure of the “Fox” from Southampton, on the 19th June, for the Færöes, where she arrived on the 3rd of August.

FÆRÖE ISLANDS.

This most interesting group of isles, the capital of which is Thorshaven, lies some 200 miles north of Scotland, and is under the authority of the Danish Crown. I will not occupy the time of the Society in discussing the political, physical, or other characteristics of these islands, but proceed at once to quote some interesting extracts from Captain Young’s report. He says:--

“We were naturally anxious to reach the spot at which our work was to commence, and to ascertain the first foreign station at which the telegraph cable was to be landed. We were glad to make the Færöe Islands, distant 50 miles, on the evening of the 2nd August, the remarkable clearness of the atmosphere and the height of the land making our distance from it apparently far less than we were by our observations. When 46 miles E.S.E. from Naalsöe we obtained soundings in 102 fathoms, sand and shells. We here passed through many patches of discoloured water of a reddish hue, caused probably by minute animalcules on the surface, specimens of which, brought up by the towing net, being preserved. Specimens of water, both on the surface and at various depths, were frequently obtained during our voyage and preserved, the temperature and specific gravity being registered in the meteorological journal.

“On the morning of the 3rd the land was obscured by clouds and mist, which, as the sun rose, gradually dispersed, and enabled us to obtain views of the land, and also to fix our positions by Born’s chart to commence a line of soundings into the north point of Naalsöe; the depths were 36 to 26 fathoms, with a bottom of sand and shell.”

THORSHAVEN.

“On rounding the north part of Naalsöe we took a fisherman on board as pilot, and at 10·50 anchored in Thorshaven, and immediately commenced an inquiry and examination of the locality, and testing the accuracy of all the charts and maps in our possession.

“The results were as follow:--Thorshaven and bay is protected by Naalsöe, and is land-locked, excepting on two points to S.E., and on one point to N.E. A swell sets in to the inner harbour with S.E. gales, but this cannot be to any very great extent, from the fact that vessels lie at their moorings throughout the winter. The bay has good anchorage, varying in depth from 25 to 8 fathoms, bottom of sand, gravel, and shells, with a few patches of hard ground. Vessels usually moor in the two inner harbours or creeks, the northern being most frequented for the facility it offers for loading and discharging cargoes. Either of the inner harbours would do very well to land the telegraph wires, but from the many vessels frequenting the port it appeared desirable to select another place, for even were the cable to be buoyed, the risk from the ships’ anchors would be considerable, on account of the want of space--but half a mile southward of Thorshaven is a small cove called Sandygerde, where the cable could be landed in safety and clear of ships’ anchors. This cove is 1-1/2 cable’s length across and about the same depth, and shoals gradually to a sandy beach; it is intersected at the head by a water-course and mill, the land sloping gradually up an extensive valley to the interior. As many additional soundings were obtained across the fiord as our time would admit, proving that although the channel is uneven there is nothing to prevent bringing a cable in from sea. From the most reliable information from pilots and our own observations, the stream on the flood never exceeds 4 knots on the strongest spring tides, whilst on the ebb it is much weaker, and at times scarcely perceptible. It is high water at full and change at 4 o’clock, the flood runs to the southward. The gulf stream appears to sweep round these islands from left to right, or direct as the hands of a watch, and therefore in sailing from Thorshaven for the northward, by starting with the first of the flood and passing to the southward of Stromöe and through Hestöe, and Westmanshaven Fiords, you can carry a 9 hours favorable tide. The rise of tide at Thorshaven does not exceed 6 feet.”

WESTMANSHAVEN.

“We left Thorshaven at 1 p.m. passing through Hestöe and Westmanshaven Fiords, and anchored in Westmanshaven in the evening. The scenery in these fiords is very magnificent, and as we steamed through with a strong head wind and weather tide, the surface of the water covered with sea-birds, the lofty hills on either hand rising to the height of 1500 to 2000 feet, with vast basaltic caverns and columns in the cliffs, formed a picture not easily forgotten. As I had heard that Sir Leopold M‘Clintock had already examined this port, I did not deem it necessary to delay the ship for that purpose. The fiord appears clean and clear, with deep water close into either shore. I was informed that there is 70 fathoms water in the middle, a little north of Welbestad, and the stream in strongest spring tides runs six knots through the fiord. The rise of water is much influenced by the winds outside--it has reached ten feet at spring tides, and has been known as low as four, but the mean rise appears to be from six to eight feet. Westmanshaven is said to be the best harbour in the islands; it is completely landlocked, with a bar, probably formed of the débris washed down from the surrounding hills, and accumulated by the action of the streams and eddies in the fiord. I fear the current in this fiord would be disadvantageous.”

HALDERVIG.

“We left Westmanshaven on the evening of August 5th, and, after weathering the northern extremity of Stromöe entered the sound between Stromöe and Osteröe, and anchored at Haldervig at 11·30 P.M. on the same night. An examination of the port and estuary of the sound was commenced. The results of these observations, which occupied two days, were, that little or no stream is found in the sound, that Haldervig has good anchorage, and is perfectly landlocked; the deepest water is 34 fathoms, bottom black mud and sand, but that a sandbar exists between Eide Point and Stromöe, over which there are 8-1/4 fathoms in the deepest part; and as in northerly gales the sea is said to break upon it, I consider that the cable would require a strong shore-end to ensure its safety in crossing this place. This bar lies rather within the entrance and narrowest neck of the sound.” In the summary, Captain Young states: “At Haldervig we surveyed harbour and fiord, and found all satisfactory, and I think that place to be well adapted for the reception of the cable. We found but little current, and the cable can be taken in, in a tolerable depth of water, into a perfectly land-locked position.”

ICELAND.

“On approaching the coast of Iceland we got occasional soundings towards Ostré Horn, under which we were obliged to anchor in a dense fog, after getting inside an extensive and dangerous reef of rocks, called by the Icelanders the Hartinger and Bortinger. These reefs lie two miles east (true) off this cape. They do not appear on the Danish surveys, but I afterwards found them as a single rock upon a French chart.”

BERUFIORD.

“On the morning of August 12, the fog having lifted, we weighed under steam, and got into a position to carry a line of soundings into Berufiord, between the islands of Papey and Kogar Point--these soundings average about 30 fathoms, principally sand and shells. We anchored off Djupivogr factory the same day, and it being Sunday, we ceased operations during the afternoon. The weather that day was the finest we had had since we left England, and the evening was truly summer-like. During the following five days, and when not prevented by the prevalent rain and fogs, we proceeded with the examination of the fiord, and finding it would not be advisable to carry a cable into the small harbour of Djupivogr, on account of many rocks in its vicinity and its being the anchorage of the small vessels frequenting the coast, we sought for a more suitable landing-place higher up the fiord, and succeeded in finding an excellent bay, called Gautavik, on the north shore, five miles from the entrance. A depth of near thirty fathoms can be carried in from sea to within a quarter of a mile of the shore, while the bay itself afforded good protection and anchorage for any large ships that might be employed in the undertaking.

“High water at Djupivogr at three o’clock, full and change, rise six feet. The tide has been known to rise six and a-half feet before the coming of easterly gales; about the same time flood outside runs S.S.W. (true), ebb N.N.E., between Papey Island and the main. The strongest known stream has four knots, but the average in ordinary spring tides is not more than two and a-half knots.