ewfoundland, was planned, however, which
was to lessen the time of communication between the continents.
News brought by boats from England could be landed at St. John's and
telegraphed to New York, thus saving two days. F.N. Gisborne secured
the concession for such a line in 1852, and began the construction.
Cables were required to connect Newfoundland with the continent, and
to cross the Gulf of St. Lawrence, but the rest of the line was to be
strung through the forests.

Before much had been accomplished, Gisborne had run out of funds,
and work was suspended. In 1854 Gisborne met Cyrus West Field, of
New York, a retired merchant of means. Field became interested in
Gisborne's project, and as he examined the globe in his library the
thought occurred to him that the line to St. John's was but a start on
the way to England. The idea aroused his enthusiasm, and he determined
to embark upon the gigantic enterprise. He knew nothing of telegraph
cables or of the sea-bottom, and so sought expert information on the
subject.

One important question was as to the condition of the sea-bottom on
which the cable must rest. Lieutenant Berryman of the United States
Navy had taken a series of soundings and stated that the sea-bottom
between Newfoundland and Ireland was a comparatively level plateau
covered with soft ooze, and at a depth of about two thousand fathoms.
This seemed to the investigators to have been provided for the
especial purpose of receiving a submarine cable, so admirably was it
suited to this purpose. Morse was consulted, and assured Field that
the project was entirely feasible, and that a submarine cable once
laid between the continents could be operated successfully.

Field thereupon adopted the plans of Gisborne as the first step in the
larger undertaking. In 1855 an attempt was made to lay a cable across
the Gulf of St. Lawrence, but a storm arose, and the cable had to be
cut to save the ship from which it was being laid. Another attempt
was made the following summer with better equipment, and the cable was
successfully completed. Other parts of the line had been finished, the
telegraph now stretched a thousand miles toward England, and New York
was connected with St. John's.

Desiring more detailed information of the ocean-bed along the proposed
route, Field secured the assistance of the United States and British
governments. Lieutenant Berryman, U.S.N., in the _Arctic_, and
Lieutenant Dayman, R.N., in th