OUR ISLAND STORY 81

In the meantime the New York, Newfoundland and London

1 Cable Company had been established and had acquired the rights

obtained by the Newfoundland and Prince Edward Island Elect— ric Telegraph Company. Under the direction of the New York

' Company, the steamer “Ellen Gisborne” arriVed with the first

Submarine Telegraph Cable. On the 22nd day of November,

1852, one end 'of this cable was landed on Cape Tormentine in '

New Brunswick. The steamer could not get within'a mile of

the New Brunswick shore; and that end had, therefore, to be carried to the land 0n boats. It was, The Islander stated, “drawn

upon the land by means of a wedge anchor and the united stren‘ght of four horses and four oxen.’_’ Having been made fast on the land, the cable Was then laid to Carleton Head, in Prince Edward Island. The steamer got underway at about five o’clock in the evening, and reached the Island shore at about five o’clock in the following morning, paying out the cable as she proceeded. The landing of the cable on the Island shore proved to be an arduOus and very difficult task. Wind and tide drove the steam— er WeStward in spite of all that could be done to keep her in a

direct line. It was, for a time, feared that the cable would run short before the shore could be reached by it. But Mr. Gisborne,

‘- in charge, ably assisted by Captain Kennedy of Charlottetown

and the crew of the steamer, gained the point in spite of wind or

tide; and, as on the other shore, the P. E. Island end of the cable

Was landed by means of boats, horses and oxen. As soon as pOSsible after the landing, a small battery was

attached to the end of the cable on Cape Tormentine; and, by

means of a small instrument applied on the Island, it was at once tested and found to admirably afford means of communication across the strait between the Island and the mainland of the

' Continent. ,It was the first under-sea telegraph cable made and

operated in America. Early in the morning as the hour was, a considerable number of greatly interested persons had gathered, around the Operator anxious to learn the result of the venture;

and when it Was made known three hearty cheers were given.

In anticipation of the laying of the cable a line of telegraph

posts between Amherst and Tormentine had been, in large part, ‘ ,

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