. Narrative of the Euphrates expedition : carried on by order of the British government during the years 1835, 1836, and 1837. . unch her side-ways. The banks at Port William are some twenty-five feet above the surface of the water; the steamers,therefore, had to be put together at that elevation;and it was necessary to prepare three slips—one near• the bow, a second at the stern, and a third amidships—along which she was to be allowed to slide gentlydownwards, easing her off by means of one chainnear the bow, and another towards the stern. Thesebeing ready, and the signal given, she slipped d
. Narrative of the Euphrates expedition : carried on by order of the British government during the years 1835, 1836, and 1837. . unch her side-ways. The banks at Port William are some twenty-five feet above the surface of the water; the steamers,therefore, had to be put together at that elevation;and it was necessary to prepare three slips—one near• the bow, a second at the stern, and a third amidships—along which she was to be allowed to slide gentlydownwards, easing her off by means of one chainnear the bow, and another towards the stern. Thesebeing ready, and the signal given, she slipped down-wards, and, at first, as gently as could be desired;but when she had gone about a quarter of the distancetowards the water, one of the chains stretched, andwas evidently about to give way altogether. This wasa very critical moment; but before there was time forthe chain to part entirely, and thus permit the vessel LAUNCH OF THE STEAMER EUPHRATES. to make a fatal swing round and be thrown off theslips, Lieutenant Cleaveland, with admirable presence ofmind, called to the men to Let go the other chain ; 203 EUPHRATES BEING LAUNCHED. and being now unchecked, our vessel continued todescend with increased and, to us, alarming velocity, Launchtill she actually leapt into the river. Happily, she fell the Euphrates in an upright position, and theimpetus, as may easily be imagined, caused the waterto fly upwards on each side. But all was perfectlysafe, and the astonished acclamations of several thou-sands of spectators accompanied the (to them) wonderfulsight of iron floating on the water.* The good peopleof Bir had, at the same time, the gratification of seeingthe ensigns displayed of two nations which are sodeeply interested in making the present link not onlypermanent but mutually beneficial. On this occasionthe Euphrates had the Union Jack at the bowsprit,the Blue Peter at her bow, the Arab flag on the fore-mast, the Turkish Crescent on the main, and
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