Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, W.T. [i.e. Wis.]) 1843-1844, 1844-07-06

Post, furnishes the following account
of this wonderful plan Of comm'nica-
ton:
paid visit yesterday to theroom
in which Professor Morse is directing
operations and experiments upn this
new aud most wonderful plan OF COM
munication. This invention has been
so frequently and fully described that
l could not hope to give clearr idea
Of it than your readers probably now
have. But in no account is the mode
of writing indicated. The ptl used
may be called three pronged f'rk, or
SO many little pointed steel screws; the
ink is electricity. In speaking OF it,
therefore, you may say that yol write
with steel pen and forked light
ming.
The manner Of writing is this The
photographer takes hold of tn, losse
end Of the magnetic wire. He dips
this end in little deposit of mercury
or quicksilver, which communicates the
electric spark, and this sparkIf chain
lightning) passes along the wire with
the speed of thought, possesslnga sufi-
cient force to press the steel points |
have alluded to, down upon strip of
paper made to pass beneath them.
The distance travelled by the fluid a.
long one wire, thirty-three niles and
upon the other is of course sxty-six
miles. The speed of its passage is in
dicated by the fact that the very instant
the end of the wire is seen 10 dip into
the quicksilver thelittle points 'repres-
sed on the paper-in other words,
there was no perceptible internal be-
tween its startingnpon and return from
its trip of sixty-six miles. |. would
go round the globe in one sevsnth of a
second.
But now to the character employed
in this new scheme of calligra,hy. 1t
is evident that the mere pressure Of the
points upon the paper would produce
only dots. But when it is wished to
make communication, siie of paper
IS made to pass along from a,rol'er, M
der these points. The letters, the
words, or the phrases desired to be
expressed, are indicated by the length
of the marks, or by the frequency or
paucity of the dots made. Thus sup
pose the letter A to be represented by
the three single dots, the writer dips
!he point of the wire in, and withdraws
it as quickly as possible, SO that the
points only strike the paper, and in
stantly fly back. They thus make, it
isobvious, the least possible impression /;
that IS, only dot for each point. But
suppose c to be represented by lines
half an inch long. The writer has
only to keep the end ofthe wire in the
quicksilver until the paper has passed
along that distance under the points
which are pressing upon it. Of course
C is made. 1t will be perceived that
the usefulness of this system of commu-
nication depends in great degree up
on the efficiency of the plan of stenog-
raphy devised. For if the distinctive
characters emplyed were no more
complete nor comprehensive in their
separate Specification, than the letters
of the alphabet, person could convey
very little information even IN day.
THE NORTHERN LAKE ROUTE
The distances between the prominent
points from St. Louis to Buffalo by
this route are stated to DE as ollows:-
St. Louis to Alton, 90 miles; shence
to Beardstown, lis; to Peoria, 90; to
Ottowa, Is; to Juliet IS; to Chicago,
40; to Southport. 81; TO Racine, / 8; TO
Milwaukee, 25; to Manitou, $50; to
Mackinaw, l03; to Presque Isle, IS;
to Thunder Bay, so; to Fl. Gratiot,
$50; to Detroit, 72; the Huron, s.;
TO Cleveland, Al; 10 Grand River, 80;
to Conneaut, Ia; 10 Erie, 30; TO Dun
kirk, DO; to Buffalo as.
From St Louis 20 Peoria 230 miles
To Chicago 400. To Detroit LIS.
To Cleveland l,247. To Buffalo from
St. Louis I,4l2. Fare to Chicago $40:
to Buffalo S24.
6P"Itis the i'll doors that are the
i'll thinkers" said Walter Scott's Meg
Merrilies; and more striking truth
was never uttered.
"AsI grow older, said the great
Goethe, al grow more lenient 20 the
sins Of fr,il humanity. The man who
loudly denounces | always suspect.
He knows too much OF crime who