The Toledo chronicle. [volume] (Toledo, Tama County, Iowa) 1873-1924, 1875-01-14

1
they returned and began to dig and yelT
agsin. He then began to dig also, rs die
) some of the neighb0rs who had been at
tracted to the spot by the cries of thu
hounds, and it was not long before the
head Of the buried man, who was stand
ing up, was reached, and he Yves permi:
ted once more to breathe the air, which
had he been deprived Of it few mo
ments longer. he never would have
breathed again. He was taken from the
sewer unharmed, rescued from the hor
rible fate through the sagacity of quar-
tet Of dogs.-East Greenseich (R. T.
Letter.
The Pixies Peak Signal Service StstIoa.
You understand that the United States
Government has established signal
service station on Pixies Peak, at an alti
tude of 1886 feet, and, excepting the
one at Denver, is the only station in the
Territory of Colorado. It's latitude is 3s
deg. and 80 min. its longitude (west) is
los deg. and SO min. Its time is not
quite two hours slower than Washington
time. Excepting the dwarfish, insecure
rectangular house we have described
there is no other visible property on the
Peak. We submit that the Governmen,
owes it to itself to provide as well as il
can for the comfort and safety Of those
who are assigned to duty at this most
desolate and forbidding point, fol-
both are in jeopardy all the time. Blu,
for the house being insulated the light.
ming would have long ago shivered il
into fragments or consumed it by its own
fire. As it is, the lightning has struck
the telegraph wire within three feet OF
the house. Thunder.storms are frequent
in the summer, when the electricity gets
on the rampage and threateningly pur-
sues animate as well as inanimate OBJ.
jects, striking terror in all who behold
it. Sometimes its display is SO vivid
that no artificial light is needed in the
darkest hours of the night. Sometimes
it runs down the stove-pipe like molten
iron, or escapes from bedposts, cracking
like discharged pistol. Then it will
leap with fiery fury on the operators
head, and every hair will stand erect as
if some one was pulling at it with tre-
mendous force. AT such times the pulse
increases from rs to 140, palpitation of
the heart sets in, and it is no wonder
that great is the uneasiness that prevails.
As to the duties of the officers in
charge of the station they are various,
difficult at times to perform, but when
performed are of great service to the
country. Naming the instruments nee
essary to their work in the order of their
importance, there is the mercurial ba-
rometer, whose uses are too well known
to be described; and the thermometer, of
which three different kinds seem to be
required Wirllout U1Iv .yo----- =; a.
could not ascertain the amount OF moist
-.---~ypnv1c. ny the AID OF
selfregistering thermometer, an instru-
ment peculiar to the signal service, and
invented by one of its members, the We
locity of the wind is recorded. To the
anemoscope they are indebted for reg
istry Of the direction of the wind. A
rain-gaug is also of value in determin-
ing the rainfall, which includes snow
and sleet as we'll as rain. Two tele-
graphic batteries, the Eagle and the
Daniel, occupy the operators tables
and are ready for use at any time. Now
it is part of the duties of these officers
to take seven daily observations Of the
condition of the weather and to transmit
reports three times every day to Wash
ington. Considering that the weather is
often inclement and that the observ er
must 60 upon the roof of the house to take
some of his observations, he has before
him every day an unpleasant routine Of
duties. The appointed hours for report
ing are the following: 5:42 a. m, a. M,
10: :O7 a. M, 2 p. M, 2:42 p. m, 8 p. M.
9O7 p. m. Recently one of the observers
had to plant his feet against the parapet
of the house to prevent himself from be-
ing blown away while in the discharge
of his perfunctory duties. In the inter
walls they amuse themselves by talking
by the telegraph, with distant operators,
or reading from scant library of select
scientific works. They have no postal
facilities, and receive no mail during the
winter, unless they come down on snow
shoes and get it. For more than mile
the trail is covered with snow 100 feet
deep. They wear the Indian snow
shoe, an elliptical shoe, one yard in
length, and twenty inches at the greatest
width. 1t consists of an oblong frame OF
pine wood, not over two inches in thick
ness, with cord (said to be made out OF
the entrails of an animaD stretched over
it in both directions, and forming net
work, on the center of which the foot il
placed and fastened by strap. The
price of one pair is $18. A single shoe
looks like an oblong sieve.
How do they manage to live during
the long, long winter? The supplies arr
carried up on pack mules during tho
pleasant months of the fall, and they in
tend to lay in sufficient store; but they
ran out of all delicacies and even some
of the necessaries last spring, and it wal
reported that they suffered for the wan
of food. Not to be caught in the same
plight again, they have now on hand I
years supply and fear no destitution
Stove wood costs. them $18 per cord
but, remember, it has to be carried OF
mules. Their supplies consist of beef
pork, dried beef, ham, bacon, mackerel
green corn, fresh and dried peaches
beans Lima and otherwise). green peas
cranberry sauce, condensed milk, greer
cages, tomatoes, dried apples, flour
coffee, tea, chocolate, sugar, salt, spices
butter, lard, baking-powder, potatoes
eggs, raisins, onions, vinegar, molasses
chow-chow, pickles, rice, cornmeal, hard
tack, carbon crackers, the extracts, etc
Formidable as is the list, there is not ont
article too many, for the men who ostra
cize themselves to accept an appoint
ment to Pixies Peak deserve to be vel
fed and have much better pay than the,
probably receive. Such a dreary, lone
some life none but exiles or prisoner
ever led.-Pike's Peak Letter to CseUelant
Herald.
| AN English amateur photographer
claims to have discovered method 0l
fixing the image of an object on . sen
sitized plate not more than half an incl
- d;or.ofor an innreaaion from which