The weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1878-1881, 1879-11-11
From Thursdays Daily.l
Dots and naShes.

Telegraphing is much easier learned than is
generally supposed. We mean the mechani-
cal part. Anyone with a good ear, as it is
can with a good teacher learn to telegraph in
half an hour to the extent at least of making
ones self Ineligible. An hours daily prac-
tice for a fortnight will make Il bright boy a
fair operator. The MINER man has taught
scores to telegraph and to read by sound in
less time. Boys aud girls learn much more
readily than men. The quickest to learn we
ever knew were a dozen blind persons. TO
become an expert operator, SO as to be able
to take Associated Press dispatches for in
stance, requires months of practice. The
MINER man has one or two such practicing
now. With the aid of a teacher of penlnan-
ship the reading public will be greatly ben
Gifted in a few months. To become a good
operator requires a knowledge of the wonder
full science of electricity. This study is one
Of the most fascinating. No wonder Edison
sometimes forgets his nights sleep for 4S hours
to say nothing of being oblivious of minor
matters, like dinner and his wife. Sometimes
the experiences in its study are shocking.
Try a charge from IA dozen Leyden jars and
see. A dignifed teacher was once accused OF
persuading a number of young ladies to form
a ring and to complete the circle by touching
lips. The sensation was said to be peculiarly
pleasant and the new method went the rounds
of the press. But the charge was false. A
wicked classmate made the accusation for a
Joke. Verify he received his reward. But
telegraphing can be used without instrument
or battery and be of great service. For i'll
stance, you want John to come over this even
ing while the old folks are gone to prayer
meeting, Or to Sawtelle's theatre. You place
a light in a certain window III sight of Johns
office, half a mile or more away. Soon a
light is visible at the other station. Then by
| placing a book before the light and giving
! flashes of longer and shorter intervals you
can spell out any message your heart may
dictate.
Horns and whistles may be used to give
longer and shorter sounds corresponding to
dashes and dots. We once knew some irrev-
erent young people who used to while away a
tedious hour in a STRAIGHTFORWARD Presbyterian
church by telegraphing with the hand on a
hymn book. A married gentleman, not long
since, at a dinner table was, as he supposed:
teleyraphins with his foot Oh his wife's shoe,
WHEN an unmarried lady shrieked ont, "StoE
kicking me !" 1t took several yards OF sllR
to make up that matter. n school boy WHO
had been writing or his slate in telegraphlt
characters, was more shrewd. His friend II
the next seat read it thus, "She is az ugly
old thing" But the writer translated it tt
his teacher after school: my teacher Is
real nice and pretty, and l am going to be {
good boy eos she wants me to-" That Dol
had two holidays the next week and wa
marked way up for department. We heart
once of a lu,icrous circumstance which tool
place in a large institution in Ohio. Thu
same battery was used for a telegraph I'M
and TO work three large electric bells whicl
could be heard all over the building. /
Young gentleman, at ten O'Clock IN the even
ing, was telegraphing nice things to a youn
lady mt the farther end of the institution
when by a displacement of the wires III
bells were thrown into circuit, waking u
T matrons, officers and all, and making tn
private message too public to be especial
agreeable. However, the counting by clet
tricity terminated like a ~novel-happily. I'll
telegraph line is IA happy thing in college tc
the boy who wants a vacation. All that
necessary is to write 10 a friend to telegrap
. "Come home. Your grandmother is dead.
/ And the faculty, with a short sermon on I'll
t brevity of life, gives him TIVE weeks vacation
However, Puiier tried this once 100 oftel
, Prex being of good memory and up in natl
ematics, asked how he happened to have flo,
) g,andmotllers die in less than three year
Puff couldn't readily solve the problem al
i had 10 undergo . eti;isa OF discipline. |
/, tl,e same college another yca..ss nan can
;sear getting into tsenhle. Every class ha
4 its tele .raph line. So had the faculty. On