, 1879-09-06
The Telegraph i'm Strange Lands.

The strongest opposition 10 4 telegraph
line from uucivilized races Is always met
with when 1t is first erected. Fear of the
strange thing. and jealousy OF territorial
encroaahment, naturally excite the savage
mind to resent the innovation /; and most
construction parties in wild countries have
to he protected by All escort Of troops. The
GREAT trans Australian overland line recently
completed was carried for hundreds Of miles
through desert solitudes unharmed By the
blacks; bat on the Macdonald Range band
of hostile natives were encountered, and the
electricians gained a bloodless victory over
them bv connecting the poles OF powerful
battery 20 the wire, and administering shocks
uuawares to those of the natives who We're
prowlinu curiously around. The mysterious
power. which seemed to them ike thun-
der-stroke. inspired them with a Wholesome
terror of the wire, and they gave 1t a wide
birth ever after. Both in Australia and
New Zealand several erecting parties have
been attacked by the aborigines. and mas
sacred. OF late, however, In New Zealand
the Maoris have shown a different spirit,
probably because Of better management on
the part Of the whites; and Naou sgrstters
now nelp To build the line, which they look
upon as a triumph of their scientific abili-
hes
The telegraph line has very often to suffer
from the thievish propensItles of natives.
The Arabs Of tho Nubiau desert are cOntin-
ualy stealing the wire OF the line which rms
from Cairo to khartum, on the Blue Nile,
for the purpose of pointing their spears. In
india the Sepoys cut the lead soldering from
the insulators to make slugs of it; and the
Chinese have long regarded the wire as
very convenient source of tea-box nails
while some of these child-li like individuals,
caught IN the act of cutting down the posts,
have been known 10 plead that they thought
they grew there. The Celestials have hith
erto shown peculiar spite against the tele-
graph, both cable and land line !; and it is
satisfactory 70 learn that they are now much
better disposed to it, the telephone having
opened their eyes to its advantages. The
fact is. they did not understand the former
telegraphs, and they were unsaited to the
Chinese language, which has 40 alphabet.
But now the telephone enables them to con-
verse. and transmit with peculiar fidelity the
metallic twanG of their monoSy llahIc Ian
puace. They are vastly delighted with it.
and have Just discovered for the first time
that IL was originally Chinese. having heen
invented in the year of 900 by kung Foo
Whing-an announcement which VIII sat
isfy their self complacency, without disturb
inn th. equanImItv Of Professor Bell.
On one occasion, the wires of the Pagoda
company have been repearedly cut and
stolen, the Chinese board Of foreign trade
issued a proclamation to the following effect:
These fellows really show an inveterate
and deteStahIe love Of mischief. Although
t,legralhs are a foreign invention, still the line
has been purchased by the government, Is
r,ana"rd by tie government, and Is govern
memt property. The laws show no laniency /"
those who steal goods belonging to the govern
ment Trlr.rarhs are war materials, also,
since thcy are used in timcS Of war for trans
mitting military messages and people stealing
war material are liable to severe punishment.
The authorities might seize and punish these
pa.Suus ri.eurnuSly, but farhear because Of Shrir
iyaaraure All of vou WeTe u:iIInal.y good;
hoy; Is IL that YOU do not show any Selt re-
~,,er.? Fathers must warn their sans, aud
ci,ir- brothers their younger, to pre- ent vIn!a-
ton of :hr Laws. People found sJrai'ns wire
Xiii ..e -. z.d. tried, ana executed on the pot
aS :; wslri,.,, - Others. Fer the apprehension
Of such ;, .rsnaS two hundred dollars reward Is
osf-r-! 1t V.il he impossible ta show mercy
hereajt,- Therefore let everybody Pnr.,'es
over his thre" times. that he may have no "c-
,..:~:oa .,r re.,,ntance afterwari- Ircnible ::nd
c3ry =
Hniac.s.-Vhs immense height of tie
towers for tie support of the Forth
bride has Great d so;ie surprise and "a"
wonder, when it is taken Iuto account
that when completed they will be the
highest buildings of any kind in tins
world Science vii, therefore, wait with
solae anxiety their completion. The
bei,ht Of the towers on the lnch Ha:vie,
midway between south and north Queens
ferry, will be $50 feet to support bridge
1850 feet above high water mark, but the
reason for this great altitude IS that ID
tie generally Of suspension bridges the
towers are built on the hand on either
side of the span, aud were this til case
in the Forth bridge towers of l30 feet
less height, or 4:}0 feet, wouid be satli-
cent but this is impossible, from the
great length of the bridge. 1t seems that
hv natural laws there is 4 limit To every
thin" on this earth-that Is, that man
can 30 4 certain length and no further,
as, for instance, IN telescopes nothing
laroer than Lord Ross have been per
fected in many years. In reference 10
buildings correspondent the other day
quoted ST. ROlloI stalk 40 feet high.
ST. Paurs cathedral is about 4G0 feet to
ton of the dome, st. Peters at Rome 4S0
feet. the Pyramids of Egypt, AT least the
GREAT pyramid, is $50 feet at present III
It's imperfect state, but by calculation
would reach 500 feet in height when tn-
ishes. When it is remembered that this
structure only reaches this height with
base Of about twenty-sIx acres, 1t will be
very difficult matter to raise the Forth
bridge towers TO 800 feet with small
base. These towers are to be formed o.
solid masonry TO Il certain height, and
then by groups Of iron pillars girded TO-
sether in layers upward. The Niagara
suspension bridge has oRe large span OF
e2I feet; the railway track above the
water is 245 feer, or 80 feet higher than
the Forth bridge the towers are only 90
feet high. being built on either side oi
the shore The Allegheny bridge has two
large spans 344 feet each, and the towers
are 40 feet high The CoriDgton and
CINCINNATI bridge has span OF 1,O9l
feet It's height above low water Is lo3
feet, and the towers are 30 feet high
The bridge seems to give the best proper
tion to the Forth bridge, which Is I6oc
feet for two spans, $50 feet high, and
towers Of $50 feet. Those we have men
toned are finished and in working order :;
and We NAV mention also the East river
bridge. connecting New York to Brook
lyn. Tie towers Of this bridge are also
huilt upon the land, and are 3io feet
high The single span is l59o feet long
or only 81 feet less than the for'h
bridge, while the total length IS 9ao' iee',
There is, therefore, no doubt tina, the
Forth bridge, when completed, VIII De