The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1881-09-08
THE TELEGRAPH AND INDIANS.
What the1Red Men Think of The "Tnih

lue IeleBIdpn line 10 Jne racine
coast must be kept up at any cost.
Such was the imperative order of Gen.
eral Pat Conner, the noted California
Indian fighter, to the veteran patrol
upon the old California trail on the
North Platte during the last year of the
civil war. Men were scarce and the In
dlans were more numerous than ever
before. Conner was organizing the
largest military expedition ever sent
into hostile Indian country. He had
determined to open q road from Fort
Laramie through the Big Hopn, Tongue
river and upper Yellowstone country to
Bannock and the Montana mining re-
gions, and to obtain force large
enough to insure success nearly every
military fort or stockade on the tele.
graph line was depleted of fighting men.
1t was the summer of 1865, and
times were very exciting in
the East. kilograms were eagerly
sought for in California, but
the difficulty in keeping open an
uninterrupted electric line through
800 miles of hostile Indian country was
only realized by the brave but scattered
military patrol engaged in that duty.
Wherever the redskins crossed the line
they tore down the wire, burned down
poles, and in many instances carried
away the wire, and after coiling it up
would throw it into the nearest creek
or river. The 800 miles of line be-
tween Fort Laramie and South Pass
were intrusted to the care of thirty
young men of the Eleventh Ohio cav
airy, under command of the late Ed
ward Creighton, of Omaha, then super
intendent of the Overland telegraph
line. 1t was to him and his small band
of cavalrymen that General Conner
issued the above terse and emphatic
order on their departure on their peril
Gus three months trip. The small
number of Creighton's patrol rendered
an open campaign against the Indian
marauders impossible. All repairs to
the line were done in the night, and all
breaks in the wire were made in
the day time. The mode of de-
struction was as follows: A party of
young Cheyennes or Sioux would gallop
up to the telegraph line and throw
RATA or rope over the wire, and then
start off on full gallop, tearing down the
wire, which was usually coiled up and
chievous redskins would then deploy up
and down the line, each buck squatting
himself down at the base of telegraph
pole, where he kindled fire of sage
brush or greasewood, and after lighting
his pipe would sit and wait patiently
until the tall pole burned through and
fell. The labor of cutting down or dig
ging up the poles was too much for the
lazy savages; and, as time was no OBJ
ject to them, they waited until the
poles fell. The military patrol, safe
within its impregnable corral of wagons
loaded with telegraph poles, could see
the work of destruction going on up
and down the line, but dared not move
out of camp until night concealed their
| movements.
The Sioux and Cheyennes have always
been very superstitious about the "talk-
ing wire," as they call it, and for several
years after the Indian war broke out re-
Trained from meddling with the over
land line. In order to impress the
minds of these wild beings with the
mysterious power of the telegraph, a
| great council was called at Scott's Bluffs,
where the line was first built. Two of
the great chiefs were stationed at posts
in the open plain, between the Chimney
Rock and Scott's Bluffs, and each sent
messages through telegraph operators,
which were promptly delivered. Then
the chiefs mounted their fastest horses
and galloped to meet each other, and
asked what the message was or the
words he had spoken to the wire.
The result astounded them. They
could not explain it, nor has it
ever been understood by them, and to
this day telegraph operator or man
engaged in the repair or management of
the talking wire" is regarded as a
"medicine man" and a person to be
let alone. 1t was to this superstition
that Creighton's thirty men owed their
lives and exemption from attack.
With the approach of night the tele-
graph destroyers usually disappeared,
and the repairers would start forth upon
their thrilling and exciting trips. The
horses hoofs were muffled with blanket
pads to prevent noise. No saddles were
used, so as to render the horses lighter
in case Of retreat or pursuit by the In
dians. The instructions were, in case of
interruption by the Indians, to scatter
into the brush and each man to silently
escape as best he could to the camp.
One party would dig holes and insert
the burned telegraph pole, after driv-
ing in large nail upon which to hang
the wire. The hammers used were
thickly padded so as to muffie the
sound of the knocking. No talking was
allowed, and only whispering when un-
avoidable. Creighton's work was usu-
ally the most dangerous. His task was
to unreel thin, thread-like wire COW
cred with green silk, and stretch it
from one end of the break to the other,
suspending the frail wire upon the top
of sage brush or weeds. By this slight,
delicate wire the people OF California
and Nevada sometimes received a whole
days news. But woe to the wire il
jack rabbits were thick, or a bear ol
stray pony crossed it, as they often did.
The frail thread would break, and Cali.
fornia got no more news for that night
or day.
Sometimes the Indians camped on
the line. In that ovent Superintend
ent Creighton would start out alone IL
the darkness, make a circuit of the
Indian camp, reach the line beyond the
break and attach his pocket instrument
and commence to talk to Omaha or Sar
Francisco, send messages to operators
on the line, and then return to camp in
time to escape capture. The Indians