The weekly register. [volume] (Point Pleasant, Va. [W. Va.]) 1862-1909, 1886-01-27
A rsLgaaAsAga.s ExpEalENoE3.. J. .


Ia'N !" ~ r. ~ W f |fltl E. Ii'l1l
Telegraph op9tstofs have queer eS.l
psrlrnc sid yetemnin the employ
Of the Western Union company. Many
strange things ani ago0 deal. 81 ptl-
yate information come % thhif il0El.
edge was onetof tis first operators
on ihe More instrument sent 70 Phil.
alalphia Ehan tie telogFaph reached
there Ihs instrument markell the
characters On . Slip oi paper, Ofcourse
the Instrument ticsod, but this was long
before there wa ln3 thought Of taking
uy pr Amoug our visitors were brokars
and members 81 the exchange, anl tbey
vara much inter ted IN what had al.
ready become yery yalaaAleto them
One of thbm, Ball Bridgss spsut 50
mnrh time III The olice that We gage
him great deal Of Information and OK.
plalnet tbs wosslngt Of tue instth-
mouts Abontthis time We began 10
fecalSe complRints Chit tho contents ot
~ i'siagei mt FROM New York % .hila.
ddphia we're known % outside persons
Ia tho o j eve bpgan 70 lookup1nse each
other With uspieiond and finally d8.
fcrnlnod 10 do some detective work Il
ftp' witch OF our visitors and finally
ilj4fered chat complaints only reachei
Us coneernals sueh ,elegrpns as wofai
received Wide or friend Bull was in.
I tho olice / therefore. determiuOi'to
shaye all visitors excluded and an order
posted 10 that elect Our trouble
ceased At one, and my suspicious were
confirmed.
4 knew Bridges Ind not seen any
messages, and wondBrcd how he could
have known their contDnts. Whom /
accused him no bust ont laughing and
admitted thewhole thing. He had the
.ticksot the recorder down so fne that
he could ttsea message by car, and he
was the first man that ever did 1t. Not
long aftFward the solndor was intro.
duced, and since then almost all tele.
graphing in this country has been taken
by car. -
WAS there any system Of rapid com.
munication before the invention Of the
electric telegraph
YES, indeed, quite a number. The
system most generally used was the in.
yention Of the Chappe brothers, two
French boys, who hrst utilized it in
1i94 at school, where they saw each
other only at a distanee. They used a
piyoted beam, which, being placed in
diterant positions, indicated di,fsrent
characters. Afterwar.l tho French gov.
ernmeut adopted this system, and ono
OF the inventors was made telegraphic
engineer anl plHced in charge. Lines
wore established all along tho coast and
from Paris to'tho ;rohter.p
'How wore these Signals"
"By the use Of poworfulglasses. The
stations were only about ten miles
apart, and with good telescopes the
signals could readily DO distinguished,
and tho receiving station would then
communicate with tho next station"
"Conld this be done rapidly@
| "Yes. I rememLer a line that was
worked from the top Of the old custom
house here to Sandy Hook. The oper.
ators used blocks Of wood with large
letters on them, and could telegraph at
tie rate OF abolt IOj letters III five
Iiinutes between stations ten miles
ipart,"
"'eaconslwere flrst used. Long be.
fore the Christian era, loman generals
were able to communicate with each
other by means ot flames in different
| positions, and Of various numbers.
Some OF the. Indian mounds In the vest
arc eslpposed to have been constructed
for signal purposes, Gre aud smoke be-
ing used. The ilry cross OF the high
land chief quickly summoned the faith
fll TO war. In later times drums,
trumpets and flags we're used lor signal
purposes. particularly by armies Most
barbarons people have methods OF tole-
graphing. Among the negroes In tue
Uameroons country, on the west COAST
Of Africa, thoy coinmuni 'ato by means
Of sound, for great distances. Tho in
strument they uss isa sort Of drum,
and the words ara represented by yari-
| otS hnntS tlnOn H. -