The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-03-16
CT THE TELEPHONE.
The Priests in India Fave sed it for
Two Thousand Years.
FROM the Mem York GrdDhic

From the Net1 York Graphic.
"The principle of the teler hone has been
known for 1900 years in India" was the
rather incredible statement made the other
night by Fred Amesbury, who has just re-
turned to New York after two years so
journ in the land of the striped tigers and
wonderful fakirs. 81 do not assert, mark
you,n continued Mr.. Amesbury ''that they
use the telephone as we use 1t, or that they
have any system of general communication.
What do say is, that the high caste peo-
pie have method of commun lcating with
each other by vibratory action on q dia-
phragm, just as wedo but it is confined en-
tirely to their temples, and its existence has
remained a secret until within very few
years"
Il was IN a town called PAM, about 200
miles from Madras, and while there became
acquainted with an English officer named
Harrington, who was prime favorite with
the natives because on one occasion he had
saved priest from drowning. He was a
very genial, pleasant fellow and had that
peculiar magnetism about him that made
and kept friends everywhere.
1T was through Harrington that I was
enabled to learn the existence of telephone
communication and to satisfy myself of its
antiquity.
"Thvre are two temples in the village
about mile apart. In the interior and on
the ground floor of each is a small circular
structure which is guarded day and night
from the natives as well as from strangers
and is supposed to be the abiding place of
the governing spirit but in reality is the
terminus of the telephone line, which is la d
und rground from one building to the
other
1.-The superstitious natives regarded this
little structure it'll the greatest awe and
reverence because they had seen demon
strated before their eyeS-or rather rs
the power of this spirit to communicate
with the other temple. They were required
to make their offering in one building, and
make known their wishes and desi es. Then
immediately repairing to the second temple
they would he informed of all they had said
and done, although neither priest had left
his post. This was regarded as a demon
stration OF the power of the spirit.
eve were unable to determine the COM
position of the wire that connected the two
buildings 1t was some kind OF metal but
neither steel, copper nor brass, although it
closely resembled the latter The trans
miUter was of God and about the size of
the head of a -four uarrel, and to est ablish
connect on, instead of ringing a bell, the
person wishing to attract attention at the
other end stood clio e to the curious looking
thing and shouted, 'Ooe} ooey! ooeyr
"This was answered by a similar shout,
which while faint was distlnct'and could be
heard two feet away.
after Harrington and had gained the
confidence OF the prlests-or ather, after
he had--we were given a carte blanche TO
do as We pleased, and we talked to each
other from one temple to the other for more
than an hour, and we're enabled to make an
incomplete investigation.
1--WE learned that the telephone that we
saw had been Ill use for thirty years. The
priests were very old men and they RENE IL
bered that the line of communication mad
been renewed only once during their en-
cumbency.
They showed us the remains Of worm
eaten transmitters and wooden conduits
that must have been hundreds of years old
they claimed that the system bad been i'll
existence snce the creation, and laughed at
us when we told them that the same princi-
pie has only been applied in England and
America within the last dozen years. In
every part of India and in Burmah this sy'-
tenn OF secret communication exists, alth ugh
hundreds Of travellers have never suspected
IL. / believe that it dates back fully 1900