Idaho semi-weekly world. [volume] (Idaho City, Idaho Territory) 1875-1908, 1888-09-11
CAUGHT BY suN.ElAsnss
'"e monograph Aided In the Ca,t,.x
of GeronImo,. Ar..n,.- ~Ps"f

""" tue heiioErsph Aided In the c...,
OF seeronImo's Alaehe..
Az THIS stage OF the campaign Con-
eral Miles decided TO make use ~ ~
signal service, and TO this end reouess.
ca the Chief Signal Officer 10 nrovia,
ann With detail of men from the corr,s
70 report TO the commanding GeneraI
OF the Department of Arizona for mill
lary signal duty in the field. Signal
stations were located on the biobe,,
peaks along the line Of communication
r-ach station was equipped with from
s"o 70 iour operators, according to the
amount OF business which n.sgoa
through 1t. In addition to these oper.
aeors there were lookout men who
swept the surrounding country and
heighboring peaks with powerful field
glasses. While on duty. Operators and
lookout men were guarded by a de-
'achment OF infantry, the numerical
strength Of which depended upon the
iocation OF the station, having refer
ence to Its liability to attack by hes
tiles.
messages were transmitted from peak
70 peak and down in the valleys bv
what Is known as the heliopranhic
system OF signals. The heliopraph or
sun-writer, consists of an arrangement
OF mirrors mounted on tripod. and so
ADJUSTED as to enable the operator to
throw flash Of reflected sunlight ON a
distant point with mathematical exact
ness. In making signals long and short
Sun-hashes take the places of the dots
and "dasbes' of the magnetic sounder.
the same call being used for both in
struments- In clear atmosphere sig-
nails made by this instrument can be
easily read by the naked eye at a dis
lance OF eighty miles, and by an expert
operator at the rate of fifteen words
per minute.
To and fro across the valleys and
lower mountain ranges fitted the mes
sages which told of the recent where
aoouts OF the hostiles. and close upon
the heels OF those messages came others
ordering the troops in pursuit.
presume it would be difficult task
to try to imagine the surprise that the
Indians felt when they suddenly saw
that they could not move without find
ing that almost Immediately their trail
would be cut by scouting cavalry. They
saw the light of the photographs fash
ing across the valleys, but they did not
at first comprehend its true signif-
canoe. AT last they began to associate
those flashes with the fact that they
were constantly being pressed and har-
assed, and within two weeks from the
date OF the establishment of the hello
graph they fed southwark across the
Sonora border, there to remain until
chased back again by Captain Lawton
to the place of surrender.
For nearly two months following the
flight OF the hostiles into Mexico not a
sound came back from the shadows OF
the Sierra Madres. into whose depths
pursued and pursuer had disappeared.
At last, on a scorching hot morning
near the close of August, Mexican
courier galloped into Bisbee-a mining
town near the border-with the intel
ligence that Geronimo and band were
in the mountains about twelve miles
from Fronteras. Mex, wishing to treat
with the authorities of Sonora.
There was a heliograph station at
Bisbee, and the information furnished
by the 'Greaser" was flashed promptly
to Fort Bowie, seyenty-fye miles away.
Within two hours from the time of the |
arrival of the Mexican courier at Bis.
bee five troops of cavalry were making
forced marches on Fronteras. When |
had escaped from the net
that the United States troops sought to |
weave around him at Fronteras and |
was flying eastward, pursued by all the |
cavalry in the field, whisper passed |
along the line that negotiations had |
been opened looking to the surrender |
Of the hostiles. Consequently all sig
were on the tip-toe of expect
ancy.
One evening about the last of August |
the operators at a station in the Swiss |
helm mountains were nodding lazily |
under the shelter of their tent-fy, when |
suddenly from the highest peak in the
Chiricahua range came the flash of a
heliograph, and the following message
was received:
Send buckbo to meet me at Scott
Whites ranch. | shall be in Bowie
tonight and shall bring some Indians
with me-
This is the modest manner in which
General Miles announced the surrender
If Geronimo. That the employment of
he Photograph was most important
actor in bringing the campaign to a
peedy and successful issue is generally
conceded. -Sergt. Hhltaey. IN Louis
lille Ccurier-JomRdl.
-
r.