The Wichita daily eagle., 1893-08-27
ELECTRIC TRICKS.
How a Young Lad Stole Messages from
Telegraph Wire.

|
Electricity is a good servant, but a
bad master. When it is a servant il
carries the messages instead of killing
the messenger, and it rings bells. in
| stead of melting them. In watching
the electric cars you will have noticed
how ready the electricity is to escape,
or, at least, how ready it is to make a
spark, which shows that something
has happened. What happens in such
case is that the force of the electrici-
ty does not pass by contact from the
wire to the trolley wheel, but having
| to jump through the air, makes the
spark. Although the electric current
VIII keep to its wire, and usually do its
work quite properly, it very easily be-
comes a kind of .truant from school,
and will run off, and go into
the earth and become lost.
This is little trick which
it has, s,'and the knowledge that it will
do SO is sometimes useful. You may
have read how, during a war, the SOL
diers of one side will gallop across coun-
try and tap the telegraph wires, as it is
called. This means that by using a
small apparatus, which they carry with
them, they can stop the telegraph mes
sage from passing any farther along
the wire, and can take off the message
at that point and read it themselves.
They do this in order to find out, if pos
sible, what their enemies may be tele-
graphing to each other about. Then,
when they reach such messages they
can send back reply to deceive their
enemies, who, not knowing that the
telegraph wires have been tapped, may
suppose that the reply is the real reply
of the persons to whom they tele-
graphed. But I can remember an cleo
trio trick which was not at all useful,
though 1t was rather amusing.
a good many years ago, when I was
in Germany, l happened to know fam
lily who used in the summer to live in a
house OF their own, in the chief town
of one of the German states, which we
will call the state of the Duke of Pum-
pernickel This name is, in Germany,
as you may know, the name of very
dark-looking bread. But this name is
not the German name, for the bread is
so called because, when the French sol
diers at the beginning of the century
were in Germany, they were given this
bread TO eat; but they said it is only
"bon pour Nicole,' meaning that il was
only good for their horses. which every
trenchman generally calls Nicole. And
then the German peasants, in trying TO
say the French words, made ont
of them the word Pumpernickel. /
Now the Duke of Pumpernickel /
lived in what he called his residence /
town. for the capital of each state in 4
Germany is called the residence /
town" and Berlin is also called the /
world town" The duke had. OF /
course. telegraph wires going in every /
direction through his residence town,
and from it to the other towns and /
villages OF his country, and also TO the
towns and residence towns of the
nelghboring sovereigns. II so hap
pened that nearly all the wires turned
the corner Of the street in which was
the house of my friends family. and
passed underneath some OF the upper
windows. The youngest son of my
friend was a bright little boz of about
twelve years of age. and suppose he
had been reading about electricity. and
about It's liking to run away II il could
get chance. At any rate he found out
that. by hanging a wire from the teIe-
graph wires and continuing it 10 the
earth. he could make ali the electricity
run of into the earth. 80 he took his
and arranged il with long
wire, and he let the other end Of the
wire 20 through the rooms. and out Of
a back window into the garden Then.
whenever he thought that no one could
see him, he amused himself IN throw
ing the wire. as il he were fy-fsbing. /
over the telegraph wires. and after let
ting it rest awhile would flick il Of.
and then FISH again.
There was. great trouble among the
people who sent messages from the :
residence town, and among the neigh
bo-s who sent messages into the resi-
lence town; for every day a good many
1f them u1ysferiousiy disappeared. 50
ne duke and his ministers ae1t uess4u T.
zers 70 End out where the defect n tae
Tires was Bnt ire tesezra pn poles we're
III I'D. and The wires we're all in :heir
sls.ses. and TIE insnlators seemed 20 lie
- IN good order: Jet most of tire Taes-
.ares never arrived In . fcsv days
MS state q thiazs became very seri-
SIS. AID the dase and his ministers did
70; x1osv hosy siey coala carry on the
has4ness q tlss state. and
rauage their 5ittle army. ard inter
hang coHTsesIes with tae aeIg IA boz
IL sfzte2 NsstAsx enasG Ihs sEAr.I