The Yellowstone journal. [volume] (Miles City, Mont.) 1893-1901, 1893-06-13
A CABLE STATION.
ISOLATED OPERATORS LIVE IN A
WORLD ALL THEIR OWN.
Picturesque Scenes At the American Ter
minus of the Great Transatlantic Cables.
Thirty Men Live y Peculiar Kind of Ex-
iatence by Themselves


iatence by Themselves.
To an outsider the words life at a
cable station" convey a z sort of
meaning. sucs. a. the term life on board
ship would imply to one who had new
err been to sea. The very popularity of
cable life attaches to it something of "A
special interest. It will be my endeavor
here to portray as far as possible what
life is at one of the busiest and most i'm
portant cable stations in the world. land
ing two ocean cables from Wateryille.
Ireland. two from New York city. one
of which is operated direct from Wall
street; also a cable to ST. Pierre. Mique.
Ion. and working a direct land system
in connection with and over the Cana
dian Pacific railway.
1t is a well known fact that cable sta
tions, as a rule. are placed upon the most
outlandish spots imaginable. in thus
wise throwing the operators ont of touch
with society and the Wort at large.
Just picture to yourself a moment a
small cape running ont into the Atlantic
on the most northeasterly point of the
American continent. \ little to the
south and situated somewhat on ii hill
you will see What APP ars TO be a small
village circling into Il shape Of a horse
shoe. The backgrouni is thicklv clothed
with small fir trees. and Immediately at
the foot of the hill IS a large lake with
miniature islands clothed in rich green
foliage.
Beyond the lake and as far as the eve
o roonh iS ~ a va ~ a ~ ;, n 80 1g xr-oAar, Il,
viding the eastern and western CONT
nents of Europe and America. AT once
you are brought to the '.Canso station"
of the Commercial Cable company.
To the southeast of the lake the broad
Atlantic rolls along in heavy monotone.
while far away o. the horizon a dark
line of smoke floats leisurely in the wake
ot a passing steamer. The station itself
has d picturesque appearance in the
g~listening sunlight, the handsome office
with its bold frontage standing like ii
sentinel at the western gateway. There
are the finely laid tennis courts. the
broad crescent of substantial villas. with
their small patches of greensward and
flower beds in front. and the peat little
clubhouse with its small piazza, where
the men enjoy their pipes of an evening
and watch the feet of fishing boats or
ocean travellers passing round the cape
At the eastern entrance are the bache-
lors' quarters-a large 2-story building,
accommodating nearly 80 men. Two and
a half miles away is the fishing town Of
-Canso. with its 1000 inhabitants.
There is nothing outside t portray the
amount of activity going on within the
Office. The commercial world is in full
swing, the cables are being worked at
top speed, and messages are pouring in
10 be transmitted to all parts of the hab-
liable globe. Business is being transact
ed between the London and New York
Stock Exchanges almost as speedily as in
the exchanges themselves. Here one
gets a general idea of the importance of
submarine telegraphy to the world at
large and the value Of time. No stop
ping, no palsins. nothing but rush. rush.
rush, the clicking of saunders. the work
ing of automatic senders. the tapping Of
keys, AMI the steady buzzins of recording
instrum ants.
The Operators have the money market
under their control; are edifying the po-
litical world with the latest conundrums
or flashing forth the tidings of some
dreadful calamity across the submerged
chains which link the old world with the
new.
Life at a cable station is not all sun
shine, neither is it all shadow. We have
our periods Of dizziness as swell as our sea-
sons of pleasure, adv ntages as well as
1,ca1 ,y, ta,r, Nv, I-z = -
ventional manner. but there are times
when we experience a thirst for town
life with all its rush and rattle, merely
for a change. On the whole. however
we are very contentel and happy: there
is such a sense of freedom SO far removed
from the consested atmosphere of city
life. Roam where one Will, there is no
one to say, Whittier goest thou" On
can shoot all over mo mans land CT
cast the deceptive fly on lake or stream
and vile the silvery rou from their va
rious haunts. There are no preserves
therefore no gamekeepers OF watchers.
In season we have boating, tennis
cricket, riding and other sports to brace
us up for the mental strain of the oper
ating room. also our concerts, dances
and picnics to mark the superficial side
of life. Naturally we have to rely on
our own for amusement and
entertainment. and at a large station
there is generally a fair supply of talent
in various directions.
When winter is upon us with its icy
grasp, when the trees and everything
around are clad in a beautiful garb of
NO lo,n 49,.
furs. and away we go across country to
the merry tinkle of sleighbells, Snow
shoeing and skating also form important
features of our winters pastime.
When the shades of evening cast their
dark NANTES around US, we gather IN
the CHEEKY clubhouse and over our pipes
discuss the latest news from the outside
world. sum up "reminiscences OF other
days. talk of episodes in u lives and
exueriences T. otLJ NtioA. il MA-