The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1897-12-19

to the difficulty of maintaing commune
cation with the repeating office at Salt
Lake during damp weather the Helena
office was supplied with a relay of very
high resistance, which felt the effect
of the minute current that forced its
way through from the stronger main
battery at Salt Lake while the ordinary
relays along the line We're unaffected
by it. 1t was common thing for the
Helena office to receive messages under
these circumstances for days at a time
without the sending office knowing
whether the line was up or down. The
message from Salt Lake We're numbered
consecutiveiy, and when they had
message for Helena and could not hear
him, all that was done was to say: Hell
10, n. A., here's another and go ahead
with the number and message. When
the weather permitted resumption of
regular communication if a message
had been missed, Which was seldom.
that number was called for.
The presidents message was taken
from start to finish under such circum-
stances, more than once under the same
conditions. The Helena office would re-
ceiVe the Eastern messages for Pleas
ant valley office then presided over by
our genial friend, Senator Mantle, and
repeat them back to the valley. to the
surprise of the coming senator, who
would e&claim: How did you get that,
anyhow2" During the '70s the news
papers of Montana received the same
amount of press that the Pacific coast
papers did, and at The same time
There were no elght-hour tricks those
days, it was oftener Is. as through the
Russo Turkish -French-German wars
and other important occurrences the
solitary operator might be found driv-
ing ahead as best he might, at midnight
keeping pace with the sender who was
trying to rush the boys on the coast,
and as he WAS hooked ON TO a side of
the repeaters where he could not break,
only an operator will be able to thor
oughly understand the situation. The
first news of the Custer massacre was
fl9shed to the world from the Helena
office one Fourth Of July evening, ii
having just been received in the Boze-
man mail.
The Sitting Bull commission furnish
ed what operators usually term roast.
There were two correspondents with the
commission, one for the New York
Times and the other for a large Chicago
daily. Their reports reached the office
one evening about 5 o'clock and were
not through With until the next morn
ing, there being no respite except for
the time necessary for the sender to
occasionally restore feeling in nearly
paralyZed arm by bathing it in cold
water. Chief Joseph'S raid was kept
track OF, warning sent ahead and the
.hAss 0i'u mat capture HllSn tSsiSeSu
hN he use made of the telegraph. The
wire was extended 10 Fert Benton, and
an etliee opened al that place in An-
gust. 1865. This line was afterwards
entirely destroyed ny buffaloes between
Fort Benton and Fort Shaw. p. \.
iargey now 81 Butte. built a line in
lNiu from Eazsman 10 Helena and
thence ~ Deer Lodge and Butte. on
tha completion a. the Utah Northern
new Wire vas hreu-Ht into use. the old
one ugSl mentioned being abandoned.
9n the completion of the Northern Pa
giic stia another wire was brought in,
and since that time Montana has had
AZ GOOD and efficient facilities tele-
graphically as any other part of the
country. and ta some respects better, as
TINS northern line running through a
&tcar. cold climate. has not been affect
=l So much by the weather as the
uthern overland route.