Gulf Coast breeze. [volume] (Crawfordville, Fla.) 1897-19??, 1898-08-19

March, 1898, which were very busy
months In the cable Office at Santiago,
where I had been for four years. In
the early part OF 1895 we seldom han
died more than 80 messages a day,
but after the instruction began the
number rose 10 90 and 100 daily, in
creasing little every month.
The cable from Santiago TO Spain
goes under sea first to Kingston, ia
maica, thence to Puerto Rico, thence
to st. Croix aud from there TO Para
marble and Pernambuco in Brazil.
Cables from Pernambuco cross the
South Atlantic TO st. Vincent, Cape
Verde islands, and from st. Vincent
other cables extend to Madeira, thence
10 Lisbon and overland to Madrid.
There is also less direct cable from
Pernambuco TO st. Louis in Senegal,
Africa, and thence to the Canary ISL
ands and Cadiz.
Beside myself, there was but one
other operator in the Santiago office,
Laurin Merode,a young Spaniard, who
had learned cable work at Lisbon.
We thought that 100 messages daily
made work enough, but over 800 passed
the day after the Maine was blown up
in Havana harbor. Four more oper-
ators were needed, and we called to
Havana for help; but no notice was
taken Of our appeal, and, rather than
desert our posts and leave the CON-
pany's business undone, we shaved
night AID day, slways hoping the
pressure would moderate.
One day we sent Is, 742 words in
over 100 dispatches, yet We were two
hours black" at midnight, with Ha-
vana Tuning at us over the land wire
and still hurrying messages through
the Cienfuegos cable. There we're
Spanish government cipher messages
from Sagasta TO Blanco aud Blanco's
cipher to Sagasta; reams of bombast
from the Cuban correspondents Of The
impartial and Correo for Madrid, fol-
lowed by more cipher to Weyler at
Barcelona from his brother officers at
Havana, and then the bankers and
merchants quoting, selling and order
ing!
To add TO our vexations, the mouse
milp' Of the siphon recorder gave
trouble constantly, and the clockwork
that carries the record tape broke
down every day or two. Now Span
lard is utterly without native ingenu-
ity. Merode was tolerably good OPP
orator, but when ii came to rectifying
faults OF the instrument he was an in.
FAINT, and oil such tasks fell on me.
Anything like clockwork Il can
"tinker," but the mouse mill that
works the siphon pen is very delicate
bit of mechanism, which assists the
faint electric impulses that come great
distances through the cable to move
the ink point Of the recorder to and
fro on the tape.
I suppose had taken the record
tape clockwork and mouse mill apart
90 different times, and on the evening
of the second OF April, after Merode re-
lieved me, set to work to wind a
new motor coil for the mouse mill,
which had worked so very badly all
day that, rather than struggle with II
longer, had determined to sit up all
might and build new mill"
The cable-house at Santiago is
most lonesome place, particularly at
night; but Spanish sentinel was sup
posed to pass the door every three
minutes. These poor fellows were
rarely paid and often looked in at the
door to beg q cigarette. SO when the
outside door opened behind us that
evening, ! Supposed the incomer was
the sentinel, and I did not even look
around till anamused voice exclaimed:
saba, sen0rsl Buenos nochesv'
ASpanish sentinel begging cigar
cite does not speak in that tone, so
Merode and faced round with
jump. There stood rather tall, good
looking Young fellow, in q white duck
suit and white cap, regarding us keen
"; and step behind him was typi.
cal Cuban rebel-sombrero, long mus
tachios, broad belt, long boots, revolt
yer and machete.
In an instant Merode was on his
feet and shouted, "Sentinelar' at
which our unexpected visitors laughed
good-humoredly, and the Cuban said:
~ must beg the Senior Telegrafero
not to distress himself concerning the
worthy sentinel, for that watchful SOL
der is now lying comfortably on his
back outside, with gag in his mouth,
and his hands are tied to his feet"
sswell, who are you, and what do
you want here?" j exclaimed, in Span
ish.
The young man in white duck
laughed. lyon are an American; any