The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-02-06

smoke Icy day and light by night Thus
in Holy Writ, jeremiah refers to the for
mer and Isaiah TO the latter: indeed, the
use Of beaccns may almost be said to be
"as old as the hills on whose tops they
are placed. Relays of torch holders were
also frequently employed by the ancients
According to Aeschylus, the taking of
Troy-after its ten years siege by Aga
memnou 1900 years ago-was made known
in Greece 10 his wife. Queen Clytemnestra,
by beacons lighted on Mounts Ida, Athos,
Cithaeron, and other intervening nights
Fire signals were also used by Mardonus
I'm the time of Xerxes, and are mentioned
frequently in Thucydides We read that
signalling by light was turned to a very
tender purpose by Hero, the beautiful
priestess of Venus. in her love for Lean
der, to whom she displayed a lamD in her
tower at Sestos whenever he was 10 swim
across the Hellespont from Abydos to see
her But one night the lamp was blown
out-he was drowned, and she then threw
herself intosthe waves. Theseus, in the Ar.
gonautic expedition, adopted another form
of visual signals, namely, the colors of the
sails hoisted, but killed his father through
a Geographic error; for, flushed with VIC
tory. he forgot his signal and old Aegeus.
seeing the black SAIL and feeling sure his
son was dead, flung himself into the sea-
Il was these wide-awake people also
who employed the cepsydra, q very clever
contrivance, for night communication
afar. This invention was attributed to
the tactician Arnias. 1t consisted of a
tall vessel containing water, which was
let out slowly by tap at the bottom; On
the water hoated a cork disk. carrying a
gauge with divisions down the side and
on each division a separate sentence was
inscribed. Each signalling-point had one
of these contriVances; and ON a Eight being
shown from one station it was acknow-
lodged by the other, and each clepsydra
opened at the moment. When the sur
face of the water reeeded to the sentence
required, the signaling station again
showed light, when the other stopped
the outflow and read the words inscribed
at the water level upon the corresponding
gauge.
Hannibal erected watch towers in Africa
and Spain to signal from; and whenever
the Romans extended their eonquests in
Gaul Spain or elsewhere, they made use
of similar signalling devices. A repre-
sentation of one of their telegraph towers
is engraved on Trajans column. These
towers, the ruins of which are still 10 be
seen In various parts of France, very like
ly suggested the idea of aerial telegraphy
to the brothers Chappe and other invent
ors of the eighteenth century. But for the
absence of field glasses, the Romans
might and not improbably would, have
developed the same (semaphore) system as
that of their modern successors.
Polybius perfected an alphabetical meth
cd of camp signals, supposed to have been
originated by CleoXenes, The letters of
the alphabet were divided into five or six
sections, with columns corresponding TO
each The number of the letter at a CIV
en- moment signalled from each column
was indicated by the number of torches
held up. julius Africanus describes a
somewhat similar system In which the
letters were divided into three sections
only.
Among conventional military signals of
a simple order were the red tunie, which
signified an order to prepare for battle
and take a meal first and the bloody or
blood-red spear, giving permission to sack
and devastate.
The use OF mirrors to flash signals by
the suns rays from one port to another
dates back to the time of the Pharaohs.
The Persians are said to have considera-
bly, developed it for purposes of war;
Leseurre's hellograph (hrst used in Alge-
rial, upon which the more successful sys-
TENS of Begbie and Nance have been
founded, was thus simply revival of very
ancient methods.
Shortly before the French revolution,
Claude Chappe, at Anglers. Invented
semaphore telegraph, consisting of relays
of towers surmounted by movable arms.
This plan, with notifications, was adopt
ed in France, England, and other coun-
tries. In August, 1854 the first of Chappe's
lines was completed between Paris and
Lille, and on Sept. 1 at noon the welcome
news of the recapture of the town of
Condo from the Austrlans was transmit
ted by 1t from Lille, and announced by
Carnot to the deputies in Paris the same
evening The inventor, who was the first
person that received the title of telegraph
engineer Gngeniour-t elegraphe) as lead
of a Geographic department In the mill
tary service of the first republic, was sue
ceeded in his Office by his brothers, Igna-
thus and Rene; during the directory, the
empire, and the reigns of Louis XVIII
and Charles X, numerous lines of this de-
scription were constructed in France.
Louis Philippe secured the introduction
of the electric telegraph; but both sys
TENS were in use down to the time of
the Crimean war; after which the sema-
phore was finally abandoned.
The most important forms of visual sig
nails that are still employed for communal
eating over comparatively long distances
are the Photograph and the naval flash
lights. Flagsignals and semaphores are
still, of course, constantly used for mod
crate distances and, with the aid of the
telescope, are found very effective as far
as the earth's curvature and the state of
the atmosphere permit. All these forms
of signalling have been considerably de-
veloped of late years for military, naval,
and general maritime purposes; but fur
Their aflusion to them in their improved
state scarcely comes within our present
scope.
Acoustic telegraphy, I'm the full sense of
the term, cannot be said to have existed
before the age of the electric sounder and
telephone. Not to any practical purpose,
that is to say. for string telephones, wa
ter telephones, and tube telephones have
never been worked over long distances in
a constant and effective manner. In con-
nection with our present object, 1t is per-
haps sufficient to mention a few of the
chief devices which mankind are known
Cor said) to have succeeded formely in es-
tabishing more or less satisfactory sig
mailing arrangements by means of sound.
The historian Diodorus relates that
king of Persia communicated from Suza
to Athens by relays of sentinels, planted
at regular intervals who transmitted his
messages from one to another by shout
ing across the intervening spaces Re-
rays Of shouters were also employed by
the Gauls By this means, according to
Caesar, tidings of the massacre of Romans
in the early morning at Orleans was con-
veyed TO Auvergne--a distance of forty
leagues-the same evening. In point of
speed this plan may have been an i'm
provement upon couriers, but can hardly
g tsclfn In,