The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1898-12-14
SELECTED STORY.
A Dash for News.

l was the only American operator in
eastern Cuba in February and March,
1898, which were very busy months in
the cable Office at Santiago, where l
had been for four years. In the early
mart of S95 we seldom handled more
tban M IrtX messages day, but after
the ineurrection began the number rose
to ninety and one hundred daily, in
creasing q little every month.
The cable from Santiago to Spain
goes under sea first TO Kingston, ia
maica, thence to Porto RICO, thence to
St. Croix, and from there to Paramar-
ibo and Pernambuco in Brazil. Gables
from Pernanbuco cross the south At
Alantic to st. Vincent, Cape Verde
ks.snds, and from 81. Vincent other
fcables extend to Madeira, thence to
Lisbon, and overland to Madrid. There
is also q less direct cable from Pernam-
buco to st. Louis, in Senegal, Africa,
and thence to the anary islands 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 one hundred mes
sages daily made work enough, but
over eight hundred passed the day af.
ter the Maine was blown up in Havana
barber. Four more operators were
needed, and we called to Havana for
help, but no notice was taken of our APP
peal, and rather than desert our posts
and leave the company's business I'M
done we shaved night and day, always
hoping the pressure would moderate.
One day we sent 1912 words in
over 100 dispatches, yet we were two
hours shack" at midnight, with Ha-
vana tuning at US over the land wire,
and still hurting messages through the
Cienfuegos cable. There were Span
ish government cipher messages from
Sagasta to Blanco, aud Bl4ncO cipher
to S agasta; reams of bombast from the
Cuban correspondents of the impartial
Borroe for Madrid, followed by more
cipher to Weyler at Barcelona from
his brother officers at Havana, and
then the bankers and merchants quot
ing, selling and ordering!
To add TO our vexations the "mouse
mill" of the siphOn recorder gave trou-
BILE constantly, and the clockwork that
carries the record tape broke down
every day or two. Now, a Spaniard is
utterly without native ingenuity. Me-
rode was a tolerably good operator, but
when it came TO rectifying faults of
the instrument he was an infant, and
all such tasks fell on me.
Anything like clockwork l can Sink
err" but the mouse mill that works the
siphon pen is very delicate bit OF
mechanism, which assists the faint
electric impulses that come great dis
tances through the cable to move the
ink point of the recorder to and fro on
the tape.
suppose had taken the record tape
clockwork and mouse mill apart twenty
different times, and on the evening of
the 81 of April after Merode relieved
me, l set 10 work to wind new motor
coil for the mouse mill, which had
worked 80 very badly all day that rath.
er than struggle with il longer had
determined to sit up all night and build
anew mill.
The cable house at Santiago is a
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 cigarette. So when the
outside door opened behind us that
evening supposed the incomer was
the sentinel, and l did not even look
around till an amused voice exclaimed,
saba, senors, buenos nochesp
A Spanish sentinel begging a cigar
cite does not speak in that tone, 80
Merode and l faced round with jump.
There stood rather tall, good looking
young fellow, in white duck suit and
white cap, regarding US keenly, and a
step behind him was typical Cuban
rebel - sombrero, long mustachios,
broad belt, long boots, revolver and
machete.
In an instant Merode was on his feet
and shouted, "Sentinelal" at which our
unexpected visitors laughed good hui
moredly, and the Cuban said, II must
beg the senior telegrafero not 10 distress
himself concerning the worthy sentinel,