Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1898-08-05
VOL. 81.
Why ILGIt Santiago dc Cuba.
BY ACABLE OPERATOR.

]
! 1895 we seldom handled more thai
30 messages "a day, but alter th'
lnsnrrecliOn began The number rOS
10 90 aud 100 daily, increasing
little every mouth.
The cable irOm Santiago to SpaiI
goes uUdcr sta Grst to Kingston
Jamaica, thence to Puerto Rlcd
thence 70 S.. CIoX aud from ;here
10 ParamaIibO aud PernambucO il
Brazil. Cables from Pernambuc'
cross The South Atlantic to st
Vincent, Cape Verde islands, ant
from 81. Via cent other cables eX
tcud 10 Madeira, thence to Lisbor
and OVERLAP q TO Mddrid. There Is
also a less direct cable from Per
nambuc0 to st. Louis in Senegal
Africa, and thence TO the CduaIy
islands and Cadlz.
Beside my Seit, there was but
one other operator IN the Santiago
cflice, Lauun Merode, a young
Spanlard, who had learned cable
work at Lisbon. We thought that
100 messages daily made wOl X
enough, but over 500 passed The
day after the Maine was blown up
in Havana huIbor. -Four more
operators we're needed, and We
called to Havana for help; bot no
notice was taken OF our appeal, ,and,
rather than desert Onr posts aud
leave The compsny's business on
done, we shaved night aud day,
alwalS hoping ike pressure would
moderate
Que day We sent 13, ,742 words IN
over 100 dispatches, vet We were
two hours back at midnight, with
Havana tuning 1t us over the
land wire and still hurry ing mess
ages through the Glen tucgO cable.
There were Spanish government
cipher messages from Stgasla to
BlahcO aud BlancO's cipher To
SIgaSts; reams of bombat from the
Cuban correspondents of The I'm
parcial and COIr,O for Madrid,
followed by more cipher TO WeN Ter
at Barcelona from his brother
officers at Havana, and then the
bankers aud merchants quoting,
selling aud ordering.
To add to our yeXatiOus, the
mouse milP Of the slpbOn recorder
gave trouble constantly, and the
clock work that carries The record
tape broke down every day or two.
Now a Spauiard Is utterly with
Out native ingenuity. NeIOde was
a tOlerably good operator, but
when If came TO IectifA ing faults
of the instrument he was all IN.
fant, and all snch tasks fell on ne.
Auy thing like clockwOrk | can
tinker but the mouse mill that
works the siphOn pen Is a very
delicate bit of mechanism, which
ASSISTS the faint electric impulses
that cone great dis siamtes through
the cable to move the ink point Of
the recorder to aud fro on the tape.
suppose | had taken the rec
ord tape clOckwOTk and mouse
mill apart 20 different times, anu
on the evening Of the second OF
April, after Aerode relieved me, |
set TO work to wind new motor
coil for the mouse mill. which had
worked 80 very badly all day that.
rather than struggle with 1t longer
bad determined TO Sit up all night
and build a new mill
The cable house at Santiago is
most lonesome place, particular
ly at night; but a Spanish sentiuel
was Supposed to pass the door
every three INMATES. These poor
fellows were rarely pad and often
looked IN at the door to beg H
cigarette. So when the outside
door opened behind us that eve
ming, Supposed the incOmer was
The sentinel, and l did not even
look around tn an amused voice
exclaimed: aha, senOrsl BuenOs
nOcbesr
a Spanish sentinel begging a
CT lgarette does not speak iu that
tone, so Mertd de and I faced round
with a Jump. There stood a rather
tall, good looking young fellow, II
a white duck suit and white cap
regarding us keenly; and stel
behind him was typical Cuban
Iebel-sOmbrerO, long mustachi, 8
broad belt, long boots, revolver
and machete.
Iu an instant Merode was on biz
feet aid shouted, 'Sentine,! al
which our unexpected visitor,
laughed good humOredly, and tb,