Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1898-08-20
A DASH FOR NEWS.

/ 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 had
been for four years. In the early part of
1895 we seldom handled more than 80
messages day, but after the insurreo-
tion began the number rose to 80 and
100 daily, increasing a 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 Paramaribo
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 to Lisbon, and overland
to Madrid. There is also less direct
cable from Pernambuco to st. Louis, in
Senegal, Africa, and thence to the Ca
nary 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 100 messages daily made
work enough, but over 800 passed the
day after the Maine was blown up in
Havana harbor. Four more operators
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 company's business
undone we shaved night and day, al
ways hoping the pressure would moder-
ate.
One day we sent Is, 742 words in over
LOO dispatches, yet we We're two hours
"back" at midnight, with Havana fun
ing at us over the land wire, and still
hurrying messages through the Cienfue-
gos cable. There We're Spanish govern
ment cipher messages from Sagasta to
Blanco, and Blanco cipher to Sagasta;
reams of bombast from the Cuban CORE
spondents of the impartial and Correo
for Madrid, followed by more cipher tc
Weyler at Barcelona from his brother
officers at Havana, and then the bank
ers and merchants quoting, 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, Spaniard is utterly
without native ingenuity. Merode was a
tolerably good operator, but when it
came to rectifying faults of the instru
ment he was an infant, and all such
tasks fell ON me.
Anything like clockwork | can Sc ink
err, " but the mouse mill that works the
siphon pen is a very delicate bit of
mechanism, which assists the faint cleo
trio impulses that come great distances
through the cable to move the ink point
of the recorder to and fro ON the tape.
l suppose had taken the record tape
clockwork and mouse mill apart 20 diff
ferent times, and on the evening of the
I'd of April, after Merode relieved 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 it longer had determined
TO sit up all night and build new
mill.
The cable house at Santiago is most
lonesome place, particularly at night,
but a Spanish sentinel was supposed to
pass the door every three minutes.
These poor fellows We're rarely paid,
and often looked in at the door to beg a
cigarette. So when the outside door
| opened behind us that evening / sup
posed the incomer was the sentinel, and
l .
amused voice exclaimed, AHA, senors,
! buenos noches -
! A Spanish sentinel begging cigarette
| does not speak in that tone, so Merode
and l faced round with a jump. There
stood rather tall good looking young
! fellow, in white duck suit and white
cap, regarding Us kuclIy, Ind a step be-
hind him was a typical Cuban rebel
sombrero, long mustachios, broad belt,
hong boots, revolver and machete,
In an instant Merode was ON his feet
and shouted, "SentinelaW at which
our unexpected visitors laughed good
humoredly, and the Cuban said, II
must beg the senior telegrafero not to
| distress himself concerning the worthy
sentinel. for that watchful soldier is
now lying comfortably on his back out
side, with gag in his mouth, and his
/ hands are tied to his feet "
We'll, who are you and what do you
want here?' exclaimed in Spanish.
1.-The young man in white duck
laughed. "You are an American; any
body could tell that by your Spanish.
Oh, know about you. Speak English. F."
Certainly" l replied What do
! you want here?"
1.-The news "
"What news?"
Are the Spanish warships, Vizcaya
and Oquendo, still at Porto Rico? Has
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