The San Francisco call., 1899-09-24

of the same class which mi~ht be cited.
In moving through the enemy's country
looked after first If they had been de-
stroyed or damaged, as was often the
case, other means had to be improvised,
and the wits of the operators were equal
to the occasion. Operator Nichols of our.
detachment, serving at General Summers
headquarters during the Seven Days bat
ties on the peninsula, found during the
battle of Savage Station that he had but
three feet of spare wire to lay a line
twelve feet from the ground. The main
wire of the army was in constant use and
could not be grounded. although Sumner
was anxious to communicate WITH his
chief, some miles down the line With the
piled cracker boxes against the pole,
climbed Up and opened his office. 1t was
Just dark and it was NECESSARY to have
a lantern to do his work. The light made
q good target which the enemy shelled
briskly, but Nichols held his perch until
Sumner ordered him down. This daring
operator at that time was only is.
Another witty expedient was adopted
by Operator Fuller of General Boyle's
command during Morgans Kentucky raid
in 1862. Morgan's men captured Fuller's
Columbia with Boyle's troops trying to
head off the raiders When the force
reached Columbia the telegraph office was
found dismantled. General Boyle had
some urgent messages to send to distant
posts asking help for the emergency and
threatened to shoot Fuller if he didn't get
his good intentions-he was a civilian en-
Iloye-as well as to save his life, the un-
lucky operator seized the ground wire in
one hand and the main wire in the other,
using the ends as key, and sent the mes
sage on its way. This was not so difficult,
but it was necessary to get a return
which could only be done by reading the
shocks on the wire. This he managed to
do by using the tip of his tongue as re-
ceiver.
Sometimes more than the ordinary
nerve to be expected in an operator when
near his key was demanded by the emer-
Confederate siege of Knoxville in 1863.
burnside was shut up in Knoxville by
Longstreet's corps of Virginians, while
Grant and Sherman were hammering at
Chattanooga. AS soon as Mission Ridge
fell before Grant Sherman set out
to relieve Knoxville by forced marches.
to the effect that Burnside could not hold
out against LongStreet longer than De-
cember l. Sherman was to make the point
by December 2, and Grant, army head
quarters and Washington were all terribly
excited over the crisis. Finally it was
arranged to wire Burnside. through the
four offices nearest KnoXville to wait for
help until December .. 1t was the dead
of night when the messages came to hand
and telegraph corps man al each office
set out with the message secreted on his
person. All four, by. hook or crook. stole
through the hostile lines and Knoxville
was saved. Army men have received med
ais for services no more valuable nor dan
gerOus than that midnight journey
through the Tennessee mountains.
And operators were grit to the
backbone in sticking out through the
dangres involved in eXtrahazardous
work. One of our best men in the South
west was S. L. Robinson a cipher op-
orator at the headquarters of General A.
J. Smith. Smith went on a raiding ex-
petition into Mississippi in 1864. and in
order to clear the country ahead of him
of Forests cavalry, he dispatched his