The free press. (Poplarville, Miss.) 1890-19??, 1900-06-07
WORK OF THE SIGNAL CORPS.
Many Telegraph Lines in LuzOn and tie
Visayas.

The Signal Corps of our army in the
| Philippines, Colonel Allen at present
| commanding, have in operation to-day
1851 miles of wire on Luzon and the
Visayan Islands; they have estab-
Tished 100 telegraph-offices, and, with
total muster of 331 men and Il
officers, this department handles $780,
| 600 messages a month, the messages
| containing from twenty to thou
sand words each. Every officer on
the system receives daily at eleven A.
| NJ the official time from Manila.
These miles of wire were first laid
in the wake of our advancing soldiers,
thus keeping the firing-line in com
munication with corps headquarters
| in Manila; then, when time permitted,
the light copper wire used for quick
running during marches and fighting
was replaced by an iron wire on tenn
| porary poles, and eventually this sec
ond wire was replaced by heavy iron
! wire well strung on strong poles.
| Thus the 1.j51 miles of wire has ac-
tually been laid three times.
| Add to the fact that the first field
wires are laid right along with the ad-
vance of our troops into hostile coun-
| try that sometimes the Signal Corps
men get ahead or separated from the
| column and must shift for themselves
| unprotected that the replacing sec
| ond and third lines are often built
| through country abandoned by our
| troops and overrun with rowing bands
of insurgents and cutthroats; that the
enemy are continually cutting the
| lines. carrying away bodily lengths of
| half a mile or more, which must be
| Immediately replaced; that in doing
| this repair work the Signal Corps
must of necessity operate in small par
ties with the enemy always lying in
| wait for small detachments of Amer
| lean troops to wipe them out, and,
| furthermore, that the country through
which these lines run is most difficult
for the construction and maintenance
of telegraph wires.
When General Grant advanced from
| Angeles into Zambales Province in
| last December, Lieut. w. II. Stamford
and ten men of the Signal Corps ac-
companied his expedition, running
| their field wire and keeping the column
| in communication with its base. At
a point halfway between Florida
Blanca and Dunilupihan, distance of
eleven miles. Lieutenant Stanford
supply of wire gave out, and he and
his ten men camped alone with the
end of their line to await a further
supply, while the column pushed on
into Dunilupihan. An instrument
was attached to the line. and Angeles
promised more wire early the next
morning. That afternoon Lieutenant
| Stamfords men did a little scouting
through the neighboring country, and
| discovered go insurrecbos camped
less than a mile away. They had re-
NAMED carefully hidden while Gen.
| Grants column was passing, but,
| later. showed tendency to wander
| through the country. Lieutenant
Stamford realized that if they discov-
cred his camp they could kill his en-
| tlTe party BtLOIe Hcip NbuAI ECt " li4AAI
The American took advantage of such
| natural defences as the bamboos af-
forded and the lieutenant placed his
sentries with care. All night long
they watched ana waited, and nothing
happened. They dared not light fires,
and had to eat travel rations cold. No
one slept that night. Morning came
and the day grew hotter, while, in the
shade of the bamboos, the ten signal
men, hungry, tired. and still on the
alert, awaited an attack, for they had
seen the enemy coming in their direc
ton. The strain was intense; at eleven
O'Clock the instrument between Lieut..
Stamford's knees began to tick. The
eXpectant men read the sounds; it was
the official time from Manila.
At l o'clock The reinforcements and
wire from Angeles arrived.-New
York Post.