The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1907-09-01

inent citizens of Phoebe, New, avaiIed
themselves Of the facility Of the stage
line from Phoebe to Beaver City in the
sending of kilograms to Salt Lake. Chi
cago, New York. points in Nevada and
San Francisco, inclosing gold coin with
the telegram in Wells-Fargo's enevol-
opes to the manager of the Deseret
telegraph office at Beaver City.
This continued to increase daily, till
in the month of September the citizens
of Phoebe, merchants and others. made
an application TO Superintendent A. NJ.
MUsser at salt Lake. and President
BrighapasY Dung, that If they would ex-
tend thAsine from St. George to Phoebe,
a distance of ia miles, they would ma
terially contribute for the extension
at its completion
President Young endorsed the appli
cation and instructed Superintendent
.Musser to obtain the necessary wire,
brackets, insulators. etc, for the dis
tance to be covered. Promptly respond
ing to the order of President Young,
Superintendent Musser went to St
George, and Bishop Dan Macarthur was
given charge of the construction par
ty, with the veteran, Harry Cox, as line
builder and electrician; George Smith
and five or six others to dig the holes.
erect the poles and string the lines.
over Difficult Route.
A rougheT country ana a harder route
can hardly be found in southern Utah
or the American desert. Standing ce-
dar trees and pinon pine were impro-
vised for poles is as many instances as
possible, and when within about TWEEN
ty-five or thirty miles from Phoebe the
writer, being on his way from the Og-
den Office to take charge at Phoebe,
when the line was completed, was met
by Superintendent Musser at Panaca,
New, about the goth of October, 1871.
Superintendent MusSer had been out
southwest and had met the builders of
the line, and as the men needed some
money and supplies TO complete the
building of the line, he was at q loss
20 know how to raise some means, then
greatly needed. The writer remarked:
Il have got it; you get me a good pony
from the livery stable at Panaca or
Bullionville and I will ride from Phoebe
TO the end of the line daily, you re-
manning in Phoebe, receiving the tele-
grams that the merchants and other
patrons want to be transmitted, and l
viii leave Phoebe a. noon every day
going TO the end of the line, sending
them to Salt Lake the same afternoon
or night, remaining there until 10
o'clock or noon the next day and bring
ing back the answers by the pony ex-
press the next afternoon"
TeIegraphing Under Difficulties,
When the writer would reach the line
builders camp each evening est
George having been previously ad-
vised) would let his battery onto the
extension and then the old electrician,
Harry Cox, would put his steel crow
bar into the ground digging a hole
around it, pouring three or four buck
cts of water into the hole and connect
ing the line with a copper wire to the
"a No fO
Cieorge), with the end-gate of a wagon
hOX for an Office table, knelt thereon
with a pocket relay and key attached.
Thus he sent all that Salt Lake had for
the then great George Hearst, Uncle
Billy Raymond ]. D. f. Cavellier, ex-
president of the San Francisco stock
board. and a hundred others of the
great mining giants that ever attacked
Mature in her rOck-rfbbed fOrtreSses.
This service was kept up till the line
got TO Panaca, where the office was
opened about the 18th of October, 1871;
then at Bullionville day or two aft
erward, and ct Phoebe in the afternoon
of Oct %, 1871.
Rejoicing In Phoebe.
To say that the advent of the line
with its desirable facilities afforded the
greatest of pleasure is putting il mild
". During the day a committee of two
tributiOns for the banquet TO be held
that evening, over which General Ed
ward P. Conner presided. 1t was
common contribution in response to
Here, now, whack up
why, put ne down for basket of
champagne" Others gave a half
basket, etc. so that in the evening be
tween and 10 o'clock there were not
less than eight or ten kneading pans
that would hold fifty pounds OF -four
each filled with Heidseik, Widoes
Cliquot and Clilery Mouse. and with the
addition of chickens and sandwiches
the contributions amounted to over
5000 II was said TO be one OF the most
royal and regal bsnquets that had been
held In the state of Nevada. and when
General Conner. the leading mining su
gerintendents. barristers at law, prom
Snent merchants helped themselves
SFith beer mugs to the champagne the
first toast proposed by General Conner
Pas to the health of President bflgfiam
Young, who had brought the telegraph
line TO their camp The population or
Phoebe when we reached there with the
line was about 5000 The next Fourth
Of July there were between 1000 and
5000 people
Mining Companies Help.
During the first week of the advent
of the line into Phoebe the Raymond &
Ely Mining company came promptly
with its material contribution of 81 500.
followed with $1,000 and the Phoebe
Mining company with it's $500. These
eompa MES agreed to take out only one
fourth of their monthly bills due the