Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1912-09-02
The Argus Daily Story
By Wireless-By Edward Kentcn.
Copyrighted. 1912. by Associated Literary Rurea,

impossible 10 send any one 10 me Tor
some time. the station being in a will
derneSS and very inaccessible.
After communicating with the man.
agcment l returned to my charge and
received from her an account of her.
self. She was an orphan and had been
on her way TO America TO take posi-
ton. Her name Wa Harriet Mainwar-
ing. While | was getting these facts l
was examining her arm which had
been crushed. and l did not like the
looks of il. Since there was no surgeon
at hand made calls on the wireless in
Strument and received reply from a
ship some 500 miles at sea. ! asked
the operator il there was a surgeon
aboard. and At his reply that there was
| begged him to call the doctor to the
wireless office.
Upon being notified that the doctor
was present I described the appear
ance Of Miss Mainwarings arm, and.
after answering several questions ask
ed by the doctor. l was informed that
it was evident gangTene was setting in
and if the arm was not amputated the
patient would probably die.
The situation was diStressing-either
amputation or death and no surgeon
10 amputate. After some further cleo
trical talk the surgeon asked me what
tools | had, land | replied that there
was n chest containing carpenters
tools of all kinds at the station, where
upon he gave me the process OF cut
ting off a persons arm. After famil-
iarizing me with this he told me 10
bring the patient as near the wireless
instrument as possible and prepare TO
perform the necessary operation under
his direction
| shall not describe the amputation.
which ocCasioned the most dreadful
strain ever endured. felt n tempo
rary relief when had secured the end
OF the severed artery, hut feared TO
see my patient collapse after l had fin
ished. | made Il frightful bunGle Of il.
especially the administering Of the
stimulant in lieu OF an anaesthetic.
which did not possess For days |
wondered if my patient would pull
through, though l confess she gained
strength rapidly.
and still no one appeared at the sta
ton TO relieve me. l asked the super
intendent repeatedly how long l was
to be left alone. but got only promises
that were destined IN be broken. What
especially troubled me was that I was
living alone with young woman who
was not my wife, and | knew that
when we returned to the world this
would he a reflection upon her. More
over. 1t was plain that she realized the
disadvantage of our position.
Nothing will so endear persons to
each other as suffering together. Miss
Mainwaring had an additional cause
for being drawn to me in that l had
possessed the nerve to perform sur
gical operation that had saved her life
under the guidance of a man many
hundreds OF miles away. 1t was not
| long before | told her that for my part
| / desired our cOmpanionship should not
| be broken. and she confessed blush
ingly that she would gladly consent to
| be my wife were there any person pres
! ent to perform the ceremony.
To continue to live together, the only
! two persons at the station. without
| wed:ock was neither practicable nor
! proper. / proposed that we should
marry ourselves by a mutual agree
ment to be man and wife. This, she
| averred. would be no marriage at all.
| She considered wedlock 10 be reli-
/ giOus rite and would not think of mat
| rimony in any other form. urged
| that my plan was the best we could do
| under the circumstances, but could not
! move her
Then suddenly an idea struck me.
/ If a surgical operation could be per
! formed by wireless telegraph. why not
| a marriage? | ran to my instrument
| and began TO call for ships. finally re-
! ceiving a response from one that had
! but that day set out from the coast
of Africa bound for Boston. inquired
| If there were a clergyman on, board
and was informed that the bishop OF
/ Dahomey, a full blOOded negro. was q
( passenger
l went at once TO Harriet and told
her that here was an opportunity. She
gaSped at the Flea Of being married by
a negro some 1000 miles away, but
finally prevailed and returning to the
instrument. called for the bishop and
asked him to perform the ceremony
He consented, and. Harriet standing
by me before the instrument, the on
orator at sea sent the service read by
the bishop. and replied on my key for
Harriet and myself.
Thus had a life been saved and two
persons made one by means Of q force
operated through the air My wife and
spent our honeymoon at the station
and did not regret that we We're not In
truded upon by others
think 10y my illustration ! have
made plain that Imagination is nothing
but the weaving together OF facts.
Moreover. the facts have stated CouiI
not have taken place before the in
yention Of wireless telegraphy. In 9TH
or words they could not have been ere
ated by the imagination before they
had become real, which IS No; irnagIna-
ton.