Year: 1865

In the tall OF lS1U tne llrSI tSIeSIdiH o'hS0
was established in Cairo and the writer OF
these fascinating "reminiscences was Installed as
operator. The line was q switch starting outat
Caledonia, from the Nashville & ST. Louis line
under Morse's patent.


At that time very few interior pc ople knew
anything more about the purposes and charac-
ter Of the telegraph than that it was ''quck as
lightning"


One Of this character ''turned up in Cairo,
one day, under the following circumstances.
His father and mother, three hound dogs, a
fitch of bacon and a spinning wheel, had car
riage on the deck Of ste anboat, aud We're
tending westward. The son, while illumining
his opaque intellect by view Of the sights of
the city, was left by the boat and when oues-
toned as to it's name AID destination, was
found utterly lgnorant. He could only say.
when asked to describe it, that lit puifed, and
had a sloshin' big wheel or. both sides of it,


1t was no difficult matter Of course, to per-
suade such a BOBBY, that he could overhaul the
boat by telegraph. In fact the suggestion
delighted him, and he evinced an eagerness





He was equipped for the journey. To his
back were strapped two loaves of bread to
proven starvation in the event that a break in
the line should let him down a g thousand
miles from no place = to the seat of his un-
mentionabes was tackled d glnny sack to defy
friction from the rapid sliding, and in each
hand he held fishing rod to dab down. as
loss of balance might render necessary. He
was ready now for the journey. By dint of
much hoisting and boosting he was placed
about eight feet up the telegraph pole, where,
with longing looks at the wire, still twenty
feet above him, he stopped to . bio some"


''If people do ride this burned thing
he inquired, why don't you have better fix
ns TO- gettin astraddle of it, Being assured
chat those who knew how to use the climbers
(Which were fastened to his feet) experienced
no difficulty, he renewed his attempt to - as
cend upwards" lie work ed faithfully, and
when about to congratulate himself that he was
half way up, the treacherous climbers let go
and down he came with a jolt that made the
ground fairly quake and tremble. His bread
was smashed by the fall, and besides - hurting
sone, it ''jolted, as lie expressed it, ''nearly
every burned bit of wind out Of his body
But the attempt to overhaul daddy could
not thus be absandoned-he' d try it again if it
broke every bone in his body. And he did
try it. At about his former hight he stopped
to reflect upon the situation. .


I'm good deal of bother, but lool1ee here
Il H.,
flop of us sure thunder and break every
bone in my body. Aud if l didn't flop off Of
1t why 1t stands to reason that by the time I'd
slide along it hundred miles OF so it would
split me clean up to the coat collars, through
this tarnal bag (Which don't fit good) and ev-
erything; and if it didn't saw me into two pieces
why tne tops of them poles would tear my
outwards all into perfect flinders Durn me if
don't wait until 1 see somebody else go!''
And he waited. Hints were thrown out
that he might get aboard up town from the
lady's PLATFORM but he didn't seem to notice
them. In fact when he wandered off, a few
moments afterwards, it was thought the game
was ''played OUT and attention was directed
to 9th. matters.


About nightEall however, the matter came
up for proper finale. Word was brought to
town that there was Q man in the edge Of the
timber who appeared to be badly wounded.
Several persons repaired to the spot and there
found the aforesaid bockhead. lie had found
a tree to which the wire was attached, and
thinking that he would ''steal d march upon
the operator ana get lis passage for nothing
he had thrown himself ;lstride the wire from
this tree, and as, he had himself predicted,
" topped off i quick as lightning" The fall
oc fifteen feet or more had not only scared but
joted him most terribly, and for an hour or tw
deprived him of the power of locomotion. He
was properly cared for, and in time sent for
ward on his journey but not hy telegraph,
the reader may rest assured, for of all meth
DDS OF travelling, "he had ever hearn tell on,
that contounded telegraph the durndest-
nothin' short of tar or shoe Wax could stick on
! to it -


! If this story were not true, every word Of
| it. your columns would not be taxed with it.
For its truth there are yet in Cairo many living
vouchers


| - s<~s~s.--