The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, September 24, 1899, Page 25

THE SUNDAY CALL WAR TELEGRAPHERS TELL THR One of the Old Guard of the Civil War Operators, Still Doing Duty, Calls Up Some Thrilling Reminiscences I Heroes of the Wire. oT By 3 . A*}_ aptain George L. Ki of the same class which ht be cited. own cavalry, under the noted Grierson, to T Boston, the 1sth of In movir the enemy’s country the front, giving the column a day's start. ¢ the poles and offices were One day it became necessary for Smith to If they had been de- communicate a warning to Grierson, and as ‘was often the Robinson started out with two orderlies improvised. for escort to overtake the advance guard. were equal hols of our 1 Sumner’s vs' bat- uring the t he had but a line The main nt use and Sumner with his With the 1 Nichols the_ pole, It was cessary to have The light made enemy shelled perch until This daring only 18. When the party was well outside of the friendly lines it fell into an ambush and Robinson received the full contents of a double-barreled shotgun loaded with slugs and buckshot in his arms and shoulder, also his right leg and hip. He was stripped of his instruments and dispatches and then sent adrift in the woods. in spite of his wounds the brave fellow struggled back to meet Smith’s advan- cing columns and fresh dispatches were sent forward in time to save Grierson from danger. ven under fire the operator was the 1 of soldier, and his case was even mor ving, for he was not prepared to fight back. While Banks' army was evacuating Winchester, pursued by Stonewall Jackson's troops, the Federal operator, Frank Drummond, sat at the key until the last bluecoat was out of. sight. The Confederate yell unded nearer and nearer, like the baylug of hounds and from all sides came the rat- tle of musketry. Drummond had se- t of from spare the gair i his offic W time expedi of was adopted Boyle's < Kentuc tured Ful marching tow le) ard troops trying to creted all his dispatch coples on his per- rajders. When the fo son and was detaching the instrument ed Columbia the telegraph office from the board to keep it out of the en- dismantled. General Boyle had emy’s bands, when a -belated orderly s to send to distant rushed in with a message for the com- 3 he emergency, and mander of the reserves at Harpers Ferry. wtened to shoot Fulle he didn't get With one hand on the key he managed wires in working order. To vindicate to draw out and burn his secreted dis- —he was a civilian em- patches. His horse, standing loose at the to save his life, un- door, began to get nervous and he sized the ground wire in - main wire in the other, key 1 sent the mes- Chis was not so.difficuit, it was necessa; to get a_ return, ch could only be done by reading the cks on the wi his he managed to by ng the tip of his tongue as a re- er. 3 dropped the key long enough to tle the frightened anfmal and give him an as- suring care: Going back to the key Drummond again called Harpers Ferry, but getting no response he took out the instrument and dashed it to pieces on the stone pavement. The Confederates were then firing down the streets in pursuit of straggling or belated Federals, and Drum- Sometimes more than the ordinary mond ran the gauntlet of their bullets xpected in an operator when only to fall into the hands of Ashby’s was démanded by the emer- Confederate cavalry. A term in a war r. as was the case in the prison was the reward this brave fellow ege of Knoxville in 1863. got for sticking to his post. wut up in Knoxville by " “From the Confederate side, through corps of Virginians, while one of our corps men, I have a story nerman were mering at ‘scarcely paralleled in ' soldierly devo- soon fon Ridge tion to duty. . When the Confederats 1 set out army abandoned Little Rock in 1863 s f I marches. one of the military operators, David O. t s < e Dodd, stayed behind and lived some ( brou could not hold time in the Federal lines. He was a lad n De- of 17. Shortl ter things had quieted X : point down under Federal. control young irmy head- Dodd left Little Rock, ostensibly to go t all'terribly to Mississippi, but in a few days he re- r s turncd and lingered a short time in his old haunts. A second time he passed s out of the lines unrestrained until he reached the outposts. There the guards X searched his person and discovered some t curious pencil marks in a_memorandum e book carried openly in his pocket. I g The boy was detained and examined headc The strange marks ; ; d med- be telegraphic dots . E : r this skirmish, w Tty Ton EXCITED journe: : description of all the new ey, 1 5 i | fortifications and the distribution ORBERLY » ere of the garrison troops around Little = 5 & Rock. This information in the hands RUSHED N of the enemy would be dangerous, and the boy had forfeited his life in atfempt- s ing to pass the lines with it. When under g A cipher op- examination Dodd admitted that he had 7 = of General A. accomplices, and was offered 2 he would beétr even put tf naling the [ 7 ™ C y = ROY E DEATH. REMARKABLE (INSTANCE. OF PANIFHERS SWIMAMING TO SEA-GHYT ROCK AND | '7 M\\';\GING WAR ONSEALS. = D i & t viewed by kingdom, stood his ground courageously while a snap of his vicious teeth con- 1ed with expectant curic vinced the other that he had quite as and shining objects s many different kinds o \pons at his { toward him from the mainland command as the feline race own. Undis- { The sleek and shining objects were the maved the panther with the most breath | vet heads of two large panthers which left in bim fastened upon one of the sea {‘ for some unknown reason had elected to monster’s flippers and held his grip firm- I leave their usual haunts and enter Into ly while the tortured creature, roaring | battle with such of the denizens of the hideously, tried vainly to shake him off. rookery as should have courage to stand Up to his full height he reared, swaying | | before them, It could not have been hun- from side to side like a mighty tree in the | ger which inspired this strange undertak- yweling and | ing, for they seemed both in the very pink writhing in the blood-reddened mud be- | of condition. It seemed rather the mani- neath him. And then the second panther festation of a certain wild and fierce sprang upon him and a hideous discord | spirit of sport—a de to injure and of snarls and yells and mighty roars arose | maim and kill some creature large and from the twisting, turning, rising, falling, | | strong enough to be worthy of the effort. clawing, beating, biting mass of animal | They were the aggressors from the first, struggle and animal agony until with a | for the moment they felt the solld edge of the reef under them they rushed with one pccord straight at the quiet but supreme effort the sealion freed hims from his torn and battered foes and again raised himself erect. | pages food for thought for many executioner to do his duty. fell. carrying this brave boy his secrot into eternity. My who witnessed the executi The drop operator and informant, declared 25 NG STORIES that the lad met his doom with the cool- ness of a stoic, while the spectators, chief- ly soldiers, wept like children. “From the Southern camps comes, too, A SERIES OF HEART=- MOVING INCIDENTS OF THE HEROISM OF UNARMED CIV- ILIANS WHO OF- FERED UP THEIR LIVES FREELY TO THEIR COUNTRY’S BELOVED SERVICE. the most romantic plece of dare-devil ope- rating on record. mean_the exploits of George Ellsworth, the lightning manipu- lator whom Morgan, the great Kentucky raider, carrfed along on his staff when he crossed the Ohio into Federal territory, in 186 Ellsworth w a clever Alabama boy, who. had mastered +all the details of the art. He tapped wires and took off messages from I* ral generals valuable to his chief. He also answered messages in a way to mislead the enemy and throw the troops attempting to eatch the raid- ers off their route of operations. The career of ( Ellsworth hat one rald wiil m: future histor: is still living” in forgan originally pic . and attended the Confederate reunion at Nashville last Year, much to the surprise and joy of all of Morgan's men, for there was a tradi tion among the survivors that Ellsworth fell in the famous Ohio raid of 1863, or had died in captivity.” Robert Grant holds to his readers in the “Searchlight Letters,” and the contemplative soul, devoted to study- ing out the reasons of things, finds on the day. They are written to those in search of the ideal, to the modern woman with social ambitions, to a young man wishing to be an American and to a political optimist, HE philosopher of the drawing room table is something the position warily observant champlon who was walt- Where his flipper had been was now ing to_ defend his invaded domaln and but a wide i ghastly wound from | flung themselves upon his massive body. which the blood gushed with every pul- | sation of his laboring heart. He looked | about him dully—at the ocean and the shore and the familiar stretch of reef and his great head sank lower and !ower into the undu ing curves of his lacerat- | ed and moments ily weakening body. | He was dying and he knew it, but he| 1d not die unavenged. The water— | reatures’ comfort in thefr death | should be the gra of this wicke land creature that brought _this misery upon him. One of the panthers, bleeding and exhausted, lay . out of his reach; his mate—the devil of slaughter still 2 ‘his yellow eyes—crept slowly forward. With one last gathering together of his fainting strength the seallon precipitated un glaring th Fight Between the Sea Lion and Panthers. HERE has just taken place upon From time fmmemorial a large herd of e )t one of the small isl- seallons made a rookery of a partial- X 3 L ly sheltered reef to the leeward of the lands of Califor 2 jSland, and Mr. Johnson has found thelr mi vel in its incept noisy companionship rather pleasant, de- to its in its action, as to L e their depredations grounds. Intent on doing the honors of his island on his fishing 8 any ectdcles ever de- 4 » : He recelved them with & roar and a himself upon his enemy, and seizing him Hgned to amuse and interest the turbu- Lome Mr. Jonson took his guest to @ jcaving lurch which sent one of them by the throat dragged him straight over 5 ‘and discon 1 se of ancient - SPot T A Rl e 80l tumbling down toward the water again the reef and into the foam-crested nt and G DT ce o watch the unwieldy gambols of the great and made the other give a rasping vell waves, . Rome. sea gufi:us, but to 11"5 xnt)'n‘:;' he ?'t“"‘";*“ of mmgledéruln and anger as the gipper Valr. now was the defense or attack of It is a strange commentary upOnNhuman :!;;L"'“'”n;‘fi“_“f;’(‘fz;fm o state of groat ex. Of his intended prey. hit him square across feline claws. Plow and tear as they power that fight, which a Nero or the lons were &l t & State ol o oex; his blazing eves. Even a sealion’s tough might through the giving flesh of the sea- bave given a fortune to covering i3 Mot proof against the teeth lion’s neck and breast, the dylng mon- a Caligula woul 3 ing clumsy haste to get from the ree: v ” at g Witness, took p here only the amaz- };‘j‘;‘ Al B R e Mf and clav\shof two thoroughly in earnest gter knew that a little 'suffering more or S nat unbalie g o i mes fol- panthers, however, and streaks of blood less mattered nothing now. If he could ed and alm S eves of WO lowing them with all the speed compati- ghowed that the attack of the great cats but hold his teeth together Jong enough plain, steady-going residents of Marin ble with their dignity and thelr duty as had not been wholly ineffectual. Again the water would conquer where he him- County could behold it. self-appointed protectors of those unable they approached their quarry, but this self had failed. But death came too The entire magnificent exhibition of to protect themselves. time more cautiously and from different soon. The iron jaws relaxed in a sudden brute agllity, and cunning pitted against One alone—the patriarch of the herd—an sides. convulsive shudder that marked the still- | brute size and strength—of land beasts enormous old fellow who had been the The llon was ing of his brave heart, and the panther, J)l'eplred for their com- ing, however, and a stroke of his powerful tall knocked one of them ten feet away, hero of many battles with his own kind choked, blinded and half dead, and other inhabitants of the vast water feebly to shore. conce ting ser physical but swam greaater mental forces égnlnsl & most for- and convictions are so courageously and oughtfully put that even he who grees to disagree” finds his intentions wavering. The reader is carried along uneventfully for a few pages and then suddenly 1led up with the shock of a brand new thought—such a clever thought at times that uncut pages would be wel- come that he might right his mental bal- ance whiie he reached for the paper cut- ter. “The value of the essay on the ideal in life would be so difficult to explain in review that a transcription of the epitome that closes the chapter is the wisest course: “The ideal life of to-day is that which maintains the noblest aims of the aspir- ing past, cherishing unselfishness, purity, courage, truth, joy, existence, fineness of sentiment and esthetic beauty; but cher- {shes these in the spirit and for the pur- poses of a broader humanity than the melting soul has hitherto discerned in the sunset, the ocean or the starry heavens. There are among us men and women liv- ing In this spirit of idealism, and they, O my correspondents! are the first class passengers.” They may be carried in few coaches. In the letters to the socially ambitious woman the fourth is the best and states the case intimately and directly. It is something of a defense of the woman who would be soclally effective. “If every woman,” says the author, “‘were simply to eat her three meals a day, sleep, be affectionate to her family, reasonably charitable and do her daily task the world would lose much of its vivagity, c esthetic interest.” The surfa in society is recognized and d E unimportant, but one is warned against the common' error of choosing to despise without understanding the cuitivated and Intelligent soclety woman who is always a force In any community. The author's idea of the socially eifective is the woman who can be “in touch with modern social tendencies and yet be true to the finest instincts of aspiring womanhood.” How many will he find to realize his ideal is the uestion. But the ideal is irreproachable. The bustling club woman (the ostenta- tious one, for there are delightful excep- tions) is shown up In all her offensive variety and many a wholesome dose is given in a sugar-coated plll. The modeirn Woman with social ambitions is pictured a potent factor in advancing civilization, but she is advised “‘to hold fast to the old and everlasting truths of life in her strug- gle toward the star: The problem of undoing, rather than do- ing, faces the young man who would be a true American, and a knotty problem it is. But the political optimist gets the best lesson of the four, if he will but heed it. The revelations of ‘“The Honorable Peter Sterling” are mild when compared with the doings of the people in Mr. Grant’s political drama, enacted by twelve principals and a full-voiced chorus. A startling paragraph reads thus: “The un- written Inside history of the political progress of many of the favorite sons of the nation during the last forty years would make the scale of public honor kick the beam though it were weighted with the cherry tree and hatchet of George ‘Washington. In one of our cities where a deputation of city officials attended the Literary funeral of a hero of the Spain there is a record of $ ice cream. Pre ipt of pet audited.” The drama is trul yroblem pl more difficult of solution than any Pinero has put upon the boards. ‘“‘Searchlight Letters,” by Robert Grant. (Charles Scribner’'s Sons, $1 50.) The Lion and the Unicorn “The Lion and the Unicorn,” Richard Harding Davis' latest contribution to the short story library, has not a dull mo- ment between {ts covers. Besides the title story, there are four others of holding in- terest, consplcuously “The Man With One alent,” “On the Fever Ship"” and “The Vagrant.” Richard Harding Davi acters never talk by the book the attractive quality of humanne act according to one's position is est grace, do this. The t in ma zine form, and widely enjoyed for its originality and because it paints a phase -of bachelor girl ana the ambitious man familiar to all. Masterful pen pic- tures. run through all the stories, and more than one age clutches the heart and dims the sight. “The Lion and the Unicorn,” by Richard Harding Davis. (Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, $1 %.) The, Departfi;nt Clerk. “The Department Clerk” aims to show how civil service reform, a good thing in its right application, may lose its potency and become an abuse. It is a warning to keep out of departmental life, for it shows how it unfits a man for other occupations, and is death to ambition. Some good char- acter drawing of the heterogenous who people the Washington boarding-house is done, and a heart story of even interest is and his characters inva = ory widely told. “The Department Clerk,”byIvan Johns- son. (F. Tennyson Neely, New York and Chicago.) Literary Notes. The Century Company has made a great success of its “Thumb-Nail” series of books. Last year's “Poor Richard's Almanack” had a very large sale. This season “Rip Van Winkle and the Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” with an introduction by Joseph Jefferson, and the “‘Medita- tions of Marcus Aurelius,” newly trans lated by Mr. Benjamin E. Smith, will ap- pear in the little stamped leather bind- ings which have made the series famous. Mrs. Sara Yorke Stevenson is the au- thor of the book on “Maximilian In Mexico” which the ‘Century Company will issue in a few weeks. Mrs. Steven- son spent several years in contact with the imperial court in Mexico, from 182 to 1867, when Napoleon III was trying the disastrous experiment of establishing a European government on American sofl. The Funk & Wagnalls Company an- nounce “The Funk & Wagnalls Standard Encyclopedia,” which will be a companion work to “The Funk & Wagnalls Standard Dictionary.” The same general principles that have made “The Standard Diction- ary” so satisfactory will be followed in the making of this encyclopedia. Each Class of subjects Will be In charge of & recognized expert specialist—in all over 200 expert scholars will be engaged in the {;reparmion of the work—all treatment of erms will be condensed to the last degree consistent with completeness and clear- ness and every available device will be World. % used to make the work easy of consuita- tion. o s e e ‘“The Moral Order of the World,” which has been delayed over a vear owing to thesillness of the late Rev. Dr. Alexander Baimain Bruce, was completed by him prior to his death and will be published by Messrs. Charles Scribne in tober. This work cal study of the topic of the mc the uni- verse in its reality and essential nature. as taught by representative thinkers in India, Persia and Greece. Chapters are devoted to a study of Hebrew though the teaching of Jesus on the yvidence of the Divine Father and to modern optimism and ““One of Those C that gives the titl new volum: to be publ mk & Wagna Company, is a by Julian Haw- thorne. The leading characters are a volunteer in the war for Cuban inde- pendence E n one of army hospita wthorne there is more fact than fancy in The story is {llust Carlyle. other well- Contributions by f short stories are bound in the volume book will be a 12mo, bound in cloth, with a_tasteful cover de- sign. It will sell for $1. lete Music lovers will welcome a new book treating of the great operas and the most notable opera singers, which is to be pub- lished by unk & Wagnalls Company about the middle of October, The volume is entitled “Stars of the Opera,” and its author Is Mabel Wagnalls, whose ‘“Mis- erere” has proved so delightful a story to those of musical tastes. The author dedicates her book *to the many who love music but have, no opportunity to familiarize themselves with grand opera, and to those who think they do not appre- clate it. Descriptive sketches are given of known writers c the plot and the music of ‘‘Semiramide “Faust,” ‘““Werther,” “Carmen,” grin,” ‘‘Aida,” *“The Huguenots Flying Dutchman,” *“‘Hamlet,” “Lakme,” “Pagliaccl” and “Orpheus and Eurydice.” The leading opera prima donnas, Mar- cella Sembrich, Emma_Eames, Emma Calve, Lilllan Nordica, Lilll Lehman and Nellie Melba, are introduced to the read- ers by a series of graphic personal con- versation e Mr. James C. Derby, in a regent &rifcle in the New York Times on_‘‘Successful Books Which Were First Rejected by Publishers,” says: ‘“Jullan Hawthorne {s himself the authority for the statement that ‘Archibald Malmaison,’ one of the best-selling products of his' pen, was re- fused by nearly all the foremost pub- lishers of Boston and New York.” And set the book has been so successful that Mr. Hawthorne has received many ap- plications from dramatists who wish to arrange it for the stage. A holiday edi- tion, illustrated with pen and ink and half tones, is to be issued about October 5. It will retail for $150. The J. S. Ogilvie Publishing Company have In press a new religious novel of rare power and_interest, entitled ‘“When Shi- jow Came,” by Ambrose Lester Jackson, a new but none the less powerful and in- teresting writer. Not only is he a gifted author, but he Is also an artist of ex- traordinary merit. Six fllustrations from his original designs will appear in the forthcoming work. New Books Received. “Christian Science,” by Rev. Willlam Short, M.A. Thomas Whittier, New York. Paper. Price %c. “My Scottish Sweetheart,” by Charles Reekie. F. Tennyson Neely. New York and London.