[J. Ross Browne, The Overland Telegraph, from Resources of the Pacific Slope (1869), pp. 431-442]

SECTION XXI.

THE OVERLAND TELEGRAPH.

            The subject of trans-continental telegraphic communication has attracted general attention during the past few years, and almost every intelligent person has acquired some knowledge respecting it. I am induced to believe, however, that much may still be learned from the practical experiences of operators along the route. The magnitude of the enterprise, the benefits resulting from it both to

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the commercial world and the mining community, and the difficulties encountered in carrying it into effect are not yet fully appreciated.

            The first practical movement toward the construction of the overland telegraph was made by California.* The Placerville and Humboldt Telegraph Company was organized in 1858, and the first pole of the line from Placerville across the Sierra Nevada mountains was erected on the 4th of July of that year. During the autumn of the same year the line had reached Genoa—then in Utah Territory, now in the State of Nevada—and by the spring of 1859 it had reached Carson, from which point a branch was extended to Virginia City soon after the discovery of the silver mines.

            This much of the line was constructed entirely by private enterprise. Neither State nor general government afforded any assistance, though repeated application was made to both. Disagreements between Messrs. Broderick and Gwin, senators of the United States from California, prevented the passage through Congress of a bill introduced by the former in May, 1858, for the construction of a trans-continental line between the Atlantic and Pacific States.

            In April, 1859, the legislature passed an act pledging the State to give $6,000 a year to the telegraph line that should make the first connection with an eastern line, and $4,000 a year to the next.

            Two companies were encouraged to enter the list—one via Salt Lake city and the other via Los Angeles and the Butterfield stage route through Arizona and Texas.

            The dissensions already referred to in Congress retarded the adoption of any of the measures proposed on the Atlantic side, until the 16th of June, 1860, when an act was passed directing the Secretary of the Treasury to advertise for sealed proposals to be received for 60 days after the passage of said act for the use by the government of a line or lines of telegraph to be constructed within two years from July 31, 1860, from some point on the west line of Missouri, by any route the contractor might select, to San Francisco, for a period of 10 years, and to award the contract to the lowest bidder, provided he did not require more than $40,000 a year.

            Permission was granted to the successful bidder to use for ten years such public lands of the United States as might be necessary for the right of way and for the purpose of establishing stations for repairs, not exceeding at any one station one quarter-section, and not to exceed one in 15 miles on the whole average of the distance. No pre-emption right to the land was granted. The contract was not to be made until the line was in actual operation.

            Certain reservations were also made establishing for the government a priority of use of the line, free from charge until at the ordinary charges for private messages the sum of $40,000 was reached, after which the excess was to be certified to Congress by the Secretary of the Treasury.

            Four bids were made in accordance with the proposals advertised by the Secretary of the Treasury, ranging from $40,000 to $25,000, three, of which were subsequently withdrawn. The highest bid was that made by Mr. Hiram Sibley, which was accepted.

            The parties represented by Mr. Sibley met at Rochester, New York, and concluded upon a series of propositions, which they submitted to the Pacific companies through the agency of Mr. J. H. Wade and Major Bee.

            The consolidation was effected in March, 1861, between all the companies on the Pacific coast, by the purchase by the California State Telegraph Company of all the lines belonging to other companies.

            The California State Telegraph Company was the oldest telegraph company on the Pacific coast, with a capital of $1,250,000, of which Mr. Horace W. Carpentier, of California, was president, and Mr. J. Mora Moss vice-president.

____________________________________________________________

* From data published a few years since in the San Francisco Evening Bulletin.

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            The Overland Telegraph Company was then incorporated promptly by the owners of the California State Telegraph Company, also with a capital of $1,250,000, and under the same board of officers.

            On the 1st of January, 1S62, the California State Telegraph and the Overland Telegraph Company consolidated under the name of the California State Telegraph Company, with a capital of $2,500,000.

            Thus all the lines in California and the overland line to Salt Lake City came into the possession and under the direction of this company.

            The eastern end from Salt Lake City to Omaha belonged to the Pacific Telegraph Company.

            Mr. Edward Creighton, a gentleman of great energy and experience, was the constructor of the line from Omaha to Salt Lake City. He performed the duties .of his position with perfect success under obstacles of a most formidable character.

            The California division of the line was reconstructed from Placerville to Fort Churchill, and thence continued to Salt Lake City under the general supervision of Mr. Carpentier, who personally visited all parts of the route and gave the enterprise his earnest attention.

            Mr. James Gamble, superintendent of the State Telegraph Company, a gentleman thoroughly familiar with the details of the telegraph system, who had the advantage of experience in the construction of every line built in California by the State Telegraph Company, had the special supervision of the whole work, and much is due to his experience, energy, and skill.

            Mr. James Street superintended that part of the work between Ruby valley and Salt Lake City, one of the most difficult sections on the route.

            Mr. J. M. Hubbard superintended the construction of the section from Carson to Ruby valley.

            On the 27th of May, 1861, Mr. Gamble, as general superintendent of the line, started a train of 30 wagons from Sacramento, loaded with wire, insulators, provisions, &c., with three or four hundred bead of oxen, horses, and mules; and, although it was considered late in the season, there was no stoppage on account of storms or bad roads. The snows had begun to melt in the Sierra Nevadas; the mountain streams were swollen into fearful torrents; the roads were cut up into ruts and mudholes, many of which were almost impassable ; and forage was exceedingly scarce and dear. Some of the wagons were upset, many of the animals foundered in the mud, but the train went on regardless of every obstacle.

            On the 24th of June the first pole was set on the line from Fort Churchill to Salt Lake, and on the 24th day of October the connection with the city of the saints was completed.

            History presents no record of such a stupendous work accomplished in so short a time. Five hundred and seventy miles of telegraph line, built through a dreary desert where wood and water were the exceptions, within the brief space of four months! Surely if the Americans are boastful in their speech, their, acts are remarkable. Men who build telegraphs across continents, regardless of seasons, deserts, or savage races, have a right to speak well of themselves.

            The number of poles to the mile is from 25 to 30, depending upon the character of the country ; the average length is about 22 feet; and the kinds of timber chiefly used redwood, pine, cedar, and tamarack. It is customary to sink the poles from three to four feet in the ground, according to the nature of the soil. In soft or marshy ground they require to be braced. Ordinarily they last about two or three years, much depending on the climate and durability of the wood. The best woods used on the California section are said to be the redwood and cedar.

            Nearly one-third of the poles had to be hauled from the Sierra Nevada mountains to Austin and beyond, extending to a distance of more than 300 miles, at a cost of four to six cents a pound for freight. But this was the least of the

434      RESOURCES OF STATES AND TERRITORIES

difficulties encountered. Water is exceedingly scarce in these sage deserts, and it often happened that both men and animals suffered fearfully from thirst. It was a constant battle almost every step of the way against the most formidable natural obstacles—alkali deserts, scarcity of water, lack of timber for poles and feed for the animals, rugged mountains and difficult passes. In some places the sand was so soft and shifting as to afford scarcely a foothold for the poles ; in others the ground was so hard and rocky that foundations had to be drilled out or built around them with stones. During the progress of the work despatches continued to be regularly transmitted from California to the outer end of the line, were they were copied and forwarded by pony express to the approaching end, of the eastern division, and vice versa, so that scarcely a day was lost in the use of the telegraph on either side.

            Constant communication was also kept up between the operators at the various stations along the line and the office of the company at San Francisco, who were daily advised of the progress of the work.

            Poles of sufficient size and strength were very difficult to obtain on other portions of the route.

            The cost of transportation was the most expensive item. In he vicinity of Salt lake this difficulty was in part obviated by the adroit management of Mr. Street, who had special charge of that section. It was very generally supposed that Brigham Young, the president of the Mormons, was hostile to the building of the line through the Mormon settlements. Mr. Street was well aware that without his co-operation the difficulties incident to the undertaking would, at least, be greatly augmented. He adopted the policy, therefore, of conciliating the great leader of the latter-day saints—whether by pleasant words or by more substantial tokens of esteem is still a mooted question. His interviews with Brigham on the subject were highly amicable, and I have heard them graphically described. Among other things, it is reported that Brigham expressed surprise at being regarded as an enemy of this important and beneficial enterprise. "Why should we be opposed to a telegraph line?" said he ; " we have nothing to fear from it, and everything to gain. It is to our interest, as well as yours, to have the means of communicating with the outer world. Our religion cannot suffer from it, and it will certainly be advantageous to our industrial interests." Whether this be true or not, it is certain he gave his hearty co-operation to the enterprise, ordered out men and teams, and cordially assisted in the construction of the line from Salt Lake City to Deep creek, a distance of 174 miles.[1] The first through message transmitted over the line, from Salt lake to San Francisco, is interesting in the above connection :

GREAT SALT LAKE CITY,

October 24-7 p. m.

To Hon. H. W. CARPENTIER, President of the Overland Telegraph :

                DEAR SIR : I am very much obliged to you for your kindness, manifested through Mr. Street, in giving me the privilege of first message to California. May success ever attend the enterprise. The success of Mr. Street in completing his end of the line, under many unfavorable circumstances, in so short a time, is beyond our most sanguine anticipations. Join your wire with the Russian empire and we will converse with Europe.

                Your friend,

BRIGHAM YOUNG.

            This was in answer to a despatch from Mr. Carpentier, as fellows :

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA,

October 24, 1861.

To Hon. BRIGHAM YOUNG, Great Salt Lake City :

                That which was so long a hope is now a reality. The trans-continental telegraph is now completed. May it prove a bond of perpetual union and friendship between the people of Utah and the people of California.

H. W. CARPENTIER.

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            This was the first through message from San Francisco to Salt Lake City. The first through message, from the Atlantic States contained the following melancholy announcement :

GREAT SALT LAKE CITY.

October 24-7 p. m.

To H. W. CARPENTIER :

                Colonel Baker was killed in the battle of the 21st, while in the act of cheering on his command. Intense excitement and mourning in Philadelphia over his death.

STREET.

            The line was started from St. Joseph, west, under the supervision of Mr. Creighton, in the summer of 1860. It was built as far as Fort Kearney, via Omaha, that fall, following the north fork of the Platte river. The contract, however, was not made. until March, 1861. During the summer and fall the work was vigorously pushed forward by Mr. Creighton and his subordinates. It reached Salt Lake City on the 19th of October, 1861, just five days prior to the completion of the California branch.

            Thus, in the language of Mr. Carpentier, "that which was so long a hope became a reality;" thus were the people of the Atlantic united to their friends and fellow-countrymen of the Pacific by an electric bond that annihilated time and space.

            Congratulations followed from every State of the Union and from every civilized nation of the world. It was the great achievement of the 19th century.

            Within a few days after the completion of the line, the secessionists in Missouri tore it down in several places, and for a while messages were sent east via Hannibal, Missouri; connecting with Quincy, Illinois. Subsequently a change was made by which a connection was formed between Omaha and Chicago, through Iowa.

            From San Francisco to Chicago the distance is about 2,700 miles by the route taken ; to New York little short of 4,000 miles.

            This is the longest circuit on the American continent, perhaps in the world. For practical purposes it is necessary to repeat at Salt Lake City, Omaha, and Chicago.

            Messages either way are rewritten and repeated at Salt Lake City, where an accurate account is kept between the Atlantic and California offices.

            Direct communication between San Francisco and New York has frequently taken place, but this can only be done under very favorable circumstances, when there is little or no electrical disturbance. New York and San Francisco held direct communication with each other for the first time on Thursday, November 6, 1862. On that memorable day the Atlantic and Pacific oceans were united in the iron bond of matrimony, from which it is to be hoped they will never be divorced.

            The distance is so great, however, and the line subject to so many electrical disturbances that no battery can be made sufficiently powerful to overcome all the obstacles in the way of direct communication. For practical purposes messages have to be repeated at the stations designated for that purpose.

            The battery force required for the working of the overland telegraph is small compared with that required in the Atlantic States. This is in part owing to the rarification of the atmosphere, and the prevailing absence of moisture and atmospheric electricity ; also, in part, to the absence of trees, which in timbered countries are apt to come in contact with the line and affect the insulation.

            At Salt Lake City 50 cups of main battery are used for two wires, one extending east to the repeating station at Fort Laramie, 500 miles, and the other west to Carson, 600 miles.

            Experienced operators inform me that it requires double that amount of battery to work the same length of line on any other part of the American continent.

            For every space of 30 to 50 miles between Omaha and San Francisco there

436      RESOURCES OF STATES AND TERRITORIES

is an office or repair station, where men are kept for the purpose of protecting, and repairing the line. These men are provided with wires, implements, provisions, &c., and hold themselves in readiness to start out at a moment's notice to any point within their range. The expedition with which poles are reset and breaks in the wire repaired is almost incredible. An ordinary break seldom detains despatches more than a few hours.

            So skilled do some of the operators become in the art of telegraphing that they are enabled to read by the mere sense of touch or sight applied to the wire or the instrument. Mr. Shaffner relates instances in which operators have read messages by applying to their tongue a small wire attached to the main line. Still more remarkable is the fact that a person near by can discover what is passing by watching the vibrations or electric throbs on the tongue of another. The communication is imperfect, however, and would scarcely be reliable beyond the simplest monosyllables.

            Breaks in the line are sometimes very difficult to find. An example is given by Mr. Shaffner where there was a break between two stations. The line vas carefully examined all the way through. Apparently it was perfect, yet there was no communication. By testing from each station it was discovered that the break was within a space of a few hundred yards. The wire was then carefully examined, when it was found that a silk cord had been substituted by some designing person so closely resembling the wire that to the eye it presented no perceptible difference.

            As an illustration of the wonderful delicacy of the ear acquired by the operators, I must not omit to mention one or two facts connected with the working of the instruments.

            In large offices where many instruments are at work, an ordinary visitor almost imagines himself in some extensive clock establishment. There is a perfect medley of ticks, as unintelligible to him as would be a bag of shot rained down over the floor. Yet an operator who has left his seat to say a word to a friend in some other part of the room suddenly starts back, saying "I am called." Among a thousand ticks his particular tick has struck upon the tympanum of his ear. One cannot but think of the final call which, sooner or later, will be sent down from heaven to each one of us among millions of busy souls, and yet be intelligible as this earthly call is to the operator in a telegraph office.

            It should also be mentioned, as a characteristic illustration, that operators have an individuality of style or manner as distinctly marked as the differences in chirography. For example, a message is being received at the office in San Francisco from the office in Carson. The superintendent standing by, asks "Who is that at the instrument at Carson ?" The operator replies, "Jones is at it now. Thompson was at it a few minutes ago." Presently he adds, " Smith has it now." How does he know all this ? Neither Jones, nor Smith, nor Thompson has mentioned his name or said a word on his own account, and yet the fact of each change is perfectly clear to the operator at San Francisco. He knows the style of each man. One makes long dashes and quick dots; another runs a race between dots and dashes ; the third is sharp, clear, and methodical. Each has his individual characteristics, which have become as familiar as the tones or modulations of his voice to the ear, or his handwriting or face to the eye. The language of sounds is even considered less liable to error in many offices than that of written signs, and has been of late very generally adopted.

            East of the Rocky mountains, the poles are often burnt for miles by prairie fires. The Indians on their hunting expeditions are in the habit of firing the dry grass for the purpose of driving their game. Once started, the flames sweep over the country for hundreds of miles. Emigrant parties camping by the roadside leave their fires burning with little regard to consequences, and many a mile of line has been destroyed through the thoughtlessness of travellers, who, after lighting their pipes, throw the burning match into a bunch of dry grass, if possible,

WEST OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS       437

since it presents a peculiar attraction. The passion for destruction is inherent in man ; and it may be laid down as an axiom, applicable to all races of the earth, that where there is a chance of doing mischief free from the restraining influences of law, by the burning of a prairie or a forest, human nature is not proof against the temptation. The Indians differ from the whites only in this, that being an ignorant race, they usually have some object to gain in thus destroying the vegetation.

            During the summer months, the region of country bordering on the Platte river is subject to terrific thunder-storms, which sweep over the plains with irresistible force. The earth becomes saturated with heavy rains, and the poles being loosened in their foundations, are blown down for miles. Scarcely a day passes, in the early part of summer, without a severe storm on some part of the line between the Rocky mountains and the borders of Missouri. The instruments are "burned" by lightning, or the poles swept to the earth, and the insulation destroyed or obstructed. It is extremely difficult to work through the entire length of the line during the prevalence of these storms—many times impracticable for several days. This source of annoyance cannot be overcome by any means known under the present system of telegraphing.

            In the dry deserts of the Great Basin, both east and west of Salt Lake, the wire has been known to work for miles without interruption, while partially imbedded in the sand. The heat of the sun absorbs all moisture from the sand and renders it a non-conductor.

            We thus find a very peculiar combination of obstacles—especially on the eastern division. In the month of June, for example, the weather at Salt Lake may be clear and warm, while the Waschita mountains, lying to the east, are covered with snow. It may be raining heavily at Fort Bridger, snowing at South Pass, clear at Fort Laramie, storming and raining along the Platte, and so on to Chicago. But it is worthy of note that when the lightning is so terrific at one station as to cause the operators to leave their instruments in alarm, the operators on either side are frequently able to continue their communications, the electric current passing entirely through the storm without any material interruption. Salt Lake communicated with stations far east of the Rocky mountains, when at South Pass the operators were effectually cut off.

            In the vicinity of South Pass the operators are sometimes "snowed in" for months at a time. All communication with the outer world, save by telegraph, is completely cut off. A more isolated life than these poor fellows lead can scarcely be conceived. Around them as far as the eye can reach the mountains and plains are covered with snow. All traces of human life are obliterated. The station-houses are covered up, high over the roofs, and it is only by cutting a way out and keeping it clear that the occupants save themselves from being buried alive.

            One of these stations is situated within a short distance of a point to which travellers in future ages will probably make pilgrimages, as the Mahometans now do to Mecca. It is the heart of the North American continent, from which flow the great arteries of commerce. Within a distance of 200 yards lie the sources of the Missouri and the Colorado. Here is the true line of division between the Atlantic and the Pacific slopes. On the one side an insignificant spring bursts from the earth. Gathering contributions from every cañon and ravine as it flows, it forms in time the Sweetwater river, which; after a long and turbulent career, empties into the Platte, the great river of the plains. From the Platte the Missouri takes up the current and rolls it onward till it swells into the majestic torrent of the Mississippi. The Gulf of Mexico receives the tribute. Up north, into the Arctic regions flows the Gulf Stream, which in turn pays tribute to the shores of Norway and Iceland. Who knows but the Indian deity of the Rocky mountains holds converse with the old Scandinavian god Thor, sending him letters of bunch-grass and drift-wood, while in return he

438      RESOURCES OF STATES AND TERRITORIES

receives froth the winds, or through the flood-gates of heaven ashes from the Jokuls of Iceland ? The idea is not altogether without foundation, but cannot in our present state of knowledge be turned to any useful telegraphic purpose.

            On the other side, 200 yards distant, rise the Pacific springs, which form the source of the Green river. From Green river swells the great Colorado, the Red river of the desert; which, after a long and thirsty career through burning sands and cheerless wastes, cutting in twain the grim mountains of the Black cañon, receives in its bosom the Gila, or Swiftwaters of Arizona. Freighted with the red and golden sands of a great interior wilderness, where the Apache and the Navajo and kindred tribes of wild men still roam, it sweeps onward till lost in the seething waters of the Gulf of California.

            What a magnificent point of observation for the prophetic eye of a poet. Looking to the east or to the west the new world, with its various races of inhabitants, its scenery, its commerce, its future, lies before him. Starting at this little group of springs, he could write a thousand volumes and leave "ample room and verge enough" for a thousand more, on the great future of this vast continent, where "no pent up Utica contracts our powers."

            But the operators are generally practical men. In seasons of great severity they sometimes run short of food, and then they have a hard time. It becomes a simple question of life or death; starvation staring them in the face, and nothing around them but cheerless wastes of snow. To such perfection, however, have the company reached their system of operations at the present day, that instances of prolonged suffering rarely occur. The stations are supplied with abundant provisions for the winter, and with all the apparatus necessary for repairing the line. It is only in cases of Indian depredations or some casualty against which no human ingenuity can provide, that the employes can suffer for the means of subsistence. As a rule they are comfortably lodged in stockades or block-houses, well armed with rifles and revolvers, provided with horses for travelling to and fro along the line ; and a wagon at each repair station to carry poles, wire, and implements, so that they are not so badly off as might be supposed. Isolation from the society of their fellow-beings is the most unpleasant feature in their calling; but even that has its advantages. They have abundant time for study and reflection, and can save a good part of their wages.

            On the approach to the summit of the Sierra Nevada, it becomes necessary to increase the number of stations in consequence of the frequent interruptions to which the line is subject from falling timber, snow-storms and other causes. During the winter and spring months the storms are often so violent as to break down the poles for miles; and when the snows melt, floods and freshets are a prolific source of trouble. Even the dry season gives battle in the shape of extensive fires which sometimes rage through the forest, for weeks at a time, consuming all before them. In addition to these natural obstacles, which are formidable enough in themselves, the cupidity of man is too often cast in the balance against legitimate enterprise. Many apparent accidents to the line have been ingeniously contrived by speculators in Washoe stocks, for the purpose of gaining some dishonest advantage. Fortunately the sagacity and energy of the Telegraph Company have nearly precluded the possibility of cutting off communication for a sufficient length of time to afford facilities of this kind. It is their interest as well as their duty to preserve uninterrupted communication for the benefit of the public at large. With this view, stations are established at intervals of 8 or 10 miles all across the Sierras. One or two men are placed at each of these stations, with horses ready to go out at any time on either side. In winter, during severe snow-storms, these horses are saddled ready for use, so that the employes whose duty it is to repair the line can proceed to the break without delay. When the difficulty is too great to be immediately remedied by connection of the wires, the despatches are carried to the first station beyond, and there repeated for transmission to their point of destination. It sometimes hap-

WEST OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS       439

pens, during seasons of extraordinary severity, that the line is broken down 20 or 30 times in a single day and at as many different points. This is a busy time for the operators. They must be constantly on the alert, availing themselves of every possible resource that ingenuity can devise. It is not merely a mechanical office, as many suppose. Not only must the operator be skilled in the ordinary details of his profession, but he must have the head to devise, and the hand to execute in the various unforeseen difficulties which are constantly occurring. He must be able to act as well as direct—to repair by extraordinary where ordinary means are not at hand. With such men feats are performed almost every day during the winter of which the public have but little conception. A citizen of San Francisco telegraphs to his correspondent in Virginia City. In six hours, let us say, he receives a response. "How is this," he exclaims, "allowing full time each way for transmission, delivery, and probable delay, I should have had this answer at least four hours ago ?" He is dissatisfied with the tardiness of electricity, or the operators, or both. He does not know, and probably would not believe it if told, that his message passed through ten or a dozen breaks on the line; that it was carried over several gaps on horseback, through raging floods, or blinding snow-storms; that dangers were encountered and hardships experienced in its transmission from which most men would shrink, unless they found their compensation in something beyond a monthly salary.

            The falling of trees across the line is a source of great inconvenience in densely wooded countries. Although the wire is not always broken, the insulation is apt to be destroyed or affected, and thus communication cut off or rendered imperfect. Where the poles are far apart and the wires slack, several trees may lie across the line within a. distance of eight or ten miles and still not break the wire. In these cases it becomes as tense as a piano string and gives forth a musical answer to the slightest vibration. The repairer usually exercises his discretion in adopting one of the two alternatives left, either to cut the wire or the tree. Mr. Shaffner mentions the case of an employe,—an Irishman, it is presumed—who stood over the wire while he cut a tree that lay across it. Relieved of the pressure that bore it down, the wire suddenly righted itself, tossing the man about 10 feet in the air. His astonishment may be imagined, but scarcely described.

            The construction of the overland telegraph, under difficulties so numerous and so formidable, was one of the great triumphs of the present age. When we consider the vast extent of desert country traversed, the scarcity of material, the vicissitudes of the climate, and the hostile character of the Indian tribes inhabiting the wild regions through which it was necessary to pass, the consummation of this enterprise is an event of which the American people may be justly proud. No achievement of ancient or modern times surpasses it in the magnitude of the interests involved both to commerce and to civilization. It was the first grand practicable demonstration of the feasibility of a system by which the remotest parts of the earth may be brought into direct and instantaneous communication, and thus the bonds of sympathy and interest strengthened between the various races of mankind.

            In anticipation of the difficulties likely to arise between the Company and the public without an explicit understanding of the relations existing between them, Mr. Carpentier, while acting as president, devoted special attention to the formation of a code of laws and regulations by which they should be mutually governed and the interests of each protected. Among the laws devised by him and passed by the legislature of California, the most important, and that which most intimately concerns the public, is the act of April 18, 1862. This act introduces a new feature in the business of telegraphing, a feature not only novel in its conception and application, but of incalculable importance to the civilized world—the legalization of messages transmitted by telegraph in their relation to instruments and acts of law.

440      RESOURCES OF STATES AND TERRITORIES

            Appropriate provision is made to secure the public against dishonesty and fraud on the part of the operators and other employes. Penalties are imposed for divulging the contents of messages, changing the sense or meaning, knowingly sending false or forged messages, appropriating information to private uses, wilfully neglecting to send messages, or postponing or sending them out of order. Also, against fraud by any person whatsoever who may open seals of messages addressed to any other person, read despatches by means of any machine or contrivance, bribe telegraph operators to divulge the contents of messages, damage the line, or otherwise attempt to cut off communication. But the great feature of the law is that contracts by telegraph are deemed to be contracts in writing, and the signatures thereto are valid in law. Notice by telegraph is actual notice. Power of attorney or other instrument in writing, duly acknowledged and certified so as to be entitled to record, may, together with certificate of acknowledgment, be sent by telegraph, and the telegraphic copy or duplicate has prima facie the same effect in all respects as the original. Checks, due bills, promissory notes, bills of exchange, and all orders and agreements for payment or delivery of money or other thing of value may be made or drawn by, tele- graph, with full force and effect as if written. Persons indicted on oath for, or accused of, any public offence, may be arrested and imprisoned upon warrant issued by any competent officer, properly indorsed and directed to such officer as may bo legally authorized to make the arrest. Writs or orders in civil suits or proceedings may also be transmitted in the same way. these provisions are carefully guarded so as to avoid any infringement upon individual rights, while they tend materially to promote the public convenience and welfare.

            A novel feature in this law is that the marriage ceremony may be performed without regard to distance.

            Upon the passage of this important act by the California legislature, Mr. Carpentier proceeded to secure the passage of similar acts in the neighboring States and Territories. On the 17th of October, 1862, the legislature of Oregon passed an act embracing substantially the provisions of the law of California; this was followed by a similar act of the territorial assembly of Utah, passed January 16, 1863. As the State of California, always in the lead, was the first to make a practicable movement towards the construction of the Pacific railroad, the overland mail route, and the overland telegraph, so it has been the first to introduce this important feature in the laws governing the telegraph system. None of the Atlantic States, I believe, have yet adopted it, but they will doubtless come to it in time.

            A very general misapprehension prevails in the Atlantic States in reference to the frequent errors and interruptions which have attended the working of the overland telegraph since it went into operation. The inconvenience to which the public have been subjected has been patiently borne, until patience has almost ceased to be a virtue. The facts of the case are that east of Salt lake, within the past four years, Indian disturbances have been a prolific source of trouble. The stations have been attacked, the line broken down, the operators murdered, and all communication cut off, day after day, week after week, yet California is compelled to bear a share of the blame. Without attempting to cast any censure upon the eastern division, which doubtless has done all in its power to prevent these interruptions, it has been the good fortune of the California divison, with the exception of a single outbreak at Ruby valley in 1864, to have had no difficulty with the Indians.

            A marked difference exists between the character of the Indian tribes east and west of Salt lake. The Arrapahoes, Navajos, Apaches, and Sioux are powerful, mischievous, and warlike; the Shoshones, Bannocks, Pi-Utes, and other western tribes are poor and less able to cope with the whites. I refer to the fact as showing a prolific cause of failure on the eastern side to which the western division is not subject.

WEST OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS       441

            In reference to the operations of the division between Salt Lake City and San Francisco, there is not, I believe, a line of equal length in any part of the world upon which so few errors or interruptions have occurred. The system of checks adopted is so rigid that it is scarcely possible for an error to pass through the office at San Francisco. When there is doubt in regard to a word the operator causes it to be repeated from the Salt Lake office; if still the same and evidently an error, he causes it to be repeated back from the office in the Atlantic States where it originated. In the vast number of Messages transmitted between Salt lake and San Francisco nearly every error that occurred has been traced back to the other side.

            The greatest trouble hitherto in the working of the California division has been experienced in the Sierra Nevada mountains. This is now almost entirely obviated. The company have constructed four separate and distinct lines from Sacramento to Carson : one by the Dutch Flat route and three via Placerville, each of which is in full operation. It is scarcely possible for any combination of circumstances to result in the interruption of communication upon all these lines at the same time.

            A new and substantial line has been built between San Francisco and Omaha, following the travelled stage route, making the second line across the continent. This was commenced as an opposition line by the United States Telegraph Company, but after completion between San Francisco and Salt lake, was purchased and finished from Salt lake to Omaha by the Western Union Telegraph Company.

            The Western Union Telegraph Company, having purchased a controlling interest in the California Overland Telegraph Company lines, in June last took a lease of the lines of that company, and all are now worked under the name of the former company as their Pacific division. The lines of this division constitute all the wires west of Salt lake, from Los Angeles to a point in British Columbia 750 miles north of New Westminster, on Frazer river. This extends to near the boundary line of our Russian possessions.

            A new line has been constructed by the Western Union Company from Salt Lake to Helena, in Montana, via Virginia City, Montana, between 500 and 600 miles in length.

            Brigham Young has built a line some 400 miles in length, connecting the northern and southern settlements of the Mormons in Utah.

Telegraphic Connections—Table of distances.

                                                            Miles.                                                               Miles.

San Francisco to San Mateo                20        Marysville to Oriville                           28

San Mateo to Redwood                       8          Oroville to Chico                                26

Redwood to Santa Clara                     21        Chico to Tehama                                26

Santa Clara to San Jose                       3          Tehama to Red Bluffs                         12

San Jose to Centreville                        16        Red Bluffs to Shasta                            40

Centreville to San Leandro                 18        Shasta to Trinity Centre                     45

San Leandro to Oakland                    8          Trinity Centre to Callahans                25

Oakland to Martinez                           24        Callahans to Rough and Ready           11

Martinez to Benicia                             4          Rough and Ready to Fort Jones          11

Benicia to Suisun                                 22        Fort Jones to Yreka                             18

Suisun to Sacramento                         45        Yreka to Mountain House                   40

Sacramento to Nicolaus                      26        Mountain House to Jacksonville         22

Nicolaus to Marysville                         16        Jacksonville to Grave Creek                34

Marysville to Timbuctoo                     17        Grave Creek to Cañonville                 34

Timbuctoo to Grass Valley                  19        Cañonville to Roseburg                      27

Grass Valley to Nevada                       4          Roseburg to Oakland                          18

Nevada to North San Juan                  15        Oakland to Eugene City                      58

North San Juan to Camptonville        8          Eugene City to Corvallis                      40

Camptonville to Forest City                26        Corvallis to Albany                              10

Forest City to Downieville                   8          Albany to Salem                                  24

442      RESOURCES OF STATES AND TERRITORIES

Table of distances—Continued.

                                                            Miles.                                                               Miles.

Salem to Oregon City                         38        Nevada to Dutch Flat                          16

Oregon City to Portland                     13        Dutch Flat to Donner Lake                40

Portland to Vancouvers                      7          Donner Lake to Steamboat Springs    46

Vancouvers to Monticello                   40        Steamboat to Virginia                         12

Monticello to Drews                            30

Drews to Olympia                               52        Petaluma to Santa Rosa                      17

Olympia to Steilacoom                        22        Santa Rosa to Healdsburg                   15

Steilacoom to Seattle                           60

Seattle to Pt. Elliot                              35        Benicia to Vallejo                                7

Pt. Elliot to Tualalup                           17        Vallejo to Napa                                   16

Tualalup to Swindmish                       35        Napa to Calistoga                                26

Swinomish to Sehome                        37       

Sehome to Semiahnoa                        28        Sacramento to Auburn                       36

Semiahnoa to New Westminster        25        Auburn to Coloma                              14

                                                                        Coloma to Placerville                          9

Sacramento to Folsom                         22       

Folsom to Latrobe                               17        Coloma to Georgetown                      9

Latrobe to Shingle Springs                  8          Georgetown to Todd's Valley             8

Shingle Springs to El Dorado              5          Todd's Valley to Forest Hill                 3

El Dorado to Placerville                      6          Forest Hill to Yankee Jim's                  3

Placerville to Sportsman's Hall           12        Yankee Jim's to Iowa Hill                   10

Sportsman's to Sugar Loaf                  22        Iowa Hill to Dutch Flat                       10

Sugar Loaf to Strawberry                    12

Strawberry to Yanks                            13        San Andreas to Copperopolis             15

Yank's Station to Fridays                     12        Folsom to Latrobe                               14

Fridays to Genoa                                 12        Latrobe to Drytowu                             14

Genoa to Carson                                 16        Drytown to Sutter's Creek                 5

Carson to Dayton                                ..          Sutter's Creek to Jackson                    3

Dayton to Silver City                           5          Jackson to Mokolumne Hill               5

                                                                        Mokolumne Hill to San Andreas        9

Virginia to Williamsburg                    131      San Andreas to Murphy's                   16

Williamsburg to Unionville                 14        Murphy's to Columbia                        12

Unionville to Star City                        12        Columbia to Sonora                            7

Yank's Station to Glenbrook               17        San Jose to Gilroy                                30

Glenbrook to Carson                          14        Gilroy to San Juan, S                          12

Carson to Ophir                                 13        San Juan, S., to Kingston                   130

Ophir to Washoe                                3          Kingston to Visalia                  25

Washoe to Virginia                             12        Visalia to Fort Tejon                          125

                                                                        Fort Tejon to Los Angeles                  110

Genoa to Wellington's                        40

Wellington's to Aurora                       50        San Juan, south, to Watsonville          ..

                                                                        Watsonville to Santa Cruz                  ..

Genoa to Markleeville                        24        Santa Cruz to Monterey                      ..

Markleeville to Monitor                      7                                 

Monitor to Silver Mountain               7                                  OVERLAND.

San Jose to Warm Springs                  14        Carson to Dayton.                               13

Warm Springs to Stockton                 56        Dayton to Fort Churchill                    22

Stockton to. Sacramento                     45        Fort Churchill to West Gate               69

                                                                        West Gate to Austin                           69

San Francisco to Fort Point                 5          Austin to Grubb's Wells                      51

Fort Point to San Rafael                     21        Grubb's Wells to Ruby Valley              62

San Rafael to Petaluma                       24        Ruby Valley to Egan                            42

Petaluma to Sonoma                           12        Egan to Deep Creek                           74

Sonoma to Napa                                 12        Deep Creek to Fish Springs               52

Napa to Suisun                                    20        Fish Springs to Fort Crittenden          99

                                                                        Fort Crittenden to Salt Lake               42

Sacramento to Newcastle                    32

Newcastle to Auburn                           4          Swinomish to Fidalgo island    15

Auburn to Colfax                                10        Fidalgo island to San Juan island         12

Colfax to Grass Valley                         11        San Juan island to Victoria, V. I          20

Grass Valley to Nevada                       4