Ancient Methods of Communication
Before the application of electricity to methods of conveying
news from place to place there were many crude inventions for that
purpose, which, while they answered the requirements demanded of
them, performed their work so imperfectly that they were
constantly liable to error. Important news, in France, a century
or two ago, was shouted from the top of a high hill ; a person at
a distance hearing it answered the sender, and shouted it to a
third party, who in turn cried the message, and news traveled in
this manner long distances quickly. This method was employed in
the time of Caesar in calling the people to arms. Fires lighted
upon elevations gave signs in their arrangement which could be
readily understood. A signal fire upon Hero's tower lighted
Leander across the Hellespont. In the Middle Ages a fiery cross
shone along the British coast, announcing the approach of the
Normans. Signal posts were organized systematically in France by
Louis XI., and for a long time this method was sufficient for all
purposes of transmission.
The aerial telegraph came next, consisting of great towers erected
on rising ground in the country. These towers were surmounted by
movable turrets which could be turned to any point to which it was
desired to send a message. Above the tower were two long black
arms connected by an immovable bar. The arms, moving in various
ways, made signs which represented words and even complete
phrases. This worked well enough in clear weather, but in rainy
or
foggy atmospheres its operation was ineffectual.
Invention of the Electric Telegraph
For a time the electric telegraph was considered a mere
curiosity. The system invented by Professor Samuel Morse in 1831
was looked upon as chimerical, and he was obliged to wait eight
years before he succeeded in getting his invention before the
public, although its machinery was almost as perfect as it is at
the present day. Many savants in ancient times astonished the
world with experiments, the chief motor of which was electricity.
Among these may be mentioned the Abbe Noblet, Dafay, Mesmer, and
Cagliostro. In 1790, Galvani discovered a singular fact which has
been followed by the most splendid results, and later Volta
brought to light the voltaic pile. Many persons claim that the
true inventor of the electric telegraph was Wheatstone, who set up
the first telegraph line in England and afterwards one in France ;
but the Morse system was the simplest, and was eventually adopted
in nearly all countries.
