His employment at Stratford came to a grievous end. One night he
received a service message ordering a certain train to stop, and before
showing it to the conductor he, perhaps for greater certainty, repeated
it back again. When he rushed out of the office to deliver it the
train was gone, and a collision seemed inevitable; but, fortunately, the
opposing trains met on a straight portion of the track, and the accident
was avoided. The superintendent of the railway threatened to prosecute
Edison, who was thoroughly frightened, and returned home without his
baggage.
During this vacation at Port Huron his ingenuity showed itself in a more
creditable guise. An 'ice-jam' occurred on the St. Clair, and broke
the telegraph cable between Port Huron and Sarnia, on the opposite
shore. Communication was therefore interrupted until Edison mounted a
locomotive and sounded the whistle in short and long calls according to
the well-known 'Morse,' or telegraphic code. After a time the reporter
at Sarnia caught the idea, and messages were exchanged by the new
system.
His next situation was at Adrian, in Michigan, where he fitted up a
small shop, and employed his spare time in repairing telegraph apparatus
and making crude experiments.
Pages:
231
232
233
234
235
236
237
238
239
240
241
242
243
244
245
246
247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254
255