SMOKE SIGNALS OVER THE PRAIRIE - Part 3

Articles In This Section:

· THE SEMAPHORE

· SMOKE SIGNALS OVER THE PRAIRIE - Part 1

· SMOKE SIGNALS OVER THE PRAIRIE - Part 2

· SMOKE SIGNALS OVER THE PRAIRIE - Part 3

INTERNATIONAL MORSE CODE

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Signaling Posts

For a well-functioning signaling post, you need three people: a signaler, an observer and a writer. The signaler has to be easily visible to the receiver; the other two can lie flat on the ground near him. When the background is dark, use a bright semaphore. When the background is light, use a dark semaphore.

Signaling over Great Distances

When the weather is clear and the countryside is open you can send signals over great distances—if your semaphores are large. Since handling very large flags is awkward, you will need to build an apparatus to rig them up on. The accompanying illustration shows a model for this, consisting of a double scaffold made of sticks. Fasten a pair of pulleys on each horizontal bar for the drawcords to run through. Hang a small signaling cloth on one set of pullies to make the "dot," a large one on the other set to represent the "dash." Fasten the cloths to the ground so that they can be drawn taut when pulled up. Practice to develop your signaling skill. Some boys who used this system were able to send messages over a stretch of 20 miles when the weather was clear.