Telegraphic Deternumations of Longitude. 29 
About three days, including stoppages, were consumed in this 
thirty mile voyage, and the traveler finally reached his destina- 
tion to be received with the greatest hospitality by the staff at 
the telegraph station, and just in time to allay the fears of the 
observers at Hong Kong and Manila who had begun to think 
him lost. About three weeks were spent here, and as the work 
only occupied a short time at night, the days were pleasantly 
passed in exploring the surrounding country, making friends with 
the natives, shooting and photographing the scenery. The return 
to Manila was by the same route and occupied nearly the same 
length of time. 
The measurement from Singapore to Madras was over one of 
the longest lines of cable ever used for this purpose, the distance 
being about 1600 nautical miles. The Atlantic cables used by 
Dr. Gould in 1866 were a little more than 1,850 miles in length. 
There was an intermediate station at Penang about 400 miles 
from Singapore, where all the work of the line was repeated. For 
the longitude measurement however the cables were connected 
through to form an unbroken line. The mirror was the only 
instrument that could be used and even with this the signals were 
feeble and much affected by earth currents. 
The observing parties have never been troubled by wild beasts, 
but while at Saigon in Cochin, China, a rifle was always kept 
handy for use in case of the appearance of a tiger. The observa- 
tory here was located near the edge of a jungle, and alongside 
the telegraph station, on the veranda of which a large tiger had 
been shot by one of the operators only a short time before. 
In the expedition of last winter to Mexico and Central 
America, the principal annoyance was caused by insects which 
were numerous and malignant. At Coatzacoalcos they were 
found in the greatest abundance, though the whole isthmus 
of Tehuantepec is alive with them. Fleas and mosquitoes were 
expected of course, but added to this were numerous others much 
worse. Of the family of “ticks” four varieties were seen and 
felt, ranging in size from almost microscopic to a length of a 
third of an inch. The most numerous were about as large as a 
grain of mustard seed, and one who walked or rode through the 
bushes or high grass would find himself literally covered. One 
of the worst insects encountered was the “nigua” which is in 
appearance something like a small flea. It burrows into the toes 
and soles of the feet, lays a number of eggs, which hatch and 
