Lefferts block insulators favored by fish hawks

A Telegraph Story

The Telegrapher remarks that a somewhat singular cause of trouble on the telegraph line was recently discovered by S. C. Hendrickson while making an inspection of the Sandy Hook wire. This wire uses Lefferts block insulators, and it was found that the fish hawks which abound in that vicinity have made use of the block as a convenient resting place whereon to tear to pieces and devour their prey. The entrails and refuse of the fish had formed a solid mass, in many instances covering the insulator and adjacent wire, causing a great amount of "escape" in wet weather. It has been found necessary to substitute the glass and bracket insulator, which will improve the working of the line, though at the expense of considerable inconveniences to the fish hawks. The wires are also found in many instances in the vicinity of the west coast to be completely encrusted with salt, deposited from the spray of the surf.