could be had, and connect that with the tower by a line of signal telegraph wire. So on the 13th, having been delayed until then by bad weather, I visited a plantation called Sea Side, about 5 miles from the tower, and opened communicatiion with the Head. I found that there was much difficulty often in communicating over this stretch, as both stations were as low as to bring the line through all the smoke of the river and the vapors arising from the marsh, though this station could be seem from the tower, and obviated the necessity of any wire.

The 14th and 15th, I tried all day and night to communicate, but got nothing through, nor any satisfactory replies, it being so smoky as to make reading almost impossible. On the 16th, I tried and got answer that "Otter Island could not see Botany Bay," as the tower, he thought, was not high enough. I visited Otter Island and could see nothing of the tower. I gave directions to have the tower on Otter Island raised 20 feet, and on Botany Bay 14 feet, making each 140 feet high.

I sent orders to Lieutenant Hawkins to go to Kiawah Island, to have a temporary station built there, the smoke of the camp-fires preventing communication from Botany Bay.

Finding it so difficult to communicate with Sea Side from Hilton Head, I decided to make a new station, and accoringly made on at Dr. Lawrence's place, called Luccaneaugh, 3 miles nearer Hilton Head. This not being visible from the tower on Saint Helena, I ran a line of wire over 7 miles to connect the two stations, and thus secured prefect communication as far as Otter Island. I then thought the only difficulty lay between Otter Island and botany Bay, and on the 20th, the towers having been completed to the height directed and not being in communication, I decided to make an intermediate station to open communication, and afterward find out the cause of the difficulty.

On the 21st, at daylight, I started with a party from Otter Island to visit Edingsville and locate a station. When we got outside the bar it was blowing almost a gale, and as our landing would have to be made through the surf on the beach, it was considered impossible to land with the means we had, and we returned.

Sergeant Otis went in a small boat inland to see if a place could be found from which both towers could be seen. Captain Dutch, of the U. S. bark Kingfisher, volunteered to go with him as pilot, being well acqainted with the country from frequent scouts he has made there and agove there. Mean time I went to examine into and remove some diffiluty in working the wire on Saint Helena Island. Returned to Otter Island on the 22nd, and learned from Sergeant Otis that he had found a place on Big Bay Island from which he could see boht towers; so I again made arrangements to start at daylight to build a station there. During the night a heavy gale commenced, and continued so as to prevent our going outside Saint Helena Bar until the night of the 24th, when it abated.

On the 25th, at daylight, I got the party, consisting of 6 engineers and 15 infantry for fatigue duty, on board and started, reaching Big Bay Island, in South Edisto Inlet, at noon, when we disembarked. I examined the spot selected by Sergeant Otis, but did not like its location.

The island was entirely unoccupied and we could find no tracks f man or horse upon it; it is covered with a dense and almost impaenetrable undergrowth; there is a long and high range of sand-hills