Heliographs
During the Geronimo expeditions in the 1880’s, General Nelson Miles of the United States Army devised a system of signaling from mountain peak to mountain peak using reflective mirrors. The instruments which held the mirrors were named ‘heliographs’. The mirrors were used to signal and coordinate efforts against Geronimo. The use of heliographs was an interesting experiment, but the experiment did not prove to be very successful or useful. When the system was functioning properly, a signal could be communicated from El Paso, Texas to Camp Verde, Arizona. Following is a link that gives more information regarding heliographs:
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