Compete to crack secrets lost to history—for fun, clout, and (no) profit
Problems › 88
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 2026-08-26 | TEL518 registered as Problem 88 with an independently checked reading |
The Huntington Library holds the Fort Monroe telegraph ledger as mssEC 25 in the Thomas T. Eckert Papers. Its page 260 contains three separately headed telegrams. The last, now indexed TEL518, begins “New York Nov 4 1864”, is addressed to Geo D Sheldon, and ends with Jno Horner. These are the visible transmission details; they should not be assumed to identify every person mentioned inside the message.
Between the address and the closing name are twenty-four cells. A stretch reads “do you need more Whig to France wrangle quick”. Ordinary words appear beside names and other ordinary words that do not fit the sentence. Nothing in the handwriting labels which cells carry their own meaning.
The source also leaves the awkward sequence “R it Webster Animal” and the final word “warm”. Those forms are preserved below. A clean modern sentence would be easier to read, but it would remove part of the evidence. The task is to explain the complete entry, including the cells that look as though they need correction.
Handwritten ledger entry rendered from the audited transcription; every body word has the same emphasis
New York Nov 4 1864
Geo D Sheldon
frog nov penny for paradise R
it Webster Animal do you need
more Whig to France wrangle quick
walrus Knox Tappan Shelby Comd'g warm
Jno Horner
TEL518 is the last message on page 260. The heading, address, and Jno Horner closing are included, but the other two telegrams on the leaf are not. R and it remain separate source cells.
Wide transcriptions scroll sideways within this box.
| # | Solution | By | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Solution 88-1 All 24 content cells accounted for, with the source qualifications recorded | @offgramercy | ACCEPTED |