HOW THE MAIL IS DELIVERED
“There is the postman’s whistle,” said Mrs. Cameron.
Edith hurried to the door, for a letter was expected from Uncle Charles, who was in Alaska. Soon she scampered back into the room, waving an envelope in her hand. “Is it from Uncle Charles?” she asked, as she handed the letter to her mother.
“Yes,” replied Mrs. Cameron, having opened the envelope, “it is from your uncle.”
Grandpa, Mr. Cameron, and Edith prepared to listen; for receiving a letter from Uncle Charles was always a very interesting event. The letter was as follows:
Fort Yukon, Alaska, July 4, 19—.My dear Sister: Even in far-off Alaska this is a holiday, although it is not such a day as you are having in Boston. This morning some of the men fired off revolvers and rifles; but as there are few children in the camp, we have no fireworks.Fort Yukon is on the Yukon River, about six hundred fifty miles from the mouth, and almost exactly on the Arctic Circle. The fort was established by an agent of the Hudson Bay Company one hundred sixty years ago, but it is still a small place.Although we lack many things, we have one thing that Boston people do not have—sunshine night and day; that is, at this time of the year. It would seemvery strange to you to see the sun shining at midnight; but that is what we see here on June twenty-first. During the winter we see the sun but a short time each day.
Fort Yukon, Alaska, July 4, 19—.
My dear Sister: Even in far-off Alaska this is a holiday, although it is not such a day as you are having in Boston. This morning some of the men fired off revolvers and rifles; but as there are few children in the camp, we have no fireworks.
Fort Yukon is on the Yukon River, about six hundred fifty miles from the mouth, and almost exactly on the Arctic Circle. The fort was established by an agent of the Hudson Bay Company one hundred sixty years ago, but it is still a small place.
Although we lack many things, we have one thing that Boston people do not have—sunshine night and day; that is, at this time of the year. It would seemvery strange to you to see the sun shining at midnight; but that is what we see here on June twenty-first. During the winter we see the sun but a short time each day.
The summer weather is warm and pleasant, and our gardens grow rapidly. But the summer season is short, and we cannot grow many things which need a long time to ripen. The winters are long and bitterly cold. At a few feet below the surface the ground is frozen all of the year.This letter will leave here to-morrow morning on a little steamboat and go down the Yukon to its mouth, and from there to St. Michael, where the mail will be transferred to a larger ship. That ship will carry it to Seattle, and it will thenbe carried across the continent by a swift railway train.About the middle of October the river will freeze and remain frozen until about the first of May. Probably you will not hear from me more than once or twice during that time, for our winter mail trains are slow because they are drawn by dogs.A team often consists of six or seven dogs hitched tandem. They come in from Valdez, far to the south. The trail follows the ice-covered rivers and lakes and crosses high mountains.There is always great excitement when the mail reaches Fort Yukon.Our nearest telegraph station is at Rampart, more than one hundred fifty miles southwest; so you see we are shut off from the rest of the world.I must tell you how the mail is delivered between Kotzebue and Point Barrow. Kotzebue is west of this place, on the coast, and Point Barrow is on the Arctic coast. A Mr. S. R. Spriggs has a contract with the United States government to carry the mail. This he does during the winter by means of reindeer. The route is about two hundred fifty miles long.I expect to receive a letter from you by the next boat that comes in. Tell Edith that I am looking for a letter from her, also. With much love,Your brother,Charles.
The summer weather is warm and pleasant, and our gardens grow rapidly. But the summer season is short, and we cannot grow many things which need a long time to ripen. The winters are long and bitterly cold. At a few feet below the surface the ground is frozen all of the year.
This letter will leave here to-morrow morning on a little steamboat and go down the Yukon to its mouth, and from there to St. Michael, where the mail will be transferred to a larger ship. That ship will carry it to Seattle, and it will thenbe carried across the continent by a swift railway train.
About the middle of October the river will freeze and remain frozen until about the first of May. Probably you will not hear from me more than once or twice during that time, for our winter mail trains are slow because they are drawn by dogs.
A team often consists of six or seven dogs hitched tandem. They come in from Valdez, far to the south. The trail follows the ice-covered rivers and lakes and crosses high mountains.
There is always great excitement when the mail reaches Fort Yukon.
Our nearest telegraph station is at Rampart, more than one hundred fifty miles southwest; so you see we are shut off from the rest of the world.
I must tell you how the mail is delivered between Kotzebue and Point Barrow. Kotzebue is west of this place, on the coast, and Point Barrow is on the Arctic coast. A Mr. S. R. Spriggs has a contract with the United States government to carry the mail. This he does during the winter by means of reindeer. The route is about two hundred fifty miles long.
I expect to receive a letter from you by the next boat that comes in. Tell Edith that I am looking for a letter from her, also. With much love,
Your brother,Charles.
“I hope that you will never go to Alaska, papa,” said Edith, when her mother had finished reading the letter.
“Why?” asked Mr. Cameron.
“Because we should have to wait so long for letters from you,” replied the little girl. “I don’t see how people can get along without having mail once a day at least. The postman comes here three times a day, you know. Uncle wrote his letter on July fourth, and this is August second.”
“Perhaps,” said grandpa, taking Edith upon his lap, “I can tell you a story about the delivery of mail.”
“Oh, please do!” said Edith.
“The custom of sending messages from person to person has been followed for thousands of years,” began grandpa. “We read in the Bible of a letter which King David wrote from the city of Jerusalem to one of his generals named Joab. This letter was placed in the hands of a messenger who carried it to the general.
“There were no trains in those days and so all letters were delivered by men on foot, men on horseback, or by carrier pigeons.”
“By carrier pigeons!” cried Edith. “How could a pigeon carry a message?”
“The birds were trained when young,” replied her grandpa. “They were taken a short distance from home and then set free. The pigeons would of course fly home. The next time they were taken a greaterdistance. This training was repeated many times, the distance always being increased.
“A man going on a long journey would sometimes take several pigeons with him. When he wished to send a message home it was fastened to one of the birds, which was then set free.
“The carrying of messages was established for the use of kings and others of high rank. In time the common people began to send letters by post, or messengers. You have often heard the expression ‘post haste.’ Years ago, people in England used to write on their letters, ‘haste, haste, post haste.’
“In early colonial days, the colonists were anxious to hear from home, which in most cases meant England.
“When a ship from the mother country landed on our shores, there were always people waiting to see if it brought them news from the loved ones left behind. Some of the letters were not called for. These thecaptain of the vessel took to the nearest coffee-house where their owners called for them.
“As the country was settled, men were employed to carry the mail between the different towns and cities. Usually the postmen did not start out until they had letters enough to pay the expenses of the trip. They would carry packages and even lead horses from town to town in order to earn a little money. It is said that one Pennsylvania postman used to knit mittens and stockings as he jogged along.
“The first regular mail service between Boston and New York was established in 1673. The round trip in the winter required about a month.
“As late as 1704 there was no regular postoffice west of Philadelphia. In 1775 the colonists appointed Benjamin Franklin as postmaster-general, paying him a salary of one thousand dollars a year.”
“Here,” continued grandpa, “is a letter that I received yesterday from Lynn, only a few miles away; you see that there is a two-cent stamp upon it. Please bring me Uncle Charles’ letter.”
Edith ran to the table and returned with the letter.
“You see,” said grandpa, “that this letter also bears a two-cent stamp, although it was carried several thousand miles. Did you ever see letters that came from a foreign country?”
“Oh, yes,” answered Edith; “sometimes they have five-cent stamps on them.”
“In 1792,” continued grandpa, “the Congress of the United States fixed the rate of postage in this country. In some cases it cost ten cents to send a letter only a short distance. The cost depended upon how thickly settled the country was, as well as upon the nature of the roads.
“Although, in the days of our early history, people paid for having their letters delivered, there were no postage stamps in use. The charges were generally paid by the person who received the letter. The amount due was stamped on the outside.
“In 1834 James Chalmers, at Dundee, Scotland, made the first adhesive stamps.”
“What are adhesive stamps?” asked Edith.
“They are stamps that are made to adhere or stick to the envelopes by moistening them,” her grandpa replied.
“In 1847 the United States government commenced issuing postage stamps. Before this time, some of the postmasters were allowed to make stamps; but this is not permitted today. At first only five and ten cent stamps were made by the government. The five-cent stamps bore the head of Franklin, while the head of Washington appeared upon the ten-cent stamps.
“In 1885 special delivery stamps were issued. These cost ten cents each. When a special delivery stamp is placed upon a letter it is delivered by a special messenger from the postoffice.
The Brave Riders Had to Meet Many Dangers
The Brave Riders Had to Meet Many Dangers
“Another interesting thing about letters written many years ago is that they were not placed in envelopes.”
“Why not?” asked Edith, in great surprise.
“Because,” replied grandpa, “there were no envelopes. When a letter was finished it was folded into the form of an envelope and fastened by means of sealing wax.”
“You know,” he continued, “that our mails are now carried across the country on fast railroad trains. A letter can be sent from Boston to San Francisco, a distance of over three thousand miles, in about four days. But when I was a young man there were no railroads in the far West, and the mails traveled very slowly.
“In those days many people were moving into the western country, and they felt the need of a better mail service. Some wealthy men talked the matter over and decided to use swift ponies to carry the mails. So in 1860 they planned the Pony Express.
“This was a very daring thing to do, because those were the days of Indians and outlaws, and the brave riders would have to meet many dangers.
“The ponies with their riders traveled between the town of St. Joseph, Missouri, and San Francisco, a distance of nearly two thousand miles. About eighty riders and over four hundred horses were needed.
“The riders rode day and night, stopping only to change horses at the stations along the route. Every seventy-five miles the mail was turned over to a fresh rider on a fresh horse, who carried it on to the next stopping place. The mail was carried in a sort of blanket with pockets in the corners which were locked and unlocked by the station keepers.
“At noon on April 3, 1860, the start was made from each end of the line. The first trip was made in ten days. Later, it took but eight or nine days. President Lincoln’s first inaugural address was carried in seven days and seventeen hours.
“For some time the postage was five dollars for a half ounce, but later it was reduced to one dollar.
“The longest ride was made by William F. Cody, afterwards known as ‘Buffalo Bill,’ who was then but fifteen years of age. The boy rode steadily for nearly thirty-six hours, covering a distance of three hundred and eighty miles. During all of that long ride he stopped for only one meal.
“The Pony Express was kept up for less than two years, for in October, 1861, a telegraph line connecting the East with the West was finished, making it easy to send messages across the continent by wire.”
“The postal service has grown and improved wonderfully in our country,” continued grandpa. “At firstthe mail was carried by men on horseback, then by stage-coaches, and now by trains.
“Formerly, people went to the nearest postoffice for their mail; now, in all cities, the mail is delivered by postmen, just as the letter from Uncle Charles was delivered to-day.
“In almost all parts of the country there is a rural free delivery. By the roadside in front of each farmer’s house is a mail-box, having the name of the owner upon it.
“A letter carrier drives through the neighborhood with the mail. When he leaves mail in a box he raises a little signal which is attached to it in such a way that it can be seen from the farmhouse. This, you see, takes the place of the postman’s whistle.
“To-day, some trains are given up entirely to the carrying of mail, and all passenger trains that cross the continent carry tons of mail. Not only is the mail carried on trains, but it can be posted on them as well. It is also sorted on the mail-cars; and sacks of mail are thrown off the mail-car and others taken on while the train is going at full speed.”
“I don’t see how mail can be put on a train when it is in motion,” said Edith.
“Beside the track, at the places where mail is to be exchanged, there is a post of wood or iron,” said grandpa. “Fastened to the post there are two cross-arms as far apart as a mail-sack is long. A sack is suspended on hooks between these arms.
“Beside the door of each mail-car there is an arm, or hook of iron. Just before the mail-car reaches thespot where a mail-bag is hanging, the mail clerk inside the car raises this arm. As the train rushes by, the arm pulls the sack from the hooks and holds it.
“The sack is then opened by the mail clerk, and its contents sorted. At the same time that the sack is taken on board, another sack is thrown from the door of the car.
“In 1790 there were but seventy postoffices in the United States. In 1916 the number had increased to over 56,000.
“Our wonderful postal system makes it possible for us to send letters to any part of the civilized world. If properly addressed and stamped they are almost certain to reach their owners safely and promptly, just as Uncle Charles’ letter came all the way from the Arctic Circle to our door.”
—From “How We Travel,” by James F. Chamberlain(adapted).
QUESTIONS
I
How many of you like to receive a letter?Did you ever think how wonderful it is that such a little thing as a letter can travel thousands of miles and find its owner within a certain time?What kind of “ticket” must your letter have in order to reach its owner?What does it cost to mail a letter to-day?After you stamp your letter and drop it into the postbox, what happens next?How often is mail collected from your nearest box?Where is it taken?Do you know where the sub-station for your neighborhood is?
How many of you like to receive a letter?
Did you ever think how wonderful it is that such a little thing as a letter can travel thousands of miles and find its owner within a certain time?
What kind of “ticket” must your letter have in order to reach its owner?
What does it cost to mail a letter to-day?
After you stamp your letter and drop it into the postbox, what happens next?
How often is mail collected from your nearest box?
Where is it taken?
Do you know where the sub-station for your neighborhood is?
To what place is your letter taken from the sub-station?How does it travel?How are the mails sorted on trains?When your letter reaches the city where its owner lives, who helps to find its owner?
To what place is your letter taken from the sub-station?
How does it travel?
How are the mails sorted on trains?
When your letter reaches the city where its owner lives, who helps to find its owner?
II
How often does the postman deliver mail in your neighborhood?Is your postman an honest, punctual, careful man? Why should he be?Is his work easy? Why not?Is the life of a rural letter carrier easy?Tell something about parcel post.
How often does the postman deliver mail in your neighborhood?
Is your postman an honest, punctual, careful man? Why should he be?
Is his work easy? Why not?
Is the life of a rural letter carrier easy?
Tell something about parcel post.
III
Did you ever visit the postoffice?What did you see?Why do the clerks have to be careful?Why are stamps cancelled?Imagine that you are a letter traveling from one person to another and tell about your journey. Did you go by train or airplane?Can you tell something about mail service by airplane?
Did you ever visit the postoffice?
What did you see?
Why do the clerks have to be careful?
Why are stamps cancelled?
Imagine that you are a letter traveling from one person to another and tell about your journey. Did you go by train or airplane?
Can you tell something about mail service by airplane?
THE STREET CLEANER
In many cities blockmen in white uniforms are required to be constantly at work in certain fixed areas from 7A. M.to 6P. M., except during the winter months, when their hours are from 7A. M.to 5P. M.
Should not every boy and girl be glad to help such faithful public servants as the street cleaners?
When our streets are clean and neat,More healthful is the air and sweet;More beautiful our city.
When our streets are clean and neat,More healthful is the air and sweet;More beautiful our city.
When our streets are clean and neat,
More healthful is the air and sweet;
More beautiful our city.