Thus, if a ship touched London, New York, Boston or some other port with a post office, postal clerks in those cities would rate the letter and postmark it. Hawaii markings, if any, were those of a local forwarder. Some question remains about how the cost of carrying mail was paid in the Pre-Treaty Period. The postage of the destination country always seems to have been collected upon delivery. How much, if anything, sea captains charged for carrying mail from one place to another is uncertain.
Some letters show evidence of prepayment of certain transit fees, probably arranged by a forwarder.
Letters to Hawaii often were handled privately throughout by employing forwarders or by making arrangements directly with a ship captain. Some captains would also carry post office mail as a courtesy to the residents of Hawaii in order to win a favorable reputation in the islands. Other captains probably charged some fee. The letter in the following image shows how complex mail handling in the Pacific Ocean was during the 1840's. The content described particulars regarding the purchase of a vessel.