Richland beacon. [volume] (Rayville, La.) 1869-1890, 1876-09-16
DEAD LETTERS.
A Pathetic and Ridiculous Array
Of Stray Mail Matter-LOve
MissiveS, Locks Of Hair,
AlligatOrs and Snakes.


The paradise of fools, ito few un-
known" is the mental comment as one
sees the many evidences Of peoples
carelessness, foolishness and stupidity
which are displayed at the Dead-Let.
ter Office Museum. Arranged in
glass cases on the four sides of the
room are all these waits of travel, dis
played with view to their respective
attractions, and suggestive Of the
treachery of postage-stamps and the
adverse fate that sometimes overtakc
even nail-bags. There is everything
known to the useful and ornamental;
not smaller than tbimble, or larger
than stove-pipe hat.
Such pathetic array Of migbt-bave-
beens, so eloquent of disapoointments
and bligh,ed hopes! Locks of hair
there are whole switches of them
and as for photographs, We are told
that there are forty bushels of them
in the basement Of the building. But
fancy yourself the recipient Of q nice
parcel from the hands of the postmsn
some morning, which. upon being
opened, discloses o live snake !!
Whether one would 60 into raptures
or hystericks at such a treasure would
be matter of taste, suppose. But,
then, people do send snakes through
the mail, and sometimes they come
back to the Dead-Letter Office for
want of claimant, and we see them
leading a serenely spiritual existence
in glass jar among other stray post
al curiosities. 1t is o fact that q
postmaster once found q small live
alligator disporting among the letters
and papers in a mailbag
There was also a boquet of fresh
flowers which had slipped out of IT'S
box; and q couple of empty boxes,
very similar in size and shape. and
both addressed 10 lsdies, left the poor
man in doubt as to which The alligator
belonged, and to which the flowers,
Imagine the fair recipient of the Aow-
ers finding a monster in ber box. in
stead of the delicious Offering which
she bad expected! But the postmaster
made no blunder be put the flowers
in one box, and the alligator in the
other notified the ladies Of the slight
confusion ofproperty which bad taken
place, and directed each to exchange
with the other, if she should receive
the wrong article. But be was graft
fed to learn, shortly afterwards, that
there had been no mistake made. jew
elry is one of the articles most CON-
manly entrusted to letters and postal
packages.
One can hardly realize that there is
a daily average of $4,000 or $1,000
dead letters. or about 400, 900 month.
Allowing one person to letter. there
are four thousand persons every month
who undertake to send letters either
without stamps, without addresses. or
with cancelled stamps. insufficient
postage, or illegible or incorrect ad-
dresses. Many of them are without
either stamp or address, and often with
no signature which gives the slightest
cIew to the persons sending them.
There are 100000 month received
that either lack postage or address, or
else have insufficient or Cancelled
stamps and, strange as it may seeiH.
these are sometimes the most valuable
letters, often containing currency or
drafts for large amounts of money.
1t is estimated that there is about
So, ,O0O, 600 in drafts, and $4,000 in
cash received yearly through dead let.
ters. This is all returned if possible,
to the persons sending it; but If any
portion of it fails to find o claimant,
it is turned over TO the Post-ofice
fund.
Very little difficulty is experienced
in restoring the checks and drafts to
the rightful owners, but the money
generally comes in small sums, and is
usually sent in the most careless, hap
hazard kind Of fashion. and the loss
Of these SUMS and the ignorance with
which they are lauached upon jour.
ney represent deal of suffering aud
disappointment. Some bard working
man may send $40. the savings Of a
months labor, to his wife and little
ones, whom be has had to leave be-