The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1877-01-05

the department carried out, and that The
seventh letter which had come in since the
six were advertised must go with them.
But through all the sorrow there was
cleaning the sunshine of relief. At the
dead letter office it would be found out
whatthese mysterious envelopes contained.
And the lady who made mp the packages
for the dead-!etier office pinned this note
to Maria Rnsselrs seven letters:
''These are very peculiar letters They
belong to n woman who has been coming
to the postoflice regularly every month for
thirty years but she has ceased to come
and we think she is dead. Whoever opens
these letters will confer great favor by
informing the clerks of New York postoffice
OF their contents, as we have a great curl
osty to know who Maria Russell is, or
was, and something about the person who
has been sending her these letters regularly
for SD long"
This note was submitted to a convention
of clerks and declared unanimously to be
the proper thing. A reply was awaited
anxiously. Before it came two more let
ters had followed their fellows in, and were
waiting for Maria Russell but she never
came to get them, and they were sent off
like the rest to have their secrets revealed
at the great mail morgue at Washington
Finally there came addressed to '-the
clerks of the New Ioik postoifice" ard IT
that category into whose hands it came
That person read the inclosure hurriedly
through, and called "a convention, to which
lie read the following
"Although it is directly against the rules
of the Office, | take the responsibility of
gratifying your curiosity. Nine letters
addressed to Maria II. Russell have come
to my hands. Each one contains brief
note, calling attention to an inclosure with
~
a five dollar bill. We have great deal of
curiosity ourselves here TO learn something
about this strange matter. Won't some
of you write us what you know? and if
any fuI ther disclosures are made we Will
inform you.''
Here WAS romance, indeed. Nine un-
signed notes, each with similar Enclosure
Oh money. Was it possible, they thought,
! that Tor thirty years these same sort of
letters, with the same inciosures had been
coming to Maria Russell. Aud why didn't
they stop. If since she was dead, as she
certainly must be. The whole postoffice
was excited and perplexed in its Efforts to
find q solution ofthis mystery. Bpt there
was no clue To- Mrs. OF Miss Russell; no clue
to e. mysteTi 'uS correspondent. | can
not re 'eat the many theories that were ad-
| vancec, or the many speculations that were
put ont to explain the matter; but each
was different one. and each had as good
ground for believing his the true one as
any other, because none OF them had any
gronnd ut all. To add to the mystery,
some one brought i'll "a daily paper which
contained the following advertisements
PERSOSAI~-Aay person having any knowl-
edge OF the whereabouts of Marin II. Russell.
VIII" has been resident at this city for thirty
years wlH relieve At terrible anxiety by COM
Inunicatins with G. B. r., Postofli:c.
What a sensation that personal made in
the Postoffice Department. Here at least
was clue to the unknown correspondent
who was wondering why lie had received
no ackuow ledgenient to his letters for niHe
months and 10 add to the excitement
another letter, i'll the same pale yellow style
of envelope, addressed in the same similar
chrngraphy, was tossed with hundreds Of
others IT, the distributors table, where it
came To light. Fifty letters were addressed
To ''C. b. X" each of which stated that
they had important information concerning
Maria H. Russell but before many of
them were mailed it leaked out that the
persons was put III the papers by one of
the clerks, who hoped to reach i'll advance
Of his fellows u clue to the mystery. But
nothing satisfactory resulted even from the
personal. Several Maria RusselI's turned
up to answer it, and were very much dis
gusted to find they weren't the persons
wanted; but it brought no clue to the
curious old lady aud her curious CORES
pOndent.
Four five, six years went by, and each
month brought as regularly as the month
came around Il letter for Maria III. Russell
The reverence with which these letters
were treated was new feature i'll the post
office department. 1t was satisfaction
even to handle them and feel of the thin
iimsy nclosure, and with what agony of
interest they were advertised, and finally
sent away to the Dead Letter Office each
n. Il
just like them that had gone before.
One day nearly two years ago clerk in
the poStotflce told friend who was con-
nected with a newspaper OF the c.rcum-
stances, and bI lei statement of facts was
published. The paragraph was widely
quoied-republslied in almost every paper
III the United States. Aud with this pub
iIcatiou the letters stopped coming, Tie
last was postniaIked March 4, 1919.
1t is Thought that the mysterious cores
pondent saw the paragraph, aud knew in
that way that Maria Russell was dead-for
she must be dead, or sac would have called
for her letters in the years that had gone
since she got the last.
But it may be asked why the unknown
correspondent doesn't send to the Dead
Letter Office and claim his money--the
money he sent SO faithfully each month To
Maria Russell, even for ten years after she
WAS dead and gene. A large number OF
claims have been mace for the money since
the publication last year, and a variety of
singular stories have been told to account
for the manner i'll which the correspond
euce was conducted.
One man wrote to inform tho postoffice
department. that he was the person who
had been sending the money 20 Maria
Russell these forty years agone, but AS his
manuscript was III every way dissimilar
from that in the original letters lie WAS at
once considered al imposter.
A man liz Siureis. Michigan, has told
the strangest story and put III the strongest
claim. He saws that he is one of "a family
of five children, four brothers and one
daughter. In 1885 his father and mother
separated, the father taking the boys and
the mother the girl aud tue father agree
ing to pay So month for his daughters
support as long as he lived, but to have no
fiai will, Lnr-i,,