Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1883-06-23
Uncle Saln's Museum.

The new museum of curiosities at the
Postofice Department contains a queer
collection. 1t comprises mail matter
that failed to reach its destination, either
because the person to whom it was adj
dressed could n0t be found or because
the matter was an unavailable article.
The museum occupies q good sized
room, and the cases, reaching from floor
to ceiling, are full, and might have been
so a hundred times over. Among the
articles is a huge rattlesnake, coiled in
a glass jar, with open mouth and forked
tongue. He was put into the mail alive,
inclosed in a perforated tin can. Beside
him is another snake, perhaps four feet
in length, and next to that a couple of
~centipedes, equally poisonous in their
bite, and almost invariably fatal. They
were all put into the mails alive. On
the other side of the jar containing the
rattlesnake is a baby alligator, and the
head Of another perhaps a year old. Be-
low is a collection of specimens from va
rious mines in the West, the value of
which is considerable. One little pack
age among these contains about 800
worth of gold. On a shelf above is a
collection of coins, which would pro-
woke the envy of the most self-denying
collector of articles of this nature.
Some of these are very rare, several
coins dating back full two Thousand
years being among the number. There
is a locket bearing on the back this in
scription: "Mrs. Lucy Randolph, died
1881 hundred years ago. The
locket contains a picture of a soldier,
and it is supposed that he AAeonfiscated''
it somewhere in the South during the
war, had his own picture inserted in
stead of the one whose name it bore,
and sent it to his sweetheart, who
never called for it at the Office of de-
livery. Beside it is another pict-
Urea gentleman and lady in a gold
frame-which has been in the depart
ment over forty years awaiting a claim
ant. Here, too, is a set Of false teeth on
gold plate, and just below is a bottle
OF beer, which some kind hearted person
mad sent to a beer-drinking friend, hut
Which failed to reach its destination.
There are several brides, various parts
OF a saddle, horse-shoes, and q light
IRON hitching post-everything, as the
lady in charge of the museum oddly re-
marked: Everything but q horse. A
gentleman who was here the other day."
she said, remarked that we had every
1,hlngg but a tomahawk and a Bible.
That same day l discovered a tomahawk
up there OF a shelf, and u day or two
later a gentleman was looking at the
collection pointed out that book as being
aChinese testament. Over there on that
piece of parchmeut-looking paper is the
Lords Prayer in tifty-four languages"
There is also some beautiful pen-work
IN a calendar for 1883, accompanied by
avery finely executed sketch of a sum-
noer scene, all of which must have taken
aa immense o of work, and which
might have reached its proper destina-
So1 or been returned to its owner if a
little car had been taken in mailing it.
Aghastly feature of the collection is a
SKULL and near it a human ear-the lat
or petrifed and blood-red. There is a
raw. a chisel, a pair of nevolvers, a lot
continental and Confederate money,
large pound cake, hard and dry; a box
VI oride's-cake, tied with white rib
oon; a miniature bale of cotton, nearly
Z loot in length and of proper proper
IONS; a baseball and catcher's mask; a
.oe OF cigars, f~ire-srackers and other ex-
bloslves; a telegraph instrument tam
IIo99!rlnes, and accordeons, dancingg1dolls.
auian arrows, a string of sleigh-bells,
soS1oo pipe. a couple Of wash-boards. .
""Aa toad. q garden hoe. = field hos. J