Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1885-09-11
..11AN POST

80 1913 s+H -fe4f-Az.lH -
u Features of tho Postal Svs-
NJ" ,.,us of Asiatic Countries.
L,a commonest type of Indian post
"ar or .'Tappal wallah," wears a
white coat, very light trousers in
his lean legs. and his headdress
nncc light blue turban. His letter
D - Sung on his side, and it is
,.,rv that he should be a good
s,,;st and be able to read a great
saty of strange, Grabbed characters,
! .%cyeral of the multitudinous lang
ri Hindostan in quite distinct
&C., cters, all of which are alike in
larehensible to our untutored ewes.
r,ral lctter-carrier of Hindostan
,;asa long stick with a sharp iron
~ which can be usedas a weapon in
u 81 need. The stick is adorned with
h,ass bells, which serve to brighten
reptiles and dangerous ami
N and also to give notice of the
l,osch of the post. The danger
\, wild beasts is, in some districts, a
T. real one, the ''tappal' runners
auah the forest districts in the south
Ceylon having occasionally had
!. narrow escapes from the attacks
rogue" elephants and. other wild
n al varieties of Indian letter-car-
|. clothed or unclothed, none are
picturesque as the camel express
s%scngers. The men wear a service
! red uniform, and large green tur-
embroidered with gold thread.
In their girdle hangs a curved saber
a red Sheath. The camels are
Irncd with trappings of gay cloth
~tassels, ornamented with blue
ds and cowrie shells. and small
IS bells round the neck to give
ice of their swift approach.
i, said that their rough and
ia trotting, sometimes at the
of eighty miles a day, is
irving to the riders as to shorten
# DAYS. Two heavy mail-bags hang
RIGHT and left on each side of the
pel. and the saddle is SO arranged
/ a passenger can takea seat behind
postman.
no country in the world is the
tal organization more wonderful
h in Japan; the chief marvel being
/, till about a dozen years ago,
e was nc regular Government insti-
ions of posts in tho country. In
b, when Japan awakened like a
BIT from her long sleep of exclusive
!, and set to work to accomplish
nge> of every sort, she resolved to
lblish the European postal system;
with such astonishing zeal has she
e her work that within ten years
British, American and French post
tes, which had been established at
he open ports, were closed, foreign
ions being satisfied with the thor
Fhness of the Japanese postal SER
!. In that short period mail routes
e been organized over 10000 miles;
trains and steamers. post-vans
runners were all enlisted; 1927
f%-otices and 7.439 letter-boxes had
b established; money-order offices
post-otfice savings banks were in
operation; $500 persons we're en-
Jed on the regular staff; stamps,
hped envelopes, postcards and
Fspaper wrappers were issued at the
e rate as our own; letter postage
my part of the empire being at the
OF one pence, and post cards one
pence; while within the limits of
city Of Toxic these hostages are re-
Etively only half price.
here the post-ofice had thus been
fed at full swing it is needless to
that the telegraph was not forgot
and by 1880 it was in full working
pr V e a distance of about ten
psand miles and giving employment
bout fifteen thousand persons
Gordon Cumming, IN CasseW's
kny Magazine.