The Pascagoula democrat-star. (Pascagoula, Miss.) 1878-1920, 1886-09-24
q he AemorrM-S STIR



A Mountain POstmistress.
"
Exchange.
a gentleman who spent "A sum
mer travelling in the Rocky Noun
tains gives the following account o
n little gray-haired old lady b,
found living alone in a logo bin o
two rooms far up the slope of a mos
desolate mountain. The cabin wa,
a mile from any other rouse, an,
the nearest house was ten mile
distant. On shelves back of a it'll,
pine counter in a corner OF the roOu
were cans of tomatoes, peas ano
coru, a few bars OF soap, boxes o
matches and cans of CONDENSED
milk.
III keep a little grocery store, and
thread aud needles aud pins and
such things, bein's Pm pOstmIs.
~tress,' said the old lady, in the
cheeriest of voices.
"Postmistress % queried the trav-
eler.
"Oh, yes,' was the reply.
"WlIere are the letters and the
Office ~
"Here,' as she smilingly took Il
cigar box down from a shelf and,
opening it, showed the man a dozen
or more letters bearing evidence of
having been handled many times.
"The mail comes two times a
week, Wednesdays and Saturdays;
but most OF the boys come round
Saturdays"
''The boys n asked the stranger.
ayes; the prospectors and mi.
uers scattered 'ronnd over the hills.
Tllere'e a good many of 'em, but
they don't write much nor get many
letters. Still, the postofice is
comply for me. 1t brings all the
boys to see me once in a while. Are
you going mp by the Lone Star
mine"
"No, l think not" said the trav-
eler.
"No? Well, if you was, there's
a postal here tor Jack Downing. 1t
says on it that he is to come to
Denver right of, and I'd like to
send it to him soon as l can. |
always read the pOstalS. The boys
don't care, aud | get real lonesome
sometimes
just then a miner came along
and asked
SIS Bill Hefler's Weekly Repubi-
can come yet from Denver p
"Yes," was the reply "but you
tell Bill I'll send 1t up tomorrow
by the Stage.driver; | aiu't done
readin' it myself yet. Bill won't
care; he never reads it until Sun
day, nOhow. If you see Sllas
Sharpe, you tell bin that there's a
postal here from his wife, and the
baby's got the wh0opin' cough, but
it amt a whoopin' yet, an his wife
don't think it'll have it hard"
"Any letters for any of the boys
up our way g'
ono; but there's one here for
somebody nameI j. Il. Ryder.
Know any such manT
"No."
"Neither 90 l. It's in IA thin ell.
velope, aud | can see, by hOldiD' if
up to the light, that it's signed,
Your own Sarah so | guess he's
married, or about to be. If he don't
come round SOON, | dOno but III
open it aud get the address and
send it back to his own Sarah, and
tell her that he amt here"
When the man had gone, the old
lady said to the traveller
"Yes, the postoffice is a sight of
oOmp'ny, speshly when there's lots
D papers aud pOstals comm and
goiu'. Then sometimes | write and
read letters for some that can't
write. Now, here's "A letter for
John Brice just come in. He ought {
to have it right of" '
"But it has been opened" said 7
the traveller, t
sob, Ia, yes! Iopened it myself.
[ wrote the letter it's in answer to,
and I'll have to read this to john e.
anyhow. He can't read writ '
M. And l felt real anxious to
know if his letter got to his wife f;
t had a ten-dolllr bill in it. Here
zones Bob Haisht. Poor feller!
[ declair, if | Was alone I'd shut up $
he postofice aud hide some place /;
or it just makes my heart ache to
ell that poor creetur that there
unit no letter yit tor FIN. He's g
been a-cOmIu' for weeks, lookup tor e
4 letter from home, and none comes. I
I'm mighty afraid there's trouble i.
there. Well, well, I'll just have to Y
tell him there amt no letter, and v
hen chirk him up best | can. Poor