Press and daily Dakotaian. (Yankton, Dakota Territory [S.D.]) 1880-1889, 1889-02-04
AT THE STAMP WINDOW.
QUEER STUDIES IN HUMAN NATURE
AT THE PosToFFlcE.

Those " h Know What They Want and
Those Who Don't-Tnquiries Which Be
long Properly to the ~Depot-lsother Over
the Special Delivery stamp.
There is a broad and fertile field in
the postofiice for those who are given to
making character studies. A man has
only to stand near one of the stamp
windows for ii few minutes to see more
odd specimens of man perhaps than are
to be found in any other one place in the
city, and that means in the country. One
has only to watch the h%urrying, nervous
pushing line of people rushing in one
door and out another to realize what a
peculiar world this is. There is the
dapper young lawyers clerk. He knows
what he wants and how to get it with the
least trouble. He falls into line, impa-
tiently tapping his foot until his turn
comes. Then he puts down adollar, says
shortly Fifty twos,' snatches up his
stamps and darts through the crowd.
Behind him, perhaps, is an old, bent,
gray haired man, dressed in a jumper
and a pair of overalls. He asks for one
stamp, and when this is laid down before
III cl III tillIh pane VI RtdSS, lie SOtS
down into his pocket and pulls forth a
greasy, dilapidated looking leather wal
let. He hunts around in this for a couple
of pennies, and finally, when he has
found them, takes his stamp and goes off
to the side carefully to paste it on the
letter.
FOOD o H WOMAN Halter.
b office boy m in like a flash,
buys a great roll of the little green, hid
o. things, tears it rapidly into strips,
and, skillfully running his tongue along
the under side of them, slaps them on to
a pile of letters, tearing each one from
the strip with a quick, ripping sound.
Some girl hovers on the outskirts of
the crowd for a while, and then, watch
ing for q clear field, goes up to'the win
dow. "When does the next train leave
for ~Farmingtony she asks.
"Donst know; this is astamp window"
She bushes and begins to stammer.
Couldn't you find out for me?:n
.'Time table over on the wall" gruffly;
and she goes over to look at the sched-
ule, which no living man could figure
out. Meanwhile the short man, i'll a silk
hat. with large glasses across his nose,
has been snorting and fussing about
women" Hemakes his purchase, fol
lows her over to the wall, and, casting a
whitening look at her, grunts out,
"Hum!' He slams the door in a dis
gusted manner behind him, still mutter-
ing about women"
In ten minutes the girl m back to
the window and says timidly: II can't
find Pennington"
We'll, that amt my fault, is it, says
the man sharply, peering over the glass
at her. She fees in dismay.
And SO they come and go, men, ONE
and children, not more than half of then
knowing how to buy stamps, and one
slow N delaying a dozen more business
like and energetic people. The reporter
asked the stamp clerk to tell him some
OF the more amusing experiences he went
through IN the course OF a week.
AN ODD LITTLE MAN.
"a week. he said grimly; II couldn't
tell you all that happened in a day. Did
you notice that little shutting man,
whose head scarcely comes up to the
window? He never comes here less than
six times a day and he never buys more
than n stamp at a time. I asked him
once why he did not get twenty or thirty
in a lot. Oh he said, with a shrewd
air, people like to borrow them too
much He is the queerest one of all the
queer ones who come here. His office
is several blocks away from the post.
office, and yet he will hobble down here
again and again in a day rather than
take more than one stamp. have tried
to get him to buy more, but he won't
think of such a thing. He always come
to my window. l have seen him go tc
the end of Il line of ten or twenty before
my window when there were not five al
the next one. If | happen to be away al
dinner or off duty when he wants ;
stamp, he goes out and comes in agail
every minute or two until / return. II,
is a queer one, he is.
"Then," he went on "there is TIL,
special delivery stamp. That makes
good deal of trouble. Only one man il
ten can remember the name of it.
have had it called the hurry up stamp
the get there stamp, the quick rush,
special, extra stamp, and a dozen othe
names, but seldom the right one, Will
about twenty times a day some funn,
man ONE in and asks with a big girl
for a p. d. O. stamp. l have got s
tired of that stale old joke that l Away
pretend not to know what he means.
can stand anything but that. Oh, yes
this is a good place to see strange people
but it isn't worth your while to listen t
me. just stand here and watch Their
for yourself New York Tribune.
L H ~. . -, ~, .~.