St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1890-05-10

| AbstemlOus. Spo0k- Proof InAlvlauAb H1o'
tected BY Fierce Guards.
About the most curious institution In
China is the postal service. 1t includes
two quite distinct systems ono for the
government officials and the other for
every one else. The dispatches Of the
government are carried by mounted
postmen with tolerable swifrness. Their
carriage and delivery are under the
direct supervision Of the Ministry Of
Var in Pekin. The people at large ara
not allowed to send mail BY the o61cial
carriers They are obliged to transact
all their postal business through much
slower medium.
In every Chinese city there are sev.
eral post-ofiices which receive and de-
liver in their respective districts the
mail matter of the general public. Each
guarantees the safe delivery Of every
thing intrusted to its care, and in case
OF loss OF valuable papers or goods reim-
burses the sender without delay. The
contents of every package. however.
must be exactly declared At the time Of
trivial variations Of value.
The postman of this branch Of the
mail service walk or ride ON asses from
station to station. With some eighty
pounds of mail matter p0stman covers
about three miles An hour. The minute
he arrives at the end of the route he
transfers his burden to the shoulders oi
another pOstman. who. whatever the
time of day and whatever the weather,
hurries of to deliver it at tho next sta
ton.
To keep himself ready for all emer-
gencies the Chinese postman never fud-
dies his wits by overeating. He always
takes very light meals. Eats himself
only seven-tenths full" the Chinese
say. He is usually man Of fine phys
ETC.. than fortv-nine out Of every fifty
OF his fellow countrymen. In fact IN
applicant for admission to the service Is
generally subjected to . kind of civil.
service examination Of his courage in
withstanding the horrors Of supernatural
phenomena II he stands the test with
out quailing and proves that he has not
incurred the enmity Of any bad spirit
which might interfere with him In the
discharge of his duties, he has taken .
long step toward procuring his appoint
ment. This singular condition for ad-
mission to the service is universally
considered to be quite proper. for the
average Chinaman is SO afraid Of spirits
and the dark that the slightest noise by
the wayside at night would cause him to
drop whatever he was carrying and dart
of like shot to the nearest settlement.
An ordinary letter may be sent $50
miles or more for about eight cents.
Thirty per cent. Of the postage is col
lected in advance from the sender. This
amount covers the expense Of trans
pOrtatiOn, and Is . guarantee against
fraud on the part Of the sender. The
other seventy per cent Is collected from
the receiver, and represents the profit
Of the service.
The postmen often carry very valua-
drafts and silver bullion without hesita-
tion. To protect the most important
mails small guards Of soldiers arc often
used, or troops Of fighting civilians who
have especially trained themselves to
fight mail-robbers. Three. four or 1--WE
Of these civilians are always ready to
fight at least dozen highwaymen- Tho
manner in which they prepare them
selves for such uneven combats is an
elaboration Of pugilist's training in
punching the bag. From the roof Of the
empty shed in which the practice Is
taken hang on ropes ten heavy sand
bags. The man who Is learning to be
guard stands in the midst of these bags.
while his instructor ON the outside sets
them to swinging. The man among the
bags then strikes out right and left
with his fists for the purpose Of punch
ing the bags away from him. As soon
as he learns to keep all the bags in mo-
tion without letting them touch him he
is pronounced ready to 60 on tho road to
knock out mail-robbera-N.Y Y. Sun.