The St. Johns herald., 1890-12-18
BRAVE 1LATTIE HESTER.
An Interesting Enplcye Of tho
 Post-Once Department.
A Little Georgian Woman Who Ees a1 EnyiabIe Record-Three Times I' V5-eeI. She Carrios the Mails from One
 County to Another.


 She Carries the Mails from One
 County to Another.
 One of the most interesting figures in everyday life in this section Of the . State, says Q New York World corro- sDondent at Tweed, Ca. spretty Hattie Hester, who carries Uncle Sam's malls from the village to the point a5 which she lives on farm, twenty miles away. The fair majl-carrier drives little road cart, in which she has bravely gone over her route every day. rain or shine, since she succeeded in obtaining the posi- ton If the mails are late one may be sure the delay did not occur in her ter ritory, for no stress of weather can deter this undauntcd little public official The whole country side knows and re- ] spects her. but if any protection is need cd on her lonely journeys her own cour- age and determination of character will supply it.
 This year Hattie succeeded over all competitors in securing the mail route from Condor in Laurens County to To- thair in Montgomery County, and three times a week she covers a distance of about forty miles through wild and sparsely settled section, and her cheery voice is often heard along the road in her efforts to drive dull care away. At her side in a small pocket, fully exposed to view. Is Q handsomely polished No. B Smith 6 WessOn Of tho most approved model, and as she is Q crack shot woe be to the highwayman or tramp who tries to bar the way to that part of the United States mails under tho immediate care of Mattie Hester. She has perfect con- fdence in her own ability to defend herself, and looks with contempt upon those tinid members of her own sex who fear to go anywhere without an escort. Independence of spirit is 50 striking @ characteristic of this unique young person that the narration of some of her remarkable undertakings would convey an impression Of mascul- inity. Tn her own homo or under ordinary circumstances Miss Hester is the embodiment of womanliness. Shelves with her widowed mother, two sisters and Q young brother, but is the real head and director of the family. Her beauty is of the true Southern type wavy black hair, deep blue eyes, beautiful figure and complexion and the whitest set of teeth imaginable Her iGunty air and pretty face never fail to attract the attention of strangers as she rattles swiftly by in her cart, looking neither to the right nor to the left, but attending strictly to business.
 Attention to business, indeed, is the chief distinguishing feature of character whose strength has made Miss Hester remarkable in many ways still in her twentieth year and full of life and energy, she i5 determined to mako her way to fortune She has d. ready shown business qualifications that would do credit to any man. Last year she suparin tended all the work on the farm. Sho helped to plant and harvest the crop and took it to market where her tact enabled her to secure the highest prices.
 Thinking that shC saw 9 chance to make some money last winter, she went into the woods and got Q quantity of timber, which she rafted and placed in the hands of her brothCr, to he disposed of in the Darien lumber market. This venture neltcd the contemplating little ''cracller' 9 handsome profit Later on, with her own hands, sho cut down and split enough fence rails to inclOse one l section of the farm. So 1t seems hard ] work has no terrors for Miss Mattie, nor is she at all squcamish about the kind ! of work she undertakes, provided only 1. that it offers promise of bottering her condition. With all her various duties | sho still finds somo leisure and she em- ploys it in toaohing writing.
 Mics Hattie in her relations with the l opposite sex preserves the same marked i Individuality which characterizes her in other things. She doesn't care rush about men: in fact, sho has no time to think about other nails than those it is . her duty to distribute.
 The little mail-carrier i3 very poorly 1 paid, and the forty-mile journeys are i rapidly taking the flesh off the sturdy 1 broncho that draws her cart.
 II don't think I shall carry the mails three times Q week much longer,' said she to the World correspondent. 1t is telling on my horse Besides, the small pay receive does not warrant it. If can get my petition signed, will per- haps get of with twice a week, which I think will suit the public quite as well"