Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1891-09-03

was toiling up a long hill at dusk some
years ago when the driver saw something
white futtering just ahead, and his
leaders stopped with their breasts against
rope stretched across the road. A
handkerchief was futtering from the
centre of the rope. The driver put on
the brake, and then somebody standing
by tree at the side of the road told him
to throw down the box. He glanced to-
ward the person who spoke and saw
masked man pointing something at him.
lie threw down the box, the masked man
cut the rope and told him to drive on,
and the stage went on its way. The
next day the officers found the broken
express box, the rope, and an old fence
picket in the road, but they never found
the masked man.
The express box is the main attraction
for the road agent, and sometimes it is
affliction to his soul. In the natural or
der of things it ought to contain wealth,
but the heartless express companies
sometimes load it with bricks and cause
great loss Of time and anguish of spirit
to an industrious and painstaking robber.
When robbers were the rule and safe
trips the exception in California, the ex-
press companies invented the dummy
box and worked it off frequently on the
enterprisiug agent, but the joke didn't
last long. The agent acquired the habit
of bursting the box in the presence of
the driver and then profanely requesting
him to hand out the other box, and no fool
ishness. As the driver wasn't hired to
be shot they discouraged the use of the
dummy, and it was abandoned by all
well-regulatcd lines, although it was
worked occasionally on some amateur
robber. When Budd Philpot was driv-
ing the Lakeport stage robber held
him up, and Budd cheerfully tossed out
an empty box belonging to the Great
Western mine, and drove along with the
Wells-Fargo's box safely slowed under
his feet.
The scheme of building an iron box
into the body of the coach worked for q
time, but the road agents beat that game
by sending the driver and passengers
along the road afoot and breaking into
the box at their leisure with cold chisels.
As they usually concluded the evenings
entertainment by setting fire to the
coach and burning up 81 900 worth of
the company's property, besides running
away with the horses, the stagemen con-
cluded that the iron box scheme didn't
pay.
Going through the mail sacks used to
be tedious Job for road agent and it
didn't often pay for the time wasted.
Besides, it doubled the number of pur-
suers by setting all the United States
marshals on the hunt for the robber, and
when caught it landed him in the United
States court and insured heavy SEN
tence. Nevertheless, great deal of
money is sent by mail, and for the con-
venience of road agents and other thieves
who may desire to take the chance of
being caught, Uncle Sam invented the
registered letter and its especial pouch.
No other reason for the invention of the
registered letter system can be imagined.
A registered letter is not issued, and
Uncle Sam will not pay for it if it is
lost or stolen. The registered mail is put
into little pouch, which is put inside of
the ordinary mail sack. When the road
agent gets hold of mail sack he rips it
open, either by running his knife around
the sack near the bottom or by making
two slashes, criss cross in one side of the
sack. Thanks to Uncle Sans kind con-
sideration and foresight, he isn't Obliged
to ransack thousand letters, but finds
all the valuable mail sorted out and neat
ly done up in an easily-portable pouch,
which he takes along to open at his leis-
ure in the brush.
OF all the devices and inventions for
the protection of treasure and the circum-
vention of the road agent, the only one
that has stood the test of time and expert
ence is big, ugly tempered man with
sawed-off shotgun on the box. Ofcourse,
when the other fellow has the drop shot
gun is of mere use than piece of lead
pipe; but the lone road agent can't watch
u lot of passengers and driver, and at
the same time keep the drop on a man who
has been hired to shoot him full of holes,
and only wants half a chance to do it. If