The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-07-08

of charges) at their headquarter offices, they
send collectors from house to house and keep
runners, who, like our newsboys, haunt the
street corners and make a rush for every
customer lifting his hands or his eyelids.
II the agent of the locals should call at
new home and find that his rival of the gem
erals has got ahead Of him he will at once
try TO bride the domestics and thus recover
the inside track for the next race. Should
a private errand boy leave q house with
letter or a package a runner will promptly
attempt to take him In tow, and il neoes-
sary purchase his connivance with an offer
of sweetmeats.
The collectors OF both companies are gen
orally expert penmen. Letters, slr!" 1n-
quIres the L. man, sticking his head
through the window of a ground floor
parlor.
Yes" drawIs out the possible custo-
mer, chewing his writing stick: "but Pm
not done yet. Can you wait or call again in
an hourW
'Do let me write it for you" suggested
the representative of the LIS; lit will only
take minute aud save a gentleman like
you the trouble of blackng his fingers. No
ex ra charge, sir it's pastime, but those
g., fellows are too blanked lazy to accom-
modate customer. Let me come in, sir, ="
etc, till he gets the job and few extra cop
pers for ''tea money in spite Of his pro-
test.
But the G. man Is apt to get even il let
ter should he returned to the sender as un-
deliverable. THAT shows what they know
about their business. Why, All Chow
moved to Marking a month ago and lives
in house three doors below the White
street corner OF the cabbage market. Let
me have that letter and Pll get you an an
swer in week. Those L. fellows don't
know anything outside of their own hash
mill route. No prepayment needed; you
can settle after you find out that the letter
has been delivered to the right address"
Long trip messengers Of the general ex-
press travel pairw and are miraculous
adopts in the art of reconciling minimum
of expense with a maximum Of speed. they
will take hand in the navigation of river
boats load themselves with extra consign-
ments OF all but the most unreasonable over
weights; they will volunteer to deliver mes
sages or executive commissions land thus
secure many a free ride, besides the honest
good will of the wayside population; they
will entertain a company of travellers with
! songs and anecdotes, retail the gossip of
their headquarters city and get a welcome
from every village boy who can repay their
pocket tid-bits with typographical informa-
tion. Scg offs .-
The charge for long range letters is pretty
high, but the carriers can be relied upon to
| earn their wages They will make their way
across all obstacles short of q military
sage should be unable to write his name
they will get some responsible official of the
neighborhood to sign the receipt by proxy.
AS a rule the inhabitants of highway side
| towns deem it matter OF honor to aid a
mail carrier In possible emergencies ferry
| him across the swollen rivers, or in case of
| sickness, carry him on mpleoack to the next
| town aGead, and the North China Herald
| published the story OF letter that had been
| sent to the far western provinces of Yunan,
| where the messenger died in consequence of
| extreme fatigues in crossing the snow-o1v-
| cred highlands. He had contrived TO find
| the addressee, but found himself obliged to
intrust travelling peddler with the receipt
that was forwarded from hand to hand till
! it reached its destination in far-oH Tian
| Sing ION the Bay Of PechilD after the lapse
| of seven months.
When Sir Hudson Lowe refused the ex-
| emperor the privilege of sending unopened
| letters to Europe the Count of Las Casas
| undertook to circumvent the obnoxious
regulation by writing a message on piece
of note paper and FASTING the paper into
| the double Ii ing Of sachel belonging to a
boy who was going to be sent back to Eng
| land, but the lynx-eyed jailer discovered
| the trick and took his revenge in a code of
| still more stringent bylaws. A Chinese
mail carrier could have given the ingenious
| count points on the art of hiding contra
| band letters. In time of civil war thou
sands of mail bags are struggled through
| the blockade lines in the double walls of
! river bratS or in parcels OF innocent-look-
! ing merchandise.
Letters Of special Importance are sent
with more extraordinary precautions. Ia
stead of being written on paper (apt to be-
| tray itself by rustling under the finger of a
! searching hand they are traced on white
linen with indelible ink, rubbed over with a
paste that can be washed out in warm
| water, and then sewed into the inner folds
of an old blouse-a boatman's blouse, If pos
| sible, for the messenger travels in disguise
and takes care to dirty his garments enough
| to modify the cupidity of robber.
To some parts OF the vast empire letters
| are forwarded only at the risk Of the sender.
On The border of Thibet the highlands be-
| come painless in winter, and 600 miles due
west of Canton there is an enclave, or state
in the state, defended by independent hill
| tribes the rebels of Seng Miow), who for
| centuries have def1ed the tax collectors of
| the government and rarely permit
stranger to cross their border alive. But g
still more impracticable territory is that of
the southern frontier, whore the raiHy
| season turns every lagoon into sake and
| fevers are rife in midsummer.
That district on the Gulf Of TonQuin IN
| cludes valleys of exuberant fertility, out
| travellers must take what luck there is, and
| in the jungles of the Song-Ka river
| French exploring expedition a few years
| ago came across the remains of a mail
carrier who seemed to have fallen victim
to wild beasts or the jungle fever, but who,
before dying, had taken the precaution to
| hang his mail bag across the limb of the
| found his skeleton.