The great West. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1889-18??, 1893-10-06
FUNNY DEAD LETTERS.
A QUEER COLLECTION OF UN-
CLAIMED ARTICLES.
a Piece Of Frosted wedding Cake That
Missed Its Destination-St Things
Included In Uncle Sans Museum
Quaint Addresses.

quaint Addresses
One of the most interesting places
in the capital city is the museum in
the dead-letter Office. It is full of
queer things shat have travelled
through the mail and at last found a
permanent resting place. Whenever
it is possible articles that reach the
dead-letter office owing to failure of
delivery are returned to the sender.
but it often happens that not even
the sender can be found.
Then the unclaimed article. if it
be curious or interesting, is placed
on exhibition in the cabinets that
line the walls of the museum. There
are pictures and toys and jewelry
in profusion.
Several Indian hatchets give to a
section OF the cabinet an arch@olog-
zeal appearance, and a pair of Indian
pipes OF red sandstone cross each
other in peaceful style. A rare curl
osity is a piece of parchment on
which is penned the Lords prayer in
fifty-four languages. It is said to be
q duplicate of parchment which
hangs in St. Peters at Rome.
1t came to this country in the mail
from Europe in 1912. and, as it was
never claimed and itss origin could
not be traced, it was sent to the
dead-letter office, where it has been
on exhibition ever since. One of the
prettiest things in the cabinet is a
lady's fan made of stork feathers, the
plumes being rarer and richer than
the finest ostrich plumes.
1t is most significant in appear
ance, and doubtless graced the cos
tune of some court beauty in the
old world. 1t came to this country
from Europe many years ago. but no
clew to it's owner Or its sender was
ever found.
On one Of the shelves is a box OF
wedding cake, which came to the
dead-letter Office ten years ago as
''unclaimed. It is getting a little
old and discolored, and would doubt
less be pretty dry eating. Consider
ing its present characteristics. it
might be excellent s'wedding cake to
| dream on.
Certainly It has all the elements
necessary to produce a fanciful
nightmare. Rosaries are quite com
mon in the cabinet, and crucifxes
are also plentiful.
Resting in a carnelian case in one
corner of the cabinet is a pretty
crucifix of solid gold. 1t was found
in one of the Southern postoffices at
the close of the war and was marked
"Unclaimed. It had been sent
probably by some pious mother to
her son, who persisted on the field of
battle or in the hospital
There was no name attached and
nothing to tell its story. Near it in
an envelope is lock of dark brown
hair. An inscription on the en-
velope, in nervous hand, reads:
''This contains my hair. Charles
Guiteau." It was put into the mails
by the murderer of President Gar
field, without any address, just as it
appears in the cabinet.
A few years ago there came to the
dead-letter office tin can upon which
no address could be found. The can
was opened and sixteen lively-look-
ing rattlesnakes made their escape.
There was stirring scene in the
dead-letter Office for few minutes.
Everybody got upon the chairs and
tables, aud the rattlers were left in
full possession of the floor. Finally
the snakes were dispatched, and fif-
teen of them were picked in alcohol.
One was missing, though nobody
knew it.
One sunny afternoon a few days
later a big, sleek-looking rattlesnake
crawled from among the papers in
the chief clerks desk, and unobseryed
made his way to where a young lady
visitor was sitting.
His snakeship slyly crawled to her
feet and gracefully twining himself
about her slender ankle frightened
his folds. The young lady noticed
the intrusion, and hastily looking
| down saw the willy serpent, was hor-
rified and properly tainted.
The rattlesnake offered no further
insult or injury, but fed in alarm.
He was killed and artistically in
cased in glass jar which now adorns
the cabineL.
From one of the cases grins hui
man skull 1t is brown with age,
having apparently lain under the clay
for long time before it's resurrec-
ton and its journey through the
mails. There was no address or post
mark when it came. All that it bore
was the inscription Jimmy McDuff, :"
carved on the frontal bone.
Jimmy McDuff is the name OF a
murderer who persisted on the scat
fold out West some years ago, but
the skull is not believed to be Jim
my's Somebody evidently sent it as
a joke to some friend acquainted
with the circumstances of Jimmy's
taking off.
One of the most curious exhibits is
collection of envelopes showing
the desperate but futile efforts made
by various persons to address them
properly. s.Pinte rookie. NJ d." is q
pretty fair stagger for Point of
Rocks, Md, but it takes an expert to
determine that ..St Trailer, Illonay, !"
| is meant for Centralia, Ill. There is
| not much poetry about ..Yummar
l = IL n