The Ketchum keystone. [volume] (Ketchum, Idaho) 1885-1899, 1894-07-28
EASY-GOING POSTMASTER.
He Let Mail Accumulate In His
Office for Twelve Years.
From the Day Of His appointment He Let
the Omce Run Itself and Pigeon
Holed the Commissions Of His
Intended Successors.

There is quaint and curious old
town on the Colorado river in Arizona,
situated about one hundred and forty
miles above the town of Yuma, that is
known to the few who are aware of its
existence by the name of Ehrenburg.
1t now consists only of few long
streets of crumblirg and uninhaLited
adobe houses and a population of about
twenty Mexicans and Indians with
perhaps half dozen whites. But, ac-
cording to the st. Louis Globe Demo
crat, it was not always thus. In for
mer days, before the advent of the two
transcontinental railways that now
cross the territory, Ehrenburg was
place of some Importance and boasted
a population, transient and permanent,
of near one thousand souls. In those
days, besides being the center of q
flourishing placer mining district, it
was the entry port for all the freight
and passenger traffic between Cali
fornia and northern Arizona, a line of
river steamboats, from Yuma making-a
weekly landing and the overland stage
between San Bernardino, CAL, and
Prescott, Arizona, crossing the river by
ferryboat at this point. In 1878, when
the Southern Pacific railway reached
the territory, the glory of Ehrenburg
commenced to decline, and later, when
the Atlantic and Pacific railway built
its bridge at the Needles, sixty miles
above, the old town was soon deserted
by all save a few miners who held
claims in the vicinity, and since then,
both the town and its inhabitants have
been enjoying Rip Van Wrinkle re-
pose. If we are permitted to Judge
from the results of an official investiga-
ton lately conducted at the Ehren-
burg post Office, this statement must be
especially true as regards the post
master of this forgotten town.
1t seems that one Jesus Daniels, a
Mexican, received the appointment of
postmaster to the town some twelve
years ago, and has ever since held the
position without the interference of
postal authorities and without COM
municating with them in any manner
whatever. The population of the dis
trict tributary to the post Office has in
creased during the last eighteen
months, owing to an awakening inter
est in some of the old mines in the vi
cinity, and the failure of letters to
reach their destination through that
Office led to complaints, until the mat
ter eliminated in Inspector George B.
Waterbury being sent from Washing
ton to investigate. He arrived there
some weeks ago, and his examine ton
brought to light curious state of af-
fairs. In the Office were found one
hundred and ffty-eight letters, some
OF them postmarked twelve years ago.
Among them were seven registered
letters, fifty-seven with requests for re-
turn of them; seven were addressed to
Ellisburg, Wash, and had never been
forwarded, and fifty-one were ad-
dressed to persons living in Ehrenbure.
These latter the inspector himself de-
ivered to the parties to whom they
were addressed. Laid to one side were
sixty official letters addressed to the
postmaster, not one Of which had been
opened, and two full sacks of newspa-
per mail lay in a corner, neither of
which had been opened. It was also
brought to light that since taking
charge OF the Office Daniels has never
made a report or purchased stamp
from Washington. Further search re-
vealed the fact that three wears ago
Thomas J. Goodwin, an old citizen Of
Ehrenburg, had been appointed post
master of the town, and his commits
sion had been duly forwarded to him.
The document was found unopened.
and of course had not been delivered.