Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1894-04-12
The MaiI-Carr1er of Knob Lick.

The Mail-Carrler Of Knob Lick.
Here is a queer story from the usu
ally arid literature of the Senate com
mittee rooms. 1t tells how Moses
Pendergrass of Knob Lick, Mo-, has
been tied up for seven years along
with the Government of the United
States in tangle of official red tape
and it is worth reading, even for those
who never have been in Knob Lick,
and never have heard of Moses.
Mr.. Pendergrass is respectable citi-
zen, who can neither read nor write.
When we call him respectable we
mean what we say, for his moral quail
tiles have come out strong in the
trouble in which he finds himself,
through no fault OF his own. Back in
Mr.. Cleveland's first term, when Villas
was Postmaster General, the Depart
ment advertised for proposals for car
rying the mails three times week
over star route 20, $50, that is to say,
from Knob Lick by way of Libertyville
and Avon to Coffman and back, 80
miles each round trip; and six times a
week to Libertyville and back, IL
miles the round trip. For this service
there were opened at Washington 25
bids, ranging from 5000 a year, the
highest, down to 81 year, the lowest.
The 81 bid was Moses Pendergrass'
anG he therefore got the contract.
On July 1, 1887, Moses began to car
ry the mails, having duly qualified
and put in his bond, with his neigh
bors, Presnell and Blanks as suerties
thereon. Being unable to read or
write, Moses was compelled to depend
upon Postmaster Rudy of Knob Lick,
who was also Justice of the Peace,
for assistance in the formalities and
technicalities of the business. The
Postmaster prepared the papers, and
Moses signed by making his mark.
Before he began the service the de-
partment ordered the increase of trips
all the way to Coffman from three
to six times week. with additional
pay, pro rata, to the contractor. So
when the first quarter ended, on Sep
tember 80, Moses had made 78 round
trips of 80 miles each, riding all to-
gether 2,43O miles over Iron Noun
tain country roads in all sorts of
weather, ana delivering the mails at
Libertyville, Avon and Coffman with
fidelity, punctuality and great cheer
fullness of manner. If he had trav-
eled the same distance in contin-
uous journey south, he would have
gone about as far as Bluefelds on the
Mosquito Coast in Nicaragua; if north,
he would have reached the magnetic
pole, and gone two or three hundred
miles beyond it.
Moses Pendergrass was astounded
when for this arduous service to the
he received at the end of
the first quarter 81 43, all of the in
creased compensation included.
Then, after good deal of official
between Washingto
and Knob Lick 1t was discovered that
Moses Pendergrass had in
tended to bid $4O0 for the contract,
AMI had so told Postmaster Rudy, who
drew the papers for him, and although
Rudy and his bondsmen had under
stood that the bid was $400, by incom
prehensible carelessness, or in some
strange fit of heterography, Mr.. Rudy
had written s'four" instead of ''four
both in the proposal blank
and afterwards in the blank contract
aud blank bond. There is no suspic-
ION of bad faith on Rudy's part; he is
merely responsible for an act of negli-
gence which has made seven years of
trouble for Moses. When the remit
tance of 81 43 was received, the Knob
Lick Postmaster promptly sent the de-
partment the following communica-
tion:
E Third Assistant Postmaster General:
Moses Pendergrass' bid on route $40
was $400 per year. There is certain
ly some great mistake somewhere.
Anyon.. knows that the mail could not
be carried Is miles and back six times
a week for 81 per year. l made the
the papers for Mr.. Prendergrass, and
S4O0 was his bid.
A. A. RUDY,
Postmaster, Knob Lick.
The Third Assistant Postmaster
General respectfully referred the mat l!