The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-08-08

whose numbers travel thousands Of
miles every day, and whose work is Of
ten Of great Importance to their ell
ders. 1t is a well drilled army, too,
fer the boys are first of all taught to
be lively, neat in their attire and re-
spectful. The popular idea that the
messenger boy is laggard is a mis-
taken one, for when there is a call for
quick work it takes something with
more than two legs to beat these
hustling youngsters. The messengers
tasks are not all drudgery either for
although most of his work is in run
ming errandS, carrying messages, par
GELS, etc, he is frequently called upon
TO do things that are interesting or
amusing, and sometimes he has as
signments that would puzzle a head
older than most of those under the
blue caps so numerous in our city
streets.
You'd never guess some of the jobs
We get, said the bright boy sergeant
in the largest messenger office in the
country. Il remember that when 1
first began work in our uptown office
a woman came in one day and had
the superintendent line up a dozen of
US. Then she looked US all over and,
picking me out. said: Come up to
my house this afternoon, please"
When l went she took me into one of
her rooms where there was a chubby
little baby kicking up his heels on the
floor Here, babv,' she said; there's
the boy that's going to play with you
this afternoon, and you must be very
good and play nicely with him. You
know how well a 15-year-old boy likes
TO take care Of a baby, perhaps. I
didn't know which end of him to take
hold of at first, and I tell you 1 was
mad TO think that she had got me up
there to tend baby. But the little fell
low was so jolly thai l soon grew to
like him, and after that I used to go
up one afternoon every week when the
nursegirl was out, to take care of the
baby. I had to wheel him in the park
sometimes, and when the other boys
found out what l was doing they called
me the nurse l didn't like that either
at first, but / soon grew SO fond of my
little charge that 1 didn't mind it and
that used to be the pleasantest day in
my week for the lady always gave me
a good lunch before she sent me back
to the office.
THAT isn't half so bad as something
/ had when I was new on the force"
broke in rosy checked boy, who sat on
the bench waiting for d call. There
was a young lady up on the avenue
who had a fine young bulldog. The
dog had been given to her by somebody
and she thought more OF il than some
folks do Of their children. Every morn
ing had to take the dog out for a walk
of a couple of hours. He was the worst
dog / ever saw. He wanted to run !
after every cat and every bird we saw |
in the street or the park. and when We
met another dog it was all l could do |
to prevent a fight. One day we were |
walking through the park when an |
other bulldog came up TO Riddly Chat /
was the name of my dog) and shifted |
al him. Somehow or other Riddly |
slipped the chain by which 1 was lead
ing him, and in half a minute the live
lest kind of dog fight was going on
right there. I tried to separate them.
but man who was standing by told /
me to keep back ard let them have
it out. It was a great fight,
but when it was over. my dog had
limp in one leg, his right eye was
closed, and he didn't look half so pretty
as he had in the morning NV, but
wasn't that young woman mad? She
made a complaint at the Office and |
nearly lost my place as the result.
There was one good thing about il.
though, I've never had to lead dogs
since then
"One Of the funniest things L ever
'-A@ E&s last summer" resumed the
sergeant. "A man rushed in here and
said that his horse had run away and
ne wanted a boy to go after him. I
followed his horse all through the park
and finally found it just as a police
man had captured it. Another time a :
young woman came in here in an aw- ;