The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1898-04-10
IASKA MAIL SERVICE

cre3sed FROM Loo 10 fanaa ia 4 year. and
SF- CtuDl Gnds many conditions here 10
remind hIrn OF his Tombstone experience.
II IS not an improbable thing 81 all. In
NJ. Gums opinion. that skagway may
soon be eligible 20 free delivery. A foGn
q N.sa pnpuiafs5n. OF a pu4sosfice with
an income OF Ge.a8 is Quassaed 20 apply
for free delivery Il Is the disposition OF
the department 10 extend free delivery ar
soon as possible.
Speaking OF the recent congestion Of
mail matter here and the swampinx of the
offices win work, Inspector cium said:
The handling OF large amounts Of mail
for transient communities In always Diff
cult. Where there II lack Of Office space
and fixtures II 10 difficult TO give che scry-
lce. IL requires as much space and as
many clerks TO serve \ transient CT new
community OF ln.61 or ls.9D az !. does =
settled community Of 5000 or s.0@ In a
new city the great majority OF the mail
goes into the general delivery ana is ham
died and rehandied many times. Tom
Smiths letters are handled every time
that Jim Smith calls for hig mail, and
vice versa. SO that before they get through
sith II every letter may be handled a
dozen times. There Is nothing like this tn
the old community. You. city here burst
at once from a lsnding TO metropolis
Reindeer To HauI the Mail.
Since he srriyed on Lynn canal Mr..
clum has taken a trip down to Haines.
and whiie there he took a reindeer ride
behind one Of the government reindeer.
frem which Uncle Sam expects 30 much
In the Way Of helping to develop Alaska
II is the intention to make the reindeer
haul the mai from place TO place in the
ley Businesses Of the Arctic winters In
Alaska II WAS the inspectors pleasure
10 make the pioneer experiment in this dis
frset with the deer. He had several deer
hiiehei up at Haines and rode over TO
chilkat Of tour OF Inspection. The trip
was entirely satisfactory. although the
deer Were tired from their long Journey
from fAsrland and did not dash along IA
iaat risky way that Santa Claus REIN
deer do In the picture books.
Regarding his coming trip into the heart
Of Alaska and what he intended TO accom-
plish there, Mr.. Cum said.
AS soon Az the lakes break up Mr..
Wayiand and myself will start down the
Yukon. After We get into American ter
ritorg we shall establish a postofilce
wherever there is a community of sufsi-
Client size. II will probably be July l be-
fore we reach ST. Michael. Then we may
come back up the YuxoE ard the Tanana
aud over to the South Alaskan coast.
Then we shall proceed TO Tnaiaska on the
steamer which Capt. Humphries Of the
Pacific Steam Whaling Company. will
have there 10 meet us. We Will make a
cruise of the eatlre South Alaskan coast.
it's bays and ssists whegeYer there are any
people This will wind mp at Si,ka IL
there - anything Isfs OF as besides rags
We viii come back then to Skagway.
our government has this week opened
bids for the carrying OF mail twice a week
between Orca. on Prince William sound
and Weare. at the mouth OF the Tanana.
between Circle City and ST. Michael and
between Circle City and Dawson. The
Canadians promise TO carry the mail from
Dyea 10 Dawson bf-montbiy. SO that the
interior, with all these routes In operation
will be well supplied with mail facilities
We expect that the reindeer viii help us
10 get over the snow and Ice in the win
ter"
Inspector elum says that large stock
of all kinds Of blanks will be kept at Sc
attic In the failure TO supply the calls from
Alaska. ard save time for the postmassers
and PATRONS in this remote region