River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1904-08-25
In Defense of
the Mail ~ ~
By
WALTER N. EGGIN TON


y mail carrier, reaching forward
ana lightly fiecking fly from the horse
with his whip. Eyes, have had them
-even on this quiet, country route. |
recall one affair that happened on this
road, and not far from where we are
now"
The rural mail carrier is friend OF
mine, and sat beside him on the single
seat of the wagon enjoying the glori-
Gus country drive which it is his bust
ness to take daily. The scene was peace
full and quiet in the extreme. In the air
there was only the hum of insects, the
purIing of hidden streamlets, the soft
sound of waving foliage.
The road at this point curved around
q hill, skirting the base Of it, and there
was not farmhouse in sight. On one
side was the hill, rising abruptly sky
ward, we'll covered with thick growth
of young trees and bushes, a wild, I'M
cultivated stretch Of country; on the
other side the ground fell away to a
babbling creek beyond which the land
was fenced off, showing here field of
waving corn, there patch Of potatoes,
and farther on bit of pasture land with
worn paths showing where the cows
were accustomed to make their way to
the water. The whole picture looked
restful and prosperous, typical bit
of cup York state" farm country.
Farther on, on the other side of the
hill and down in the valley nestled the
little town of Corning, which we had
left some hours before in starting on the
Journey to Horribly Forks, a distance of
some Is miles.
The wagon was light and contained
besides ourselves only the huge leather
bag filled with letters, papers and mail
matter. This lay at the carriers feet,
between his knees, and from it he tossed
letters and papers into the little boxes
which the farmers had erected near the
roadway to receive their mail, or, more
frequently, handed it out to the men
themselves who were stationed ex-
pectantly beside the boxes.
'When | began to work on this route, !"
the carrier said, (which I did for the
sake of my health which had been i'm
paired, If not broken, by the too close
confinement of a shop, carried gun,
q revolver / mean, as most of us do,
Just to be on the safe side. There were
registered letters containing money in
that bag quite often. and parts of the
road are rather lonely Besides, | am
not a big man and never was powerful
one. So | carried revolver in my hip
pocket, and felt secure. But as time
went on and the quiet and peacefulness
of this part of the country impressed
me more and more, / began to grow
careless. Sometimes I had the gun
with me, and sometimes not. It was OF
one of these latter occasions that the
exciting incident | have in mind oc-
Cured.
att was beautiful autumn day, and
had reached the top of Horribly hill and
was about to take the road that leads
down into the Forks, when old Farmer
Grigger came hurrying down the path
from his house and hailed me, waving
an envelope. pulled up and waited for
him.
"He had letter, he told me, in which
he wanted to inclose some money. AS
was my custom, in such cases, l told him
he could give the amount to me to-
gether with the price of money order
and the unsealed letter and | would
give him a receipt for the amount, and
on reaching the post office would see
that the money order was inclosed and
the letter sent on its way.
"'All right, sir said he, in his hearty
way Here's the money!! Pulling out
a roll of greenbacks he counted off:
Twenty, 80, 40, so, 80, 100, and another
dollar to pay for the money order and
stamps, and bring me back the change
when you come this way tomorrow
''I was surprised at the amount-the
largest I had ever had to take on that
route, but accepted promptly, together
with the letter, and placing both care
fully in my breast pocket. / drove on
down the road. Before had gone ten
yards | passed a tramp sitting by the
roadside, hidden from the farmhouse
by some foliage, and as his glance met
mine something in his eyes made me
recall that the farmers voice had been
loud as he had counted out the money.
The fellow was biz and evil-looking, as
we'll as powerful, and my heart sank
little. l remembered, with regret, that
I was unarmed, helpless.
'T passed him, trying desperately hard
to look unconcerned, and he made no
movement nor did he accost me.
touched the horse with the whip and
drove at an unusual pace into Horribly
Forks, much relieved in mind, with the
thought that had left him far behind
'As I left the Forks, however, after
delivering large bundle of mail there,
and started on the homeward road, new
doubts and apprehensions assaulted me.
THE road I was on, now remem-