The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1906-12-19

gave W tue uutleS vi his agency. tnt
other half was devoted to the guine;
pigs. Long before Professor Cor
don received the presidents lette
Morgan received one from Flannery
About them dago pigs" II said
what shall | do: they are great In
family life. no race suicide for them
there are thirty-two now shall I sci
them do you take this express Office
for a menagerie, answer quick"
Morgan reached for telegraph
blank and wrote:
agent. Westcote Don't sell pigs. ;
He then wrote Flannery letter
calling attention to the fact that the
pigs were not the property of the
company. but were merely being held
during a settlement of a dispute re.
garding rates. He advised Flannery
to take the best possible care of them
Flannery. letter in hand, looked al
the pigs and sighed The dry goods
box cage had become too small. He
boarded up twenty feet of the rear
of the express office to make large
and airy home for them. and went
about his business. He worked with
feverish intensity when out on his
rounds, for the pigs required atten-
/ ton and took most of his time Some
months later. in desperation, he
seized a sheet OF paper and wrote
$50" across it and mailed it to Nor
gan. Morgan returned 1t asking for
explanation. Flannery replied:
"There be now one hundred sixty
of them dago pigs, for heavens sake
let me sell off some, do you want
me to go crazy. what
'Sell no pigs Morgan wired.
Not long after this the president
of the express company re ,eived a
| letter from Professor Gordon. 1t
was long and scholarly letter. but
the point was that the guinea pig was
the Cavia aparoea. while the common
pig was the genius Sus of the family
Suidae. He remarked that they were
prolific and multiplied rapidly.
"They are not pigs" said the
president. decidedly, to Morgan
"The twenty-five cent rate applies. :"
Morgan made the proper notation
on the papers that had accumulated
in File A6.754. and turned them over
to the audit department The audit
department took some time to look
delay wrote Flannery that as he had
on hand 100 guinea pigs, the prop
erty of consignee, he should deliver
them and collect charges at the rate
of % cents each.
Flannery spent day herding his
charges through a narrow opening
in their cage soethat he might count
them
"Audit dept he wrote, when he
had finished the count, "you are way
off there may be was one hundred
and sixty dago pigs once. but wake up
don't be back number. I've got
eight hundred, now shall I collect
for eight hundred or what, how
about sixty-four dollars paid out
for cahbages"
1t required a great many letters
back and forth before the audit de-
partment was able to understand
why the error had been made of
billing one hundred and sixty in
stead of eight hundred. and still
more time for it to get the meaning
Of the "cabbages."
Flannery was crowded into a few
feet at the extreme front of the Of
room and two boys were employed
constantly attending to them. The
day after Flannery had counted the
pigs there were eight more added to
his drove, and by the time the audit
department gave him authority to
collect for eight hundred Flannery
had given up all attempt to attend
to the receipt or delivery of goods.
He was hastily building galleries
around the express office, tier above
tier. He had 4,064 guinea pigs to
care for. More arriving daily.
Immediately following its author
| ization the audit department sent
another letter. but Flannery was too
busy to open it. They wrote another
and then they telegraphed:
Error in guinea pig bill. Collect
for two guinea pigs. fifty cents. De-
liver all to consignee."
! Flannery read the telegram and
cheered up. He wrote out bill as
rapidly as his pencil could travel
over paper and ran all the way to
the Morehouse home. At the gate
he stopped suddenly. The house
stared at him with vacant eyes. The
windows were bare of curtains and
he could see into the empty rooms
A sign on the porch read, ITO Let. y
Mr.. Morehouse had moved. Elan
merry ran all the way back to the ex-
press office. Sixty-nine guinea pigs
had been born during his absence
He ran out again and made feverish
inquiries in the village. Mr.. More.
house had not only moved, but he
had left Westcote. Flannery re-
turned to the express office and
found that two hundred and six
guinea pigs had entered the world
since he left it. He wrote a tele
gram to the audit department.
Cant collect fifty cents for two
dago pigs consigne has left town ad
dress unknown. What shall I do:
Flannery."
The telegram was handed to one
of the clerks in the audit department
and as he read it he laughed.
"Flannery must be crazy. HI
ought to know that the thing to do /:
to return the consignment here,
said the clerk He telegraphet
Flannery to send the pigs to thu
main office of the company a