davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star., 1916-08-06

carriers but those which are heavy or
bulky are delivered in especially de-
signed motor trucks. The same deliv-
cry wagons make the collections of
such parcels from the various substa-
tions throughout the city where they
are taken by the senders.
There are two classes of letters which
raise mischief with the regular run
ming of the letter system-insufficientl
stamped and improperly directed let
ters No postage at all happens be-
cause some one forgot to put on a
When such a letter comes in it is re-
turned to the sender, if the envelope
bears his address, with a memorandum
that it needs SO many cents worth of
postage. If the sender knows the stamp
came off he wants to kick some one. but
he does not know whom to kick; II he
knows that he forgot to put the post
age on the letter, he wants to kick
himself but the post office has nothing
to do with either proposition.
If, as more frequently happens, and.
it may be added. what happens more
frequently than one would suppose, the
letter bears a stamp. but not as much
postage as it should, the letter Is
weighed and marked with the amount
of postage due. 1t is presented with
other mail and upon payment of that
amount is delivered to the proper per-
Evening star., 1916-08-06

is called the "gulper," and three of
these have been found the surface
of the ocean, having died swallowing g
fish too big for their stomach's capac
ity!
The blind fishes respresent a very old
division of the waters inhabitants. In
the famous Mammoth cave Of Kentucky
are to be found the small blind fishes
of the limestone caves. 1t must be un-
derstood that this group of fishes is
very ancient one, for it has taken many
generations of them to have evolved
or rather to be scientifically correct, to
have involved-to the point where their
eyes have atrophied to nothingness.
That the process is a lengthy one may
be shown by the fact that some species
have rudimentary eyes still to be found
under the skin.
When the fish first swan inadvertant-
ly into the subterranean caverns, they
proceeded into total darkness, where
their eyes became useless. Among
those individual fish capable of carry
ing on their lives under such untoward
conditions many bred. Their progeny
through many generations, found less
and less use for their eyes. These
finally atrophied to the extent where
Evening star., 1916-08-06

efficient aids in solving the problems of
existence.
For instance. the angler fishes.
deep-sea variety, are able to seize their
prey by ruse instead of force by means
of unique little fishing lines attached to
their own bodies; the sucking fishes
have their back fin modified into
powerful sucker by which they can
fasten themselves to the bottoms of
ships or big sea animals and solve the
problem of transportation; the lantern
fishes carry their own lighting system
within their bodies and by means of
phosphorescent organs produce a light
which guides them into the dark
fathomless regions in which they re-
side; the electric rays and cells have
real batteries concealed within them
selves by which they communicate
deadly shocks to their prey; the f1iers.
with their wing-like fms. soar high
and far above the surface of their ele-
ment to elude their foes.
This array of curious types might be
continued endlessly. Even yet there are
still many forms unknown to science.
Truly, the oceanic regions offer sur
prises and may be depended upon to
offer them indefinitely.
Our already enormous scientific expert
Evening star., 1916-08-06

they became functionless and the
organs began to disappear, and were
finally eliminated. Through such IN
volution as this were the blind fishes
brought into existence.
On the other hand. some hshes winch
live in the deep sea where it is for
ever dim, have made extra effort to
gain the light: and in these cases the
eyes have become larger and larger
through the succeeding generations.
This is a striking example of the re-
suit of an effort to maintain the organ
of sight at any expense whlch is IN
great contrast with the lack of effort
of the blind fish which did not fight
the gradual loss of its eyes and con-
sequently completely sacrificed them
In speaking of the eyes of fish, an
extraordinary fact about the common
place founder comes to light. One of
the most peculiar things about found
ers is that the young of the species
swim upright as in the case of all
adults of any ordinary species. The
eyes of young founders are like those
of ordinary fish, one being situated
on either side of the head.
Gradually, however, change comes
about in the appearance of the young
founder; as it grows one of the eyes
travels around the side of the head
until both are on the same side Sub
seouently this side becomes the upper
side of the head. The greater part of
this rotation of the eye is rapid
process, taking not more than three
days.
In salmon and the larger varieties
of trout a queer change, which is tenn
porary, takes place in the structure of
the fish during the spawning season.
The Jaw enlarges until 1t becomes
enormous and the teeth increase in
Evening star., 1916-08-06
A PeriIous Playhouse.

a MONG the many strange adventures
~ a mining engineer had was one
connected with dynamite. In region
in the Rocky mountains a line OF rooms
had been built for the accommodation
of clerks, the storing of dynamite ana
so forth. Then the superintendent sent
for his wife and family. The children,
numerous and turbulent, were made
free of the place. with the necessary ex-
ception of the dynamite storeroom.
Probably for the reason that this ono
room was forbidden to them, they were
constantly caught hanging about 1t. to
be dismissed promptly with a caution.
Finally. after 1t was thought they had
forgotten the subject the engineer was
going home to bed early one morning,
after sitting up all night with refrac-
tory furnace, when he happened to no.
tice that the outer door of a room con-
tanning giant powder was ajar.
Thinking of the gross carelessness of
which some one had been guilty. he
went to shut the door. AS he did so he
glanced inside. and to his horror he saw
the whole half-dozen children sitting on
the various cases. trying to see wnicn
could make a match burn longest!
There was enough explosive sub
stance in the room to blow up the en-
tire town, and 1T seemed extremely
probable that that was just what was
the engineers mind in a second that
if he startled the children they would
drop their matches and run. when the
result would be pretty certain
They were too busy to have caught
sight of him. He moved little away
from the door, and then called to them
softly. Probably his voice was some
what shaken. for the children at first
did not recognize ii. But at the second
or third call they came gtngerly out
of the room, fearful lest retributfon for
their disobedience might be about to
befall them.
The moment the last chfld-carrying
n still-burning match-crossed the
threshold the engineer rushed into the
storeroom just in time to extinguish
a smoldering match head on the floor.
and after a searching look around to
see that all was safe, he went out again
and locked the door, with a gasp of re-
lief.
Then he marched the children OF to
their father, with whom, to judge from
the sounds, they spent an exciting half
hour.
Evening star., 1916-08-06

size. This change takes place only
in the males and seems to be an
adaptation for the fighting instinct
which is SO uppermost in this sex at
the breeding time.
Remarkable indeed are the angler
fishes. Many of these fishes are so un-
common that they have not even &C
quired vernacular names, and must be
referred to by their Latin ones. The
Mancalias shufeldti is tiny angler
only three and half inches in length.
Only two of these specimens have been
found, but as they are very deep sea
forms a scarcity is to be expected
This little angler has a tiny filament
which it uses as a bait for allurinS
other fish its prey. Its mouth is
large and situated on the top of its
head, so that it can gobble the victims
as soon as they swim within reach.
Among the numerous species of rays
or skates, allies of the sharks, we have
the great torpedo ray, which may come
to weigh as much as 200 pounds. 1t
has expanded lobes on each side of its
frame which contain electric batteries.
AS it lies on the beach. washed up
by the tide, and ofttimes covered by
the blowing sand. it is hardly notice
Evening star., 1916-08-06

it coils itself around the stems of sea
plants and presents a most eccentric
appearance.
OF all the luminous varieties of fish
the torchf1sh is one of the most unique.
Upon its nose, and erect upon short
stem, it has a small organ which is
phospherescent. This fish has the
power to make glow at will A long
and slender fllament swings from be-
meath it's lower jaw tufted at the free
end. and the torchfish moves this about
like little bait. The small fish are at
tracted by this bait as well as by the
light of the torch, and dart about un-
suspectingly in the region of their al
lurers capa mouth. open and
ready to devour them.
OF the ordinary lantern fishes little
can be said to explain their luminous
organs and their functions. The
so-called electric fishes are deep-sea
varieties having special areas which
shine in the dark. These are usually
little round bodies imbedded in the skin
and placed symmetrically on either side
of the body. Some naturalists believe
that these organs are accessory eyes.
though this Is not the modern view of
the phenomena.
So little is known of the conditions
to which the deep species are sub
jected that the real function of their
Evening star., 1916-08-06

a LMOST every day you have
h\ made certain marks. which
~ represent ideas. on piece of
q q paper; wrapped it in con-
tainer with few pen scratches on 1t.
stuck a postage stamp on. unconcerned-
ly, tossed it into letter box and '1et
her CO." quite certain that in due time
your little package of ideas gathered
UP with tens of thousands like. but not
quite like your own. will find its way
to the person you intended, because
you have faith in the postmen. and a
more faithful and reliable organization
is hard to find than that of Washing
ton.
All persons know that the mail col
lectors gather the letters from tho
boxes, take them to the post office be-
side the Union station. and that the
carriers hand out those for city de-
livery later at their scattered destina-
tions. But few are acquainted with the
details and the pains taken by the
thousand or so men of the city post
office force to insure the protection of
mail matter coming to them and it's
delivery to the person indicated by
those pen scratches on the envelope.
If one comes armed with proper cre-
dentials and applies for leave to in
spect the workings of this office he
will probably be permitted by City
Postmaster NJ. o. Chance to see what is
going on. but not every one will be
so fortunate as to have C. E. Schooley.
superintendent of the carriers. explain
the workings of things to him.
las you see." said he. this entire
floor of the building. except few small
offices. is one great room for the re-
ceipt, sorting and transporting of let
ters. papers and parcels. Here we handle
letters taken up in the city and letters
that come from all parts of the coun-
try, some for local delivery and others
to be sent on to other places.
Here we handle registered letters
and parcels in such a way as to make
sure that they are delivered to the
right person; and in another part of
the room is the place where special
deliveries are expedited.
I'm this room handle also maga-
zines, papers. parcel post and by long
odds the heaviest item handled by any
national post offlce-the mail matter of
Evening star., 1916-08-06
FLYING FISH.

It's very habits shield it from common
notice. Their swaying motion when
floating among the delicate seaweeds
where they are found still further
causes them to escape observation. The
great Saragossa sea-the foatlng IS
land of seaweed in the Atlantic ocean
is the most popular abode Of this ex-
traordinary fish.
When swimming their bodies retain
an upright position. which, in company
with their head and bone shapes, just
like a horses head. really give them
a right to their misleading name. The
seahorse lacks a terminal fin, but 1t
has a bony tail which is prehensile. and
for this reason 1t Is unlike any other
species of fish. BY means OF this tail
Evening star., 1916-08-06
All photos by DR.. X. W. schufel

ence with these queer fishes of the deep
sea has been obtained by means of va
rious mechanical contrivances and dredges
used by naturalists on their exploring ex-
petitions. Specimens have been taken at
depths considerably greater than many
people would believe. A distince of 2,4O0
fathoms OF water in mid-Atlantic is one
of the records, and as there are six feet
to the fathom it means that some speci-
mems were taken at distance of more
than three miles
Many of the fish never approach the
shore by many miles, unless driven there
by storms. Some OF them are found in
every ocean of the world. while the ranges
of others are almost unknown The deep
Evening star., 1916-08-06
The Chinese Buffer.

NEN. THOMAS H. BARRY said on the
W reviewing stand during Chicago's
preparedness parade:
"A parade 10000 strong. A glorious
spectacle. A spectacle meaning that
we shall really prepare.
"A nation unprepared must bluff, and
it isn't every nation that can bluff like
the Chinese jackass.
THE Chinese tell a story. you know.
about a tiger that was led by a monkey
to a field where a fat jackass was graz
ing.
"The tiger. who had never seen .
jackass before, licked his chops, but
the jackass looked up languidly at the
monkey and said:
S"'Friend monkey. heretofore you
have always brought me two tigers.
How is it you bring me only one to-
day?'
"The bluff was so excellent that the
tiger made OF as fast as he could 60"
Evening star., 1916-08-06

and sustain themselves in long flights
of various distances in the air. These
flights are made possible through the
development of the pectoral or breast
fins, and though the flying fish never
flap their fins in their sailing flights
they are able to cover a distance of no
less than 500 feet.
These finny fiers dart from the water
to escape capture by some other fish
which preys upon them and. as
though guided by some peculiar in
stinct, they always soar with the wind.
Over the first part of their course
they sail at the rate of ten miles an
hour. Slowly this rate diminshes. 1t
has been noticed that their flight
takes the form of a beautiful and
graceful curve.
Once under way. however. the flier
cannot change its course unless 1t
stoops to touch the water with it's
tail and alter it's direction. The Cali
fornian species attains length OF
some seventeen inches and, altogether.
nine species of flying fishes are known
to science.
Everything about the seahorse-
which many people are not aware is a
fish--tends to surround it with mystery.
Evening star., 1916-08-06
ne Washineton's Mail at the City Post Office

in wagons motors Collections are
made from various sections OF the city
at different times and with varying
frequency. according to the bulk Of mail
from each locality.
These statistics may be interesting.
The cash receipts of the office were
over 1000, 900 last year. the employees
number over 1000. of whom 500 are
clerks and 33s are carriers.
They registered over 100000 cam
cellations. and handled nearly 5O.ooo,ooo
pounds of ordinary mail. nearly 3,ooo.-
900 parcels post. nearly 100000 regis
tered articles. 650.O00 special deliveries.
besides 500, 900 money orders.
But the story of local deliveries
would be quite Incomplete without men
tioning the Post Office Club and some
other things. The organization accepts
as members employees OF the city post
office. the Post Offlce Department and
the railway mail service; the employe
who does not join has no idea OF what
he is missing.
The clubroom is in the basement OF
the post office. and is no small thing.
for it is over 125 feet deep. The promi-
nent features are desks hlled with
newspapers and magazines, four excel
lent billiard and pool tables, a shuttle
board and four newly completed bowl
ing alleys. In an adjacent room is
long rifle range, where shooting is en-
couraged-in one way by supplying the
cartridges at government cost. Outside
tennis courts are under construction
The fees for the use of all these things
are nominal. and if there is any surplus
it will. at the end of the year. be dtvtd-
ed among the club members.
Smoking, Of course, is not allowed IN
the office. but it is in the club. and in
a special little smoking room, where
opportunity is given for little rest
and a quiet puff between times.
Evening star., 1916-08-06

able, and a person stepping on 1t un-
awares receives a shock which is suffi-
cient to knock him down. The enor-
nous ray known as the sea devil is
a specimen of upward of twenty feet
long and nearly as wide. 1t is strong
enongh to drag a steamer from its
mooringS for mile or so.
OF the large fishes, the mola is one
of the most remarkable. 1t is also
called the head fish because it really
looks as though it were all head and
no body. 1t is hunted on the Pacific
coast for sport. and, as it is a lazy
swimmer, it can be harpooned easily.
1t swims on the surface of the water.
and its high dorsal fin rises above the
surface; by this clue it can be easily
spotted.
The puffer is a queer type of fish
The boys call it the swell toad, and
like to tease it to make it swell. When
the puffer is inflated it looks like a
globe with a beak and a tail
The remora, or sucking fish, has
through centuries of change. trans
formed it's dorsal fin into a disk which
acts as a sucker and attaches the fish
onto ships and other larger fish. In this
way they are carried for great dis
tances. They do no harm except to re-
tard the motion of the fish to which
they are attached. and they can detach
themselves as they desire.
Totally unlike any other fishes are
the saw and sword types. The great
bony beak of the sawfish is often six
feet in length, with powerful teeth in
serted all around it's margin. Such a
beak is a very powerful as well as a
very dangerous weapon. The swordfish
sometimes attains a length of fifteen
feet and its performances are often un-
believable. 1t has been said the fish
Evening star., 1916-08-06

ity. They are often very dainty and
beautiful and are always very specially
adapted for their particular role in the
battle of life They are little and big.
sonber and brilliant independent and
parasitic. strong and weak-the result
Of centuries Of degeneration and up
building. Their lengthy genealogy en-
folds the genealogy of the entire back
boned animal world. and IL is q revela-
tion that so many Of the fundamentals
Of human life have also been retained
as the fundamentals of hsh life.
In frequent cases they have carried
their specialization so far-.-these piccine
sncestors-that they have developed
I'D physical Rrowths which are most
Evening star., 1916-08-06

can penetrate solid lumber with its
sword" which, of course, renders II
a very dangerous foe to ships.
Passing these forms, many other
groups might be mentioned. The
cells, the fish with serpentine form:
the pilot fish. which follows vessels in
their course, and the chaetodons, which
can shoot flies with drops of water
elected from their mouth, are but few
of the many that might be mentioned.
The scaly deniZens of the deep are
ahead of any other assemblage of ami
NAL forms in their variety, and not
only in their variety, but in the queer
ness of their adaptations to their en-
yjrOOmentS
Evening star., 1916-08-06

lanterns can only be surmised. 1t may
be certainly said. however, that these
lights are an asset in procuring food
because they aid the Ash to find its
way about in the murky depths.
OF the deep sea fish which swallow
other fish much bigger than them
selves, no better known example can
be given than the Black Swallower. 1t
Is a most voracious fish. and has been
provided by an accommodating Mother
Nature with a distensible skin and a
distensible stomach. Very few speci-
mems of this fish have been caught.
Another of these gluttonous varieties
Evening star., 1916-08-06

all federal departments and Of Con-
gress.
This corner at $50 o'clock in the
morning" he continued, as he pointed
out a series of screen-backed shelves
filled with wire racks, with a conven-
lent narrow table in front. 'is the busi-
est spot you ever saw, for then there
is a letter carrier in front of each
section, and he Is arranging the big
bundle of letters that he will distrib-
ute along his route. He places them
in the little wire racks on these
shelves in the order of the street num-
bers that he will take them to. and
when all are so placed he takes them
Evening star., 1916-08-06

son. This entails unnecessary trouble
upon the carrier. for he has to present
the letter personally. cannot leave 1t
In a mail box and has to bother with
the collection and accounting for il.
Here in Washington the letters with
out stamps or without stamps enough
represent about a hundred dollars a
week of unpaid postage, all of which
must be collected in trifling little
amounts, each collection costing some
trouble and considerable annoyance.
One concern in the city with a large
business throughout the country pays
on the average of SIS a week for over
due postage.
Improperly directed letters first take
the time of the carrier. for he must
make inquiry until he is certain that
the letter is not properly directed, and
his route, he turns the letter back after
reconsulting his record book to make
certain that it is not case of change
of address" Then a clerk looks up the
telephone book and the city directory,
and if he finds a person of the name or
one similar to the name on the enVe-
lope, the carrier on that route has to
make a try. If all attempts fail. the
letter is samped with a notice that the
letter is returned on account of de-
fective address and mailed back to the
sender if his name and address are on
the letter; otherwise it is sent to the
dead letter office, where it is opened. If
it is found to contain money or its
equivalent 1t is preserved, but If it has
only love and affection IL is cremated.
Every day 5000 misdirected letters
Keep ten clerks busy sending notices
to the senders and impose the same
number of petty annoyances upon the
mail carriers. Every week 1000 letters
are received with either an undecipher-
able, an incomplete address or none at
all.
CITY collections are made from the
boxes and substations in part by car
riers on their return trips, in part by
collectors on foot or bicycle, but mostly
Evening star., 1916-08-06
- - HM.mcA McEr rekAc EFn
FROM THESE MEN


holder hanging from the track. The
sorter places letter bearing a special
delivery stamp on it, and there it stays
a short time, when along comes the
traveller. picks it up and drops it into
it's basket. carries it to its proper place
some distance below the tables. where
the travelling basket without stopping
or slowing dumps its contents into a
case. and a special sorter takes charge
of them.
"As the letters for Washington deliv-
cry are taken from the sorting tables
they are gathered upon other tables for
further separation, one for the business
section south of NJ street. another for
the northwest section and a third for
the northeast, southeast and southwest.
and also for the outlying sections, such
as Takoma Park. Each of these lots is
again sorted according to their streets,
thus making up the parcels which go to
each carrier, to arrange, as we have
seen, for delivery along his route.
When the special deliveries have
been postmarked and sorted, those
which are outbound are sent to their
respective mail cars at the last minute
before train time, and the faithful trav-
e1er carries those for local delivery
some 800 feet to the delivery room.