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which is the mail to go ashore. Taking out the bundle, he replaces it with the bundle for the ship, the pail is hauled up, his line let go, and the big ship speeds away, leav- ing him bobbing up and down in her stern waves, and coiling up again hes dripping Line, ready for the next one. A minute later he steps aboard the mail steamer (that has followed him all the time) as cooly as if step- ping off a car at a street crossing. Wiping a few drops of spray from his face, he enters the cabin, and bend-. ing over a table, writes in an offi- cial-looking book: "Stemaer Tuscar- ora passed down 3:20 P.M. Delivered 36, received 29, and 4 telegrams." He has hardly time to do this be- fore the captain's voice from the wheel house sings out: "Here is the City of Bangor right on top of us. Hurry up or you will miss her. I guess you had better hang on and go down with her, and come back with the tow coming up. That will place us about right for these fellows coming down. " TELESCOPE Page 129 The last of this ends in a shout, for the carrier is already in the boat, and is rowing the few feet necessary to place himself under the bows of the following steamer, to repeat the perilous performance with the Tuscarora. So, day after day and night after night as the ships go speeding by Detroit, do sailors of the fresh water seas get their mail, and send their messages to the loved ones they cannot see until winter. Sometimes a special delivery let- ter or telegram will come to the marine post office for a ship al- ready in sight approaching. A signal 1S run up on the tlagstaff, the mail boat comes hurriedly in, leaving the Carrier in midstream to take care of himself. The special is taken aboard and soon placed on the passing ship, possible changing her destination and saving her owners a lot of trou- ble. Thus the little steamer is valuable in more ways than towing the carrier about. The daily papers published in the lake cities each chronicle the movements of lake eo . Qa > » Artist Sprague appears to have taken artistic license in depicting traffic conditions on the Detroit River in this view.