The Daily Astorian

The Dead Letter Sale.

THE CURIOUS THINGS SENT BY MAIL THAT NEVER REACHED THEIR DESTINATION.

In all cases where letters and packages contain valuables, they are returned to the writer or forwarder, if there is any clue to his address, and when none can be found they are of course retained in the dead letter office. The money alone which yearly finds its way into this office ranges from $75,000 to $100,000. During the last fiscal year the amount received was $77,066.66, of which $54,637.17 was returned to the forwarders, and $22,527.47 remained in the hands of the department. Some idea of the articles accumulated may be gained when it is stated that the list embraces 2,219 miscellaneous articles (including wearing apparel of all kinds), 1,375 pieces of jewelry—some very valuable—1,585 books, treating on almost every subject, 269 chromos, 217 pieces of sheet music, and 102 stereoscopic views. Among the mechanical implements are organ valves, sewing machine tools and needles, buttonhole cutters, tuning forks, saw files, steel wire awls, scissors, spirit gauges, siphons, screws, pruning-shears, shoemakers' and blacksmiths' tools, surgical instruments, etc. The list of wearing apparel is very long, including as it does thousands of articles, from a pair of stockings to a lady's dress. The miscellaneous articles embrace harmonicons, pocket compasses, needlework, sunglasses, book-marks, keys, needle-cases, papers of pins, razors, spectacles, hair switches and chignons; baby shoes, foreign stamps, shoe buckles, fishing tackle, scapulas and Agnes Deis, butter flies, fans, crimpers, scent bags, watch cases, rosaries, bullet molds, cloth charm, bird wings, glass eyes, weasel, wolf and coons' skins, napkins, dolls' clothing, air-gun and pop-gun ammunition, artificial teeth, tooth-picks, buckles, sardines, boxes of shells, pipes, butcher knives, wax candles, glue pots, shot pouches, corn-huskers, night caps, poker "chips," crucifixes, baby rattles, chewing gum, gas burners, one china angel, one pie-crust cutter, hats, corkscrews, whiplashes, dog collars, rattlesnakes' rattles, pepper boxes, scythe stones, three a what-is-its, one squirrel tail, wings of a bat.