from Boston to
New York on horseback. She was probably the first woman to make the
journey, and it was a great and daring undertaking. She had as a
companion the "post." This was the mail-carrier, who also rode on
horseback. One of his duties was to assist and be kind to all persons
who cared to journey in his company. The first regular mail started from
New York to Boston on January 1, 1673. The postman carried two
"portmantles," which were crammed with letters and parcels. He did not
change horses till he reached Hartford. He was ordered to look out and
report the condition of all ferries, fords, and roads. He had to be
"active, stout, indefatigable, and honest." When he delivered his mail
it was laid on a table at an inn, and any one who wished looked over all
the letters, then took and paid the postage (which was very high) on any
addressed to himself. It was usually about a month from this setting out
of "the post" in winter, till his return. As late certainly as 1730 the
mail was carried from New York to Albany in the winter by a "foot-post."
He went up the Hudson River, and lonely enough it must have been;
probably he skated up when the ice was good. This mail was only sent at
irregular intervals.

In 1760 there were but eight mails a year from Philadelphia to the
Potomac River, and even then the post-rider need not start till he had
received enough letters to pay the expenses of the trip. It was not till
postal affairs were placed in the capable and responsible hands of
Benjamin Franklin that there were any regular or trustworthy mails.

The journal and report of Hugh Finlay, a post-office surveyor in 1773 of
the mail service from Quebec to St. Augustine, Florida, tells of the
vicissitudes of mail-matter even at that later day. In some places the
deputy, as the postmaster was called, had no office, so his family rooms
were constantly invaded. Occasionally a tavern served as post-office;
letters were thrown down on a table and if the weather was bad, or
smallpox raged, or the deputy were careless, they were not forwarded for
many days. Letters that arrived might lie on the table or bar-counter
for days for any one to pull over, until the owner chanced to arrive and
claim them. Good service could scarcely be expected from any deputy, for
his salary was paid according to the number of letters coming to his
office; and as private mail-carriage constantly went on, though
forbidden by British law, the deputy suffered