On Water and On Land

Right from the very beginning, the transportation of postal items and of persons had to be adapted to suit natural conditions. In Peru, for instance, a ‘swimmer post’ existed. The most reliable means of communication in the jungle was by river. The postal messenger tied the letters to his head with something like a turban and went on his way. So as not to get tired too soon, he held onto a log in the water.

In India, postmen used bicycles as far back as the nineteenth century. In France, in the Landes and Gironde, where the sandy ground in, in many places, covered by high heather, rural postmen were issued with stilts. In the Vendee, postmen were given long poles to enable them to vault across the many channels and ditches.

In the desert regions, the camel was as important a means of transportation as the horse was in other parts of the world. Camels were used mainly in the Middle East but also in Mongolia and China. Towards the end of the nineteenth century, the Turkish post in Baghdad used a special handstamp for mail carried by camel. In Indo-China, postal carriages were drawn by buffaloes and zebus.

Stage sleds took the place of stage coaches in winter. In Siberia, Canada and other countries of the north, dog and reindeer teams were used.

The development of the postal network and postal services is very closely related to the development of transportation. The invention of the railway soon led to a complete revolution of the postal system, just as in recent times, the development of air transport has done.

Special postal wagons were included in the trains, which meant a much faster delivery of mail. Letters and other postal items were sorted during the voyage, and a great deal of time was saved in this manner.