In the 1880s, getting mail in remote parts of the United States was exciting. In the era before electricity, mail and newspapers were the only connection between rural communities and the outside world. Dorsey was one of the many rural mail carriers for the U.S. Postal Service. Rural in an understatement in his case. You see, for several years in the 1880s, Dorsey was the only mail carrier between Barstow and Calico in California’s rugged Mojave Desert because no one else wanted the job. Dorsey lived in the silver mining town of Calico, about 10 miles as the crow flies northeast of Barstow. Ten miles may not seem like a great distance by our modern standards, but between Calico and Barstow stands the 2641-foot elevation Lead Mountain. Going around Lead Mountain would have added another four miles each way to Dorsey’s trek, so Dorsey went up and over the mountain. Dorsey did not ride in a wagon or on a horse. He walked.
Each day, Dorsey donned his satchel and began walking through the heat, dust, and over rugged terrain to Barstow. He knew what time the train from the California Southern Railroad was scheduled to arrive in Barstow and so he left in plenty of time to meet it. If Dorsey was ahead of the train, which he normally was, he rested and relaxed in town. As soon as the train arrived, Dorsey met the postman at the train’s mail car, loaded his satchel with mail destined for Calico, and began the return trip. On a good day, Dorsey could make the whole trip in about seven or eight hours.
Half a century later, the people of Barstow began searching for a photograph of the local legendary mail carrier so they could honor him with his own U.S. Postage stamp. Unfortunately, Dorsey’s likeness was never used on a postage stamp. To the people of Barstow and the few inhabitants of Calico, Dorsey remains a local hero. They still talk about his daily walks between their towns… on his four legs. You see, Dorsey, the rural mail carrier, was a black and white collie.
Sources:
1. The Astorian (Astoria, Oregon), November 21, 1885, p.1.
2. Desert Dispatch (Barstow, California), September 2, 1948, p.3.
3. Desert Dispatch, August 27, 1973, p.10.
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