I
NEW BERN-CRAVEN COUNTY
PUBLIC LIBRARY
The NEW BERN
PUBLISHID
.
opy
NEW BERN, N. C., FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 1967
NUMBKR :15
If Uncle Sam's Postmaster
General ever runs out of folks
to put on his postage stamps,
he can always fall back on Trott
ing Jim.
No other man in the history
of the nation's mall service
compares with this amazing ex
slave, who liked to impersonate
a horse while footing hundreds
of miles a week.
Fair weather or foul, he cov
ered his difllcult coastal route
on schedule. It was Jim's job
to get the mall pouches to
Swan.sboro and back, thence to
Beaufort, and back by way of
Harlowe to his starUng point
at Newport. •
It was a superhuman assign
ment, but Trotting Jim was a
superhuman. He got his job In
the first place because horse-
drawn vehicles were unable to
overcome such obstacles as
high tides and washed out
bridges.
Since this 35 year old Negro
had proven himself capable of
running 50-mlle errands, he
was a loglc.'U choice to tackle
the problem at hand. For 20
years the sic-foot, 170-pound
marvel proved faithful to the
finest traditions of tlie mall
service, and quit only when Im
proved rail connections made
his marathon jaunts unneces
sary.
More Ulan a half century has
passed, but to this day he re
mains the most legendary figure
In the history of the coast coun
try; After giving up his mall
toting, the human horse contin
ued to serve hardy, weather
beaten residents in Newport
area.
When a doctor was needed,
you could count on Jim to get
word to him. He would help
the sleepy-eyed physician hitch
up his buggy, but politely re
fused to ride back with him to
the scene of distress.
“Don't fret about me,''the old
colored man would say, “I'll get
there all right." And he always
did.
Trotting Jim's real name was
Louis Wiggins. His son. Louts
Jr., lived In New Bern for
years, serving as a guide for
hunters. The last time we saw
him he was nigh onto 70, but
could still do acrobatics.
More unbelievable than
Trotting Jim's remarkable dur
ability was his yen to play horse.
Armed with a stout switch, he
would beat himself on the
•shanks whenever he was ready
to take off down the road.
During his long .service as a
transporter of mail, Jim usually
strapped the pouch to tils back.
However, he had a cart to use
when the mall was particularly
heavy.
Witli deadly seriousness he
would hitch himself to the
traces, imd taketliebridleinhls
moutli. Then with a cluck mid a
tap of the switch, he started on
his appointed rounds.
As far as this lltlie, cat-like
Negro was concerned,shoes
were an evil designed primarily
for church going. He always
wore his to services at the
Jones Chapel Methodist church,
but didn't care to be iumdl-
capped with them when he was
at work.
He was never known to drink,
smoke or indulge in other forms
If dissipation. Though It wasn't
deliberate on his part, he kept
perfect training, and was apa.st
(Continued on page 8)
SUCH IS THE KINGDOM—^All the world loves a
clown, but no one else appreciates them like a child.
This scene at the New Bern Shrine Club is typical
of the annual Christmas parties staged by Sudan
Temple units for crippled children who reside in
eastern North Carolina. This little girl appears fasci
nated by the special attention she is receiving, but
the snoozing boy in |;^ack of the clown has already
called it a night.
HONORED GUESTS—These youngsters, and others
with a physical handicap, not only are remembered
during the Yuletide but have an opportunity for
expert care at the 19 hospitals owned and operated
by the Shrine of North America. New Bern’s Sudan
Temple in the year 1966 raised $102,000.00 for Shrin-
ers hospitals. This year, with the November 25th All-
Star Game at Raleigh’s Carter Stadium adding reve
nue, is bound to be a big one too.