Moses Pendergrass was the subject of a footnote illustrating mistreatment by government bureaucracy, in a Mark Twain article, "Concerning the Jews", in Harper's Magazine, 1898. According to Twain's account, in 1886 Moses Pendergrass of Libertyville, Missouri put in a bid to work as a mail carrier for a year beginning on 1 July 1887. "He got the postmaster at Knob Lick to write the letter for him, and while Moses intended that his bid should be $400, his scribe carelessly made it $4." The route was 30 miles every weekday, and he did it on foot. However, due to a clerical error at his local post office, his bid was accepted to work for $4 rather than the intended $400. He discovered the mistake when he received his first paycheck at the end of the first quarter, and immediately contacted the