From Edward Fitch to Dear Friends at Home
We are here. Our party which numbers just 20 including myself started in due time Tues P.M.
They are all women and children except two, who are a young gentleman and young lady. The gentleman (?) being myself of course and the lady being a Miss Davis from Pawtucket who I suppose would not much care to be called one of the children though her mother and brothers & Sisters are with her, she being about sixteen (with the adjective before it)
The party are as follows. Mrs. Davis with six children from Pawtucket going to Osawatomie (and I am going there too), Mrs Baker with one child going to the same place, Mrs Stone from Medford with five children going to Topeka & Mrs Banks with three children from Lynn going to Lawrence. No interrogation mark.
We left Boston at half past one. I saw Olive at Worcester. Arrived at Albany about ten in the evening and left there by the N.Y. Central R.R. about eleven. Rode all night and at half past ten the next morning, twenty one hours from Boston, found us at Buffalo, 500 miles being 25 miles an hour leaving out the hour that was stopped at Albany and including other stops. We took dinner and supper at the Rail Road Hotel, Buffalo and had a good parlor, and as many bedrooms as we wanted for $6.00 for the party. I saw all our baggage safe on board the Buckeye State, the same steamer in which I crossed the lake ten months ago, day after tomorrow. I procured three State rooms for the party and slept in the Cabin myself. We had got nicely settled in a berth etc. last night when there came up a tremendous storm of wind thunder and rain, which gave us a start out of our sleep but it was soon over and this morning we are out of sight of lands and all in good spirits. None of us seasick yet. There is quite a chop on the Lake as Albert says and the wind is quite fresh.
I have numbered this letter as the first home because I shall direct it to Father or Appleton but it is for all my Hopkinton friends to see that care enough about me to ask whether you have heard from me, and I want every one that hears or reads this letter and is going to write to me to number their letters all of them, so I shall know whether I receive all of them or not. I shall try to remember to number all I write.
I remain with respects to all readers.
Edward P. Fitch To my friends 3 O clock PM.
We are just entering the Detroit River and shall be at the dock soon. My family of children is so large that I shall have some trouble about keeping them together at Detroit. I suppose especially as I have got to look close after the baggage. Two of the trunks belonging to the party are now broken open, mine remaining whole yet.
Yours Edward P Fitch
Conducting Agt Kansas Party
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