From Edward Fitch to Dear Parents
If the adage is true that what we have but little of we prise highly, it must be that ‘Letters from Home’ are very valuable with me for I have but few of them and if the opposite is true my letters cannot be very valuable to you and I guess that I will stop writing and prove the truth of the first proposition by writing so few that you will value them so much that you will be glad to write one for the sake of getting more.
I have got my house done and am now writing in it. I let the lower part for $1.50 per week and keep the upper part to sleep in myself. I have got all my things here – a chair, table & book case and I can sit here and write or read at my ease.
I have been at work on the Hotel for the last week and more. My work has been to boil the tar or rather the Composition to put on the roof. It is made of Gas Tar & rosin & some other things. It comes in Barrels. I have to open the barrels to boil the tar or melt it and haul it up on top of the building. I have boiled six barrels. I get myself all covered with the Tar stuff. It is dirty or rather sticky work. The overalls that I have worn will be good for nothing else when I get done.
I can have work on the hotel all along for some time but I don’t know about it for today. I hear that my claim will be jumped if I an’t there. I was out there one night last week and like to have frose to death. I ought to put in a wheat crop this fall but I have not the capital. I shall have to stay more on my claim and I can’t hardly work here and do it with out a horse and I have no money to get one. What to do I hardly know! I recd a letter from you (father) on Aug 28 which you said was the first you had written and then I recd on the 19 inst. Numbered three. If you ever wrote no. 2 I never got it. You ought to have a paper and set down the number and date of the Letters I write; also the Date of these I received and the time when I receive them.
Tomorrow is the day appointed by the Legislature for the Election of Delegates to Cong. and today we hear there is a large body of armed men within a few miles that say they are going to burn this town and kill all the Yankees and that they say will not take more than ten minutes! The town is in a state of intense excitement; there have been large numbers of cartridges made today. The company have cleaned up all their rifles and put new caps in all of them and are preparing to give the Missourians “Jesse” if they come here. I hardly think there will be a fight but can’t certainly tell. You have no idea of the state of things that exist here and you cannot conceive of our feelings. We are going to let them have their election all their own way and not vote at all until Tuesday the 9th inst and then the Free State men have an election called by the Sovereign People so that two men will probably go to Congress, Whitfield and Reeder! and Congress must decide which is entitled to a seat. Why don’t Albert write. Tell him that we shall not send a National Democrat to Congress this fall. It has been very cold here for a few days so that on low lands there has been some frost but not much, not so much but we are still haying around here.
What will be Appletons P.O. address?
Yours as ever Edward P. Fitch
