July 18th 1886
Sunday afternoon

~ Sister & family

Well Now, it is I that owes you two letters instead of your self but you see we have been so very buisy harvesting that I have not realy had time. Well yes I might have written last Sunday so you would not been so disapointed yesterday but Will could not go to town with it & I knew not how this will get there so you can get it by Sat but if not then you shall surly get it Tuesday. I knew by my own feelings how long the time will seem to you & you will worry not a little but you must remember that our chances are very few to send to the office. the cream man comes Tuesdays. to send with him they dont get through by Saterday.

Well the last time I wrote we was fixing to go to Trenton wasent we. I shall surly have to tell of all I can think of that has happened since. we had a pleasant day & Ellen went along left Lizzie here to take care of cherries and things & for the life of-me I could hardly see what she done. a gallon & a half was all that was seeded & they were not canned either. the work was about done up when we started & it was early in the day to. Bell & Howard came soon after we left to pick cherries on the shares & she had nothing to do but to seed & can them but instead of that the lard can that they picked was almost full to seed & care for the next day when I felt so tired. it just doubled my work & it was an awful hot day & hands here too. I had to do things here & there & things that she could have done & saved me if she had only taken care of them the day before so they wouldent been on hands then. I was really provoked & I did not form a very good opinion of her. I had to go ahead & do so much of the work myself & then she would bring her clothes down here to wash them & do them up & charge us a $1. 50 for doing so much of her own work. her washing was more than any three of ours. Well thursday Jap went to town & brought that dear long letter from you. & it is a fact I almost starved before I got it read. it come just before dinner & you need not be surprised if I was glad & that I every word of it before dinner as we was waiting for Will anyhow. but I got done & I could wait no longer for dinner. Well as I have started out to tell you all will have to as I go along or will forget half. I want; to tell you & you will have to excuse me if I shock your modesty. I want to tell you that that very morn Will had to call in a few men to drag our dear old Bill to the bottom for he was dead. dead as a door nail. Will did not cry but I did & I do yet for what bad luck we do have. I had the blues so bad I cared very little for the coming fourth. You will remember how near we came losing old Jake the fall Blanche was born. Well the same happened to old Bill. the man that done the deed was not successful & was called an expert too. he was the one that ate dinner here that day I finished my letter. his name is Milburn. I expect Dick knows him as he is from Linneus & the recorder there. poor old Bill was so good & honest & it looked awful hard to see them hauling off as nice piece of horse flesh as he was. it seemed like some of the family had died. I think Will has learned a lesson. but a very-expensive one. it dident seem near so hard to see pet hauled away for no one could have helped her. & this could have been prevented but Will wanted to work him. but as it is he had to go & buy one to work. he went that day to Henry Renkers & got an almost exact match for Dick in every respect. they look awful nice together. give $130 for him. one fellow that was here harvesting said if they was his it would take $400 to buy them.

Bent was here two days before the fourth making a big rake to haul hay shocks up with. he looks awful poor & yellow like he might be consumpted. I fixed my black dress. filled the spaces on the sides with pleats like the balance of the skirt in the two days before the 3rd & done the baking & tried to trot Lizzie through most of the cherries & the washing & ironing. she went home friday night & she would have come back the next week but I told her I would try & get along with out her. Will scolded me for not letting her come for we would be harvesting but just then I felt too poor to hire help when I could get along without & I had to do so much of it anyhow. & not be much more to do it all & I could just drop all other work & tend to cooking. had hands all the next week till Friday. Ellen core dam the tuesday before & seeded the last of the cherrys free gratis for me.

It was awful hot here that week. thermometor stood about the same here as with you. & most of the time there was a dry hot air like it come from a furnace & just burnt things in a manner. wed after the fourth was the hottest day. it was 110 in the sun & Will was so near played out he could hardly eat his dinner. Overton was here cutting the oats with his binder that day & Will got het up shocking. but late in the afternoon a cloud sprung up in the north & worked off to the east & merly sprinkled here but cooled the air greatly. harvest hands are awful scarce here. the loafers at Lindley. some of them have gone to the rail-road. two of our hands was from black oak & Mr Coble made a hand in the field but realy looked to old. I would hate to see pa work like he does. When he comesS to the table he cant hardly pour his coffee is so nervious. So Friday & Sat I had no hands & I washed & ironed. I felt pretty well used up but took lots of time for everything & Sunday had a good rest while you was writing your last letter to me which will got last night.

he went about dark. we was gone to bed when he came back but I was not asleep. I bounced out & demanded a letter & he said he had it so I sit up on Blanches high chair in my gown & Will set down to the table to eat some more & while I read he eat & listened so it was eleven oclock by the time I went back to bed. & then I was so wide awake & thinking about you so could no sleep for an hour while Will was snoring for all that was out. Ellen was down last Sunday awhile with her cool cheesecloth on. She is getting fleshier all the time & works hard. So I have had no one to cook for this last week as Will has been cutting for Overton & Coble. I have been sewing with all my might last Monday while I was setting in dining room who do you think come walking up. it proved to be little Joe Boyer. he was in a hurry & said he just stopped to find out what Uncle Luthers address was. his family was down at the gate in a covered wagon (more later) & they was on thier way to Henry Co. this state. south of the river to visit his Bro Bill & he did not know but they would go on to the south part of the state where his Uncle Will lives. & he said he was starting out on a wild goose chase & if he took a notion when he got there he would go through Kan & would get to see pa. & III bet the next covered wagon that pulls up to your house will be pudge & all the little pudges. so you better keep your eyes peeled. last tuesday was a scorcher here too. the sun looked red & cast such a smoky hue over everything. & the atmosphere has looked blue & smoky ever since. so much like indian summer. 

That afternoon the cream man come & Old Mrs Bruce was with him. had been down to Andersons a week visiting. I carried a bucket of eggs out that I was sending to town by him. & she said she dident know I lived here. well she come in & rested while he went to the well to ice his cream & water. the hot drive up here had nearly used her up & she was tanned red. she fanned herself & asked about you all & spoke of Ma and how she suffered. she wanted to kno if you was all satisfied there. she has a win growing on her face. she said it used to be around almost behind her ear but was growing out farther. just about where her cap strings struck her at the side of her face. it is as large as a hulled walnut or larger. she spied my plants & wanted sane slips. She would have stayed but wanted to be getting home. she was afraid the hot weather would make her sick. she lives all alone. Mrs Davis rents one room for her shop. by the way, you never heard I suppose that Bart Anderson hung himself not long ago. You know who he married I guess. that fine haired little lady who afterwards married that Eversonville doctor & now she has left him & gone to K. City & is married again. Bart has been crazy a long time. J. Dobbins is worse than ever since she went to Lee so we heard. Well nothing has happened since that hot afternoon worthy of note but I pity pa if it was as hot there as here. he surly could not walk to Bates & go slow without being overcome with the heat. & dont do so any more. I would rather do without a letter a few days then to have it make him sick. there was an air here for about two or three hours that seemed like it blowed off a hot fire & everything in the house & out that one could take hold of seemed as if it had set by a fire . the chickens fairly lolled & squalled & everything called for rain. the clouds thickened up & the sun was hid & we thought O for a good rain. shower's past around & at one time dashed down here quite livly for a few minutes & that was all we got. There was a cloud passed off to the east & we heard that it hailed at Eli Overmans. & we also heard that it tore up the half of Laclide but we dont knew how it is. it has not rained & now if you dont believe we are dry just come up. our last hard rain was about the middle of May. our drouth set in so much earlier then common this year. there is great cracks in the earth & I do not see hew anything can grow. yet the corn looks very well & is doing all it can in the way of silking & tasseling. if we could just have a good rain would save it yet. we need about a 48 hour hard rain to do us justice. & still every day s every day comes & goes & looks so much like & sometimes ready to pour down & it comes not. but will scatter, get cooler & look blue. only to gather up again. the clouds must be near & yet so far, but there is no rain in them for us.

George Dobbins is hauling creek water. many wells are about dry but ours has not failed us yet. My beans are burnt up about & the cucumbers & potatoes vines are burnt to a crisp but the potatoes are there. they got a good growth before they burnt. we water some of the garden yet. have had a few ripe tomatoes & some cabbage but the worms will work at it. there is no remedy for them I guess but to pick them off & kill them. I get the children to do that mostly. I am glad that you have had rains if we cannot. they dident come this way.

Well I have written all around the fourth or 3rd rather. & have not said a word about the celebration at Galt & you are just dying to hear are you not. 

the day was very pleasant & not hot like it has been since. but about a foot of dust on a level. there was about all there that usually makes a celebration or picnic. music by the Galt band & marshall music too. speaking also singing by the soldiers. war song &c. & once in a while a loud Ha ha ha. two swings, lemonade stands, ice cream & a platform dance made up the program. Yes & a game of baseball but we dident go to that as it was up on the hill top north of town. the picnic was northeast. dident see very many before dinner that I knew. we eat dinner alone. no one to eat with us. & I had lots of it left to bring home & we eat it for supper. good roasted chicken & dressing. cherry pies, Jellcake, light biscuit & butter. Jell pickled beets & cucumber pickles. Oh if you folks could only been there to eat with me hew we would enjoyed it. at least I would. Wolfes was not there. Dell Fleshman was there. she spied me acrost a crowd & she comes a bouncing. said I looked more like home folks then anybody she had seen. she asked about you all. she has three boys. the least one she was hauling around in a little buggy & it had a huge boil under its chin. she is big & fat & looks no older. Saw Will & Mollie there. when I told him Formans was down there he says O I wish I could be there too. some one give me a punch in the short ribs till it hurt. I looked & it was Satl Hiskett awful glad to see me. & she was right with me the rest of the day. She wore a new light lawn & big brod rimed hat & looked so cool & white & if she only had hoops & bustle on she would looked like other people. but you know she aint built that way, she is always odd. there was all kinds of styles. hats that is all crown & no rim & some all rim & not much crown. scoops & coal scuttles, summer silks, lawns & white laces. cream lawns & cream lace overskirts are quite a style. Ett Morris wore one that cost $15 la de da. Well dear me is this very interesting to you. what foolishness to write about what the people wear but it seems to me that I am talking to you. but dont satisfy me either. I must quit & water some things. My plants are nice but flower beds took so much water & time & the chickens found the moist dirt & I just let them go. they are almost dried up. what is standing the little paint brushes you gave me are in bloom in a box. I got it into my head that they was fall roses or snow on the mountain.

Will saw Bill Allen not long ago & was more then ta1king about Roby. he said he was little & mean & had no principal about him. & that he was telling around how much money he had made off of Will Clark when he sold that claim. I suppose Tom told it at Corbin as there is wher Bill staid.

Ross & I have done the milking since harvest they can do lots of little things to help me & I am pretty stout & well some days & others not so much so. I dont know what I weigh. I dont take medicine.

Kitts dress is pretty & I bet she looks sweet in her bonnet. they are pretty for girls.

I met Mrs Addington & children on the street dressed awful nice. she knew me the minit she saw me & spoke. the Drs mother was with her. has come to spend the summer with them. he is at Chillicothe doing some business. he hasent called around yet. Overton saw him there a few weeks ago. he told him he was coming up this way soon. Ann is on her legs. Ellen had to hear your other letter read Sunday when she was here. she got a real tall hat. & scarcly any rim & a white shawl.

dont Matt have so many nice things to wear & put on style. lawn is coarse & cool & looks gauzy. 

I guess you have about a much company as ever. go to the picnic & sing loud & long so we can hear you. is Ed going with Allie when she goes. Ross & Blanche talks about little Mabel & hew they would love to see her playing with a baby. I know she would have a good time here. there is so many little things here that would fit her now. I long to put them on her. nothing very nice but half worn, little slippers & aprons & such.

I have made up for lost time in this I think.