Tuesday night
Dear Helen

I will try & write some more after resting too days & one night. we have had quite a spell of weather. it sleeted & rained all day yesterday & froze as it fell til man & beast had to claw in when they walked & seemed to be growing colder at dark. we thot by morning the earth would be a glare of ice & cold as Greenland. well it was raining when we went to bed & rained all night & turned warmer during the night & this morn the ice was all gone & still it was raining & has misted & foged & drizzled all day till about four o'cl & then it just lit in & poured down for awhile & that was the clearing off shower. for the clouds cleared away & sun set clear & now the moon is shining bright & its warm as a spring night - Well I guess nearly everybody was glad to see the rain for the ground was awful dry. have not had a good wet rain for three months. it is awful nice on wheat. & the men says the wheat looks fine. I have to take their word for that for I have not saw any.

Mabel is setting on Pas lap & talking to him. she says she dreamed yesterday night & she was asleep & snoaring & a laughing. Late is reading Uncle Toms Cabin now. Pa read nearly all day long yesterday. Our old Preacher Man staid with us till after dinner today. I got so tired of him I didn't know what to do. he did not get to Preach any more so he just staid here & when he went away he gave Pa & the boys the strongest hint for money but they had none for him. I thot his board quite an item since Sat he went up to Joe Morris & thot he would go to the Lodge if he can get a chance to ride. if not he would have to walk. he wanted to go out to Comanche Co but he was out of money & he would have to walk & he was at a loss to know what to do. times never looked so dark in all his life before & so on. thinking one of them would give him money to take him there I reckon but he up slipped on it. Frank Brown has just come in but is going up to Isabel to get some smoking tobacco. he is herding cattle for a man between this & Clipper School house. Aunt Lyd did not carry the idea that all that property of thiers had been sold for debts. I guess she thot we did not know it & she would not let on. they are going to stay where they are & garden & farm what they can but they cant farm as much as they have been for they havent got the team. they can hardly get old Tom mule off the place. Uncle Jim drove him to bring Aunt Lyd up here & he would have to get out & kick him till he would get started & then he would jump in & old Tom would stop. & then he would have to get out & kick. she said she would have to laugh & he would get mad & look around with his crooked eye & tell her to shut her mouth. he walked about half of the way up here & said she could stay a month before he would come after her so Late had to take her home.

Flour mill and elevator in Pratt, Kansas, a landmark near Isabel.

I have got my sewing about all done. hat is what we need right now. I have a shirt yet to make for Late. & gingham dress to finish for Blanch. then I want to get my carpet rags & I think I shall have a rag tacking. will you come over & help. Some sews carpet rags on the machine & say they can get along so fast. I will either have to make one or we will have to buy one in the spring for the hemp one is about played out. it will do for the upstairs by patching up. Now if I had had the least idea it would have been such a warm open winter I never would had thing moved in here. it has been warm enough lots of times to slept in here without any fire. & have had to have the middle door & west door of the kitchen open nearly half of the times. I expect tho if we had not prepared for cold weather there would been no end to it. Robys took thier big room for the Kitchen this winter & Liss was growling about it. said she was going to move back just as soon as she dare to. they talk of building a house in the Spring on the land they bought of Pa. that is if they can rent thier farm & thats as far as I know. I dont know what he has in his head to do. but some speculation I reckon. Oh how I wish you lived out here on that claim. I know you have lots of nice things there but you have such poor neighbors. there is no comfort taken with them. our neighbor Giles & family have left us. sold out & gone to Chenie to keep Restaurant. & I expect it will be kept but she thinks that is her calling. we think since she is gone we have a very decent neighborhood. but they was the worst to themselves for when she told anything we all considered the source & let it go & did not bother them. our old bumpy neighbor Sherman that went to Ill in the fall wants to come back. but cant get here before fall. his wife & child has been sick the most of the time & he cant get any work to do so he wishes he was back here. he has lots of corn on his farm & had lots of hogs to feed it to & could have done well if he had staid.

the kids are both asleep now. maybe I can get to write with some satisfaction. I dont know how many times I have had to stop since I commenced. first change Blanch here & there & pick up her playthings & then settle Mabel. for she is to mischeivious for anything. yes she has wore her black sack lots of times this winter & I put the edgeing on her new skirt & she is awful proud of it & it is so pretty. I put too widths of flannel in her skirt & there was just edgeing enough by holding a little full & not any too full either. I have never knit her any stockings. she is wearing her last winter ones but it will be nip & tuck to make them last thro the winter & then by next winter I will have to knit or buy again. she is not a bit hard on her cloths. she outgrows a dress before she wears one out & then I dont let her get down on the floor & scour around like a boy either. I tell you I am very well pleased that my boys happened to be girls not that I hate a boy atal. but they always seemed to me harder to manage & make cloths for. I would love to see Ross with his long Pants on & I know he wouldnt look like himself either. Aunt Lyd laughed & spoke of him playing wheelbarrow with her & how cute & nimble he was. Oh Ross I take pride in showing your letter to people & they all pass quite a complument. I think you can write just splendid & an interresting letter & I want you to keep on practice by writing to your old Aunt Nett. & what is the matter that Blanche cant write to. has she forgotten me. Mabel often writes a letter to her but fails to send them. but its all goose latin. she takes big comfort with her doll. I had to make it a Boggan as she calls toboggan. before I could [have] any peace. I shall have to make it some new cloths.

3) Dick is trying to work out a turkey problem & has been working at for a long time & says it cant be done. so I will give it to Ross & Will & see how they make it & then write the answer. A man has 27 turkeys & wants to kill them in 6 days & kill an odd number each day--how many must he kill each day. there has been several working at it but cant get it & concluded its just a puzzle.

Oh how I wish I could go back & see you all. it seems to me if I could go to your house I wouldn't care a snap whither I went to see anybody else or not but I expect I would after I got back. but the most of the time would be with you. I tell our folks I have made up my mind to go next fall but la me I dont expect Ill get to. Old Bear wrote back he wished he was back in Kans. but I dont think anyone wishes here for him. did he have the old tent streached he got of Late. he shiped more old stuff back. anybody else would threw it away. No wonder Ed Mc. dont wish he was back here for it is well known he is not wanted. I pittied him sometimes but he might be willing to do what he could do. If I was you I wouldnt give up any room to him for you would just be botherd to death & get so tired of him & then just very likely not get anything for your trouble. We had not heard of the new baby at Wills. I dont think Leses has had any letters from there very lately & I know sue has never got the picture from Carrie yet. I have not seen Sue for over a week. she sent for me the day they butchered. Late & Dick was helping & she let on she wanted me to help her but said after I got there she did not need my help so much as she wanted to get me down there. I think your pieces are pretty. your dress is prettier than mine but mine is for everyday & I expect will go like a white frost its so poor. I just made it full skirt & plain waist. No I dont know of anyone wearing ticking skirts but just lots of them wears steeles in thier dress skirts under the over skirt. I dont like to see them very well. do they work thier calico & gingham there in a cross stitch with floss & in diamonds & flowers & wreaths & c. They do here. one cant make a gingham apron but it must be worked along the hem or in one corner. I am glad to get a hem on mine or a ruffle or a tuck or a box pleat on Blanches dress without all that touch. Ollie just works Rays cloths to death. puts so much on they look foolish.

did Kate tell you that George sent for her to go home when she was in Ohio. had not been there more than too weeks till he wrote for her to go home. he couldnt do the work & attend the store to. Aunt Lyd said she cried so hard when she went out to her old home & threw her arms around Aunt Mag. I expect she will be glad to get out of Haseville. You scolded me so you did for washing & ironing in one day & night. Now Sister Clark I give you to understand I dont do the washing only the bossing & hanging out. Dick puts the water on & if the cloths are all picked up he gets them & has seen me put them in the tub often enough so he knows how & just lots of times he gets it all ready himself & has a boiler full ready to boil before I can get the breakfast dishes washed. I just oversee it. I always help rinse & starch them of course. & they are just as clean & white as any chineymans washing. So you see I am not tired as you supposed & feel like ironing & they always iron so much easier than they do to lay to or three days. & since Blanche was born I cant see as well as I did. It puzzles me like forty sometimes to thread a needle after night. so I can iron better after night than I can sew.

Well its almost 10 & has clouded over again but the clouds are light. I am going to hunt the cupboard & then turn into bed. I wont find much to eat tho only a piece of the old ham bone & bread & butter but I expect I have done about the last churning for a while. we havent any fresh stock yet. Leses has too fresh cows & they are the best off now for milk and butter since they come to Kans. & he killed seven hogs so they ought to have meat enough but none of them was heavy. he fed them good but he said they just wouldnt fatten right. Pa said his pen was too small. good night.

Wed morning

I will have to make haste & finish this or I will not get this in todays mail or you wont get it this week. We are well & feeling Boss. the weather caught cold last night & the wind comes down from the north with a whoop but would not be cold if the wind did not blow. but it is clear. Pa has just been talking. about a year ago this time he was thinking pretty strongly of seeing you & was wondering if he was up there now if he would get a sleigh ride for we rather expect to hear of you having snow. we have some new neighbors or new women folks in Isabel. Old Mr. Robinson got married a couple of months ago to a widow woman in the Lodge & she has four grown girls & one little boy & during hollidays all of the children was up there. One girl is as tall or taller & slender as Annie Duffield. I tell you she is huge & hombley in accordance but of course she cant help that. Some of the girls have taken a panic over toboggans this winter after so long a time.

Nell made Laura one then Liss made Nellie one & of course tried to cap Lauras. then Jen must have one as near like Nellies as possible. & None must have a blue one. she made hers herself. all but the balls & Ollie made them. But Jen tried to make hers & got it all in a muddle & had to go down & have Liss finish it. Sue & Ollie got black yarn. its not Saxton but something good. & Ollie hooked them some hoods. & they only cost them about 40 cents apiece. they are right pretty but come over & fit to tight to thier face I think. I have not saw Mrs W. since we were at Nashville but I hear of her & Miner being awful sweet on each other. Oh I feel afraid for her. Aunt Lyd & Uncle Jim was up to Sawyer new Years to visit them Bockorens & Mrs W. & Miner was there & spent the evening with them & Aunt Lyd said she put her in mind of a sixteen year old girl with her first beaux. but you know Aunt Lyd will make things out a little worse than they are but she does act rather sillie. I noticed that at Nashville but La, dont you & Will mention it for the world to anyone so any of Williams here would hear it for they would write it back to her. I suppose she is Grandma again as sue was called over to Annies at daylight yesterday morn but I have not heard from there since. Annie was here last thursday after my quilting frames. Bills Niece is there from Mo. a great big tall fat girl & she is smart too. Eggs is 12½¢ butter 10. I have sold several dozen this winter by saving them. they were 21 ct a couple weeks ago. some days I [have] five & six & maybe the next I will get 3 & so on. I think they lay in the stables & the mules get them. well my paper is full & I could write more but guess I will have to quit Or I wont get this to the office. & Pa is keeping Blanche still while I write. Helen are you entirely well of your complaint. you never speak of it anymore & I so often wonder if you are.

You will think there is nothing in this letter & will be afraid to open it. I have some writing paper but thot I could put more of this kind in. now I want Will to get some great big yaller buff envelopes so you can write more next time & Ross can write to for I love to read his letters too. I felt like you had not wrote much. one end of your letter or envelope was allmost bursted open. when D gave it to me I thot he had opened it. now I hope you will not think I am negligent about writing this time & I hope how soon I will get a big letter from you. Oh I was looking in the chest the other day & found a letter that Lucinda White wrote in I866 & it was with a pencil & so dim some words almost rubbed off. I am going to keep it. Late was off on a big Wolf hunt last thursday with about 100 men & he said he had lots of fun. he said he was going to write to Ross about it but got to lazy. I guess they got one coyote rounded up & was all circling in on him so nice & the [Ceaffam?] I said thot so much of Pa run in & drove him out. didnt know why he done it unless it was to try his pony. Several of them is committing a Play called the Flowing Bowl to have at the school house to get lamps for the school house & Dick has to be old darkey Pete because as Sue says his eyes is so big & white. well no more for this. write soon all of you. hope you are all well now. good bye. with love & kisses to all of you from Aunt Nett.