Chicago
August 11, 1867
Dear Brother & Sister,
I received your letter some time ago and was very glad to
hear that you was getting along so well.
As for myself, I have once more settled down in business with a very
good prospect so far, although business has been very dull in Chicago this season
but is improving very much this month, and I think that we will have a very
good fall.
I have not been able to get much money from Memphis yet. I had a very fine buggy there worth about two
hundred dollars and I left it to be sold with some parties that I was
acquainted with, and it was sold week before last for eighty dollars. The day after it was sold I sent a note to
the parties to ship it up here. I wanted to use it.
I suppose John would like to know what sort of mill we have
got. The engine and building we rent for
one hundred and fifty dollars per month.
In this we have got three planers now, for we only got one of the
yesterday, one resawing circular machine, and one siding mill to saw siding, one
rip saw. And upstairs we have the box
machining. We are expecting every day a
new resawing machine. It will be one
that you have seen used in the eastern country often. One of ___ up and down saws for wide
boards. The circular will only saw 16 inches;
the other will saw 28 inches. I am
going to put Richard to run it when it comes.
They promised to have it here in 15 days after we have them the order.
Richard has had a very serious time of it for the past
two weeks. He wanted to run the engine
and do has own firing and so I left it with until such time as the saw would be
here, but it was too hard work for him and he had to stop, and shoulder began
to get lame and swell up, and it finally festered and he had it lanced twice,
and I never saw so much matter come out of anything in my life. The only wonder
is that it did not kill him for it had formed under the shoulder blade and it
made him look hunched back. And Frances
has fretted considerably over him. She was
not here to take care of him. She has
been to Belvidere for some time with Winnie.
Winnie has been sick for a good while and she went out there to see if
she might get some better but Richard’s sickness has made him look poor and
very thin.
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