Jan 4th, 1871
Dr. J. Benjamin
Dear Friend,
Your favor of Dec 4th was received last Saturday
being forwarded to Monroe, Mich from Chicago, and I take the first moment to reply.
I’m glad to learn through you that John
is doing well and is industrious & faithful. If work can be found for another man to do, it
may be well to engage that Bohemian for the year, and if should let my farm or
make any change in your language “When you get tired of him turn him over to me”. Sorry to hear that Todd did not come earlier
& do his job better. What was the cause?
Hope you have obtained a good price for your pork, and will
sell ours at the same figures. Pork has
been on rise here for the past week: 7
cts and 7/10 cts per lb. Please dispose of all except enough to carry us
through the year. We don’t want to put
down more than these hogs and perhaps two will do. Perhaps you better sell the oxen for cash if
you can get $150 and deposit it with the receipts for the pork in the State National
Bank, Minneapolis where I have opened an account & made deposits already,
unless David Adams should find a place to do better with the funds. I will write him about the matter and if he
calls for the money before it is deposited in bank, let him have it, take a
receipt. I should not wish to sell the
cattle to Mr. Good less than $175 to take pay in timber and lumber.
I’m not sure of building a barn this year if we can possibly
get along without. I want the profits of
the farm to build out and maybe we can get some of the timber & lumber that
will do for in the winter & complete the barn another season.
If we conclude to continue in our concerting, we shall let
our farm for one or two years, and that we should decide before long. But one thing we do wish to have the oxen and
old Kate sold for cash & the wheat all except enough for bread & sowing
sent to Daper to be stoned in St. Paul with Mr. Summer’s grain till summer. I wish
you would have John ___ all he can getting grain to market and bringing home
for the R.R. and merchandise wanted by the respective merchants. Then he can draw in some logs from my 40 acre
lot by Mr. Remick’s blacksmith shop (school lands). There are
many oak, elm, and bass trees and John could cut them as long as possible and
get them into the Kelley’s mill, leaving
the Bohemian to chop & pile up the wood and tend the stock and take care of
things generally.
What think you, Dr., of my letting our farm? Can you think of a first rate man to let it
to? Is John a good man to let it
to? I would buy in from one to three
thousand dollars’ worth of young stock, have 50 to 75 acres of tillage land
laid down to grass. We have a splendid
shelter for stock in winter and as the profits accrued from the farm put it
right back into improvements, barns, sheds, etc. I think your idea for the best way of getting
rails is correct – to buy them of the settlers in the wood who are anxious to
clear their land.
We shall not build much fence in the coming year. If we could get 200 or 300 first rate ones and
reasonable rates I would not care, but we have 50 acres enclosed already that
has not been touched by the plan.
While I think of it, there are many oak tops of trees up on
the 40 acre lot, some of them would be good for posts and the bottoms good for
fuel ought to be hauled - there is one big log that George left there last winter. I have no objection to Mr. Christian having
that lot north of the hardware shop, only I had promised it to Quants the tailor,
but he did not come in time and I am forced to sell it to Mr. C. I ought to have $100 at least for the lot it
is to control, but I will make the same terms I did with the tailor: $80 cash
and $20 in his lien of business. A note
of hand given for the $80 from the time of occupancy drawing interest at the
rate of 10 per ct per annum to the time of receiving a full warranted deed when
I would like to have it cashed or ample security given. I have
our comfort in Mr. C’s having that lot and his being a good citizen interested
in good works in his shop and in our Sunday school .
It is sad to learn of the death of Mr. LeMater. He was as near as I can find a good citizen.
Now I am writing up the ___ of this letter in a car for Dravens
and am on my way to South Bend, Ind to Elkhart where we hope to have a good
Republican audience; the old home of Schuyler Colfax [1].
Our journey since we left Hassan Valley has been into seven
states and over 16 hundred miles of RR travel. If possible we want to get home sometime
in February. But if we go into Kansas first
we shall not come till March. If we rent
the farm, who is the best one to take it & be faithful? Would you let it be John, and would he like it? There is a good chance for somebody.
The times are dull, duller, dullest but we have had fair
degree of patronage and old friends are glad to meet us again. We have
had much exposure of late in the several changes of weather, very cold and long
rides, some days 200 miles and all night too. Abby has a severe cold and was home for a
week. Mrs. H. also took cold but all
are comfortable now. The boys stand in
first rate and are very active in this business.
Would like to look in upon you this pleasant day. Give our best regards to your entire family
& believe me,
Truly yours,
Asa B. Hutchinson
[1] Schuyler Colfax, Jr. March
23, 1823 – January 13, 1885) was a United
States Representative from Indiana (1855–1869), Speaker of the House of Representatives
(1863–1869), and the 17th
Vice
President of the United States (1869–1873). To date, he is one of
only two Americans (John Nance Garner
in the 20th century being the other) to have served as both House speaker and
vice president. President Ulysses S. Grant and Colfax, 46 and 45
respectively at the time of their inauguration, were the youngest Presidential
team until the inauguration of Bill Clinton and Al Gore in 1993[1
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