Letter 36 — December the 9th 1872

I seat myself to let you know that I am well at present, hoping when these few lines reach you they will find you the same. I would have wrote sooner but had no paper and had no way of going to town until Friday. I went to town on the cars. Our horses are not sick yet but we do not like to use them or take them to town where it is. There is a good deal of it around here, but none have died yet. Mrs Sheeder is dead. She died November the 22 with the lung fever. She was taken sick on Saturday and on the next Friday she died. Wm Foley is dead too. They were buried the same day and John Carson. And there was two buried in Springfield all the same day two weeks ago last Sabbath. Mr. John Clark is not expected to live, he has had a paralytic stroke. They have no hopes of him. Well, I must bring my letter to a close as we are going to butcher tomorrow and I will have to get up early and so I must go to bed early. I want you to come up against the twelfth of March if you do not come before. I want you to be here then to see what grandpap is going to do for me, whether he is going to give me anything or not. So good bye. Write soon.