Oct 6^t 1872
Burlington Iowa
Dear Wife & Baby
It is pleasant to have the privilege to head a letter in this Style but I would sooner send this by word of
Mouth. I can get along well enough through the week but when sunday comes I
fell a little lonesome without you. I would like to say a word to you & give
baby one kiss but so it is I am hunting a Home for us where we can enjoy
ourselves without Moving once a year and being bothered doing as other people
says whether it is my interest or not.
today is beatiful. we have enjoyed a pleasant week except last Monday &
tuesday when the roads were very bad but since crossing the Ill River last
wedesday just before noon we have had nice weather & good rads except a few
hills & have passed through some beautiful country we have reache this point 2
days ahead of my calculations and are camped today on the Ill side of the
river opposite Burlington we reached here yesterday abut 3 1/2 P.M. & was
entirely out of bread so I walked the RR Bridge and bought some in Iowa &
being about 1 mi above the Bridge it made a walk of about 5 miles till I got
down town and reached camp this side the River again well we enjoyed a shower
last night but a beautiful day today. I have not been to the post Office yet
but am anxiously waiting the morrow to come when I will visit it. after which
if I get a letter I will answer it next Sunday well I have had good health so
far except my eyes have been a little sore nearly ever since I started & dont
seem to be mending much on acc't of the wind. tomorrow morning we cross the
King of Rivers and resume on our journey toward the setting sun and
expect to be about 15 days on the road yet. we seen three steamBoats land here
today one of them landed a lot of Cattle on this side.
Oh! did Jessie come back home he left us last sunday forenoon while in camp at
Forest Ill
I called on Wm W Lockwood last sunday evening at Forest and he was quite glad
to see me perhaps you do not know who mr Lockwood is. he is the man who taught
school at Gilead when I taught writing there he is now the pricipal of the
Forest Graded school he wanted me to stay over night with him as I was the
first to call on him from Ind since he lives there & that has been three
years. What I have seen of Burlington I very hilly but there are some nice
buildings here.
All day long the guns have been cracking along the river almost equal to a
skirmish which does not speak well for the morals here just at this moment a
man who is camped near me asked if I knew of of [/sic/] a fish hole close at
hand of course I have my opinion him there is five emigrant wagons here three
beside our own waiting to cross the river in the morning that would have
traveled all day could the got across but the ferry does not run
I have seen no movers that lay by on the sabbath but ourselves and I see no
horses as fat as our own ours are nearly as fat as when we started
Old Buckskin as the Boys call my mare does splendid jenny can be turned loose
and cant be drove away from the wagons but Old nelly has to be watched some
I thought I would say nothing about you today so the boys woud not laugh
Farewell till for a week
Give baby a kiss yes 2 of them and take one yourself
Uriah
write and direct to Lincoln we will be there 2 weeks from next tuesday if no
bad luck
From: Nebraska State Historical Society
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