The following are extracts from two or possibly more letters, alas, not intact and not completely decipherable. The first section is probably a complete letter sent in a parcel with the "Catalogue" mentioned. No dates are given on any of the fragments.
I have mailed with this letter a Catalogue that you can see how we do the most of our shopping and what the Styles and prices are a dollar you know is about 4 shillings and 2 pence I have also put in a little peice of gold you must sell it and it is to pay you the postage on that pretty apron you sent out we have a lovely garden and lots of fruit this season but not many Oranges the 2 trees had to many last year we had more than a thousand picked besides what dropped we got two nice Calfs living but we lost 2 and one Cow died and another nearly died in calveing every body around here had the same problem there was an awful lot of Acorns and the cows will eat them and that is the cause of it. Bessies and Ed only had one come in this year and you must think what a time they had to save the Cow it took 6 men to take the Calf from her but she is alright now but the Calve died you will think this is a creaking letter it is all just as things happen here my Chickens have done well I have sold 14 dollars worth of Eggs this winter and had dozens to use besides and I got 50 young ones and Bessie has just as many well I must close now I must go and help Bob to Milk the Cows we are both well and send our love to you all from your loving Sister and Brother R and A S Lyte
we have tons of it I wish you could see and have some there is no sale for dried Plums so we are just feeding them to the Pigs Plums as large as eggs it is no use to sulpher them its a lot of work and expence Bessie had a lot last year and had to feed them to Pigs we find the loss of Families in Cherokee they are all moved away some of them had 8 or 10 children used to buy a lot of fruit and vegetables now there is only a few old prospectors left and they are only there in winter did you get the letter I told you about our mine caving well that is nearly two years ago Bob is running a new tunnel but has not found a color of gold
yet it is easier to lose the pay than to find it and he cannot work half the time in the Mine there is so much to do home here I do what I can do all the irrigateing and he will have to help me cut the Pears next month we have a lot and can sell them dried and sacked but the sacks are 11 cents each used to be 7, we miss Alfred so much he has been away at work he is a good worker and
and a big boy he is 6 feet tall Bessie is sending little Bobs picture it is exactly like him he is a good worker and a great help to his Mother he will have to go to school again pretty soon Bessie is worked to death they had a good sale for their Raspberrys and sold over 25 dollars worth got a fine garden and lots of Fruit Pigs and Cows they had 3 sets of Twin Calves this last 2 year the first they lost the Cow and saved the Calves the second they saved the Cow and the Calves died the third Cow and Calves both living they are 10 months old now old Joe Freydt died in the Asylum the 10 of June this year so I guess they are sure of the land now the State took everything else he had and would have had the bit of land but he deeded it to them and our dear boy as soon as his sister died she made him promise to do it before she died but we get nothing out of it Blum hates us and everything English but we got land enough such as it is without the Mine it is not much but we are glad for Bessies sake she is a darling good child to us. Tom Mugford has had a streak of good luck after years of bad he has sold his Mine and got his money he is as happy as a bird and is taking life easy for a little while he is spending it too he is so goodhearted I hope he will not give it all away he would give us if we would take it from him but he does forget we helped him in his distress. I must close now with love to you all I have not said half I want to the War has raised the price of everything out here and we have a War on the Mexican border now
