Hamersly Library

Polk County Oregon Teritory February 4/56

Dear Children & grandchildren

I avail myself of the present opportunity of writing you a few lines to
let you know that we are in usual health, Also all our friends in this
part of the wourld are in good health as far as I know. And I do
hope when these lines reaches you that you may be in the injoyment
of good health. we have all injoyed the best of health generally since
we have been in oregon we have a healthy country if we have nothing
else we received your kind and interesting letter dated November 11th
which brought the intelegence of the affliction of your family we was
truly sorry to hear of the sickness of Eliza and Grandvile but we was
very glad to hear that they was both better we hope they are intirely
well before this time it is always a great source of happiness to hear
that you are all well for that is all the consolation which we ever expect
to have in relation to our children who are left behind in the states, we
would be very happy indeed to see you all once more in time but in all
human probability we shall never have that pleasure for we are so old
and the daingers of the trip back and the ceartainty that we must die
soon all seems to forbid us making the effort, and I suppose that none
of you will ever try to come to see us. so we must make up our minds
to content ourselves as well as we can by writing to each other

I have informed you of our Indian dificulties I believe I wrote to you that
Isaac had returned home from the war safe and sound. he is still at home,
but Thomas H Hutchinson started for the seat of hostilities last Monday
just one week ago. he is first Lieut in the company and whether he will
ever return or not I cannot tell Elizabeth is left with three little boys to
scuffle for and if he should fall by the hand of the enemy as many others
has done she will be left in a bad situation and you know that I am not
able to do much for her for I am fast declining. if you see any of the
Hutchinsons tell them that Robt and Thomas are both in the army
though several hundred miles apart Robt is in the south and Thomas in
the North. The Indians fight like yellow jackets and I fear that many of
our Boys will fall by their hand they are well armed and have plenty of
amunition and have the best hiding places in the wourld. they also have
fine horses and can skip over the sage brush like a rabbit. they will get
up on the side of the mountains and shake their blankets at our boys
and dare them to come up and fight them and when the whites get
near them they will nudge their horses with their heel and scamper off
but once in a while one gets knocked over I will now tell you some of
the prices of our produce land sells from five to ten dollars per acre,
horses from fifty to one hundred and fifty and about double that for
government scrip Cows and Calves from thirty five to fifty dollars.
Beef Cattle about six cents per pound. Sheep from five to eight dollars,
pork from five to six dollars. Bacon from ten to 15 cts per pound

John I wrote to you some time ago in relation to sending my money
but for fear that you did not get the letter I will write again. if you get
the money I think you had better get goverment drafts of about five
hundred dollars each and send one at a time and if you cant get
goverment drafts try to do as well as you can and I will not only be
sattisfied but very thankful to you for your trouble. You must retain
enough money to pay you well for all your trouble. I hope Bradly will
send me the rent for I need it very much I wrote you in my last letter to
rent out my farm if William did not take it. I have got a letter from
William in which he informed me that he had given out mooving to
Illinois for the present, so I want you to let some one have the place for
one year only as I am determined to either sell or I shall go back and
live on it I want you to let George Deweese have it if he will give as
much as any body else if you have made any arrangements about it let
it stand it is ceartainly worth a good deal more than three hundred
dollars in the way that I shall propose to take the rent. I will take the
rent in repairs as you may direct either have it repaired with rails or
plank as you may think the most advisable perhaps it would sell better
to have it repared about the house with post and plank and the ballance
repaired with rails, but I leave it all with you. The place that I got of
Isaac I will sell at whatever you think would be a fair price but if you
cant sell it for something like the value just rent it and let it stay thare it
will be valuable some day and I must do the best I can. I have not time
to write any more than this letter before George starts but I will write
again soon to James I want you to write to me as often as you can
though perhaps you do your mother wants you to tell her in your next
letter what you call the baby Eliza mother says that she has made a fine
feather quilt and quilted it Shells she also made about seven hundred
pounds of butter in the year we bought three cows and one two year
old heiffer borrowed the money at ten per cent and we have made
butter enough to pay for the cows but we milked some eight or nine
cows, three was Isaac Smith's we have had a very hard freeze the
ground froze about one foot deep the grafs is very poor but the
stock still lives without feed but they would be the better of some
our wheat is intirely froze out though we will sow again wheat has
been selling at 76 cts but it must sell for $1.00 soon I want you to
write in your next letter and let me know what Penquits heir has done
in relation to that land sell Isaac & Thos undivided land if you can give
our respects to your sister Matilda Smith and all who may inquire after
us we remain your loving father & mother

Peter Butler
Rachel Butler

Post Script

Since I filled my sheet I have thought of some other things which I want
to know something about One thing is when I left the Council Bluffs last
spring I left with Col William Henedison and a Mr. Speed all my papers
concerning the insurance of the provisions which I had freighted up from
St Louis which was sunk in the Illinois River they was to collect the
insurance money or to receive the freight from the commission Merchant
McConnel and either send it to me or send it to J.W. Britten of
Monmouth. I have not heard one word from them since now if they have
sent any word to James about it I want him or you to let me know what
it is and one other thing I want you to attend the next probate court in
Monmouth and ask Quimby whether thare is any thing comeing to me
from the Ragland Estate and if so get an order for it and try to get it for
me for I am in greate need of money at this time John you have no idea
how poor we are since we got to Oregon I will just tell you something
of our situation. we have ten horses and mules, three cows and two
calves two ewes, and lambs, seven little hogs two old chairs and two
stools. we have made us three beds such as they are we use an old
table which was left here so you see we are poor indeed. this seems
bad when we consider that we have a good home in Illinois but we are
a long ways from Illinois now

I will just tell you something about the prices of somethings here. good
American mares is worth from one to two hundred dollars horses a little
lefs Mules from one to two hundred dollars American cows from sixty
five to one hundred dollars sheep ten dollars each hogs from ten to twelve
cents per pound grofs Pork from fifteen to eighteen cents per pound.
Bacon 25 Beef from ten to twelve cents per pound chickens fifty cents each
Eggs fifty cts per doz Coffee 25 to 40 cents per pound Shugar 16 2/3 Dry
goods about 25 per cent higher than in the states Wheat $2.00 per bus Oats
from 1.00 to 1.00.25. per bus butter from 25 to 50 cts per pound

Ira has been much affected with a pain in back but is better now the rest are
all in usual health Isaac has got well and hearty this leaves your mother & I in
as good health as we could expect to injoy

Your father

Peter Butler

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