Ransom W. Towle to Rufus and Sebra Towle
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Your letter I recd by last nights mail. The letter was usually welcome but the
tone of it sounded rather desponding. I realize that your situation there alone
with so much to do must keep you so overworked that you will be more liable to
feel gloomy than you otherwise would though there is cause enough now to give
any body the blues But I am afraid you will not make it pay even pecuniarily for
in the Spring you will be overworked and low spirited and I am afraid used up. I
wish you might see some way that you could make a live out of it and get rid of
so much care and hardship.But you must keep cheerful as possible and trust luck
for the [filial] issue. With Sugar at 9 cts and Butter 17 cts
per lb. if other things [near] correspond They must retrench a
little
buy less cotton goods and more woolens. And it seems to me
They can get along with a sacrifice of a few luxuries, and return all the
necessaries without eating “old hoss and Shingles” as the
Boys call their salt Beef and hard Bread - or without laying cold . I believe I
never will get blue again so long as I can be comfortable with enough wholesome
food to eat. Yesterday I came in from thirty hours Picket trip in a Steady Snow
Storm which fell into the mud and made it rather unpleasant Nothing occurred
unusual except perhaps the capture of two Rebel Scouts and one man Shooting
himself through the leg in such a way as to render amputation necessary. Today
it raining quite hard which is the case here about half of the time Our drilling
now is quite light being confined to two Drills a Day mostly target
Shooting.
Ransom
P.s. I wrote you if you wanted my state State pay and allotment I would send you a check and let you draw if it will do you any good you can have it to use. R W Towle