Katie (McNulty) Chapin - Unknown Date - Minneapolis, KS

[Must be Winter 1872 after the New Year]

\Minneapolis Kansas

Dear Mother Harris and Maggie

we received your letter in due time was glad to hear from you all we are all well at the preasant time. the children never had better health and I do not have the head ache at all have not had the sick head ache since I left Illinois. Kansas is a very healthy country I have not heard of bad case of sickness since I come to the state. we got a letter from Marcia yesterday it don us lots of good you Know she writes all the news I supose you had a mery Christmas we were Invited to a Mr Carleys to a turkee dinner had a Splendid time and a good dinner. went to the Christmas tree in the Evening I got a new dress Oscar a pair of Gloves Lewis a slate and pencil a Rooster, a paper of Candy and a lot of nuts. Alie got a doll and a Rooster Will give Oscar a pair black cloth pants and Emma give him a kerchief. I got the gloves for him - he went up the river last week with a load of Flour was gone five days earnt fourteen dolors I washed and Ground and Baked cakes and pies for for Mrs [Eastes?] while he was gone earnt a sack of Flour and enough to pay for his Gloves while he was gone he is going to start agin tomorrow if nothing happens all in bead but me and I am to sleepy to write so I will finish some other time.

Monday it is time for bead But I want to get this letter done to Night so I thought I would sit up and write. did you find Lewies cap after we left. I was going to tell you before we left Mr M if you found it to take it home with you and give it to Howard how is Uncle folks I would like to hear from them. I have a chance to trade 21 yds of my carpet for a cow that will be fresh in about six weeks, and a hog that will be a year old in March how is that for a trade. I have got my bead room carpet down and I do not want a carpet on the cichen so I think I will trade I can comence to sew rags for another and soon have another carpet I think the cow will do us more good then the carpet I wish Thomas would send us some money give or Ten dolors if he could not send more. Oscar wrote to him when we first come to Kansas But have not heard from him we never will Need the Money more than now.

Maggie do you learn fast this winter the Children talk so much about you Lewie talks more about gramma then any of the rest of you he did not feel satisfide about leaveing her to Mr Machens he has built him a shop out of Brick and stone. and says he is going to work like sick to earn money and send for Aunt Marcia Alice is just as fat as she can bee she told her Uncle Will that she had a Maggie and a Granma back home. Will thinks she is just right. we hear from sister Alice quite often she is in Chicago

Mother the dog that folowed us is with us yet is a splendid good felow to Oscar thinks so much of him he woke us up on Night just in time to save our horses there was a man drove up just at day light. he come close to the waggon Frank Barked and made such a fuss that I looked out and this man steped of and I thought Frank would eat him up I told Oscar get up he did but the dog was not satisfide he would walk between the man and the wagon and Growl I got Breakfast and [illegible] About noon we met some men after this this felow he had two good horses with him just like the ones they discribed.

our farm is six Miles from Minnaeolis and four from a town called Linz there is a railroad Layed of a half a mile from the Farm we went out and planted wallnuts Peach Stones and Butternuts we are going to build a stone house Oscar traded with Doctor [Chark?] a Relative of Mr Eatons. he thinks Dock is [Aughfoly?] nice he is just as fat as he can be. we took a ride one Night before Oscar traded him of Emma rode Dock and I rode Mollie we have got Fany yet shall keep her She is worth as much as two like Sam so Oscar says. I guiss you will get tired reading this. it is twelve o clock and O is a snoring away as though he was taking comfort the scamp I can not get him to write. he did not go up the river Maggie if you write to me I will send you some pieses for your charm quilt give my love to Uncle folks and tell him that I will write to them as soon as I can I will not write any more this time I

hope to hear from you soon

Katie J Chapin

Minneapolis

Kansas

Alie says tell Granma that I have got a new comb