Polk County Oregon Teritory Oct., 30th, 1853

Dear Children

Our greate distance from ech other and long absince cases greate
anxiety in my mind concearning your welfare. it has been a long time
since I heard anything from any of you You must be aware that I feel
much anxiety for you and would be glad to hear from you very
frequently

We never knew what it was to be so long without seeing or
at least hearing from you but we never was half so far apart before so
if you can shar the time to write to us it would be a source of much
pleasure to us in our lonsume and destitue situation you cannot
ammagine how glad we are to hear from you. These lines leaves us all
injoying good health except Isaac he has the chills I suppose the dregs
of his last year's sicknefs which he had on the plains he and Elijah both
was quite sick on the plains and neither of them has got intirely over it
yet last year was very fatal indeed on those who emigrated acrofs the
plains thousands died and many who lived suffered considerably not so
this season thare has been but few deaths and very little sicknefs as far
as I have heard. thare has a greate many cattle died on Snake River.
P.R. Haley lost all his cows and some ten or twelve oxen though the
family injoyed as good health as could be expected. they was about
two months longer on the road than we was . old friend Cramer lost
everything except one ox, though all the family got through safe. I must
tell you how we got along all our company got through safe and sound
we lost not one of all that started, but we gained one Elizabeth had a
fine son the 3rd day of August on the cascade two days before we got
to Fosters at the food of the cascade. Edward Ground had one mare
stolen by the Indians five miles from Fort Laramie and one drownded in
fall river I also had one mule drownded in the same river my largest mule
one of them that I got of Afred Brown, the way they got drownded was
through carelessness. the day was warm and we had to drive a long
distance without water and when we got to the river the horses rushed
into the water just above the falls and the current being extremely swift
they was presently forced over the rocks with such violence that two out
of fourteen was so disabled that they drowned before they could reach the
shore. the only wonder is that no more of them got drownded, with these
execptions we got every thing through which we started with that is all the
stock and indeed all the waggons except the one that Baldwin made for
Edward which broke down before we got halfway

Our stock is all thriving very finely indeed we have as good grass here
now as you have in the states in June, it is indeed of much better quality
than grass you have at any time in the summer. You would like to now
how I am pleased with the country, I will just tell you in a few words that
the country is very and small indeed but all that has or can get good
situations in this country can live with one third of the labor that they can in
Illinois or Iowa. it costs less to raise a horse or an ox here than it does to
raise a chicken in the states. this may seem strange to you, but one man
told me that he came here about seven years ago with 25 head of cown
he says he has sold eight thousand dollars worth of cattle and has three
hundred on hand and he has never fed them five dollars worth since he
has been here you all recollect Mc Timmons the man who moved the old
man Kelly from Ohio to our house in Illinois. he came here six or seven
years ago with Eleven cows. he told Isaac Smith that he had sold four
thousand dollars worth of cattle and has a large stock on hand. he is
said to be rich though I have not yet seen him this is not a corn country
and consequently not a pork country, but the finest beef and mutton in
the wourld, we can raise some corn but to no great extent. upon the
whole if my children was only all here and was all as well sattisfied with
the country as I am I should be perfectly contented. I have bought a clame
and have let Isaac have it in as much as he had to take his clame by the first
of Dec and I will have two years to take mine Isaac Smith has got a fine
clame, and Ira has got a tolerable good clame though he is not as well
pleased as he would like to be, though he will not loose any thing I think
by buying it as he can sell it for as much or more than he give. Edward
and Hutchinson has no claimes Yet John I want you to attend to the
collection of my money as soon as it becomes due tell the people that I
must have it for I am indebt here and no way to make money. if you can
get it pay yourself for all your trouble and then buy a draft from E. W.
Clark and brothers in St Louis on Adams & Co at Portland and Oregon
City and send it to me and if you find that you cannot get the money from
those that owe me if William Murphy will bring the cattle on the halves
you may take some young cows or heiffers if they are in good order and
send them to me. If Griswould dont comply strictly with the Articles
between us if Quinby thinks you can succeed turn him off

[The rest of this letter by Peter Butler is missing]