Brown Family Letter, November 22, 1883

LETTER #3, KNOXVILLE, ARK., NOV. 22, 1883

Dear Brother,

I received your last letter a week or two ago, I was glad to hear that Mollie had got off all right at last.

I would have answered your letter over a week ago but I have been waiting to see if I could find out what I was going to do but I can’t tell yet. I thought last week I was going to get a job in a cotton gin but I went to see about it as soon as I found out they wanted a man but I was just a few minutes too late. Another fellow was in ahead of me. I have been trying to get along without calling on you for any more money but I don’t see how I am to make it. It has rained so much that I could not work half the time and consiquently I have just about paid my board up to this time at picking cotton, but the cotton will all be picked very soon and then I don’t know how I will make it, But in the meantime I have got to have something to wear the weather is getting freezing out here and my duds are light. I want you to send me my overcoat if it don’t cost too much to send it by express and if you can spair it send 10 dollars with it. I guess you think it is like giving money away to send it to me, well it does look like it but perhaps I will be able to pay you some day and if I ever can pay at all I will pay you interest on it and what I already owe you. I don’t see how I can get along without some money from some where, but the folks here say they have never known any one to starve here although some of them come very near it some times and would starve I suppose if they could not get things on credit.

When you send my overcoat if it wont cost any more you can put in my flute. I happened to tell some of the folks here that I had a flute at home and they cann’t rest unless they get to see it. Send the instruction books along with it but if it will cost any more by having that in the package don’t send it.

You can take out the express charges and the postage on those other packages from the 10 dollars and just send the rest so as to make it even $20 in all.

People here say it has been the hardest time here to make money this fall that ever has been but that is not much consolation to me.

Tell Ma that I will answer her letter before long. W.H.Brown

Note: I have left the spelling and capitalization and punctuation much as he wrote. I have divided it in paragraphs for easier reading.

Transcribed and submitted by Betsy Smith