Carver Hospital Washington D.C.

Wednesday Oct 21^st 1863      

 

Dear Father Mother Sisters & Brothers I now take pen in hand to write a few lines to you to inform you that i am about the same as usual no worse and not any better to boast of i have been taking Cod Liver Oil for some time i have taken nearly a quart of it and it is not very nise to take i can a sure you i have also had an other Blister on my brest and side the size was 1 x 4 inches fly blister so you can judge what kind of a blister i had it is now nearly well and the doctor that gets an other Blister over my heart will eather whip me first or tie me down to put it ther i have made up my mind to that affect and the doctor knows it for he began to talk to me the other day and he found he had the wrong pig by the tail to drive so he has sayed nothing to me since i have tried to get away from here but there is no chance untill we get paid off then i shall leave this place as quick as i can we get paid about the 10^th of next month it may be before that time. i received your kind and welcomb letter today and was hapy to hear from you and more so to hear that you wer all well you spoke of Calvin being sick with the lung feaver i hope he will soon be better for it is bad for anyone to be sick i have sean sickness in every form and sutch as none of you ever saw there is a man in the next ward to me here that is about 6 feet high and his weight about 175 before he was taken sick / now he will not wey 75 i do not think as for flesh he has none his leggs are about the size of Georgies ancle and the same with him all over his hip bones stick through the skinn then there is an other man by the side of him that was taken bleading the other night and nearly blead to death he is very low he is a Catholick the priest was sent for the other day and came he sayed he thought he would get well he thought the caus of his bleading so was on account of his haveing sutch a weight on his mind and now his mind was relieved he thought he would be more quiet and get over it. I was down to the city yesterday ther was nothing new going on they have new cars on the Avenue they ar 4 horse cars and on the branch roads they have 2 horse in the place of one horse cars so you can travel some ways here for 5 cents we can ride from just below the Hospital here to the Navy yard a distance of about 7 miles for 5 cents there is several streets hear that have cars running on them there is the Avenue cars i should say Pensylvania Avenue the George town cars, 14^th cars, 1^st cars West 1^st cars East the Navy yard cars then you can ride on any of these and get a transfer to the Baltimore and Ohio Rail Rode so there is no trouble to travil as soon as you get out of the cars to the Depot then you can get into the horse cars and ride any where you want to in the city since i have been in the hospital i have been to the patent office the Capitol also to the treasury Building and smithsonean instatute the later is a grand a fair i should like to have you come on here and visit the public places. It is late and my paper is short so i will close with my love and best respects to all Good by from your loveing Sone WAClark

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