Pioneer Oil Works, Oct 2^nd/64

Funkville, Pa.

 

Dear Friend Nancie,

                                    I must beg pardon for not answering your welcome letter sooner. It must have been a great while on the road for I did not receive it untill last Tuesday and it was mailed the 21^st. However I was glad to hear from you & now hasten to answer at this my earliest opportunity. Oil is plenty here yet & disagreeable weather fast approach- / ing. it is disagreeable enough here in the summer time, but I find as cold rainy weather advances it becomes two fold worse. I think that two weeks from tomorrow I shall "skedaddle" for home.

 

            This hollow seems to me to be a perfect prison if I had wings I would fly up some fair day and take a view for a short time of my native state it seems so aggravating to think that in Hiram you can see these hills but from these hills you "cant" see Hiram, but never mind I am bound to see Hiram before this / month is out if I have my health.

 

            I have been breaking the sabbath today by hunting chestnuts, not exactly stealing them, but knocking them off, and picking them up &c. It does a fellow good to get out and see the country if he "dont" get any chestnuts.

 

            Time does not pass so swiftly here as it does on Hiram hill if it only passed as pleasantly I should not be so anxious to leave.

 

            You say you do not know anything about the Hesperium. I should think you / would have got acquainted with some of them before this time. do you belong to the Olive Branch if you do you will have a chance to see both societies "explaterate" or to hear them rather. I would like to be there when they have their public performance I was sorry to hear that J. H. Smith was dead Hiram has lost another brave son and the public a good citizen; I always thought a great deal of him. Some thought him as well as the rest of the family were proud, but I do not think they are. I have found that if any one respects themselves they will be respected by all respectable persons, it is the most ignorant persons that are the proudest and haughtiest as a general thing. I think you acted rather coldly toward the one who so "frightfully" invited you to tend the fairs, however as you say it is well enough to look out for "mittens" early in the season but I do not see any cause for you to go to the fair and cry all the way to Yours, Harry

 

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Yours Truly

H. M. Wilson

 

P.S. I shall be at home perhaps before you would have time to answer this

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