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| It was a long way from Pilot Mound to Elrose (541 miles) |
Tezorton, Sunday Dec. 5, 1909
Dear Mrs. F.
Just got started to write when one of those looking out of the window shouting “Here comes the boys and the dogs.” So I dropped writing till after dinner. Stanley wrote his letter before dinner so Peter, Howard and I are into ours now as we must send them to Tezorton this evening. The mail leaves there tomorrow morning so we must get busy. It is no easy matter to write with the boys talking a good gait all around me. Pete & Stan and Bob Cairns went to Rosetown on Monday and got back to C’s Tuesday night, then next forenoon they brought it home, some lumber & coal & other things for family use.
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| Rosetown, ca. 1910 (photo courtesy Rosetown Centennial Museum Archive) |
We have a nice cellar 8 ft. by 12 ft. and a little over 5 ft. deep. Part of it we will use for our coal about 8 ft. by 4 ft., which will leave 8 ft. square for other things. It was pretty hard digging but the boys made a good job of it. Since then we got the floor laid with two door in it one for coal and the other for general use. Yesterday Peter put up the bunks. We have been very short of bed-clothes since I came. Our boxes have not come here yet. Doug found that they were still at the C.P.R. freight-sheds. He paid the freight on them and we’ll likely get them this week. I haven’t had a good feed of potatoes since I left home except what I got at Cairns’ the day and a half I was there. You know how that goes with me. We have no meat either and that does not make it any better. We had a little beef when I first landed but it has been used up long ago. We must get a quarter of beef so that we can have soup &c. I am wishing much for my pork, I am so fond of it. Will think all the more of it when it arrives. We have porridge every morning, then bread & syrup. I have still some of my cheese left. Occasionally biscuits. We are on the whole quite at home and happy. Three weeks from yesterday till Xmas. I have an invitation from Mr. & Mrs. Cairns to have Xmas dinner with them so it’s likely I’ll take advantage of it. They seem a nice old Scotch couple. Mrs. C. is very anxious for you to come and neighbor with them, although they are 6 mls. from us. We get our butter from them at 25¢ a lb. She gets 30¢ from the other Homesteaders. We get a preference as we give them all our freighting. He does it very reasonably too. Five dollars a load and it takes two days to draw it to their place and another day to take it to our places. We pay the expenses of men & teams while they are out to town, besides. Liverymen in town charge $10 a load. We are thro. with our freighting except coal. We have about 25 hundred of coal now. I would have had it in the cellar yesterday, only that Stan was baking. I’ll get it in to-morrow if all is well. Boy will likely go either to Stan’s or Willie’s to-morrow. To-day is settled again. I must draw to a close as the boys are waiting to take it [to] the office and talk is too busy for writing anyway.
Your affectionate Husband
D. Fraser
I am going to get the Exposition to come to Tezorton. The Times will be enough for you.
