#37

			   Stevenson, Ala.


		Tuesday May 24, 1864
Dear wife got your letter mailed may 17th yesterday
was sorry you had the blues so bad hope you
will get better of them soon I know how perplexing
it is to be disapointed about the place. but I
had rather you would let it be and grow up to
weeds than to have you so fretted and have
you work so hard. I know I am the cause
of a great deal of trouble to you but I will try
to compensate for it all when I return if
we both live to see that day. I much fear
you are going to kill yourself with hard work
that must not be I am getting wages enough
to support you without you killing
yourself with work there is reason in all
things there is such a thing as working
to hard as well as not doing enough you
are responsible to your God for such over
exertions you are a woman endowed with
a common amount of judgment and you
must exercise the same. I shall hold you
responsible for your own health as well as
every thing else and above every (thing) else
you will not confer any favor on me by
killing yourself and by that means Saving
a few dollars of property. Well I suppose

I have blowed you up enough I think you
will not want me to write Such a letter as this
every time well I hope I shant have occasion to.
I am well at present we are in a very
pleasant place and the prospect is we shall
stay here nearly all summer I am going to
send home a box of clothing in two or three
days I can get all I want here at government
prices I shall send an overcoat and two
blankets one of them I bought for $1.50 the
goverment price is $3.25 they would $5.00
at home I should like to see your beaut-
iful profile stuck in a letter and sent here
if you dont send it I shall go and get some
of the mountain Janes to give me their profile
to look at. It is raining very fast now,
I think about as fast as I ever saw it
rain. I think I will give you a list of
the prices we have to pay for vegetables
and such articles as we want to use in
hot weather besides our regular rations
25 cents eggs 50 cents per doze butter 50¢ per
pound milk 20 cts a quart lettuce 10 cents
for as much as one man will eat at one
meal Young onions 25 cents for about
20 onions mustard and pig weeds

				Mary 24, 1864.


for greens 75 cents for as many as you generally
cook at one meal so you can see we can get such
things by paying for them I can trade off
coffee for them so I dont spend much
money I think appearances are favorable
for us all to go home this fall but I think
I should not like to run with your colt but
would much rather run with you. It
rained so fast it made the tent leak a
little so my paper got wet a little. I would
be glad to see you and the children but that
time has not come yet. I think you can
look for me home in Oct. next but dont
know any more about it than I did before
I left home I should be very contented here
if my family was as well of as I am. I am
the only one that came down when I did that
				       get someone to
gets the big bounty. I want you to ^ find out
Just how the town bounty was voted in
our town se if it was given to all the
recruits that was credited to that town after
the 24th day of October or enlisted under the 
presidents call for 300,000 men made Oct. 24th, 1863
get some one to get a copy of the vote for
that bounty Mr Winton would be a good
man to investigate that matter for it may

be possible that I am entitled to that $150.00
dollars that was raised If I am it is worth
looking into up just find out some time there
is no hurry about it and then let me know
and I will tell you what to do next I dont
think  of much more to write so I think I
will bring my letter to a close tell Louisa
that I have written to Oscar every time he
      wrote 
has written to me wrote to him three times
sent him some letters that came from
Louisa here and sent him two Descriptive
rolls tell her to write to him and tell him so.
I am very sorry he is so unlucky. You
must hire your corn planted and ploughed
and hoed. Good bye for the present kiss
the children for me and tell them their pa
wants to see them very much  Remb
Remember me in your prayers from
your husand
		S A Howe
		to his wife C E P H.