Southwick Mass March 27th [1864]

Cousin Chauncey

Yours under date of March
20 and 21st came to me only this
morning I had learned of your
promotion you will fill the
position with honor to yourself and
[R?] [????] [1] Sunday morning it is
cloudy but not cold we have no
meeting today so I shall pass my time
as I have the most of my sundays
the past winter this is a nise day
to hunt ducks there is considerable
many arrived I guess but I have
not been but three times this spring
[Barden?] [2] has been about every day since
he came into the place he has not
got any yet he is on a strike now
to pay him 6.50 per lb he wants 7.50
it is doubtful if he gets it
[page 2]
he claims he can make 5.00 a day
he has been here some 4 or 5 weeks and
all he has made is 32.25 if he would
work every day I should be willing to pay
him more than I would as it is I
hired Wards wife to make last week
she will not make more than 1.00 or 1.50
a day but I will bet she will make
more than Barden will I have not seen
any of her work yet but they say she
makes a good cigar I guess I shall have
to set Kate at it she has not made a great
many but she has injenuity enough to
do any thing well that she undertakes I shall
have her come into [???????] [3] and have a
few days to see her [????????] [4] I suppose
[???] have Kate [????] have to put [???????] [5]
on to she has made enough to make a
deacent cigar but a cent or two more
to her policy Rob was in here last
night he said he had struck for
[page 3]
1.50 on a thousand he only gets 5.00
now he said as mutch as to say if [Kni??]
did not come up to his prise he would
go to work for me. I say me every
time but I do not buy the tobacco
[Mitchelson?] furnishes that and the
money and payes me so mutch per
lb and 50c for packing and bonus
for my trouble I got a case from
NY last night there is another some
where on the road besids I have
part of a number of cases on hand
more I dont suppose ther is enny
thing here that will interest you
but for want of something better put
it in Taylor up to the street has
lost his oldest girl I believe they
think it was the excitement of
Parker and his boys being drounded
that killed her she had fitts the
Canker rash is moderating a little
I guess
[page 4]
Mr Snow is home on a furlough
from the 34th so I hear
We had a social up to aunt Jenies
thursday night and had a good time
and some fun as well playing this play
where one goes out of the room and
if it is a gentleman the ladies say som
thing to a certain one about the gentle
that has gone out after they have ben
all round he or she is called in
and then they are told some one says
so and so about you they guess who
said it and if they guess right that
one haves to go and they finaly got
Wirt and he hated to go would not play
it for a long time but they finaly got
him to say something about Lewin
and she guessed him the first time
he expected they would haul him
over the coles and they did some
one said they thought he had courted
long enough to get married he did
not guess who it was some one said
they thought it would improve his
looks if he blacked his whiskers or
boots Leann said she for got whitch
they got me out onse but they wer
not hard on me at all some one said
I liked the girls to mutch for my
own good perhaps that is true but I
cant see it Bill Marion is home sick
he haves the shakes I think it doubtful
if he goes into the store again this
spring his folks are fixing to move
to Westfield they have been frameing
a barn here and carried it to W and put it up the mud is all dried up I
guess though we had some awful cold
days last week

Ever your Cousin CJ Gillet