Vicksburg Miss Nov 30th 1862

Dear Sister
I this eavening attempt to answer
your verry kind letter of the 20th Nov
which came to hand yesterday and you may
be shure that I was glad to hear from
you and family I was glad to hear that
you make Corn enough to do on and that
uncle Mark has your wheat Soed and
I still advise you to have a negro boy
fro [1] to make you acrop next year I think
that will be the best course you can per
sue try and keep up your Stock
of hogs and cattle so as to rais your own
meat if you can rais your own meat &
bread at home you can get along verry
well you must try to learn your
Children at home all you can tell
them that I say they must study their
books and bee Smart or I wont Love
them a bit I was glad to hear that
you and mother have Jane to make me a
Suit of Clothes off for I assure you that
I stand in need of them and as to
buying of them here one would have
to pay 4 or 5 prices for them you must
try and send them to me as it is im
possible for me to come after them
you must give my love to Jane & Sallie &
Families all so to all enquiring friends
and the girls in particular. Tell Pint
that I am sorry that his arm has not got
well but I hope it will get well soon
and if he in tends to go to overseeing
[page 2]
if he will goto the bottoms he can get
from a thousand totwothousand a year
my reason fr saying he can get such
wages is becaus one of my acquaintance
a young man that has a dis charge was
offered 1500 Dollars to oversee over in the
swamps but I think that a man
might make from 2 to 5 hundred dollars
per month Speculating on the army he
can buy shoes & clothes in the country
and carry them any where there is
soldiers stationed and sell them for an
immence proffitt Common brogan
shoes here are worth from 8 to 10 Dollars
per par common home made jeans is worth
4 and 5 dollar per yard Chickens is rea[d]y
sale at 1 to 1.50 a piece turkeys 4 to 5 Dollars
a head butter 1 to 1,25 ct per pound Sheep is
worth from 10 to 15 Dollars per head port
by the retail 40 cts per pound and these
things are all ready sale for the cash or
Confederate money Eggs are worth 1 dolla
per dozen We are abuilding breast works
all around vicks burg and putting up
seige guns on all the commanding points
around the place so I dont think that
there is but one chance for the yankes
to take this place and that is for them
to starve us our we can contend with
any forse that t[h]ey can bring her at this time
my health is verry good at this
time and has been so for the Last 2
months I saw uncle Tom Harris some two
weeks ago he and family were well he was on
his return from the salt works with 400 bushels salt
M S Hunter