State of Indiana Shelby County Dec the 5th 1858
Dear brother & Sister your leter of the 25 oct is at hand
whitch gives us grate Satisfaction to hear that you was all
well hooping when thees lines comes to hand tha my find
you Still injoying good helth we are all able to moove
around thanks to kind provedence for his mercees
you State in your leter that you have rased between
a half & two thirds of a crop of corn that is beter than
we have Don in this part of the world we have not
raised a half Crop of Corn & our wheat Crop was hardely
a half Crop & oats now cilled Entirely by the rust So you
may no that this is going to be hard times in this part of
the cuntry the people cannot faten thir hogs as tha aught
to be on the count of the Scersety of Corn the hogs are
mostly all gone to marcuit Such Sooner than Common
owing to the cersety of grain corn is worth 50 cents per
bushel & Scersley any to be had at that & the antisapation is that
it will one Dollar befor harvest wheat is worth 75 to
80 cents per bushel Coffee Sugar & other artickels are about
the Same tha are thare Except bacon that has not bin higher
than 8 cents per lb this Season tho porke is worth from 5 to 6
Dollars 75 cents per 100 lbs hogs are Scearce meny died
with the calra [1] & we fear that meny more will Die for want
of corn this winter we had Sum oald grain on hand in
this part of the world if it had not bin for the oald grain
that was on hands aur stock must Starved for we did not
rase Enuf to keep them over & it will be very hard if
we get them thru you Say that you had the Longest drawth
that you Ever Saw we had a very dry Summer and fall untel
about the first of November & we have not had Eny fare
wether Since the Streams is up at this time and a grate deal of
water on the ground it has bin raining very hard last night
& this morning the wind is high & has the aperance of Clearing
off the wether has bin warm So far we have had one Snow a
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about thre or four inches Deep tho it did not ly long on the
ground you rote that you wold be glad to See me once more in
that part of the cuntry I can tell you that the times is too
hard to come to See you now tho I wold be very glad to See you
once more in this world tho that is un certan you
Say that the Land that farther intended to give me is not
worth more than Seventy five Dollars that is very low land in
this cuntry is worth from 16 to 30 Dollars per acre I have one
forty acre lot for whitch I pade five hundred Dollars and
after improving it Sum I can get 12 hundred Dollars by fore
in Stalements tho it Dose not Suet me to Sell in that way
I have made it a rule to trade on the cash Sestum
never to go in debt further than I can pay when due tho
I can not tell how it will be this year for we have rased
nothing to Sell for the oald grain that we had on hand we
will be obleged to use on the acount of not raising this year
the money maters are all right hear at presant & money
is pleanty if we had any thing to bring it in to the
cuntry but we have very litle to Bring money and that
what is Sold had beter be kept to feed the people
& Stock of the cuntry but those that are in debt must
Sell whether tha have it to Spare or not our legeslater
is not in Sesson & it is thought that tha will pase
Sum relief law tho I can not tell whether tha will ot
not thare is one thing Shure that those that are
in debt can not pay untell tha rase Sumpthing to
Sell to bring money we wish to be rememberd to
all our frends conection and acquantance in that
cuntry & we want you to wright to us as Soon as you
receive this leter and let us now how you are as to
helth & how you are coming on in that part and
whether any of you ever Expects to come to this part
of the cuntry & tell the yong relation to right to
us when it is convenant & let us now how tha are
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getting along wright without fale on the receipt of
this leter we have rote this leter in grate hast
& have not rote Evry pertickler we will rite more in
our next So we must conclude with Subscribing
our Selvs your loving Brother and Sister and
Ever well wishes untel Death F,, & E Amos &
famly to R & A Amos & famly

we are pleased to hear that farther wass well & we hope
when thees lins may Come to hand tha may find him
will & tell farther that we wold be very glad to See
him once more in this world tho if we never See
him in this we hope to meet him in a beter
whare we Shall never part again whare Sorrow
& Sying will never reach us any more and I want
you to tell farther to Sell that land that he
aloted to give me and if he has need of the money
to use it in making him Self comfertable while he
lives and if he dose not nead it he can Send it to
me when he gets redy So fare you will
right Soon without fale
F,, Amos
To, F,, Amos [“F” must be a mistake for “R”]

[page 4]

to Richard Amos
Ayersvill NC