|
Dear Sister Jenny,
Received your welcome and looked for letter 2 weeks ago and
the only reason that I have not written sooner is the want of time. I wait for a
good opportunity to sit down quietly and write you but on account of so many things I have
to see to, it never comes, and at last tired of waiting, write at once. There are
such chances sometimes of coming to this county as you wish but I do not know of them
living so much away from a large town but I will keep a look out. If I was in Salt
Lake City I could find such a chance easy, but if you can raise one half the passage money
keep saving and you will soon have it all. Yesterday we celebrated the anniversary
of American independence (today being Sunday) by the Sunday School children marching,
reciting pieces and having a dance, and in the evening a dance for adults. The
school house was decorated with ever greens, and pictures and it was a general holiday.
6 weeks ago I went on a visit to Salt Lake City with my own team (95 miles from
here) stayed with George Reynolds, visited old friends along the road and had a good time, was from home 8
days. Your conclusions about my feelings regarding England are rather hasty, friends
worthy of the name are too few for any to be despised, and the pleasant memories (though
few) of England and home and friends will last at least with life, but for you to
correctly understand my feelings you will have to be here a while. America has given
me rights, privileges and opportunities to vote in the making of laws, for a home &c
&c which England denied me because poor, and gave to those who are rich, and I have
only done what millions of others have done, chosen for a friend those that treat me the
kindest and own that I have some right in the world as a man.
I will give you an account of my
doings for one week and it is a sample of my work at least this time of year. Monday
worked in the field with a horse cultivating Indian corn. My boy Wille riding.
Tuesday serving in the store and packing eggs and butter for market. Wednesday
loaded my wagon and went to Corinne 30 miles across the mountains and along Bear River
towards Salt Lake. Thursday sold my load, made some small purchases, loaded a mowing
machine to bring home, went to the R. R. Depot for goods for our store from Ogden.
Coming home very much mixed up with dust, wind, gnats and mosquitoes, and camped for
the night at the foot of the mountain having too large a load to pull up. Friday a
team came out to help me up the mountain (when on this mountain I can see part of the Salt
Lake and Salt Lake Valley, Malad Valley and the most of Cache Valley) unloaded, priced
goods and served in the Store. Saturday worked in the field among corn. Mixed
in with this work nights and mornings and every other spare minute, is the care of my lot,
one acre, weeding, hoeing, watering and tending trees and bushes and &c and my horses,
keeping accounts and many other little things that others want done for them because I am
storekeeper and clerk in general, and I begin to think that my pay must be increased or my
work lessened. Haying will commence next week. The nights are rather cold and
the season a little late some of our trees blossomed but have fallen off. We have
some English currants and gooseberries and native currants but all are too young yet to
give a large crop. Must stop awhile now and go to meeting. Meeting over and
Susan and the little ones gone for a ride to our Reservoir where we hold water for
irrigating, 4 miles away.
I do not know anyone by the name
of Husher --- remember that Utah is as large as England and the towns and villages are all
over it from one end to the other, and even over the lines of Utah into Arizona, Nevada,
Wyoming and Oneida, Idaho. I must tell you one of the many circumstances that I have
known to happen here. There lived a man by the name of Joseph Wilson having a wife
and 5 children, after working here for about 2 or 3 years and getting a home, farm and
team, cows &c &c he began to get dissatisfied not with anything in particular but
everything in general, so he sold out all his property for enough money to take him back
into Iowa, one of the United States. He stayed there 15 months and then came back
with his wife and family and in meeting today told us that he knew now what he might have
known before he went away. That he could find no other place where he could do so
well for himself and where there was so little competition to contend with. He came
back poor in pocket, but having learnt that which money could not give him, true
knowledge. There are some who can only learn it the way he did. There is a
family now in England, near Southampton, who came here with us, just married. When
they had 5 children they took the same notion that J. Wilson did and went back to England,
and I know that they passed through all the hardships usual to a new country and worked
hard, and they do know the dark side of life in Utah and but very little of the bright,
and yet they long to come back here again, and with 6 children and 13 years time almost
lost, start afresh, and have written asking me to help them, and they say that the time
when they were misled was when they were persuaded to leave Utah. I will send you
some newspapers which I am glad that you take pleasure in reading, hope that you read the
discourses in them and try to understand them. We are all well in general, have good
health and plenty of work to do --- that is good medicine. It was 13 years the 28 of
June since we were married. With best love in which Susan and the children join, I
remain
Your
Brother
J.
H. Barker |
