[Envelope addressed: Revd. John A. Cairns, Upper Musquodoboit, N.S. Postmarked: Freetown P.E.I. Mar. 22, Receiving postmarks: Shubenacadie NS Mar 24, 82 and Musquodoboit NS Mar 25 82.]
Freetown March 20th/82.
Dear Brother
Received your welcome letter a few days ago and now sit down to answer it, we were glad to hear you were well, as this leaves us all in our usual health. We were glad to hear you are settled, if the Upper section pays you $30 per quarter you will have quite a nice salary, but I presume you will need the best part of it the first year. I hope you will like your boarding house. We have had very stormy weather here, for about a month, the trains have had very hard times to get along, they worked two Sabbaths, there were only two mails last week Monday & Friday, these being the only days the trains run. Janie Moffat was storm stayed here for two weeks she was at Henry Clark’s one week she went home Friday on the train. Maggie Campbell & Ben were here one evening last week. Mother was telling Maggie about you marrying your first couple and that you would be home in June if any of the friends wanted to be married you would perform the ceremony, she said right away, I’ll wait for him, I think she & Jim will be married some time, but I can’t tell when. Albert is going to see Eliza J. Mayne, he took home two loads of furniture from S.Side last week. Aunt Mary McCallum and George were up the week before last they only stayed three days George is home now going to school, McMillans have not got up to Freetown yet, it makes Celia awful angry to hear Freetown mentioned, they have talked so long about coming up. I had a letter from Lydia Saturday she says James Donald is going to Dakota the 21st of this month (that will be tomorrow) there are a good many going. Mrs. Mutch has a son about a month old. Isaac, Mary and Miss Scott the ministers daughter were here, I don’t remember whether I wrote since or not. Uncle Isaac’s were all well then I did not hear from them since. Conductor Thompson was sick last week he was of the train all the week we did not hear whether he is on again or not, he has Bronchitis Annie and the children are well. Lydia Auld is very little better yet she was over here last Wednesday all day, she is pretty weak but is able to sit up most of the time, she has been at Davis’s all winter. Peter Stavert’s children have scarlet fever they are pretty near well now they had it pretty light. The factory has not started to work yet. Dan is talking about going to Colorado he has got a good offer to go there and be an engineer, if he does go, Jennie will not go for a while till they see how he gets along, if Dan goes away I don’t see how Mrs. Johnstone will get along with the factory they advertised her [the factory] this winter for sale or to rent, I did not hear whether they got any offers or not, Mrs. Johnstone wants Jim to take hold of her but he will have nothing to do with it whatever. I think he is sensible he is not very strong and looking after that factory would not do him any good. Bell and I were down to Thomas Humphrey’s Friday afternoon they are very comfortable, they have to pay a high price for the farm I hope they will through all right they were inquiring for you, we went to Burrows’s in the evening. John & Ida were at John McMurdo’s to a party, our boys & Ben Campbell Jim & Millie Johnstone came down in the evening we had a nice time. I must draw to a close as it is bed time. I remain your loving sister Jannet E. Cairns.
[Written across top and around sides of pages of previous letter:]
The boys did not haul any mud yet, there is poor prospects for getting mud this spring Uncle John’s men were hauling today but the roads must be very bad we have a good deal of threshing to do yet, they haven’t got the fire wood yet, and the poles not all hauled. I am busy hooking now. [Hooking rugs, one presumes!]