Letter from 'Seal' to his sister, 1859-04-13

Hand written letter about hunting in Indian Terriroty.

Saline District Cherokee Tribe Indian Territory April 13th 59 Dear Sister It was just one year ago to day that I shouldered my Haversack and took my departure from the good old Borough of Mifflintown and I thought I could not commemorate it better than writing a few lines to you. I would have answered your letter sooner but I expected to be away from this part of the country before this. I have concluded to give up the life of a Shepard and lay down my Crook and take up the old business of Knights of the Brush as soon as I can reach any place where they have a taste for the Fine Arts. I'm waiting for the Bosses partner to come up as I should have been off before this but I'm compelled to wait to get what little money I've earned during the past winter we are looking for him every day and then I'll have to do like the Irishman sung "She lady so gay I trudge on my way" for public consequence is out of the question without the ''windows of Heaven" would open and raise Arkansaw so the boats could run up here there has been several up as high as Fort Gibsin this Spring but the rivers are low now and hardly ever raise before the 1st of June. I expect to go from here to Fort Smith in Arkansaw some seventy odd miles from here it is on the line between the Territory and the former State they say it is a right brisk place and improving rapidly and contains between two and three thousand in habitants if nothing turns up there in my line I'll go down the Red River and stop in South East Texas or Louisianna somewhere out of the Yellow Fever District, but I'll be able in my next letter to Jim to let you know of my where abouts and surroundings. I received Jim’s letter dated the 26th of February on Sunday last it has been a long while on the road but I suppose it was because he misdirected it he had Arkansas instead of Indian Territory I received some of the papers he mailed with it ten days ago I have received quite a number of papers from him but the Diary never came. I received a letter from Laura Buchanan about a month ago it made a very quick trip. I wrote to All classes the same day I wrote to Laura but have received no answer yet he should recollect that he was once way beyond the bounds of civilization and know how a person liked to receive letters. The last letter I wrote home was to pape which I mailed the first week in March and I forgot to state in it the fire we had a few days before I wrote in our Camp. I think it was on St. Valentiens day that when we were absent from Camp that the wind set the grass on fire and it destroyed our tent saddles bridles and blankets it destroyed abut Forty dollars worth of Clothing for me I had a number of good shirts neck handkerchiefs, two summer coats two vests one a silk velvet one that cost me then dollars and my blanket which was good as new beside a number of little curiosities I had picked up in my ramble to take East with one it burned my Carpet Sach all up. I felt the loss pretty bad and it made me angry to think what ragged clothes I had been wearing so as to save my good ones and then loose them by fire, talking of ragged clothes well you can not imagine how hard we (all the drovers along the river) looked last winter every time I looked at my self it put me in mind of the man in that old nursery tale "the house that jack built" “the man all tattered and torn" but quite the reverse from the priest "all shaven and shorn"; you may say why didn't you get better clothes why she answered of it is money was scarce and all the devout expected to drive right on to Texas and had an idea of laying up here all winter and the consequence was a heavy depression in the Money Market; perhaps you would like to know my costume now it consists of a Check Shirt, Jeans Pants and a striped Jeans Hunting Shirt made and manufactured by an Indian Woman Oh! I look quite Indian like. We have moved our flock of sheep out of Grand River Bottom to the prairie, where there is plenty of grafs and has been ever since the first week in March we had a great time with the wolves when we first come out they would rush down off of the hills and kill a sheep right before us we purchased a drum of Strychnine and we baited them for about a week and the consequence was any quantity of dead wolves I found thirty we had killed and some of our neighbors would tell us if some they had seen laying a good distance from Camp on the prairie I suppose we killed between forty and fifty we skinned fifteen of them and got a half a dollar a piece for the skins we would have skined more but the buzzards would find them in the morning before we could and they would spoil the skins in a few minutes I have had a good deal of amusement chasing wolves over the Prairie this spring you can run them down on a pretty smart horse. I see by the papers I'm sent me that Lucy has been mortalizing herself as the school when they had a class of five the best thing she can do now is to join the Phily Engine. This is the greatest country for reptiles I ever saw. I have killed several Rattle Snakes and two Cantepedes and one Tarnantilas the Bluff Rattle Snakes grow to be an enormous size here not so long but very thick I'm going a snaking one of these days and I'll inform you of my succefs in my next I have learned all the snake bite remedys from the indians but you need not think I'm going to let them bite me to try the remedy. It is currently reported here that Pikes Peak is a nother Frozen River. Humbug. Give my best regards to all and write as soon as you find out where I will likely to be and oblige. Your brother Seal. Oh! I liked to forgot to give you the latest news Billy Bowlegs the Seminole Chief died last week about fifty miles from here on the Canada River.