Note: I don’t know who wrote the following letter. “fs” is read as “ss”.
Narrows Burgh, March 1848
To Mifs Mary A. Eldred, Lumberland
My dear Friend,
I thought I would spend a few moments this day noon in writing to my long cherished friend. The scholars are playing outdoors and I am left alone in the schoolhouse. So my thoughts naturally run on home to home friends. This is a beautiful day, and this is a very pleasant place.
The school house is pleasantly situated a short distance from the river on a hill. How I wish you and Hezekiah would come up here; it would just be a pleasant ride for you when it is good going. But the traveling is very bad at present.
I should like to go home and make a visit, but am afraid if I go now, I shall mifs seeing the river break up. They say it is quite a curiosity to see the ice go through the eddy.
I like it here very much so far, and I like the people. I meet with some once-in-a-while that inquire all about Mr. Eldred and his family and some that used to be acquainted with my father…
I have just returned from a walk…it is another damp dark day…the lady that was with me gave an account of the Big Eddy bridge going off last spring and of a number of accidents that have happened.
Near the bank of the river where we were walking is a large hill which they roll their lumber down and has caused many accidents. It is called Peggy’s Runway. It derived its name from an old woman who lived at the foot of the hill many years ago, when it was thick swamp. To go upon this hill and take a view you can see a great distance off, is delightful.
How I wish you were here…I think of going home on a raft as far as Barryville. There will be a number of rafts going from here and I wish you would come up to go down with me…
PS Please direct your letter to Narrows Burgh, Sullivan Co., NY. The post office is acrofs the river. We have to travel over a large new bridge to get there and people have to pay three cents for walking over, but I can go free—good says I.
