**FrautschiLettersVirtualArchiveChristian1868S

July 11, 1869, Letter from Christian Frautschi to his parents and brothers in Switzerland

University of Wisconsin-Madison. Max Kade Institute. Frautschi Letters (MKI/Frautschi3/C1869)

Electronic version: http://frautschi-letters.mki.wisc.edu/let/C1869/Christian1869.html

| Markup of English translation |

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Madison.<lb>
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<date value="1869-07-11></date>July 11, 69.<lb></dateLine>
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Dear unforgettable parents and brothers!<lb>

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You will have waited a long
time indeed for a letter from us.
I myself was waiting for a letter
from my dear brother in Minnesota,
who delayedso long. Concerning
the arrival of the money, you
will have had notice through the
Messenger, for your trouble,
receive my filial thanks, and
also my most courteous thanks
to the guarantors and to Counsellor
G. Zingri[?] for his generous
help, although I am personally
unknown to him. I actually
received 377 gold dollars. The
gentlemen of Bern take very
large mouth fulls, where they
can take hold. In fact for their
trouble or courtesy in issuing
the draft they took 22
gold dollars or 110 francs.
That was indeed my opinion
originally; I shall never again
ask for any money from my
homeland by draft [bill of exchange]
but rather shall take the rest
by hand. Yet however we may
be able to get hold of it, our
allotted portions that will be
assigned to us will be notably
reduced before the balance can
reach America. At the time
that I changed the gold into
paper money, the rate was low;
actually one gold dollar brought
1.30 in paper and the 377 dollars
produced 489 in paper; then a
few weeks later gold climbed to
1.40, and if I had been able
to make the exchange at that
time, I would have gained
37 paper dollars. If one proceed
to deceive himself, that the
paper dollar might gradually
appreciate and equal the gold
dollar, yet would our appointed
inheritance finally turn out to be
very small; for you shouldnit
have any idea that a paper dollar
has as much value as a 5 franc
piece; no, if we spend it at
a clothing store or the like, it
has here no more purchasing
power than 2 francs have with you.
Brother J. Jacob purchased
an entirely uncultivated farm
last winter, and now naturally
has too little money to be able
to begin to cultivate it; he wants
to find an opportunity to sell it
again and go farther north, where
it suits him better to claim a
homestead out of federal lands;
this is a very wise and prudent
intention on his part.
Although my head is so
full of thoughts, and I would
very much like to write you
about many things--about the
natural and political and religious
aspects of this country. I want
nevertheless to keep it very short
for this time, for I am so
entirely along in my new
business, which claims all my thoughts,
my strength, my meager knowledge,
and especially my time; also
I think if you examine the
Messenger well you will be able
to get many things out of that I
otherwise would like to write about
to you.
Briefly, I would like you to note
that you need not regret that
I have joined the Evangelical
Association, for the German
Reformed congregation here in
Madison consists for the most
part of Freethinkers, who don't
want to know anything about
repentence and conversion. Many a
discouraged preacher has already
had to leave this congregation
as an unfruitful field of labor
Such are the greater part of the
German Reformed congregations in
America, and also many of their
pastors are only faint-hearted hirelings
who are satisfied with external forms
and dead letters, with the result
that most people who have Christian
feelings in them are leaving the
lifeless congregations and are joining
the Evangelical Association or the
Methodist or the English churches.
You dear Mother! Let your
fears disappear, that we perhaps
desecrate the Sabbath with work;
let it serve first of all to reassure
you that the laws of the land
forbid unnecessary business
on sunday.
Then I go to church twice on
Sundays and also Sunday School,
where I also help the little children
to draw near to the [eternal truth?]
of the Gospel, to the best of my
understanding. Wednesday evening
I go to prayer meeting, where
the minister also is present.
Concerning my newly purchased
business I cannot yet write much
to you, but shall later inform
you about it in detail.
Initially I am quite pleased with
it. since taking it over I
have already made sales totaling
over 300 dollars; but don't
imagine that I am soon going
to become rich or to fling about
myself magnificently with gold,
for this is a moderately priced
business, which also draws a
good deal of money away
from me; but also don't fear
that I shall be unable to make
out well with it, for it is,
as the landlord said to you,
profitable and safe. I carry
on my business with a certain
amount of anxiety (effort?),
chiefly because it involves writing
in English; for I have to deal
with English Businessmen in other
cities. For example from New
York I order metal coffins,
lacquer, varnish, and the like;
from Connecticut and Cincinnati
silver and upholstering materials
and the like for fitting up the
coffins; from Chicago and
Milwaukee walnut and other
types of wood. Although I
am still weak at writing
English, so far I have had
no delays. But having
business letters written by others
is not done here; if one
does that, he doesn't look like
a businessman, and so I
contrive as best I can. Along
with my business I am still
doing other cabinet work. When
I must take a body to the
burial ground with the hearse,
I hire a man who provides
two horses, and to whom I must
pay 5 dollars for each trip. For
poor people or children, naturally
one doesn't use the hearse.
In this country business
people need a sober mind and
a watchful eye, for one is
surrounded by all nationalities
and consequently by swindlers,
who know how to conduct them-
selves very properly, and who
naturally would be much too
proud to break into a
house and steal or the like,
but who under the pretense
of right know how to swindle
everyone; they even feel very
proud of it and glory in
it. One has already wanted
to make an attempt on me, too,
whom I however repelled with
anger.
In such matters the
farmer is the most carefree
and fortunate of men. Two
years ago I myself had a
view toward going into farming,
but everyone laughed at me.
Then I decided to devote
the rest of my days to
my profession, although
cabinet making work is very
poorly paid here because
there are so many factories;
indeed I would have been
able to establish myself just
as well in Europe; and
carpentry offers employment
here only during the summer.
But my present business
pays materially better. But
it seems to me, if one has
lived for 12 years abroad, as
I have, under the authority
of others, it is his duty and
mission to become independent;
otherwise we must not be inspired
with the feelings of William Tell.
Moreover if you, dear parents,
would know the evils of a
journeyman's life and understand
it in a proper light, you would
thank God that I am now
free for once and not become a
thoroughly ruined subject in body
and soul. Disregarding the
physical inconveniences of the
journeyman's life, please
consider carefully how one
runs into danger of
becoming unfected, dissipated,
and poisoned through the
leavan of the lewd and
godless company of journeymen
by whom one is constantly
surrounded, by day and
by night, working, eating,
and sleeping. I feel thank-
ful to God that he has kept
me until now in a state of
grace. Now you dear parents
and brothers, I can say to
you that even though earthly
good fortune was not weighed
for me here in America, I
nevertheless feel very thankful
to God for the blessings which he
has communicated to my soul. Although
when I left Europe I didn't rightly know
what I was doing, and my spirit and
mind were wrapped in darkness, it is now
my unshakable belief that I am here
through God's wise decree, and I can
say that the Lord has one everything
well. Consequently with me as with
other Europeans, once one is
acclimatized here, one is not
lightly moved to return to the
old country, as we call it here.
However, Switzerland and especially
my own native place--my father's
house--remain unforgettable; and
I cannot deny that in spirit
I sometimes wish myself over with
you, in order to be able to
exchange my feelings (thoughts)
with yours; especially when
occaisionally I sit fatiqued in the
evening twilight at the window
of my little room, my eyes
turn toward Europe and my spirit

[The rest of the letter is missing]

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