18 December 1878, Letter from Johann Peter Frautschi to his brother Christian Frautschi
University of Wisconsin-Madison. Max Kade Institute. Frautschi
Letters (MKI/Frautschi3/JP1878)
Electronic version: http://frautschi-letters.mki.wisc.edu/let/JP1878/JohannPeter1878.html
Markup (English)
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<head>From To Date</head>
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<placename>Elisabeth,</placename><lb>
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<date value="1878-12-18"></date>December
18, 1878<lb></dateLine>
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Dear Brother,<lb>
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<p rend="indent2">We did receive your letter
of November 28, in which you notified us of the death of your
little<lb>
child. As much as the loss of small children pains the parents,
such children nevertheless have a<lb>
great privilege, for they are delivered from the danger and toil
of all mortal life and instead can<lb>
be where suffering and crying are no more, only bliss.<lb>
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<p rend="indent2">
Diphtheria is a disease that leaves whomever has had it at one
time with some hypersensitivity<lb>
and it returns easily. My wife also had it as a girl, and since
then she has often had the<lb>
beginnings of it again, but she has always suppressed it with
__________ and Carmelite<lb>
water, and she must often keep her throat and ears covered up,
particularly in the colder seasons.<lb>
Here in America she made herself a gargle of vinegar, _________,
salt and saltpeter and<lb>
also another type of medicine which we cannot obtain now. Now
she takes only sulfur, burns it<lb>
over coals or a hot oven and lets the smoky vapor enter her mouth,
as much as she can stand,<lb>
several times a day.<lb>
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But this year we are especially obliged to thank God, for we all
miraculously enjoy relatively<lb>
good health. On May 6, 1870 our oldest son was born and baptized
Albert, Elise on June 12,<lb>
1871 and Herman on February 18, 1875.<lb>
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Our harvest was a blessed one this year although the grain
prices up here are not high. We had a<lb>
fertile year and much rain, so that the crops lay on the ground
too early in some parts of<lb>
Minnesota. And shortly before the harvest there was a terrible
head wave which ripened the<lb>
grain too fast, so that some people had a very poor harvest despite
their effort and work. Up here<lb>
in the high hills the crops where fairly good.<lb>
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This fall I also bought 108 acres of land for $600. It is all
prairie, with no undergrowth. 25 acres<lb>
on it are beautiful plowed land, and little stony hills and also
much land for hay, but also swamps<lb>
(but they can be dug out), all mixed up together. For the time
being I will use it only as grazing<lb>
pasture and for growing hay. However, there are another 40 acres
between my land and the land</lb>
I just purchased, which I could buy too, but I do not like it
and so I only bought a piece of it four<lb>
rods wide.<lb>
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Warm greetings and New Year's wishes from me and my family,<lb>
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<signed>Jo Peter Frautschi<lb>
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