29 December 1895, Letter from Johann Peter Frautschi to his brother Christian Frautschi

University of Wisconsin-Madison. Max Kade Institute. Frautschi Letters (MKI/Frautschi3/JP1895E)

Electronic version: http://frautschi-letters.mki.wisc.edu/let/JP1895/JohannPeter1895.html

Elizabeth, 29. December 1895

Dear Brother,

It was a negligence on my part that I did not write you sooner. I had also received the notice of your child's death from you and can also truly understand your pain, but Christians have a great comfort over the atheists, namely the holy reunion in heaven above.

We old people also come closer to our timely end, and we can see the signs on our corporal shell that it will happen sooner rather than later.

After three years of drought, we had a surplus of rain and fertile weather during the growing season in spring, yet for a long time the grass and the hay still did not want to grow, the grain and potato crops were the largest we have ever had.

Of two hailstorms, only one hit on June 20., three miles wide and 20 miles long, all the grain ____ . Since we always had enough rain, the grain has regrown so much and provided such a great harvest that we have had to buy neither oats nor corn. Everything is very cheap here: wheat, 40 cents; oats and potatoes, ten cents per bushel, and no market for them as of yet, everyone has machinery, and as a result there is overproduction everywhere, and one must almost fear that it could be much worse in the future.

We had almost no rain the entire fall, and then an early winter, although there was no snow.

I don't know of anything else new to write you about; we are all reasonably healthy, and send our greetings.

We also wish you a Happy New Year

J. Peter Frautschi