Decrow's Point, Texas, Dec. 30, 1863

Here I come at you hand over hand to answer your letter. I received any amount of letters and papers last night, had plenty of good news consequently and in the very best of humor today and you stand a very good chance of escaping the exercise I promised you. O, I forgot that was in case you did not pony up but you have done that and thus escaped Grandmother's anger and my lectures. I am glad you have a good school teacher. Julia and Esther Davidson must be his strong friends to defend him so stoutly when his political opinions are assailed. Funny way of getting out of voting for a traitor - sitting on the fence and not voting at all.

Well he is a personal friend of mine and I hope, if he is a democrat, did not support the Canadian if he did the rest of the ticket. However that is his business - not mine.

We have a funny kind of a song we sometime sing here it goes whizz! whizz!! Whizz!!! and then the chorus comes in Boom whizz. It is so exciting that it will almost make the hair stand on your head. I would like to hear you sing some of your Union songs I think they would be nicer if not so exciting as ours.

Father tells me your thrashing is done. Am glad that the hard job is done. You are getting to be quite a hunter. What do you do with your muskrat furs? Do you ever hunt for Calico? I suppose you begin to look round a little. How often do you and Alec Wilson or Sammy Leving-ston slip off about dark and forget to come home early? Now don't deny it for I know you cast sheeps-eyes across the church toward some little trembling specimen of hoop-skirts and wavy curls. Christmas is over and day after tomorrow will be New Years. I suppose you are having gay old times. Have you school this week? Have you any sleighing yet? I do not expect to see any snow this winter or even ice. Our greatest fear is the wind storms which drive everything before them.

Sundown-- I have just returned from beating the dead march at the funeral of our Drum Major who died last night at 10 o'clock. He was buried this evening with the honors of war. His name is Charles Myers - Mr. and Hen Levingston know him. I will tell you how he was buried. First marched a Sergeant in command of sixteen men marching in two lines with arms reversed - that is with the muzzle down and pointing back; then came the band playing the dead march; next came the coffin and an old minister in the 114th Ohio regiment and after them came all who wished to join in the procession. Arriving at the grave his body was lowered and a few shovels of dirt thrown over it - the preacher made some remarks and prayer which I could not hear for the wind and sea -- three volleys were fired over his grave and we returned beating quick time.

It is too dark to see and I am writing by guess.