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and Brothers & Sisters.

I must tell you too how I spend the week days. I breakfast before daylight, then mount my horse, and ride off into the country from two to ten miles spend the day in the woods, looking out and locating the Rail Road route, and at night ride back to town, perhaps after dark, then spend an hour or two in R.R Office, recording the business of the day, or planning that of tomorrow. These Southern Illinois woods are very different from ours in New England, so heavy and thick and tall, Poplar, and Cypress, and Gum and Sycamore with the Oak & Hickory, little or no underbrush, but abundance of climbing vines of various kinds, some very beautiful Well, it is time for me to be going to evening meeting, and I must stop writing, with much love and good evening.

Sincerely I.J Metcalfe