Miriam Van Waters Papers. Male Prisoner Correspondence, 1927-1971. Correspondence: T, 1966-1971. A-71, folder 607. Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.

sunday. May 23-1971

Dear Miriam. I received your nice letters friday and saturday morning and was very happy to hear from you. father foley came by saturday night and talked a while and I gave him your book youth in conflict its return to you. you will probably get it in the mail sometime next week. I enjoyed reading it very much. I have heard of people eating black birds and sparrows and robins but not the eggs I imagine you have to eat about twenty in order to satisfy your hunger. I don't htink I would eat the eggs because of the poison like DDT. and other sprays and pollutions. I guess it was all right four hundred years ago. when there wasn't any poison spray around. but we used to live on game birds wood cock and quail and grouse. when I lived on the farm

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last week when we went out in the yard we gathered some dandelions and cooked a batch and they were delicious course we didn't have any salt pack but they were seasoned good. I read in the paper a week ago that Congress are going to ask the legislature for a two year moratorium. or a two year suspension on all executions until the supreme Court decides on the Consisutionality of Capital Punishment. I hope you're feeling well since the weather is warmer. give my regards to Mrs Willis I imagine her family is well.

so long for now Miriam. [?] father foley went on a vacation this week to rest up. yours truly. Charles E Tracy

tuesday June 1-1971

Dear Miriam. I received your very nice letter saturday and I'm always happy to hear from you. I imagine everything went well out your way over the holiday weekend. We had a steak dinner memorial day it was real tender for a change. oregon must've been a good state to live in when you were younger. I understand it rains a lot there. Miriam are you still on a strict diet I was wondering if you could eat Broiled salmon steak or clam chowder. it will be a long time before the people in the country will be able to eat sword fish again because of the mercury contamination. according to the food and drug administration. but they can still sell the sword fish to other countries because they have a different rule concerning -

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food standards. one woman at sword fish three times a day to lose weight. now she's in a very bad way with mercury poisoning. I don't think the crabs and calms and the brook fish are contaiminated. we used to have fresh fish to eat everyday right from the spring when we lived on the farm in Virginia and that was nice cold clear water and we got our drinking water from the same place. at the point where it came out of the ground. well those were the good times. but good to think about. Please give my regards to Mrs Willis. Miriam if you have a few dollars I would appreciate it for some more tobacco and peanuts etc. so long for now take care. Ps. father foley is still on vacation.

very truly yours Charles E. Tracy.

Sch. Library. Negro prisoner on death row in Walpole prison. He is not guity of his crime of murder.

The reason he write me about food is that he was a [?] cook. He reads good books. I have sent him most of the books written by Margaret Mead.

Dr. Miriam Van Waters 14 Clark st Framingham Mass 01701