p.

In answer to thy last queries will
say that my bed is good as I
need, much better this winter than
I should have if I was in a train.
have a bed - big, no! tick filled
nicely with hay, on a comfortable
home-made beadstead, to lie on,
a nice buffalo skin, two large
gov. blankets & a quilt for cov-
ering, & if it is cold & I choose
to take a man as bed fellow
have about twice the above
amount of bedding, so thee
sees I have no danger of
freezing. I regard to food
will say that we fare, probably,
[underline]very much[/underline] better than one
family - - - - in - well! [underline]5[/underline] at
least, in Kansas, some times
think we live almost too well.
Our rations are more than we
can use of "[haughply?]",
sugar, rice, & beans, bacon, [deleted]

[page break]

Leavenworth, K. 3d. 1st 1863.

My dear Mother

Altho' after 9. P.M.
I seat myself to write thee
at my usual dull & hard
manner of composition, of [underline]late[/underline]
it has seemed very irksome
& disagreable for me to an-
swer my letters. shall
soon be as unable or un-
willing to write letters
as I used to be in my
[underline]youthful[/underline] days. suppose
the antipathy arises from
want of practice, which
has, of late, been rather
limited, having been quite
busy, or perhaps frorm the
fact that, being so busy,