Correspondence (incoming): begging letters, A

La Compania del Camino de Fierro Nacional Mexicano. Division Del 2

up my hands in despair.

While reading about you in the Magazines today, I thought perhaps if I wrote you, you might help me in some way. Any way, I feel sure you will give my letter kind attention

Sincerely yours A mother in a great struggle Mrs Bessie P. Anderson

Saltillo Coahuila_Mex.

the case but put it off from time to time & I had to take what the road would give me & in the main [sic] time my Father died left me hobbling on crutches with a sore leg & not a cent on earth. I took what I could get from the road & I could get up bought me an artificial leg & a horse & started to farming when I got the horse paid for he died & $100 gone then a cow that was a living for my famaly [sic] she died & my wife was sick for six mons & could do nothing & I had to hobble on a peg so you see what condition I am in I trusted the Lord & ask him for help & he has help me & if you help me I will appreciate it very much indeed. I

ask it in this way - to lend $75.00 & let me pay it back in little amounts at a time such as I can get. I don't mean it as a gift, but as a lone [sic]. If I go to people here they think it means a gift. I am not a beger [sic] as some people want me to go around people for money to get a leg with. I waunt [sic] to pay back what I get. I hope you will consider my cripple condition. You think how hard for a one legged man to get a long in this unfriendly world. I have very unfortunate & if you will come to my ade [sic] it will be appreciated & I will by the help of the Lord I will pay it back. I can get an old leg patched up for $35.00 that will last a few years.

I will appreciate any thing you will do in any way see fit & if you see fit to make any enquirs [sic] about me write any body in Houston County or J.L. Brown, SB Brown & son Hon. H.H. Mathews, BH Wright, H.B. Greene, GP Greene, R. M. Houser A D Shelby A H Miller O. J Houser Hoping that you will consider my condition & lend me a helping hand I am yours most respectfully Jos B Anderson

have got good crop; but both years have been very poor bringing about 1/4 th of a crop and that hve not covered expences and we did not have anything to start with so we are in debt for all our horses and machinery besides the farm now I know you are one of the Richest ladies in the World as well as kind and I thought to ask you if you would be so kind and help us some towards paying up some of our due bills which amount to about 2,000 dollars If we get some help may be it will turn out

better next year, but unless we get some help we can not farm any more and I dont know where we would go as my husband is not strong enough to go day laboring and we are six in the family so it takes a good deal home saving we are; we got four little girls Ruth 8 years Violet 7, Amy 5 Anna 3 years old we lost our little baby 1 1/2 years old she died the 19th of sep. last; I am sure if you saw my sweet little girls you could not help but making both them and us happy - well I will

close my letter, hoping you will open your heart as well as your purse and if possible let me hear from you before Christmas, if you do what you can I think you will make us the happiest family in the world. Wishing you a Merry Christmas. I am Yours Respectfully Mrs Mary Anderson address - Box 30, Absaroka N. D.

Absaroka N. D. Dec 14 1901 Dear Mrs Stanford Will you please read this letter; and forgive me for writing thus and ask for help, but we are very hard up and unless we get some help we will have to go from our little home and have debt besides; we started farming two years ago we bought a half section of land on the Crop payment plan, and we would have been allright if we