RK-053

Monticello Feb 26 1855 Dear Cousin Robert If you will forgive me this time for my carelesness in letting your letters lay so long without answering ^them I will promise to be more punctual in future; but as to writing very long letters to you I can not promise you that as I am not much of a letter writer. I would give anything if I could write as well as the young lady dear cousin Charlie coresponded with; he showed Sister Belle and I one of her letters and it was beautiful indeed, both in the writing and in her expressing of her ideas too. Yesterday morning (Sunday) I awoke and looking out of my window was very much astonished to see the ground covered with snow and it was still falling. It is a beautiful spectacle, as you say cousin mine to see the trees, houses and ground all covered with snow. I admire a picture or even a story describing a snow storm. You have the advantage of me in that particular, the snow remains with you a long time and freezes and then, when the glorious sun shines upon it, 'tis a very beautiful sight[inserted above], with us tis a transcient pleasure. Yesterday we never saw the cheering rays of the sun through the whole day. Oh! how dreary and gloomy would this world be without the goldening beams of the gorious Sun; how thankful should we all be to the Giver of all good for such a blessing. What would we be without it. As the flowers to the bee do sit the sun to us. Sister Belle's husband[inserted above] has been spending a week with her, tis always a happy time, with us when the letters come telling us she is coming home, not only with us but the servants also and

even the dog knows something unusual is going to take place and wags his tail and fawns upon us as if to say "I am glad too". Every one loves our gentle Sister and all our friends and acquaintan ces are glad to know she is coming home. Did you write any valentines on the 14 of Febuary or receive any? the young men have great times here on that day I think there were no less than one hundred and fifty put in the office on that day and very funny ones the girls sometime receive. I received three and wrote about as many. On the fourteenth here the birds choose their mates, and such singing and chirping I never heard before. they are perfectly happy, no cloud obscures the brightness of their sky on that day. I am very glad dear cousin to hear you say you are coming South to live, I think it is a very good resolution and I wish you could persuade Dear Charlie and the Major to come with you, tell him there are plenty of young girls here and some very pretty ones too. I will get you all the specimens I can, we have not got many yet, though I do not doubt but that we can get the kind you want. I will now proceed forthwith to answer your questions and as correctly as I can, considering I am just the person that I am and do not know much about snakes and the like and have a greater respect for them when they are a good distance off. In the first place I hardly every see a snake but there are enough I know. There are two or three kinds of rattlesnakes Mocisins, Coachawhips, Kingsnakesnakes, Chickensnakes and little greensnakes on the trees and bushes in the woods. I believe King snakes are I believe very harmless except in destroying other kinds of snakes. There is a gentleman [illegible] here has a

rattlesnake which he has had for several months trying to see how long it will live without food, he also has a wolf and a wildcat. The Alligators are very plenty that is in the swamps we never see any little ones unless the boys bring them out of the swamps. I saw a good many large ones last summer swimming across the river in search of dead hogs &c. White Cranes (such is the name they have here) we often see they are supposed to come up from the bay and Pelicans too sometimes; though we never see pelicans unless there has been a violent storm, but Cranes we may see at allmost any time of the year. I saw a dead one, once, that one of the boys had shot; it had slender blue legs a red bill, blue eyes with pink rings around them; its neck and whole body was very graceful I thought it was the most beautiful creature I had ever seen. We live in the corporation but some distance from the other dwellings. Pa has eighty acres of beautiful land lying down along the river adjoining Monticello. We have no orchard of apple trees but have about twenty or thirty apple trees that we had grafted last summer and some fine pear trees and plum trees that were imported from France. We have an orchard of Peachtrees though; I believe that worms have been known to injure appletrees. I am now doing a little of everything but have not had time to study anything since Belle was married. Belle showed me your letter she and her husband are very much pleased with it. Now Cousin mine, I believe I have answered all your questions, and I hope they are all answered to your satisfaction Have you got a Sunday school near you? we have and it

is a very good one too. The girls commit verses to memory from the New Testament and receive prises for so many verses. Give my love to Uncle Asa and ^aunt Nettie. Ma saey[tail of y strikethrough]nds her love to you. Love to all. Goodbye. Yours affectionaltely Cousin Helen.

P.S. Ma says she would write but she is so very busy but she loves you all not withstanding. Would you like some soft shell turtles ^or of turtles of any kind? Helen.