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Fremont May 4^th, 1855

Friend Kennicott,

Yours of (the) March 2^d
came to hand in due season.

You have great advantage over me, I in respects
to skinning & stuffing as you have seen
good hands and I never even any one
but myself but have become more proficient
than I expected when I killed my first bird
last winter. As to setting up I have given that
up at present as I much prefer Prof Baird's
directions, just stuffing without blocks or wire.
I have no work on Ornithology, or any other Nat'
Hist' work. I stuffed a (female) prairie hen
last winter with block and wires, and let be set[underlined]
which is the best specimen I have, and that is
first rate. However I cannot spend so much
time as that requires. I have just finished
fixing three males for Prof. Baird which the
boys plowed out and save for me. They are easy
to skin and stuff. I was not more than two
or three hours setting up cach of my specimens &
I got tired at that, and I can[ot strikethrough] skin and stuff
with cotton in an hour. I have not made up
my mind what I will do this summer, as regards
Nat' Hist', I do not think much of finishing
another collection of Insects. and I can not
fix a show case of skins. I am now
writing a brief catalogue of my Insects, to
go with my collection to Washington City.
In Feb last my brother Horace shot an Owl
([illegible]), in the timber breaking his wing only
and we cut of the wing at the carpal joint

Fremont May 4th, 1855

Friend Kennicott,

Yours of (the) March 2^d
came to hand in due season.

You have great advantage over me, I[strikethrough] in respects
to skinning & stuffing as you have seen
good hands[underlined] and I never even any one
but myself but have become more proficient
than I expected when I killed my first bird
last winter. As to setting up I have given that
up at present as I much prefer Prof Baird's
directions, just stuffing without blocks or wire.
I have no work on Ornithology, or any other Nat'
Hist' work. I stuffed a (female)[underlined] prairie hen
last winter with block and wires, and let be set[underlined]
which is the best specimen I have, and that is
first rate. However I cannot spend so much
time as that requires. I have just finished
fixing three males for Prof. Baird which the
boys plowed out and save for me. They are easy
to skin and stuff. I was not more than two
or three hours setting up cach of my specimens &
I got tired at that, and I can[ot strikethrough] skin and stuff
with cotton in an hour. I have not made up
my mind what I will do this summer, as regards
Nat' Hist', I do not think much of finishing
another collection of Insects. and I can not
fix a show case of skins. I am now
writing a brief catalogue of my Insects, to
go with my collection to Washington City.
In Feb last my brother Horace shot an Owl
([illegible]), in the timber breaking his wing only
and we cut of the wing at the carpal joint