Otego Oct 22nd 1877

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Dear Brother

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I am sadly negligent about writing to you. I think every time I write I will not wait so long again but put off from day to day and from week to week till months have rolled into eternity. Well, I’ll try and tell the news that may be interesting to you. I think I have not written since the fire here last spring. It was quite a big fire for a little place. About 11 o’clock at night there was a cry of fire. The hotel where Mr. Hunt used to live was on fire and the flames had made such progress that not much could be saved and every one bent their energies to saving the next buildings. There were six buildings between the hotel and where Mr. Brewer used to keep store. The hotel had fallen before the next building took fire. The barns caught fire and then the other buildings. Four houses besides the hotel and barns were burnt and they tore away one building to stop the fire. Robert Rathburn keeps store where Mr. brewer used to. It has been excessively dry here, the wells are nearly dry. There is about a dozen families go to Folletts well after water. Elvira and I are living here in Otego. Elvira takes in sewing and I weave carpets. I have woven 335 three hundred and thirty five yards at 1 shilling a yard but I have no weaving now for about four weeks. I’ve lived pretty easy. I hope I shall have more work before long. It has been pretty hard times for farmers for two or three years and business of all kinds but the talk is now that times are getting better. Otego has been up a good deal since you were here. The railroad has had something to do with it I suppose. You would hardly know the place, the morals of Otego are two hundred percent worse than when you were here. Brother George’s family were well the last I heard from them. There has been a terrible state of things in Scranton. The miners would not work for what wages they could get and the strikers would not let those work that wanted to. They have had to work, starve, or steal and they have preferred the latter. George says that it is the foreign element that won’t work, not the American. Now please write and fill a whole sheet for the least thing that pertains to you interests us. You can’t think how I dread the cold winter that is coming. I wish I could go to Florida to winter. Now Good bye, may the God of our father bless you and keep you from all harm.

T Chase