September 3, 1873
Brother Julius,
I received your letter a few days ago, it found us all well or all there, most of us. Debby and I are alive. Debby is 9 years old. Will hasn't come home yet. I don't know when he will come home. Been looking for him for a month, but the more I look, the more he don't come. Will is in Gardiner helping a man cook for about 20 nen. They are building a new mill there and are putting up some new buildings. Nine dwellings, houses and______are_______ Gardiners __________ borders and big as _________ two stories and two mills when they get it. ____________and one blacksmith shop. They are sawmills. They haven't any grist mills. They send into the city that is Frisco for all their flour and you know how that is. The little girl that was sick last winter is dead. She died the 15th of August, her name was Mattie. Why ____ two of the younguns look alike. They are all birds though. _____ is lowering bad luck with these babies. Younguns is a good deal better off ___________. Any of the folks has heard from Julia. Martha is going out to James this fall. She wished I had a went there instead of coming here or stayed _________. He would of give me  3 dollars a week as long as I would have stayed.

If you marry Hulda you will get a good wife and I think she will get a good husband. You can't think to much of her for look what when will have to go through with her fathers worth. ______anything and is she good looking.

This is a gay place I think. I am getting tired of it. Will is gone all of the time. I am getting tired of staying alone. He has been gone three months this time. There is no telling what he is doing. When he is away he drinks a good deal. When he is  at home more than a half a dozen men are here. When it gets night it worries me nearly to death. Then he drinks. Don't
know what I would do if I had a husband that drank a lot. Would just think out to see if he is the biggest fool you ever saw.  I'm mad to some _______ ________ your life there is no end to his______________. I would rather be here than in California for Jordan and Faithy Ann. They like cats and dogs. I didn't blame him much for she keeps house a lot like Sarah.

Where are you going to live. I wouldn't live around there if I was you. I don't want you to let any of them see this letter, nor tell them anything I wrote about Will drinking nor Jordan. I wrote to Lizzie that Will did not drink. I don't want them to know anything else.

Mattie is as bad as Faithy was is what Lizzie wrote to me. She said she is as bad as Faithy, but not near as good to mother as Faithy was. So Will, I will quit for this time. I want you to write. If I did not get any letters I would die. I want you to burn this when you read this.

Yours as ever, write soon
Becky

PS Dara was well the last I heard from her.