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178 [The name of the writer of the above letter is not given. The letter, however, indicates that he came to the emigration from Burlington, Iowa, and evidently lived there, as his letter was printed first in a Burlington paper. He was chosen a member of the "cabinet advisers" of the captain—nine persons. Probably these points will serve to identify him. Was he M. M. McCarver?]

A letter by the Rev. Alvan F. Waller to his brother at Elba, New York. It was first published in the Christian Advocate and Journal.

April 6, 1842.

Your last came duly to hand and very much refreshed our spirits. Write every opportunity, being assured that intelligence from our friends is to us in this land like cold water to thirsty souls. You will see by my letter where I am stationed. This is in some respects a pleasant though laborious field of labor. This is and is destined to be, the great emporium of the interior of this country. Its water power for manufacturing purposes is probably not rivaled in the States; at least, few and far between are the privileges which equal or excel it; besides here is an excellent salmon fishery. As to the country, taking it all and all, it is a good farming and grazing country. The winters are so mild that the cattle and horses do well without feeding. The country is well watered, and the inhabitants are, in general, healthy. The ague and fever is the most prevalent disease, although other diseases occur. On the sea coast I believe it is more healthy than back in the country. So far as I and my family are concerned, we have been as healthy as we ever were in the States. Our little ones are quite as hearty and as lively as the fawns that skip over the plains.

Produce of all kinds, except corn, does well here, so far as it has been fairly tried. Some corn has been raised. Wheat, peas, and oats, I believe, so far as quality is concerned, can not excel in any country. Potatoes are tolerable, and in some parts excellent. Indeed, it is my candid conviction, that an industrious and economical man can live as well (fruit excepted) and make property as fast as in almost any country, and far easier than in any part of the State of New York where I have lived. Let him bring with him a few hundred dollars in cash or property, his farming utensils, etc., and settle on one of these delightful plains and the first year he can support his family from the soil, as he has nothing to do but fence, plow, and sow, and prepare a